Summer’s end often means that spring’s colorful annuals have started to fade, but the end of Georgia’s growing season also means it’s time to debut the University of Georgia Trial Gardens’ annual Classic City Award winners. These awards represent plants that thrived during the punishing conditions of a Georgia summer.

As part of an irrigation efficiency study by University of Georgia Cooperative Extension, a 29-person team of social scientists, agricultural economists, climatologists, agricultural engineers and UGA Extension agents from the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences is studying agricultural irrigation in order to increase the water-use efficiency in row crops common to southern Georgia.

School gardens are gaining momentum because they help teachers meet science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics (STEAM) education requirements, according to Becky Griffin, community and school garden coordinator for University of Georgia Cooperative Extension.

Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue met with a group of select Georgia 4-H’ers on Friday, Oct. 6, in recognition of National 4-H Week, held Oct. 2-6. Perdue and the students toured the 4-H exhibits at the Georgia National Fair in Perry, Georgia, the former Georgia governor’s hometown. He also heard presentations from three Georgia 4-H’ers: Amelia Day of Houston County, Angel Austin of Ben Hill County and Evie Woodward of Coffee County.

University of Georgia natural resource economist Craig Landry will use his portion of a $1.5 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to study how the economy and the environment are affected when humans and coastal regions commingle. The four-year project is a team effort with researchers from Colorado, North Carolina and Ohio.

While there is no hard-and-fast method to determining the exact number of deer in a county or state, current population estimates are coming in at just over 1 million animals. Ultimately, the habitat quality in a particular area limits the number of deer hunters may see.

Six million students across America participate in 4-H and, of those, more than 170,000 call Georgia home. To raise awareness of the state’s largest youth development organization, the week of Oct. 1-7 has been declared National 4-H Week.

‘NuMex Easter’ peppers are small, compact plants that reach up to 12 inches tall and as wide, but they load up with more colorful peppers than you would ever imagine for that size of a plant. They make great border plants for the traditional landscape and will dazzle in herb or tropical gardens.

Earlier this spring, representatives for former first lady Rosalynn Carter sought help from the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. UGA Cooperative Extension’s Master Gardener Extension Volunteers, who are trained to help UGA Extension staff deliver research-based information about gardening and related topics to the public, began work on the project.