Many lawnmowers, string trimmers, leaf blowers, and other lawn and garden equipment with small engines were inundated during the flooding from hurricanes Katrina and Rita. In many cases, that equipment can be salvaged.

Pine straw makes an excellent mulch and is much in demand for landscaping. If you own some land with pine trees, you can easily rake your own pine straw.

(Distributed 08/11/10) A hot and wetter-than-normal summer has lead to an increase in the major disease problem on crape myrtles in south Louisiana, says LSU AgCenter horticulturist Allen Owings.

(Distributed 08/10/10) The LSU AgCenter will unveil the first of a series of Louisiana Super Plants in October, according to Regina Bracy, resident coordinator at the AgCenter’s Hammond Research Station.

Depending on the type of ditch or trench you need and the size of the job, you have many choices of available tools. All of the do-it-yourself methods involve hard work, but some are not as hard as others.

If you grow a vegetable garden, you probably get tired of bending over placing seeds in a furrow. Perhaps you are also tired of making the planting furrow and then covering it over and tamping. If so, you might be interested in one of the garden seeders on the market.

Garden tools will last longer if we take good care of them, but it can be a real bother to do so. A simple trick will make it much easier for you to keep your shovels, hoes, trowels, etc. clean and protected.

Electric tools eliminate the fire hazards associated with gasoline, but introduce the hazard of electric shock or electrocution. There are some steps you can take to improve the safety of electric tools.

Plans are provided to allow you to build a hydraulic lift boom to mount on a category II or category III-N 3-point hitch.

A dirt scoop is a handy attachment for small tractors. It will allow you to dig, move, and dump small quantities of soil, gravel, sand, or other materials much easier than you can do with a shovel and wheelbarrow and much less expensively than with a front-end loader on your tractor.