I just visited a home with a beautiful specimen tree growing in the backyard. It was prized by the homeowner because it exhibited unusual rough fissured bark, highly branched limbs, dangling yellow flower spikes, and lustrous-dark-green-heartshaped leaves. During the fall, its small clusters of threelobed fruit split to reveal unusual popcorn-like seed.

   I tried to explain to the homeowner this tree (Chinese tallow tree or popcorn tree) is listed as a "nonnative invasive plant" by the USDA Forest Service, but as sometimes happens to us all, he was blinded by beauty: Many nonnative invasive plants have certain desirable characteristics but owners beware. Because of their invasive nature these plants multiply rapidly, outcompete native plants and are trying to take over the world.

   Do not be deceived by the lacy foliage of the mimosa tree, the showy flowers of the princess tree (paulownia), the sweet smelling flowers and beautiful fall colors of the Chinaberry tree, the silvery foliage of the eleagnus, the bright-red fall color of the burning bush, or the beautifulsweet-smelling flowers of the privet. Also, let's overlook the beautiful flowers and fruit of the honeysuckles, the red glistening fruit of the nandina, the natural appeal of the multiflora rose, the scarlet seed of the bittersweet, the cannonball shaped fruit of the air potato (yam), the scrambling nature and violet flowers of the perlwinkle, the lustrous leaves of the English ivy, and last but not least the lavender waterfalls of the wisterias.

   Having these plants is like having a lion by the tail or like I say, a three-legged dog. My three-legged dog incident started one Sunday after church. A friend of my wife's was out of town and asked us to let her dog(s) out. As I opened the back door of this upscale home, two dogs scampered out. One was a dust-mop type dog, which I expected. The other was kind of a scraggly threelegged dog which seemed a little out of place. Mavbe thev felt sorry for the dog and loved its three legs.

   When I called the dogs back inside, the dust-mop dog scampered right back inside, but the three-legged dog ran down the neighborhood. Have I lost the dog they loved?

   Therefore, I chased the dog all over the neighborhood, finally got him pinned, dragged him all the way back, stuck him inside, and locked the door. Thank goodness he was three-legged, or I still would be chasing him.

   The short of it was, it was not their dog. They had left their garage door up a few inches with the door inside cracked, and this three-legged dog snuck inside. He messed up their entire house, and I assisted.

   The moral of the story is: Please do not assist these nonnative invasive plants to mess up our forests.

   Centipede is a low maintenance grass.  It was developed to flourish in situations where it would be ignored or left alone, except when it comes to mowing. Many homeowners simply over-maintain centipede which leads to its demise.  I have had hundreds of phone calls where they begin by telling me how beautiful, thick, and lush their centipede lawn was for four, five, or maybe six years and now there is nothing but dirt.  Therefore many folks call centipede a poor man’s grass, a lazy man’s grass, a golfer’s grass, or my favorite a redneck grass.

If you fertilize your grass enough to keep it darker green than your lawn mower but it stills turns bright yellow in the spring (Iron deficiency) then you might have a redneck grass.

   If your lawn is cushiony, soft, and feels like a lush carpet and then it starts to dying then you might have a redneck grass.

   If you plant bag after bag of that expensive seed and water it daily to keep those tiny plants alive but it bears quicker than your balding husband then you might have a redneck grass.

   If your irrigation water bill is higher than your child’s tuition and your lawn still gets bad grades then you might have a redneck grass.

   If your lawn prefers a good long drink once a week to a sip everyday then you might have a redneck grass.

   If your lawn prefers a shower in the wee hours of the morning before sun-up then you might have a redneck grass.

   If your kid loses his football in the tall grass of your front yard and  your grass loses the game because it prefers to be cut short (1 to 1.5 inches) you might have a redneck grass.

   If your lawn prefers not to be wakened in the early morning by a lawn mower spreading disease (Large Patch) then you might have a redneck grass.

   If you love to give your lawn a crew-cut with your thousand horsepower zero-turn mower faster than a qualifying pole lap and your grass wins the race then you might have a redneck grass.

   If you prefer setting in your porch swing, drinking a cold ice tea, and watching Down Home with Tony & Amanda on the SC Channel to  irrigating or fertilizing your lawn and your grass appreciates the relaxation then you might have a redneck grass.

   Finally, if you spend more time babying your lawn than you do watching Making-it-Grow on ETV and it still dies then you might have  a redneck grass.

Clemson University Cooperative Extension Service offers its programs to people of all ages, regardless of race, color, sex, religion, national origin, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, marital or family status and is an equal opportunity employer.  If you enjoy gardening and using flowers and plants in decorations, please watch Down Home with Tony and Amanda on Thursday nights at 8:00 pm on the SC Channel (ETV's digital station). If you don't get that channel, you can go to www.mig.org, select streaming video, and scroll down to where our shows are archived.

    Because of that late frost, thank goodness I waited until last Saturday to plant my vegetable garden.  I’ve seen some yards that were fertilized too early turn totally black from frost damage.  I hope the turf is strong enough to overcome such damage.  Again, fertilizing anything too early is always a bad idea.  
   This year I am trying something new for my garden -- no-till. I’m going no-till because my garden is near my house (only ten feet away), on a slope, and I don’t want any erosion.  So this year I simply sprayed the area with glyphosate (Round-up) and the next day troweled-in my seed and transplants.  I was amazed at how much softer and moister the soil was under an area I had used newspapers and leaves as mulch last season.  Be sure I will mulch the entire area this year.  Periodically I will report in this article on my no-till experience.  I am sure there will some negatives but I hope mostly positives to report as the season goes on.
   I hope my tomatoes grow well because I can’t wait for my first home-grown “mater.”  I planted a few good standard plants like Celebrity, Betterboy, and Big Beef.  However, just in case tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV) is bad this year, I also planted some TSWV resistant varieties like Amelia, Southern Star, Red Defender, Crista, and Bella Rosa.  Some of these varieties have shipping tomato characteristics and taste, but, like my daddy used to say, “A home- grown mater beats any store-bought mater.”   And if TSWV is bad this year the only home-grown mater I’ll get will be from a TSWV resistant variety.

   Maybe I got my love of gardening from my dad; however, a lot of things have changed since Dad’s ten-acre garden.  First of all, Dad had to plant on bottom land and count on rainfall, but I have trickle irrigation in my garden.  With trickle you don’t wet the leaves of the crop; therefore, you don’t encourage disease, you can water anytime day or night, and you put exactly the amount of water the plants needs.  Also, you can add fertilizer through the irrigation water, called fertigation.  This allows you to give the perfect environment for plant growth and crop yield.
   Next, Dad spread things over ten acres, but there is no wasted space in my garden.   Bare spots allow weeds to grow and can promote erosion and leaching of nutrients.  Every gardening guru seems to favor a certain gardening technique such as square-foot, relay, inter-planting, succession or vertical gardening,  I suggest using a combination of all techniques; however, whatever gardening technique you choose, the important concept to remember is conservation.  Conserve light, space, water, time, and nutrients.  In other words, don’t allow anything to be wasted.  The older I get the main resource I don’t want to waste is Tony (myself).
   Finally, Dad and Momma had plenty of planters, hoers, picker and eaters.  Were they better, stricter or meaner parents than those of today’s times, I don’t know?  We were tired but happier, healthier, and less stressed in those days.  In your planning, always consider who will be doing the work and eating the fruits.

   Clemson University Cooperative Extension Service offers its programs to people of all ages, regardless of race, color, sex, religion, national origin, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, marital or family status and is an equal opportunity employer

  Give your neighbor something to talk about. First of all, just before dark stomp down the mole tunnels in your yard. Next, early the next morning put on your fluffy house coat and bedroom slippers. Next, arm yourself with a flashlight and a pitchfork. Finally, before sun-up run around your yard shining your flashlight and harpooning moles that are tunneling through your yard. Even though this may not improve your reputation, it may reduce the mole population and problems in your yard.  

  Since in today’s society most homes are now the wives castle, luckily many of us men still have our yards as our domain.Therefore, many folks hate for anything to invade their yard, I guess this is why I have so many calls about moles or voles.

  First of all, moles are not in the rodent family but are small insect eating mammals (Scapanus spp.). Moles live almost entirely underground in a vast network of interconnecting tunnels. They frequently create shallow tunnels just below the surface where they capture worms, insects and other invertebrates. Surface feeding burrows appear as ridges that the mole pushes up by its way through the soil. When you see tunnels in your yard you have moles. However, many permanent tunnels are deeper underground and are usually about 2 inches in diameter and 8 to 12 inches below the surface. Actually moles do little damage to your yard. The greatest problem caused by moles is the mounds and ridges resulting from their burrowing are unsightly, disfiguring, and cause scalping of the grass when it is mowed. Also, they can dislodge plants and cause their roots to dry.
  Trapping is the most universally applicable and dependable method of mole control.  Several different kinds of mole traps are available at hardware stores, nurseries, or directly from the manufacturer.  Toxic baits are also an alternative. Today new baits, that supposedly look and taste like earthworms, have been proven effective.  However, I have not and will not taste them personally. Always wear rubber gloves when touching the traps and baits so the moles don’t sense your presence. Always follow all label directions when using baits and manufacturer instructions when using traps. Some other techniques like having a good cat or a Jack Russell dog have worked. However, many other techniques including some which may have be suggested to you by a well meaning neighbor have proved ineffective in stopping mole damage or in driving moles from an area.

  Finally, voles are mouse-like rodents that are herbivores (plant eaters). They will eat just about any plant part within their reach which is limited by the facts that they live most of their lives below ground and are poor climbers. Roots, trucks, and stems beware. These are the devastating, dastardly, devours of our beloved trees and shrubs. Voles also form a network of tunnels but these tunnels are usually hidden beneath protective layers of mulch, grass, ground covers, and other vegetation. To determine if you have voles stick your hand into the soil around plants to find the tunnels.

  Trapping is also a very effective control for voles. However, to catch voles bait a regular mouse trap with peanut butter and slice of apple. Place the trap near a vole exit hole, under something like a black pot to keep out all light, and never touch it or its surroundings without rubber gloves. Also, baiting is an excellent way to control voles and those peanut shaped baits many folks waste on moles will actually work on voles. Remember to keep away from animals and other pets.

   The dogwood petals are blowing in the wind, the azaleas flowers are melting away, and even worse the Southern Plant and Flower Festival has  ended.
   We buy a lot of plants in S.C.  In fact we have made ornamental plantsthe second largest cash crop in the state.  However, selecting the right plant is not as easy as it may seem.  First of all, know the
environmental conditions of the spot where you are going to plant your
new found treasure.  Is the spot sunny, shady, dry, wet, irrigated, or
sandy? Next, if you are unfamiliar with the plant, you need to ask the
basic questions of when, where, and how the plant will grow.  Find out
if the mature plant be tall, short, broad, disease-prone, insect-prone,
drought tolerate, and other characteristics. The combination of these
steps will help you complete a basic gardening decision; putting the
right plant in the right place.  If you have unanswered questions, the
Florence County Master Gardeners have a booth in the center of the shed. We will be there to answer all your plant questions and let you to sign up to take the Master Gardener Class.  If you bring us a sample of your problem, it will make answering your question easier.
   Now let's consider a horse of a different color.  The Pee Dee Region of
the Clemson University Cooperative Extension Service will conduct a
five-week Equine Management Seminar.  This program will start on
Thursday, May 15, 2008 and will continue to meet on Thursday evenings
for a five-week period ending on June 12, 2008.  Each program will be
6:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. and will be held at the Pee Dee Research and
Education Center located at 2200 Pocket Road in Florence.  In Florence,
take Exit 169 off I-95 or Irby St to TV Road.  Go north on TV Road until
it dead ends into Pocket Road. Turn left; the Pee Dee Research and
Education Center is one mile on the right near the Florence/Darlington
County line. .              
   The program will cover several important aspects of equine production including forage systems, hay selection, nutrition, waste management, health, and much more.  The cost for the full 5-week seminar is $75.00 which includes a notebook containing copies of the presentation and fact sheets related to each topic.   This program
should prove beneficial to new and experienced horse owners alike. Space is limited so please respond quickly.  Applications are available at
your local Clemson Extension Office in Florence our office is located at
2685 S. Irby St.  For more specific information, please contact Lee Van
Vlake at 843-661-4800, Ex. 125 or rii@clemson.edu.
   Clemson University Cooperative Extension Service offers its
programs to people of all ages, regardless of race, color, sex,
religion, national origin, disability, political beliefs, sexual
orientation, marital or family status and is an equal opportunity
employer.  If you enjoy gardening and using flowers and plants in
decorations, please watch Down Home with Tony and Amanda on Thursday
nights at 8:00 p.m. on the SC Channel (ETV's digital station). If you
don't get that channel, you can go to www.mig.org, select streaming
video, and scroll down to where our shows are archived.