yardgranny6's Blog

yardgranny6's posts about: SC gardening

SC gardening
Sep 19, 2007 | 12:52 PM PST
Tags: SC gardening , Extreme Weather

Thought I would share with you an article by our Extension Agent for our county. In case you have any questions about how 'great' it is to garden in the south - take note.

Extreme Gardening in the Pee Dee Well, folks this has been a gardening year to put in the record books. First, we had a warm winter until Easter when the bottom- feel-out and many plants were damaged by the cold. Then we had a moist but hot spring followed by an extreme hot bone dry summer. Finally, in the middle of September we are getting a little relief from the heat and drought. The only problem is this is fairly normal for S.C. weather. Extremes are our norm. They call extreme sports X- Sports, this is X-Gardening. Many northerners move here soon to find S.C. is in a totally different gardening world. In the north, you throw out a few seeds and it is like the “Jack and the Beanstalk Story” with everything growing to the sky and producing and abundance of flowers and fruit. I have seen many avid gardeners head back north with their horticultural pride abased murmuring to themselves that S.C. is full of insects, weeds, and disease (Oh My). Truthfully, because of these extremes the Pee Dee is one of the most difficult areas in the country to grow plants. However, many southerners and transplanted northerners have learned to appreciate, manipulate, and love our southern growing environment. Personally, I love having something growing twelve months out of the year, quick growing plants, and having a long growing season without frost. But gardening is not easy in S.C. You've got to get your hands dirty, sweat a little, get down on your knees, plus have a little plant knowledge. Gardening is the manipulation of our biological environment to meet our wants and needs to form a “Garden.” Albert Einstein once looked at a stream bed and wondered if he wanted to be a biologist. He came to conclusion that it was too complicated so he developed the “Theory of Relativity.” However, his son Albert Jr. to outdo his father became a biologist and actually worked at the Agricultural Experiment Station at Clemson University. The “Moral of the Story” is this you must get out there amongst the insects, weeds, and disease to be a “Good Gardener” in S.C. Window pane gardening does not work here. It takes a hands- on approach. Fertilizer, pesticide, and irrigation systems must be adjusted to meet our environmental extremes.

Still feel the envy of living in the south. I have lived in West Virginia, Pittsburgh, PA, El Paso Tx, Huntsville, AL, Atlanta, GA and being in South Carolina is the best of them all. More to Come Later

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