Category: In the Garden

Question of the Week – Sandblasting

Oct 30, 2024 | In the Garden

Why does this tomato appear scarred on one side but normal on the other? This tomato is scarred on the side facing the prevailing winds. It was found on the outside row, next to a dirt drive row and...

SC Fruit and Vegetable Field Report- October 28, 2024

Oct 29, 2024 | In the Garden

Conditions remain dry across the state, requiring lots of irrigation for fall crops. Strawberry planting is winding down as the last few plant shipments arrive. Insect and disease issues are...

Dancing Ladies Ginger

Oct 28, 2024 | In the Garden

In the fall of the year, it can be difficult to find color in shady areas of gardens in the coastal region of South Carolina. Dancing Ladies ginger (Globba winittii) grows in USDA planting zones 8...

The History of the Ginkgo Tree

Oct 24, 2024 | In the Garden

Did you know that a ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba) is considered a living fossil? It’s the only surviving species of a group of trees that existed before dinosaurs roamed the earth. Genetically, it has...

Question of the Week – Tachinid Fly Eggs

Oct 23, 2024 | In the Garden

What is on the head and back of this leaffooted bug? The oblong, white objects on this leaffooted bug (Leptoglossus oppositus) are eggs of a parasitoid fly (Trichopoda pennipes), which will hatch...

SC Fruit and Vegetable Field Report – October 21, 2024

Oct 22, 2024 | In the Garden

Fall weather has arrived, and strawberry planting is in full swing. Conditions have been dry across the state since Hurricane Helene. Diseases and insects are showing up in places as the fall...

Popcorn Cassia

Oct 21, 2024 | In the Garden

Last October, while driving along Main Street in uptown Greenwood, SC, I spotted a large plant with tall golden flower spikes. It was so fantastic that I made a U-turn to check it out. The plant was...

Perennial Lemmon’s Marigold Is a Fall Garden Focal Point

Oct 17, 2024 | In the Garden

Marigolds, in the genus Tagetes, are usually thought of as summer annuals. Lemmon’s marigold, Tagetes lemmonii, is a perennial species that blooms in the fall. It deserves a place in any mixed...

Question of the Week – Southern Blight

Oct 16, 2024 | In the Garden

What are these brown pellets found on the base of a tomato plant? These brown pellets are sclerotia from the soil-borne fungus Athelia rolsii, commonly called Southern blight. The photograph was...

SC Fruit and Vegetable Field Report – 10/14/24

Oct 15, 2024 | In the Garden

As cleanup from Hurricane Helene continues in the western parts of the state, crops are looking great elsewhere. Strawberry transplants are arriving on farms, and planting has begun in many places....

Bug Hotel

Oct 14, 2024 | In the Garden

We recently created a “bug hotel” in the South Carolina Botanical Garden. This is a fun project you can do too! But why? The short answer is that insects and other arthropods are under intense...

Garden Sanitation

Oct 11, 2024 | In the Garden

Diseases happen in the garden. Pathogens find a susceptible host plant in a favorable environment and invade. The unfortunate plant may just show reduced health or may end up completely dead. When...