Urban Agriculture Resources
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This publication provides alternative plants to replace boxwood in landscapes across Georgia. It includes information on new cultivars and cautions against the use of plants on the GA-EPPC invasive plant list, as well as species and cultivars affected by common pests and diseases.
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C 1098
Hiring a Tree Care Service
Healthy trees add to property value and have many ecological benefits.
Hiring a tree care service is an important decision. The work is often dangerous for the workers and if not properly done, can damage property and damage or kill the tree. These guidelines will help tree owners select a tree care service.
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Chaste tree (genus Vitex) is an ornamental with many desirable qualities for the urban landscape. It is a deciduous shrub to small tree proffering violet flowers, which are a magnet for pollinators, fragrant foliage, and excellent drought and deer tolerance. It’s not surprising that it has been touted as one of the best plants for Georgia gardens.
There is always room for improvement on what nature provided, so the breeding team at the University of Georgia Department of Horticulture has spent years working to improve on this valuable ornamental, and they are ready to offer several great new plants: ‘Daytona Heat Danica Pink,’ ‘Daytona Heat Dale White,’ ‘Daytona HeatTM Petty Blue,’ ‘Pink Pinnacles,’ and ‘Little Madame.’ This publication highlights the features of these chaste trees.
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This publication offers advice on finding less expensive sources of plant material, amendments and tools for community and school gardens.
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C 1027-8
Stocking the Toolshed: Hand Tools
This publication describes the types and quantities of hand tools that work best for community and school gardens, including shovels, rakes, trowels, hand pruners, gloves, children’s tools, and carts and wheelbarrows.
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Bees are among the most populous, diverse, and effective pollinators. Approximately 70% of bee species nest in the ground, spending their larval and pupal stages underground. This resource helps residents understand how to help these bees as continued urbanization threatens natural spaces and land degradation, pollution, and habitat destruction present serious challenges to sustaining bee populations.
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A pollinator-friendly and ecologically sustainable garden is both beautiful and able to attract and sustain beneficial insects, reducing the need for pesticides. This publication is based on new research in habitat management for purposes of planting insect-attracting plant species in order to intentionally draw insects to garden areas and urban landscapes. This is done by providing a refuge for the insects during winter and nectar and pollen resources. Plant selection directly affects beneficial insect populations, those insects that can provide ecological benefits such as biodiversity and natural pest control. This concept of “habitat management” can lead to potential increases in pollinating and other beneficial insect populations. An increase in these populations in landscapes will contribute to improved pollination of plants and biological pest control and reduce the need for pesticides.
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Urban gardeners and farmers may have concerns about potentially harmful contaminants in their soils. By determining the historical use of the land, one can test for soil contamination associated with prior use. This publication outlines appropriate testing procedures for soil contamination and recommends best gardening practices for working in urban soils.
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Turfgrass is an important component of many landscapes. Research has shown that landscapes support diverse, abundant, and intact bee communities in New York, California, and Ohio. In fact, the abundance and diversity of bees visiting home landscapes have been observed to approach, and even exceed, numbers in nearby natural and/or agricultural systems. If the turfgrass has been treated or is being treated with insecticides, the pollinators can be exposed directly or indirectly to the insecticides on the weeds. This can cause lethal or sublethal effects on these pollinators. The guidelines in this publication will reduce insecticide exposure to pollinators as they seek nectar and pollen from plants around lawns.
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