Center for Urban Agriculture – Page 27 – Empowering Georgia through UGA Extension

Taking Quality Photos of Your Georgia Garden

November 30, 2015August 5, 2015 by Becky Griffin

We all need to be able to take quality photos of our gardens. Whether you are promoting your garden to the school administration, bragging on your garden plots to the town council, or applying for grant monies a well taken photo tells the story of your garden.

Today we are excited to have Jeff Martin as a guest blogger. Jeff has been taking photographs for over 30 years and has considerable experience photographing nature and gardens. Today he is going to give us some advice for taking quality pictures of our gardens. Jeff says….

The Best Camera Is the One That’s With You.

I have always liked this quote from Chase Jarvis. It is simple, to the point, and 100% true. Any camera that you have with you, is better than your Nikon sitting on a shelf at home. And what camera so you always have with you? The one that is on your cell phone.

Some will wrongly assume that that cell phone cameras can’t take very good photos. They may feel that their phone is mainly used to take selfies, and photos of their half-eaten dinner. The cell phone camera is a powerful tool, made more potent by the fact that is always ready to capture the moments in time that you want to save.

Taking Quality Photos of Your Georgia Garden

I have always put photos into 2 categories: 1. Photos that show what you saw. 2. Photos that show what you felt. If you are only interested in showing what you saw, just point the camera and and take the photo. This will be good enough in most cases. But if you want to take better photos, photos that are worth a second look, you can do many things to make them more interesting to view.

If, for instance, you are trying to photograph a small garden, just changing the height that you are holding the camera can make a huge difference on how your photos look. Most photos are taken from a height of 5-6′. Climb a ladder to take a photo, or place the camera as close to the ground as possible. Either of these changes will give your a photo a look that many other photos lack. Be sure to look for the most interesting plants, and keep your shadow out of the photos.

Keep in mind that digital photos are free to take, so always experiment! You might be surprised at how good they come out.

If you have any specific photography questions for Jeff, please leave them in the comments section. You can follow Jeff on Instagram at jeffmartin2510.

Jeff is not a community or school gardener but his dream community garden plot would include cantaloupe, lima beans, and potatoes. Sounds good to me!

Happy Gardening!

The Urban Vegetable Garden at Gwinnett Tech

November 30, 2015July 22, 2015 by Becky Griffin

Tony Gobert is so passionate and enthusiastic about Gwinnett Tech’s vegetable garden and the school’s Certificate in Sustainable Urban Agriculture that his face lights up talking about it. On a recent tour I saw a garden FULL of plants. It is urban, intensive agriculture at its best. This garden has a lot to teach community and school gardeners. Tony was happy to tell me all about it.

Located along Sugarloaf Parkway in Gwinnett County, Georgia, the garden is laid out to work with nature. The plant rows are laid out to follow the contour of the land. Before the vegetable garden, the land had a history of large runoff problems after rain storms. Tony and his team turned this negative into a positive by controlling the flow of the water so that it provided irrigation to the vegetable plants. “Work with what you have,” Tony says.

Being part of an educational garden, there are experiments everywhere. Which creates a better plant in the long run, potatoes started in the greenhouse or potatoes started by slips in the ground? What is the

Urban Vegetable Garden at Gwinnett Tech — Tony Gobert uncovers a very large radish.

best way to use worm castings? The students can answer these questions because they have tested their hypotheses by planting and growing – not just reading a textbook. The students are also trying their hands at growing fruit trees in different ways and growing different types of alliums. There are even banana plants. Why not?

This is a food production garden. The produce goes to Gwinnett Tech’s popular culinary program. The agriculture students learn about what it takes to supply a client as well as other lessons in ag economics. They are taught seed saving techniques and also how to make money during the slower season of the garden.

In many areas there are multi-crop plantings. For example, a Winesap apple tree is grown using a unique tree trellis. Underneath are blackberry bushes. During the cool-season months when there are no leaves on the tree, onions are planted just outside the blackberry bushes.

This is true intensive gardening which can translate well in a community garden setting. Peanuts are planted between rows of corn. The peanut plants help fix nitrogen for the nitrogen-loving corn. Blueberry bushes are planted in the middle of the strawberry patch. Their roots use different soil zones. Also, crop rotation and successive planting are thoughtfully carried out.

Tim Daly, a Gwinnett County Extension Agent, is a fan of the garden. Tim was curious about a squash variety that was advertised to grow very large squash plants. “Daly’s squash” is part of the garden this year. Tony is feeling hopeful they will get a prize winning squash from that plot!

This garden is just getting started. The initial planting was done in April 2014. A pollinator plant strip was added in November 2014. There are plans for 30 raised beds. The program that supports this garden is also just getting started. The certificate program in Sustainable Urban Agriculture was started in 2013. Students are required to take classes in food production, soils, and pest management. Three other courses are required to finish the six course program. Tony is a teacher at heart and he is excited to hear what his first graduates of the program are doing now as well as the plans his current students have. This is a fantastic addition to the urban gardening movement in Georgia!

I hope you can incorporate some of Tony’s intensive multi-planting systems in your own community or school garden plot.

Happy Gardening!

Dealing with Mexican Bean Beetles in Your Georgia Garden

November 30, 2015July 15, 2015 by Becky Griffin

July and August are prime Mexican bean beetle times. They can leave your bean plants looking like lace. Sadly, this is a common occurrence across Georgia during the summer months.

As with any pest, it is best to learn a bit about the biology of the Mexican bean beetle so you can better control the damage.

Adult beetles, which look a bit like lady beetles, overwinter in garden debris. Cleaning out your community or school garden plots could help. Keeping nearby ditches clean could also help.

The beetles emerge in the warm temperatures of spring and look for young beans, soybeans, and lima beans. The adult female will feed on the underside of leaves and will lay 40 or more yellow eggs also on the underside of leaves. Pest scouting needs to include looking at the underside of leaves. If you can catch the pest in the egg stage simply remove the leave and dispose of it away from the garden.

Once eggs hatch the larvae begin eating from the underside of the leaves. They will feed for 2 to 4 weeks and do alot of damage before they pupate on the plant. There are usually 3 to 4 generations per year. If you see just a few larvae, crush them by hand.

From egg to adult takes about a month. Here is a professional photograph of a Mexican bean beetle adult and larva:

For preventative control, try planting your bean crop as early as possible. The Mexican bean beetle likes the very warm temperatures of summer and if you can get a quick maturing bean variety planted early, you may outsmart the pest.

The wasp Pediobius foveolatus is a Mexican bean beetle predator. However, it does not overwinter well here and you would need to purchase these insects – not really worth the investment for a small crop of beans. Adding plants that attract beneficial insects is always a great idea.

Some serious bean gardeners plant a trap crop of beans. Theses are planted to the side of the main garden. When the trap crop beans are under attack, the gardeners destroy those bean plants and the insects. Then the gardeners can put in their main bean crop hoping they have eliminated the Mexican bean beetles in their area.

Other bean enthusiasts use floating row covers so the flying beetle can’t get to the crop. For this to work make sure you don’t have garden debris left under the row cover so you aren’t just trapping the Mexican bean beetles in with your beans!

Once the plants have been seriously infected you can think about chemical control. Contact your local UGA Extension agent if things get that bad in your bean patch. For more information North Carolina State has an informative flyer about the Mexican bean beetle.

Wishing you a Mexican bean beetle free year! Happy Gardening!

Limit Access to Food to Practice Proactive Pest Management

November 30, 2015June 25, 2015 by Willie Chance

Pest Management

Taken from the UGA publication Management of Pest Insects in and Around the Home by Daniel R. Suiter, Brian T. Forschler Lisa M. Ames and E. Richard Hoebeke

The origin and extent of a pest infestation is often associated with one or more conditions that promote the survival and reproduction of that particular pest. Those conditions include:

Favorable temperatures,
Abundant food and water, and
Available shelter or harborage

When pest problems occur there is usually one or more of these requirements readily accessible to the pest.

The preferred living environment for most humans also provides the necessities many pests need to satisfy their life support requirements. Therefore, it is important that homeowners limit pest access to potential sources of food, water, and shelter in and around the home in an effort to keep our personal living space inhospitable to unwanted house pests.

Proactive pest management is a process that begins with identifying the pest and using information on the biology of the offending creature to decide upon a plan of action. The action plan should involve interventions aimed at reducing pest population numbers or the chance for future encounters with that pest.

Proactive pest management interventions will vary from one household or business to the next but there are a few overarching themes worthy of comment. (Editors note: We discuss access to food in this article. For information on other proactive pest management refer to the publication Management of Pest Insects in and Around the Home)

Food

General rules of cleanliness during food preparation, storage and disposal is the logical starting point for helping to resolve and prevent certain pest problems. Denying pests access to food is an important component of making our living environment less hospitable to pests.

Important practices (habits to establish) that may limit insect access to food include, but are not limited to:

Keep food in tightly sealed containers;
Keep bird food in feeders, as rodents may use spilled food as a food source (Figure 1);
Rotate (use) boxed or packaged foods every 1-2 months;
Clean up spills that occur during food preparation or handling;
Do not keep soiled dishes in the sink or dishwasher overnight;
Empty indoor garbage receptacles twice per week, at a minimum;
Clean garbage disposals at least once a week;
Keep outdoor garbage in a tightly sealed container and away from any dwelling entrance;
Rinse recyclable containers prior to recycling;
Store birdseed in a tightly sealed container, preferably outside and away from doors;
Ensure that discarded plant waste is removed twice per week, at a minimum, especially during the summer (Figure 2).

For more information on Proactive Pest Management see Management of Pest Insects in and Around the Home

About the Authors

Daniel Suiter (dsuiter@uga.edu) and Brian Forschler (bfor@uga.edu) are Professors of Entomology, specializing in urban entomology, in the Department of Entomology at the University of Georgia; Suiter is located on the university’s campus in Griffin, while Forschler is on the main campus in Athens, Ga.

Lisa Ames (lames@uga.edu) directs the Homeowner Insect and Weed Diagnostics Laboratory on the UGA Griffin Campus.

Richard Hoebeke, a systematic entomologist, is the associate curator of insects at the Georgia Museum of Natural History on the UGA’s main campus in Athens, Ga (rhoebeke@uga.edu).

Home IPM Workshop planned for August 13

November 30, 2015June 25, 2015 by Willie Chance

UGA Urban Pest Management Program

Home IPM Workshop

Thursday, August 13 ~ UGA-Griffin Campus

Register Now!

Find all info here

Georgia Credit (credit also available in FL, AL, SC, TN)
5 HPC Hours (Cert/Reg)

The registration fee ($75) includes the 1 day workshop, instructional materials, lunch, and refreshments during the course of the workshop.

IPM Workshops are limited to 25 participants, so register early to reserve your spot!

Urban and structural pest management is the protection of property, food, and health from insect and rodent pests commonly found in homes, restaurants, and other businesses. The goal of this workshop is to teach participants how to generate and interpret the information required for effective Integrated Pest Management (IPM) programs.

The IPM Workshop Program addresses the development of critical thinking skills required for pest management professionals to develop an IPM mindset. Workshop programming addresses, through classroom lectures and discussion, on-site demonstrations, identification laboratories, and interactive field activities, such topics as:

Logical components of IPM programs
Inspections: The driving force and cornerstone of the IPM process
Inspection tools and techniques
Decision making – when to treat, not treat, or do nothing
Using trap data in the decision-making process
The role of pesticides in IPM

A Unique Training Opportunity. An insect identification laboratory is part of the workshop. During the laboratory session, participants will see dozens of pest species, and/or signs of their presence, commonly found in and around Georgia’s urban environment.

Completion of the 1-day workshop provides 5 HPC hours (Cert/Reg) and 4 hours credit in Category 35. A “Certificate of Completion” will be awarded at the completion of the workshop.

Find more info here or contact Dr. Daniel Suiter at 770-233-6114.

Georgia’s Arboviral Survey results available in the Georgia Mosquito Control Association newsletter

November 30, 2015June 24, 2015 by Willie Chance

In 2014, Georgia reported 13 human cases of West Nile Virus (WNV), with 1 death. Eleven (84.6%) of the 13 cases experienced WNV neurologic illness (altered mental status, paralysis, encephalitis, and/or meningitis) and 2 (15.3%) were diagnosed with WNV fever.

Survey

See the entire survey in the May edition of DIDEEBYCHA, the newsletter of the Georgia Mosquito Control Association.

A Beautiful and Edible Landscape-A Guest Post by Joshua Fuder

November 30, 2015June 24, 2015 by Becky Griffin

Herbs and shallots among evergreens and annuals.

Many of us have community areas of our gardens. Those spaces can give us an opportunity to show how people can incorporate food crops in a home landscape. This week our guest blogger, Joshua Fuder, gives us some ways to do this. Josh writes:

During a vacation in France last year I had an awakening of sorts in terms of my philosophy on garden design and plant selection. A number of the gardens and public parks that we visited incorporated vegetables like Swiss chard and kale in with annual flower plantings. As an avid gardener and even more avid eater I wondered why I wouldn’t incorporate more vegetables and herbs into more traditional ornamental plantings. I’ve always appreciated the beauty of the edible plants but never considered their value in an ornamental sense.

Gardeners in Georgia might consider incorporating edibles for a number of reasons:

Sun Exposure-Ornamental beds are often the best or only location in homeowners yards that
Rosemary, sage, and shallots among evergreens and annuals.

receive sufficient (at least 6 hours) sunlight for vegetables and herbs.
Convenience-Ornamental plantings are often close to the areas of the yard that we use most so if your edibles are incorporated you may find using fresh ingredients easier. It is also easier to stay on top of weeds and insect issues if you are visiting the area more frequently.
Reduced Grocery Costs – Many edibles, especially herbs can add to your monthly food bills if you buy from grocery stores.
Improved Health – Fresh vegetables are a great source of vitamins and minerals when properly prepared and gardening can be great exercise.

The key to creating a visually appealing edible landscape is the artful combination of annuals and perennials. Most edibles are going to substitute for the use of annuals but there are some options for shrubs, vines, and small trees.

A Beautiful and Edible Landscape — Golden purslane under lilies and dahlias mixed with shallots.

Annual Color: Rainbow chard, purple mustard, kale, lettuce can all add dramatic affect with their foliage and mid-rib color variation. Calendula and nasturtium are both edible flowers that can add color to salads and nasturtium leaves can be used in pesto. Basil comes in many varieties and colors, consider the dwarf boxwood variety to create more formal lines. Taller plants like corn, okra, and Jerusalem artichokes can be planted at the back of a garden to create height and screening.

Groundcover: Thyme, oregano, and savory make great evergreen ground covers. Goldberg Golden Purslane and New Zealand spinach (or tetragonia) have succulent leaves and a sprawling growth habit. Strawberries will also sprawl out and cover an area as well.

Shrubs and Perennials: Blueberries have become a major cash crop in Georgia but are beautiful plants that have spring flowers, summer fruit and fall color. Pomegranate, figs and jujubes are all great plants that grow well in our area. American Hazelnut is deciduous shrub/small tree that grows well in our area. Rosemary is a great addition with its evergreen, needle-like foliage. Garden sage is also evergreen and has a wonderful softness to its leaves like a ‘dusty miller’ or lambs ear.

Edible Vines and Climbers: Structures like arbors and trellises are a great way to add interest in your

garden and there are some great substitutions for the climbing rose or clematis you may have in mind. Muscadines are extremely hardy and have few problems compared to many of the bunch grapes. If you want an annual plant that is easier to control you can consider Malabar spinach which has delicious greens and beautiful red stems. There are all types of beans that will grow rapidly and cover a structure. The Chinese Red Noodle bean will produce one to three foot long burgundy beans that will amaze.

Trees: Apples are well suited for northern Georgia and can maximize a small space with a few espaliered trees. The serviceberry (juneberry) is a great alternative to a crapemyrtle and the birds will love it. Mulberries are delicious and very easy to grow, just make sure they are planted in an area where you won’t mind a mess. ‘Montmorency’ and ‘Balaton’ are varieties of Pie or ‘sour’ cherries that are great small trees that perform well in our area as well.

Joshua Fuder is a UGA Extension agent in Cherokee County, Georgia. Joshua has grown many different types of fruits and vegetables. He grew vanilla, coffee, pineapple, and black pepper while serving as a Peace Corps volunteer in Vanuatu (an island nation in the South Pacific).

Happy Gardening!

Mole Crickets Controlled Best in Late June and Early July!

November 30, 2015June 19, 2015 by Willie Chance

Control Mole Crickets best in Late June and Early July!

Late June through early July is a good time to treat for mole crickets in turf.

How do you know if a lawn has mole crickets?

Unfortunately, it is easier to scout for mole cricket injury earlier in the year. Mole crickets themselves are small and very hard to see in June and July.

Mole crickets tunnel underground, killing roots by feeding and tunneling and also come up to eat the leaves. Attacked grass begins to thin and then disappear. The ground will be softened as the soil is pulverized by the tunneling of the crickets. On bare ground you should see the tunnels, especially a day or so after a rain. Golf course managers can watch for the presence of mole crickets by looking for tunnels in sand traps.

Landscapers and home owners may mistake earthworm castings for mole cricket injury. Earthworms leave piles of granulated soil while mole crickets leave tunnels. Even dying grass is not proof you have mole crickets. Look for the small tunnels and thinning grass.

Use a soap drench to drive mole crickets to the surface where you can see them.

Prior to drenching, the soil should be moist. Irrigate 24 hours before drenching if the soil is dry. Mix one-half to one ounce of dishwashing detergent in a gallon of water. Soak the soil well in affected areas. Mole crickets should come to the surface within a few minutes.

Mole crickets have one generation a year. The adults fly, mate and lay eggs March through early June. Eggs generally hatch in May and June.

Mole crickets are generally younger and smaller in late June and July and much easier to kill.

Areas with signs of adult mole cricket activity in April and May are most likely to have nymphs in July.

Not all turf needs to be treated for mole crickets.

Consider treating turf that has a history of mole cricket problems. Athletic fields that keep their lights on during May and June can be at greater risk because the lights attract the adults.

Dr. Will Hudson’s publication on mole crickets has some great control information and photos.

For pesticide recommendations, see the Pesticide Management Handbook or contact your local Extension agent.

Early treatment is important.

Mole cricket nymphs are small and easy to control in late June and early July. As these insects get larger they will require more chemical and more applications for control. Later chemical treatments may be less effective giving a lower kill rate. As the mole crickets get larger, they also do more damage to turf.

When using insecticides, you can increase control of mole crickets by allowing the soil to dry out for 3 or 4 days and then irrigate thoroughly in the evening. Apply the insecticide the next afternoon. Mole crickets are sensitive to soil moisture and will move down in the ground to find comfortable conditions if the surface is dry. Irrigation will bring them back up to resume feeding the following night, making them easier targets for control.

Remember

Timely treatment is the key to good mole cricket control. Read and follow all label recommendations when using any pesticide.

For more information:

Georgia Turf

Pest Management Handbook (Follow all label recommendations when using any pesticide)

Mole Crickets in Turf

Landscape Alerts Celebrate Their Fifth Year with New Editors!

November 30, 2015June 19, 2015 by Willie Chance

The Landscape Alerts

We are celebrating their fifth year in an online format. Before that, UGA Extension offered this news in other formats since 2005. This marks our tenth year helping the Georgia landscape & turf industry grow!

We are excited to tell you that the Alerts will be getting new editors soon, so look forward to some upgrades. As we move through this transition, you can contact Ellen Bauske or Becky Griffin from the Center for Urban Agriculture if you have questions about the Alerts.

I really enjoyed working with the Landscape Alerts along with my co-workers at the Center for Urban Agriculture and the authors for the Alerts throughout the College of Agricultural Sciences.

Thank you for your continued readership of the Landscape Alerts!

Willie Chance

Online Video Helps Prepare Pesticide Applicators to Pass the Mosquito Control Exam

November 30, 2015June 19, 2015 by Willie Chance

Willie Chance, UGA Center for Urban Agriculture and Elmer Gray, UGA Entomology Department

Mosquito Control is a growing part of the landscape industry. Commercial applicators of mosquito control products need to have pesticide applicator certification in Category 41, Mosquito Control. UGA Entomologist Elmer Gray has recorded an online video to better prepare applicators to take and to pass the Category 41 pesticide exam.

The new online video

Prepare applicators to take the Mosquito Control (Category 41) exam at www.gamosquito.org/training.html

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nwd8MRvgF1k]

Note that the video is a supplemental help to those studying for the exam and is not a replacement for studying the manual! Applicators should order and study the manual before taking the exam.

If the applicator has not already passed the general standards exam through the GA Dept of Ag Pesticide Division, they will also need to order that manual, study and also pass that exam as well.

Find more information on the Georgia Department of Agriculture pesticide division and applicator licenses.

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