Browse Environment Stories - Page 4

While we had an early start to the growing season, it was followed by colder conditions in March that slowed things down quite a bit. Since that time, we have seen periods of very warm weather alternating with much cooler conditions. As soil temperatures rise and fall, it has been tough for farmers to know when to plant. The big player in the weather the rest of this growing season and next winter is the rapidly developing El Niño.

With so many options available, it can be challenging to know what plants to add to your home garden that will look beautiful and help the environment. University of Georgia Cooperative Extension and the State Botanical Garden of Georgia are helping gardeners by selecting four Georgia Pollinator Plants of the Year.

As temperatures continue to drop and many pollinators fade from view, you may be wondering what happens to bees during the cold season. Do they hibernate? Are they hiding in plain sight? How a bee spends the winter depends on the species of bee, but the insects have an arsenal of strategies to survive the chill, including burrowing, gathering in tight clusters, or hiding in flower stems or leaf piles.

Over the last few decades, water use-related disagreements between Georgia and its surrounding states have held the spotlight in the Southeast. To address the need for conservation, the Agricultural Water Efficiency Team (AgWET) was created to train University of Georgia Cooperative Extension agents to transfer advanced irrigation scheduling knowledge to growers through a unique one-on-one educational approach.

Whether you’re a home gardener or a production farmer, Georgia’s mild climate allows for a variety of fruits and vegetables to be grown throughout the year. However, with erratic weather events and broad temperature swings during the winter and early spring months, having a few cold protection resources on hand can help you weather the unpredictability.

With an October freeze followed by a relatively balmy December capped with several consecutive days of subfreezing temperatures, Georgia weather has experienced a few unexpected weather events from autumn into winter. Temperatures at both ends of the spectrum can affect the development of fruit crops during the dormant season, including blueberries and peaches, which are economically important crops in Georgia.

When a swarm of honeybees takes up residence in your house, you may not know who to call to help safely relocate the pollinators and preserve your home in the process. Thanks to a new certification program through the Georgia Department of Agriculture called Honeybee Control and Removal, it will be easier for residents to locate licensed professionals to handle the job.

The National Weather Service Climate Prediction Center announced that bitterly cold conditions during the holiday season are likely. Northern areas of the Southeast region are the most likely to experience the wintry temperatures, but even Florida may experience freezing weather.

Widening interest in efforts to support pollinators has led to a name change for the Great Georgia Pollinator Census, which will become the Great Southeast Pollinator Census on Dec. 1. The census began as a statewide community science initiative in Georgia in August 2019, created and coordinated by Becky Griffin, University of Georgia Cooperative Extension community and school garden coordinator.

No line of research is too big or small for Lewis Bartlett — literally. From mammoth extinctions to the western honey bee (Apis mellifera), he’s published on a wide range of topics during and since university. But bees have had his attention since childhood.