University of Georgia

As fall begins to settle in, host Walter Reeves gets busy
putting the flower garden to bed on “Gardening in
Georgia” Oct. 22 on Georgia Public Broadcasting.

“Gardening in Georgia” is produced by GPB and the University of
Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. It’s
televised each Saturday at 12:30 and 7 p.m.

On this week’s show, Reeves visits the Biltmore Estate in
Asheville, N.C. There, he helps horticulture director Parker
Andes dig elephant ear corms. As they work, others are pulling up
faded annuals and preparing beds for fall all around them.

UGA horticulture professor emeritus Wayne McLaurin then shows
Reeves how to examine compost to make sure everything has been
digested. He describes a homemade screen he uses to sift finished
compost from larger particles that need to stay longer in the
pile. For more on mulching, see the UGA publication, “Composting
and Mulching.”

Finally, Reeves shows how to dig up the tubers of dahlias with a
garden fork and dust any wounds with sulfur. He packs the roots
in a plastic tub filled with perlite. Then he keeps the tub in a
cool spot until planting time next spring.