by Mary Salinas | Jan 27, 2016
So often, we are searching for research-based information to solve our gardening questions but the search engine turns up all sorts of sites that we may or may not know and trust. There is now a better way to search for reliable gardening information from trusted universities. The University of Florida IFAS Center for Public Issues Education just announced on January 22, 2016 a custom search engine for Extension service publications. Many top land-grant universities are participating in this project to bring you facts sheets, news releases and other publications that are relevant and science-based.
This valuable tool is not just for gardening information but for any topic that you would expect to be addressed by a university or Extension such as oysters, healthy living and raising chickens.
I have used it a few times to test it out and it works marvelously! Try it yourself!
by Mary Salinas | Aug 19, 2015
When you know that your lawn needs an application of fertilizer, herbicide, insecticide or fungicide, the question becomes how much to buy and put down. For these products, success stems from applying the right amount, not too much or too little. The label on those products always tells the consumer how many square feet of lawn can be treated, but how do you figure that out?
You could always do it the old-fashioned way with measuring tape and a calculator, estimating the angles and the areas of those curvy, irregular flower beds. This method takes a bit of time and you will still wonder about the accuracy of your final numbers.
Here’s an easier, and more accurate way to do it!
Sod Solutions, Inc. offers an online tool that is easy to use and very accurate. Enter your address and GPS locates the aerial view of your property. Create an overlay by plotting points and the square footage is automatically calculated. The instructions under ‘How to Use the Calculator’ are very clear and makes this tool so easy and convenient to use.
For more information on lawn care topics:
Gardening Solutions: Lawns
by Blake Thaxton | Jun 10, 2014
In this age of tablets, smart phones, and whatever they come up with next, even the gardener can benefit from new technology. Although gardening and landscaping to beautify our surroundings is a way to connect with the past, there are many new tools that are ready to help! Here are a few web sites and phone apps that may prove useful to the gardener.
Sod Solutions has made it easy to know how much sod you need to order by using a mapping system to create overlays that measure square footage. Measuring square footage can prove tough for irregularly shaped beds or turf lawns. This website can help measure accurately so one can also apply the correct amount of herbicides, pesticide, or fertilizer. The website can be difficult for the technology challenged among us. An easy solution is to find anyone under the age of 15 and they should be able to help!
The Smartirrigation Turf app is designed to help homeowners with automatic irrigation systems in scheduling their watering times correctly. This app takes everything into account from soil type to local weather conditions. For example, you set a watering schedule for Zone X of 15 minutes every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Then, it does not rain for an extended period of time. Because your lawn does not get the supplemental rain that was predicted, the app may tell the home owner to change the setting to 25 minutes. To read more about using the app correctly, click on the link above.
Other apps that might prove useful are:
- NCSU Lawn Care App – An App by North Carolina State University all about lawn care.
- SoilWeb for Iphone – Produced by The California Soil Resource Lab that will tell you what kind of soil you are standing on.
- Leaf Snap – Developed by Columbia University, University of Maryland, and Smithonian Institution. The app uses visual recognition software to identify plants by taking pictures of its leaves.
