University of Georgia Mountain Research and Education Center

Congratulations to one of our own, Becky Griffin. She works tirelessly supporting agriculture and was recognized by the Georgia Association of Extension!

When you drive past GMREC and see our tractors working the fields, think of Dwayne Patterson. Dwayne is our amazing mechanic. He works on all of our equipment and keeps us running!

In recognition of Earth Day and to support the GA Apple industry of Georgia, today we planted 550 trees. These trees will be used for an irrigation study best practices for water conservation that maximize the health and productivity of the orchard. Thank you Ashley Hoppers and Jacob Williams for coming to help!

It is Earth Week 2021. What will you do to celebrate?

And just one more! Bees and apple blossoms, the perfect pair!

Today Extension agents gained experience in apple production, apple fruit history and tree grafting. It was great to host these talented agents at GMREC.

Happy Arbor Day, Georgia! This is a wonderful time of year to plant trees in our area. Planting this early gives the trees time to put down roots before the cool air gives way to the heat of the summer. What are you planting??

There are 7 Research and Education Centers in Georgia. All of which address the agricultural challenges in their areas. This video gives a brief overview of these facilities and the commodities we support. GMREC is the northernmost REC- and our favorite! https://youtu.be/gws_CDRoOOY

We hope to host in-person programs again one day but until then check out some of our virtual content at gamountain.caes.uga.edu. This is the perfect time to break out those loppers and prune. Orchard Manager Dustin Rogers and UC ANR Agent Jacob Williams show the basics of apple tree pruning. https://vimeo.com/507999599

Did you know that there is a seed library at the Fannin County library?

Tomorrow (Friday) at 10 a.m. our bees at GMREC are the focus of the Facebook Live program "In the Apiary." I will be getting in the bees and being interviewed about beekeeping in the mountains. If you or anyone you know is interested look for https://www.facebook.com/ugaextensionpikecounty At 10:00!

A big thank you to all of our volunteers. Today was their first day back in the gardens and it was so nice to see everyone. If you would like to see the GMREC Ethno-botanical gardens you can come by Mon-Fri 8-4. Come see how great natives can look in your landscape.

I am pleased to announce that we are now open to the public. Visitors may tour the gardens at this time but we ask that you maintain social distancing and wear a mask when going indoors. The gardens are maintained by a wonderful group of volunteers and would not be possible without the support of our own Community Council. Come see beautiful native plants in a landscape setting.

GMREC's relationship with the University of North Georgia is a special one! https://newswire.caes.uga.edu/story.html?storyid=8455&rss

Unfortunately we were not able to host several hundred kindergartners this year due to the pandemic so we did the next best thing- virtual! Below is a link to our virtual Johnny Appleseed Day, a tradition we have had for 20+ years. I hope you enjoy this and if you haven't seen our program then maybe this will give you some idea of our outreach component. Thank you Beck Griffin and the Community Council for all of your support with this project! https://vimeo.com/showcase/7454472

From the Apple Bees Apiary at GMREC, Happy National Honey Bee Day! Enjoy some local honey and thank a bee!

We are proud to support graduate research at GMREC. Take a look at this video of Rachel Smith and her project on Monarda.

Tonight we said goodbye to a few thousand bees as Becky helped Jack and Wesley from the Honey Bee Lab load up hives for transport back to Athens. Moving bees at night means less foragers will get left behind. Becky reported only 2 stings while Jack and Wesley did the heavy lifting!

This event will feature the Apple Bees Apiary at GMREC! Join us to go in the hives.

The University of Georgia series In the Apiary comes to GMREC! The crew will be broadcasting on Facebook Live (UGA Extension Pike County page) on September 18th as we go into a hive at our Apple Bees apiary. We will be talking about the challenges of managing bees in our mountains and getting the hives ready for winter. Please mark your calendars and join us for this special event.

Let's make sure our mountain gardens are represented!

Today UGA AG agents Ashley Hoppers and Josh Fuder were joined by some of us at GMREC to check on the apple grafts for the Legacy Apple Project. This is a passion project for many folks and could provide information on heirloom apple varieties for North Georgia.