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PAGE 2A PICKENS COUNTY PROGRESS THURSDAY. APRIL 1.2021
Transform your brown thumb
into a green thumb this year
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By Dee Boggus
Pickens Master Gardener
Can’t seem to keep a
newly planted flower bed
thriving for even a short
while? Your flower beds
packed with more weeds than
flowers? Not sure there is any
difference between the flow
ers and the weeds? The term
“green thumb” (as defined by
dictionary.com) means hav
ing an “exceptional aptitude
for gardening or growing
plants successfully.”
With a little planning,
preparation, and practice you
too can become a successful,
happy gardener. Here are
some clues to transform that
brown thumb to green (with
out magic)!
• Start slow. Master Gar
deners are often called upon
to diagnose gardening prob
lems. Among ourselves we
have a seldom mentioned
category of gardening trouble
shooting called “death by
driveway.” To put it bluntly,
too many plants were bought
without planning and prepa
ration.
Oh, and did I mention that
the homeowner also forgot he
was going away on vacation
in a few days? The poor
plants sat by the driveway for
weeks - unattended, thereby
dying of neglect. (Much as I
hate to admit, even I have
been guilty of death by drive
way more than once as a gar
dener.) It is so easy to admire
all the beautiful plants avail
able at a nursery while at the
same time completely over
estimating the time it takes to
install them properly. It may
be exciting to dream of all the
gorgeous flowers in your fu
ture landscape but slow and
steady wins any race in gar
den endeavors. Starting out
with a few easy to maintain
plants and a plan will save
time, energy, money, and
frustration.
Planning should always
come first. When planning a
garden, it is important to un
derstand that plants need nu
trients, water, and sun in
order to thrive. Foremost,
plants get all their nutrients
from the soil, so make sure
your planting bed is ready by
soil testing and preparation.
Before making any pur
chases, remove all unwanted
plant growth (including
weeds or grass) from the
planting area and loosen the
dirt. Some plants grow well
in our clay soil without
amendments, but others may
need a richer growing envi
ronment.
• Test your soil - You can
test your soil in advance
using a tester kit from the
Pickens County Extension
Office.
This will help to deter
mine if and what your soil is
lacking, and the amounts of
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Purple cone flowers and blackberry lilies in the author’s garden. Pick up wonderful plants
of all kinds at the “Home Grown Plant Sale” on Saturday, May 8 in Lee Newton Park.
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amendments might be
needed. Work any amend
ments into your existing soil.
Using bagged soil in leu of
natural soil is never recom
mended as your existing soil
is chock full of micronutri
ents, minerals, and small
creatures that are all neces
sary for planting success. (I
like to plant native plants and
flowers whenever possible,
as I know they are already ac
climatized to the soil charac
teristics of my area.)
• Water sources - Sec
ondly, you must consider
what kind of water condi
tions exist currently in your
garden. If planting in moist
low-lying areas, you might
not need to supplementally
water. (If I purchase plants
that need frequent watering, I
always try to locate them in a
moist area or near a water
source.) It has been my expe
rience as a MG that many
problems we are called on to
solve by beginning gardeners
residt from over (not under)
watering. If your soil seems
to be average (neither moist
nor dry) then decide what
source of additional watering
you can occasionally pro
vide.
Most of the clay soil
around our area will hold a
reasonable amount of mois
ture until fall heat and
drought rolls around. (It al
ways amazes me how a clay
soil can turn into something
that mostly resembles a brick
in such a short amount of
time.) Soil amendments,
proximity to a water source,
and planting native or
drought tolerant varieties will
all help with this issue. (I also
do a lot of spring planting be
cause my clay soil is soft and
diggable after winter frosts.)
• Sun lovers and Shade
seekers - Finally, most plants
are resilient and want to
grow, but planting sun loving
crops in shady areas is a dis
aster waiting to happen. Fidl
sun is the term used for any
area that receives a minimum
of 6 hours of direct sunshine
per day. (and this means
bright, not dappled sun!)
Partial sun or partial shade
means an area that is in direct
sunlight for less than 6 hours,
especially if that light is
morning light. In our hot and
humid area, morning sun is
much less stressfid to plants
than afternoon sun. Partial
sun/shade can also include
areas with 6 hours of dappled
sunlight. Fidl shade consists
of only indirect light. Before
you buy any plants, observe
your prospective planting
areas several times during the
day, taking note of how much
sun touches the bed. Make
sure the plants you buy
match your sun supply or you
will waste time and money.
In summary, gardening is
a skill that does come with
practice, and hopefidly my
tips will help guide you
through your gardening jour
ney. You will be amazed at
how green that thumb of
yours becomes with a little
practice and knowledge!
(Just remember that your gar
den is a natural environment
filled with native creatures
and your garden plants might
not look as perfect as those
from the floral isle of a big
box store.)
For those of you searching
for local and native plants,
Pickens County Master Gar
deners are holding a “Home
town -Home Grown Plant
Sale” on Saturday, May 8
from 7:30 a.m. to noon in
the Veterans Memorial
parking lot. Call 706-253-
8840, e-mail
ugel227@uga.edu or pick-
ensmg@tds.net or visit
http:// extension, uga. edu/ cou
nty-offices/pickens.html for
more information about this
event
Professional Women donate
to Youth Leadership
The Professional Women of Pickens County presented a donation of $500 to Youth
Leadership. Funds donated were from the efforts of PWPC and sponsoring businesses of
the 2020 seminar hosted by PWPC. Even though the seminar had to be cancelled due to
the pandemic, PWPC leadership team thanks those businesses for their continued support
of helping to assist the Youth Leadership program. PWPC and Youth Leadership are both
programs of Pickens County Chamber of Commerce.
Pictured L-R: Sally Stenger, PWPC secretary; Amberle Godfrey, chamber president &
CEO; Angie Jones and Cheryl Messner, Youth Leadership co-chairs; Sheri Crowe, PWPC
president; and Kelly Stover, PWPC president-elect. Not pictured is Samantha Green,
PWPC past president.
*1
It’s that time of year again!
April is the Great American Cleanup!
Roadside Trash Pickup • Adopt-A-Road • Tire Recycling
Adopt-A-Road
Sign up with KPB to adopt any
available road in the county to
help keep Pickens beautiful!
Teamwork divides the task and multiplies the success!
visit KeepPickensBeautiful.org for more information
The Great American Cleanup is a
national beautification effort
in partnership with Keep America Beautiful
KEEP AMERICA
BEAUTIFUL
WISHING ALL
OF YOU AVERY
HAPPY EASTER.
The season represents a very
important day for Christians here
locally as well as around the world.
All of us here at Community Bank
of Pickens County are hoping you
have a wonderful and blessed day
with your friends and family.
T* °f Tic fans
r/ /vAY _ County
MAIN OFFICE: 15 Sammy McGhee Blvd. • Jasper, GA 30143
COVE ROAD OFFICE: 65 Cove Road • Jasper, GA 30143
(706) 253-9600 • www.cbopc.com
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FDICUJ