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Gardening
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Newer stories | Older stories Tony Bertauski
AP HeadlinesHeadlinesThis standby in the landscape hard to killSunday, Aug. 31, 2008We went to Hooters. Let me back up. This past weekend we saw two great horned owls in our backyard. They were perched 29 feet up a dead tree, staring down at us. They were magnificent. I know it's a bit of a stretch, but isn't it odd we ended up at Hooters this weekend, too? I've never been to Hooters. Read story. Torture time for plants in containersSunday, Aug. 17, 2008Dracula was real. Seriously. He was no vampire but a sadistic Wallachian prince known as Vlad the Impaler. His surname was Dracul, son of the devil. Myths were loosely based on his impaling exploits, as well as those of another nut named Countess Elizabeth Bathory, who liked to bath in human blood to keep her good looks. Read story. This family of (garden) pests has worn out its welcomeSunday, Aug. 3, 2008Three days. That's the limit that family should visit. By the end of three days, you all had fun, still love each other and are sad to leave. Compare that with a seven-day trip. By then, your mother-in-law is giving you parenting advice, your sister is painting the bathroom sink with toothpaste and it's obvious no one knows how to turn off a light or shut the front door. Read story. Organic optionsSunday, July 20, 2008'Natural' does not always mean safer. When I was 14, I spent the summer working in soybean fields. We were given hooks fastened to the end of wooden poles. The hooks were rusty with a lethally sharpened edge. Read story. Drafting a team for fantasy horticultureSunday, May 25, 2008I'm a fantasy baseball geek. Fantasy baseball is where you get together with your baseball nerd buddies and draft Major League Baseball players to a team. Based on their hitting or pitching, you get points. There are win/loss records, standings, playoffs and prize money. Read story. Healthy landscapes still have pestsSunday, May 11, 2008They live! My praying mantises hatched. All 150 of them. I would pass out tiny cigars to celebrate, but most of them promptly died. Very sad. Read story. NATURAL BORN KILLERSSunday, May 4, 2008After drudging through the produce, flour and spaghetti sauce, my brother and I used to think the cereal aisle was like a mini-holiday. We picked out our own box and, if dad was at work, we would pour a bowl as soon as we got home. The chocolaty, sugary, artificially fruity tasting flakes were so good they should've been illegal. I could demolish a box of Fruity Pebbles in one sitting. Read story. Timing key when adding fertilizer to landscapeSunday, April 27, 2008Banana and peanut butter is my snack of choice. What I do is take a bite of banana and follow it with a spoonful of peanut butter. The flavors mix as I chew. At 10 seconds (I don't actually count), I chase it with vanilla soy milk. It has to be timed just right to enhance the flavor. Yesterday, my wife took my glass of vanilla soy milk just as the window of enhancement arrived. I tried to be patient, but the moment was slipping away. Desperately, I shouted, "Timing!" Read story. Spider mites unseen pest of gardenSunday, April 13, 2008I'm boring. You see, I'm reading this fascinating book called "Death by Black Hole," kind of a humor-laced view of astrophysics. I only understand half of it, but I can't help relaying juicy tidbits to my kids. Read story. Mole patrol on hunt to control pestSunday, March 30, 2008Woo escaped, again. She's our hamster. Well, technically she's my daughter's hamster, but you know how that goes. Woo has escaped before. It's not such a big deal since she's furry and cute with a tail much shorter than a rat. But our dogs don't find her cute. They think she's an afternoon snack. The race was on. Read story. New cultivars renewing interest in old plantsSunday, March 16, 2008I went to an Indigo Girls concert a month ago. For starters, this was not a Van Halen crowd. I only knew one song, but it didn't matter. The row in front of us was more than entertaining. They all seemed to really, really like each other in a PG-13 sort of way. Read story. Get early start on preventing summer weedsSunday, March 2, 2008I haven't worn a suit and tie in years. The suit has actually gotten moldy. I bought it 15 years ago, so after sucking in my breath, the pants fit just fine. The jacket fit, too, but were there supposed to be pads in the shoulders? It's an old suit — were shoulder pads out of style? The last thing I wanted to do was attend this event looking like MC Hammer. Read story. A closer (but not too close) look at the ubiquitous cockroachSunday, Feb. 17, 2008My mother-in-law visits from Phoenix. One night, I see her from another part of the house standing on a chair and squirting a bottle at the stove. This goes on for several minutes, so I figure the stove must be really dirty. I go to see what's up. Read story. Lowcountry trees tough as FavreSunday, Feb. 3, 2008I can't wait until Brett Favre retires. You see, I've been a Minnesota Vikings fan all my life, and Favre, quarterback of the Green Bay Packers, has been killing them for years. Read story. Weed out some unwanted 'candidates' this seasonSunday, Jan. 20, 2008Weeds are like politicians. For instance, maybe you like Hillary Clinton's stance on the Iraq war, but you don't like the way she does her hair. Or maybe you don't agree with Fred Thompson's position on gun control, but you think he rocked in "Die Hard 2." Read story. Newer stories | Older stories |
Tony Bertauski, who lives in Summerville, has been sharing his gardening expertise with Post and Courier readers since August 2004. A horticulture instructor at Trident Technical College, he has a master's degree in horticulture from the University of Illinois and a bachelor's degree in plant and soil science from Southern Illinois University. Bertauski is the author of two textbooks, "Plan Graphics for the Landscape Designer" and "Designing the Landscape."
