Savannah Valley District

Sunny Summer Weather

Glen Payne, Beaufort County Urban Horticulture Agent and Master Gardener Coordinator      Sunny summer weather is something that makes every day a little brighter than the one before. So, we take the rainy days with the sunshine, stillness with the pleasant breezes, dryness with lots of humidity that can help us with our skin complexion […]

What’s Blooming in July?

Christiana Huss, Urban Horticulture Agent and Master Gardener Coordinator July is the season of heat advisories and high humidity. It can be difficult to find the motivation to venture outside and garden. But insects have different ideas of a good time. Bees, butterflies, beetles, and flies are busy taking advantage of summer blooms. Here, I’ll […]

It’s Time to Make Fall Gardening Plans

Marion Barnes, Senior County Extension Agent – Clemson University With temperatures in the mid to high 90’s and the high humidity levels that is so common of the summer months in the low country, planning a fall garden may not be the minds of many home gardeners. As spring planted vegetables mature and production begins […]

Quenching the Thirst: Fueling Pecan Trees for a Better Harvest

Anna Sara Hill, Horticulture Extension Agent Of all the fruit and nut trees you can grow in the backyard, pecan trees are among the thirstiest. Producing a healthy crop of high-quality pecans requires an enormous amount of water, especially during the growing season. From the time nuts are set until they are fully developed, pecan […]

Don’t Let Your Guard Down This Summer!

Zachary Snipes, Assistant Program Team Leader-Horticulture, Area Horticulture Agent The summer is upon us, and it is hot and humid in the garden. The joys of spring gardening and the fulfillment of a summer harvest have passed.  Most gardens by this time of year are overgrown with weeds, full of dying plants, and void of […]

“Nuts About Production” Pecan Meeting Report

Anna Sara Hill, Extension Horticulture Agent Anna Sara Hill and Brianna Naumuk hosted a statewide pecan production meeting entitled “Nuts About Production” in Columbia, SC on February 25, 2026. The invited speakers were the UGA Pecan team, led by Lenny Wells (PhD), the leading pecan research specialist in the southeast. The team included Apurba Barman […]

Cucurbit Production Meeting- Post Meeting Report

Anna Sara Hill, Extension Horticulture Agent The Clemson Cooperative Extension held a cucurbit production meeting at the Edisto Research and Education Center on February 5, 2026 in partnership with the SC Watermelon Association. The meeting was entitled “Cultivating Solutions for SC Cucurbit Growers” and covered topics including management of manganese toxicity in cucurbits, weed control […]

Is It Best to Direct Seed or Transplant a Garden? 

Anna Sara Hill, Extension Horticulture Agent Have you ever planted seeds in your garden and had them germinate slowly, unevenly, or not at all? What about when a heavy rain comes a few days after direct seeding and the seeds float? These incidents can be frustrating after all that time and effort you put into […]

Urban Horticulture Updates: New Agent Announcement & Course Enrollment

Christiana Huss, Urban Horticulture Agent and Master Gardener Coordinator Please welcome Christiana Huss as the new Urban Horticulture agent and Master Gardener Coordinator for Charleston, Berkeley, and Dorchester Counties. Christiana will be teaching the Master Gardener course this Fall to train the next class of horticulture volunteers. Applications will begin in May of 2026. If […]

Ready, Set, Grow

Glen Payne, Urban Horticulture Agent, Beaufort County Getting started with well-aerated, pathogen- and weed-free soil will help seeds germinate and grow into healthy plants. https://hgic.clemson.edu/factsheet/starting-seeds-indoors/ Avoid starting seedlings in garden soil as it may not be sterile or drain well, causing seeds to dampen off due to excess moisture and leading to disease. Recycled egg […]