All the Dirt on Gardening

Applications or apps for smartphones are ubiquitous and now there are hundreds of them for growers, gardeners and horticulturists.   Dr.Saraswat   Dharmendra Saraswat, asst professor and Extension engineer for biological and agricultural engineering at U. Arkansas developed a site where you can search for smartphone apps. Go to the link below * select type (Apple ios, Android, Windows 7, Blackberry) * price you are willing to pay for the app (free to more than $3.99) * topic of interest (drop down menu topics from agriculture to weeds) The link to Saraswat's Geospatial Technologies is http://baegrisk.ddns.uark.edu/geospatial/ At that link, click on Geospatial Resources When that window opens, click on Calculator and Tools Scroll down to Smart Phone Apps Search Tool or follow this link if if works for you http://baegrisk.ddns.uark.edu/geospatial/smartPhoneSearch.aspx Most categories have only a few apps in them but they look like they were sele...

Too Much Rain Causes Gardeners Pain Weeds, insects and diseases are enough to make a gardener sigh. This year, rain is causing our problems. Fortunately, gardeners are optimists. We will do what needs to be done to save what we can and replant some of the rest. What cannot be salvaged or replanted we will try again next year. Plant roots smother if they are in standing water long enough so move plants away from standing water, or create a line of drainage along the root line. Plant leaf or foliage diseases are caused by fungi that reproduce and thrive in wet conditions. Beth Phelps, University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension services said the most important activity for a gardener when we have cool wet spring weather is to go look at your plants every day. "Some disease problems favor hot dry weather and others thrive in cool wet weather," Phelps said. "By the time a plant is covered with powdery mildew or blight it is too late." According to Phelps, powdery milde...