Recyling Opportunity

Keep Cobb Beautiful Celebrates America Recycles Day

Keep Cobb Beautiful will be celebrating America Recycles Day 9 a.m.-1 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 15. There will be two locations in Cobb to do your recycling: Jim Miller Park and Sewell Park. Here is a list of the items that will be accepted:
Electronic Recycling - Electronics accepted at no charge include: personal computers, monitors, servers, routers, switches, network boxes, printers, circuit boards, floppy drives, UPSs, keyboards, testing equipment, modems, cell phones, telephones, typewriters, fax machines, copiers, LCD monitors, VCRs, DVD players, stereos, cassette players, cameras, camcorders, alarm clocks, game systems, and projectors. Please remove all cords and cables from devices and place in a separate bag. There is a $10.00 recycling fee for televisions (cash only).
Textile Collection - Shoes, clothing and other textiles accepted.
Document Shredding - Free, secure, on-site shredding of household documents. Paper products only. Not accepted: CDs, DVDs, floppy disks, cardboard, and any large binders with metal rings/clips.
Latex Paint Recycling - There is a $2.00 per gallon offset disposal fee (cash only). No oil or alkyd paints allowed. Paints must be in original, clearly-labeled, non-leaking containers and cannot be mixed with anything, including other paint.
Battery Recycling - Car, UPS backup, laptop, power tool, cell phone and household batteries accepted. Please tape over the battery connectors.
Appliances - Stoves, refrigerators, microwaves, washers, dryers, water heaters, mixers, ovens, blenders, freezers and toasters.
Metals - Steel, aluminum, cast iron, car parts and wheels.
Lawn Equipment - Lawn mowers, weed eaters, chain saws, lawn edgers. Fuels must be removed and a hole created in the tanks.

For more information, call 770-528-1135 or see the KCB website.

 

Frost Protection 101

We are so fortunate to live in an area where we can grow vegetables year round with minimal effort. Protecting your vegetables from frost allows you to extend the harvest well into winter, and for those who are diligent in their efforts, carry it right on through to next spring.

Green Meadows
Early November 2013!

We typically see two types of frost in the garden:

1. Advective frost - is the condition where a sudden cold front sweeps into the area with gusty winds and immense cloud cover.  The layer of cold air is so thick and dense; it can actually reach as much as a mile high. Rarely will we see a first frost event under these conditions, but it can happen. 
2. Radiation frost - is the type of frost event most common to our area and the one we mainly think of.  The nights have little to no wind, skies are clear, and the stars are simply beautiful for gazing.  

Both types of frosts can be very damaging to plant cells and tissues.

Frost protection works as an insulator to protect plants from the harmful effects of the event.  The protection is valuable to the veggie gardener in two different ways.

1. It protects plants from the effects of frost on their leaf surfaces that frequently leads to damage within the cell and tissue structures.  This is most often damage that is beyond repair, resulting in permanent injury at growth points, wilting, and potential death to the vegetable.
2. The protection also works as an insulator to hold on to your ground temperatures by creating a micro-climate within your bed.  Keeping the ground temperatures up allows your plants to continue their growth and production cycles for an extended period.  All plants will eventually reach a point of hibernation and overwinter.  However, the more growth that the plant has, the greater harvest a gardener can achieve through this period of rest.

Green Meadows Healthy Garden Tips for Success During Frost Events:

1. Harvest early - warm season vegetables are the most sensitive to frost events and the time has come to go ahead and harvest what you have left.  The texture and flavor in these crops will dramatically fall off with an extended cold period even if you cover.
2. Know the cold tolerance of your plants - all cool weather vegetables have different tolerances to frost and cold weather.  As an example, many of the brassica's are at their peak flavor when you allow frost to reach them, however, if you have any peas producing; it is wise to harvest. While the pea plants are very tolerant to cold and mild frost events, the pods are not.  Cell structures can burst within the pod itself and ruin the texture and flavor.  Vicki and I have learned this lesson the hard way several times. 
3. Irrigate before the frost event - irrigating before the frost event arrives builds much needed moisture into the soil.  Moist soil will hold the heat as much as four times greater than dry soil according to several published university studies.  One study even shows that the increased air temperature, right above the soil level, was still five degrees warmer than dry soil at 6:00 am the next morning when watered the evening prior.  This can be the difference between having plants with damage and having plants without.  For those that are covering, it is important to water late the day of the event, but still allow the leaves to dry before erecting your frost protection.
4. Cover your plants - using frost blankets can provide several degrees of additional warmth to plants.  While the covers can be laid directly on the plants, this method provides the least amount of protection and the greatest risk of still receiving injury from the cold.  Any material can really be used to cover your plants, although you will find your best protection comes from woven fabrics. Plastics should be avoided if at all possible as they tend to do more harm than good unless using those specifically geared for vegetable growing.  Remember to vent your structures in order to keep plants from overheating when the temperatures start to rise above 45 - 50 degrees. 
5. Irrigate during the event - this is actually a trick that Mike would use now and then if he were unable to get over and cover in the evening.  Rinsing the frost off early in the morning before it has a chance to penetrate the plant's cell structures is a method that some tend to use.  This can work for very light frosts in the 32-degree range if done right before sunrise.  Rinsing the plants with water during the event keeps their internal temperatures from freezing and prevents the cold damage to cell structure and tissues.  However, with that being said, frosts occurring at lower temperatures would need several applications throughout the night or a system of overhead irrigation that you would see among professional growers.        

Mr. Wesley checking his cover!

Regardless of what method you choose for covering your plants, not all frost protection is created equal and much depends on how you have conditioned your plants to accept the cold when it arrives.  A nice way to gauge what you are purchasing is to look at the temperature rating of the product.  While those with only a two to four degree rating have a place in the early fall and late spring, they are not heavy enough to carry plants through the entire winter unless using many multiple layers.  Vicki and I both use a combination of very light covers purchased from Pike's and the garden quilts available through Gardener's Supply.  Between the two products, we can pretty much handle anything the weather seems to throw at us.

If you need any help preparing for the cold spell, please don't hesitate to ask.  I am attaching this link as a very basic article from Botanical Interests that shows the frost tolerance of many vegetables.  It gives you a brief overview of what can tolerate what temperature alongside some other very important factors.

https://botanicalinterests.com/articles/view/26/Frost-Tolerance-of-Vegetables - link to the frost tolerance of vegetables from Botanical Interests.

Happy Gardening,

Denise, Beds 25 & 29

Pansy vs Viola - Who won....

Violas - notice how covered up in flowers they were!

I just love all the colors and "faces" on pansies and I'm always seduced by them because they are so gorgeous. Violas (relatives of pansies) are small, cute and perky however, they don't have nearly as many different color/face combinations.  Because I can never choose just pansies, I end up getting both.

Unbeknownst to me, I conducted the perfect experiment with pansies and violas this past winter.  I planted them in the sections of the border where the sunflowers had been. The soil was amended the same way and they were fertilized the same. Instead of combining pansies and violas in the same bed, I put pansies in one bed and violas in another bed.


Pansies - notice how they didn't fill the bed out.

What I learned is that pansies are not as Polar Vortex hardy as the violas. Three days after the 1st Polar Vortex froze everything solid, the violas started blooming again. The pansies - nope.  It took weeks before they began blooming again and new leaves started appearing.  In fact just about the time they started to recover, the 1st snow storm hit and knocked them back again. The 2nd snow storm didn't do them any good either.

As for the violas, even though they were completely covered by snow each time, it didn't phase them. As soon as the snow melted off they started blooming again. Even after being covered in snow for a couple of days!

It was amazing how the differences between the pansies and violas became even more pronounced as the months went by. The viola plants were lush and full of beautiful flowers. On the other hand, well....the pansy plants eventually began blooming again but they weren't happy and lush. There were beautiful flowers but it wasn't an OH WOW, beautiful look. Another interesting observation is that violas tend to drop their old flowers faster than the pansies do.

My vow to myself was "Next year I'm not going to be seduced by the colors found in pansies that aren't found in violas." So far, I've managed to keep my vow - though there have been some really pretty pansies......

Vicki
Bed 41

Squirrels and Frost go hand in hand

Our favorite pest, i.e. those dratted squirrels, are becoming more active. They hadn't done much digging in the garden up in September. But now that it is October, I have noticed quite a few holes in the middle of beautiful patches of brand new seedlings.

Squirrel Deterrent......sort of

I've been watching the squirrels sauntering through the garden, looking for the perfect place to carefully dig a hole and place the treasured nut they were holding in their mouth.  Even though it is a nuisance to move the netting every time I work in my bed, I'm glad I went ahead did it preventatively.  At least this way I don't come to the garden and get instantly aggravated at what was destroyed nor do I have to keep replanting!

The chilly temperatures Sunday morning jump started my thought processes - when is the 1st frost. Or the question really should be, when is the 1st frost usually (but not always).

The answer - October 31st. Though it can be sooner than the 31st and as late as Nov 15th. A light frost doesn't cause as much damage as a hard freeze. This year I'm probably going to just let nature take its course but I will fight the good fight for awhile with the lettuce since I just got it going.

If you plan to use a frost cover now is the time to think about it, acquire your supplies and construct your frame.  And while you are at it, do a trial run to see if you have everything you need to anchor the cover! There is nothing worse than putting it together and then getting a call or email that your frost cover has come untethered and is flapping in the wind or the whole thing has collapsed.

If you are interested in protecting your bed from the dratted squirrels or your plants from frost and freezes, here are links to posts I've done in the past.

http://greenmeadowscommunitygarden.blogspot.com/2012/11/simplest-frost-blanketrow-cover-to-use.html

http://greenmeadowscommunitygarden.blogspot.com/2012/12/bed-41-vickis-frost-cover-method.html

http://greenmeadowscommunitygarden.blogspot.com/2012/11/denises-frost-cover-tall-sturdy-any.html

Good luck in the squirrel wars!

Vicki
Bed 41 

More Classes from Cobb County Extension

Moving Toward Organics in the Vegetable Garden

Saturday, October 18, 10:30 – 11:30 a.m. Free and open to the public. Learn what organic gardening and farming really means and steps you can take to have a more environmentally friendly garden.  Presented by Cooperative Extension horticulture staff member Amy Whitney at the community garden at Chestnut Ridge Christian Church, 2663 Johnson Ferry Rd, Marietta, GA, 30062.

Gifts from the Kitchen

Tuesday, October 28, 6:00-8:30 p.m. Learn to use a water bath canner to make holiday gifts from your kitchen. Taught by Family and Consumer Sciences Agent Cindee Sweda at UGA Extension/Cobb County, second floor, 678 South Cobb Drive, Marietta, GA, 30060. $10 fee; preregistration required before Oct. 17; space is limited. For additional information and to preregister, call 770-528-4070.

Worm Food!

Yummy, delicious smelling worm food!

This is the time of year where there is great competition to acquire enough coffee grounds and filters to work into the soil to feed the worms. Just like people have a favorite fishing hole, I'm not saying where my favorite shop is!

The last time I walked in, I was carrying an orange 5 gallon Home Depot bucket to use to collect the used coffee. I have to admit, I did attract a few odd looks while standing in line with that orange bucket.

My turn came and I was about to explain to the young lady what I wanted and why, when her co-worker just grinned and held out her hands. She knew why I was there!

My worms are going to be in hog heaven now. Luckily I love the smell of coffee because when I was planting my carrot seeds Saturday night, the smell was wafting everywhere.  All thanks to my favorite coffee shop and the very nice employees that work there.

Vicki - Bed 41

Bye Bye Rosemary

This fall when I renovated my bed, I finally took out the rosemary.  I knew it was big and taking up way more space than it should. However, I had NO idea how big it was until we put it in the wheelbarrow! (Thanks Jack for helping me get it out and giving it a good home.)

This plant had never really been babied, protected, or anything. It just got water and had never had a hair cut. Not even when it looked like it was going to die after the Polar Vortex hit it in February.

It is amazing how much "empty" space is in my bed now! Between removing it and the lavender, I got a 4 foot by 2 foot swath back - which is 1/4 of my bed. Ooopss.....

The moral to this story is - be ruthless! Remove any plant when it gets too big for the tiny space it is in, no matter how fond of it you are.

Vicki - Bed 41