Managing Water in the Home Landscape
The weather events and weather patterns of recent years, like the “1000 year storm” in 2015 associated with Hurricane Joaquin, have left residents grappling with water management in their yards. On...
Tag: Blogs
The Good in (Whole) Grains
September marks the beginning of National Whole Grains Month, which places all our favorite comfort foods such as pasta, bread, cereals, and popcorn on the pedestal they so lovingly deserve....
What is it? Wednesday
Tobacco Hornworm and Braconid Wasps Fast Fact Cotesia congregata are important biological control agents of about a dozen moth species in two families (Sphingidae and Noctuidae). Life Cycle An adult...
September Week 2 Garden Photos
Fall is headed to South Carolina: A walk around Crooked Trail Farm this week.
Cover Crops for the Fall
Planning to leave the vegetable garden fallow this fall? If you take the time to plant a cover crop instead, you will reap the benefits later. In general, cover crops protect the soil from erosion,...
What’s this stuff in my stream!?
“There’s orange water coming up through the ground!” said the homeowner who called me last week, wondering what kind of contaminant had made its way into her yard. If you’ve ever come across this...
Monarda (Bee balm)
Our family now has a new favorite garden perennial plant. Ever since our ‘Jacob Cline’ Monarda (Monarda didyma ‘Jacob Cline’) came into bloom, it has been the most gorgeous flower we have tried in...
September Week 1 Garden Photos
Mushrooms are beautiful to look at, but never eat a mushroom unless it is positively identified as edible. Mistakes can result in toxic reactions ranging from mild gastric upset to...
Homegrown Grits
South Carolinians love corn grits, but like most modern Southerners, I grew up eating store-bought instant or quick grits and never considered homegrown grits an option. Then about a decade ago I...
Toad Lily
Toad lilies (Tricyrtis hirta) bloom from September to October and have small, lily-like white to pale lilac flowers with heavy purple to maroon spots. They prefer evenly moist, well-drained,...
Let’s Face it: Proper Mask Hygiene
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), masks, along with proper hand hygiene and social distancing, are recommended to help prevent and slow the spread of the novel...
Somewhere Down in the Pawpaw Patch
When I was growing up in S.C., we kids played outdoors, most days. The weather didn’t matter; I was all about being outside – running, biking, swimming, climbing trees, and exploring. I’ve...