Is there a bird in the shed?

Wrens are famous for going where
you do NOT want them.

Did you suddenly find that a bird has gotten in the shed? Or your porch? Garage? The netting over your blueberries?

The first thing to do is Don't Panic!! The poor bird just wants OUT but has become confused and can't find its way out.

I've dealt with birds in all these situations and the solution is the same every time. It isn't always a quick process but it always works.

Provide an opening for the bird to fly out and herd it there. Birds (as well as all wild animals) have a fear circle. You want to get on the other side of the bird's fear circle and to make it fly away from you. No need to actually swat with a broom. If you do need to use a broom to get the bird to fly down, just put it behind the bird and make a gentle motion.

If the bird is in the shed or a garage:
1) Turn the lights out
2) Open the door as wide as possible
3) Get on the other side of the bird and

  ZOOM! it will fly out the opening with light

If the bird is on a screened porch or inside the netting over your blueberries:
1) Open the door on the porch wide. Or create an opening in the netting over the blueberries.
2) Get on the other side of the bird.                             
3) Encourage the bird to go out.

                                                        ZOOM! it will fly out the opening

Now I will admit it is much trickier getting a bird out of the blueberry enclosure than it is getting it out of the porch, shed or garage but it can be done with no harm caused to the bird besides panic because it was trapped.

Good luck if you find yourself in this situation!

Vicki - Bed 41

Disease and Insect Control, Part 2

Do not use a glass where
small children will have
access to it.!!

There are several important things to remember when using chemicals.

READ THE LABEL! Use ONLY as much as you need. More is not better.

Use dedicated measuring containers/utensils.

Use proper personal protection - at a bare minimum, use disposable gloves!

Avoid standing where the chemical will drift onto you or you will inhale it with every breath.  If you have a windsock, watch what direction the wind is blowing. Windsock and when to spray

Wash your skin with soap and water when you are finished.

Below is the instruction sheet we use for mixing and using chemicals at the Community Garden.

***********************************************************

Procedure and Directions on how much to mix and spray

Caution: Do not spray if rain is expected within 4 hours. Spraying without having time for the chemical to bond with the leaves means you have to respray. AzaMax stays on better than Actinovate or Serenade as they are water soluble. If it only rains a little bit you are fine. 5 days of rain or a down pour means you should respray for continued protection.  Also water your plants BEFORE spraying any chemicals.

You can combine the pesticide ( Azamax) with1 fungicide (Actinovate  or  Serenade) so that you spray for bugs and disease at the same time. Only use both chemicals if you need both. If you only need one (fungicide or pesticide), only use the one chemical.

Spray every 7 to 10 days depending on how much rain we have and what kind of problems you are having.

                                                       ****************

AzaMax (pesticide to use on plants):

               bean beetles, cucumber beetles, squash bugs, etc.
  Shake concentrate container before measuring out

1/2 gallon - use 1 1/2 teaspoons of concentrate

1 Quart    - use 3/4th  teaspoon of concentrate
  if you can't beat back the bugs, ask about what amount to increase to
                                                                             
Actinovate (fungicide for fungus/disease control for plants)
             powdery mildew, tomato blight, viruses, curly top, etc
1/2 gallon - use  1/2 teaspoon of powdered concentrate
1 quart     - use  1/4 teaspoon of powdered concentrate
   if disease pressure is  high, ask about what amount to use

Serenade ( another fungicide chemical for fungus/disease control for plants)

            powdery mildew, tomato blight, viruses, curly top, etc
Shake concentrate container before measuring out

1/2 gallon - use 2 ounces of concentrate        

1 quart     - use 1 ounce of concentrate
   if disease pressure is high, ask about what amount to use
                                                                 
WEAR GLOVES!! Even when mixing the chemical. Definitely while spraying.

Watch the windsock when spraying to make sure you are upwind from the chemical you are spraying.

Put water in the container and then add the concentrate. Make sure it gets completely mixed/dissolved before using.

Shake very well to mix.

Then pour your chemical solution in one of the half gallon sprayers but only up to the round indented spots towards the top of the sprayer. If you go above those indentions, when you put the sprayer in, the chemical will overflow.

Tighten sprayer and pump to create pressure.  (If pressure doesn’t build, try tightening the sprayer in the bottle again). Test to see if you need to adjust the nozzle before spraying your plants. You want a spray, not a stream.

Once you are finished spraying your plants, you need to empty and rinse out everything you used. Sprayer, mixing bottle/jug, measuring spoons and/or measuring cup.  Be sure to pump clean water through the sprayer to clean out that part as well as the sprayer bottle.

Return everything to the proper shelf in the shed so the next person can find everything.

Thanks! 

Vicki - Bed 41

Disease and Insect Control, Part 1

The one thing I hate about vegetable gardening in Georgia is fighting disease and bugs in the summer. If you are growing your vegetables at home, you won't have nearly the disease and bug pressure that we do at the Community Garden.

If you use the proper chemical at the correct time and use the correct amount you will increase your success.

Of course, you will have even better success if you use IPM (Integrated Pest Management) techniques. Healthy soil. Healthy plants  Watch for bugs. Hand pick bugs when there are only a few. When the numbers get too high, then use the correct pesticide but not too much.

At the Community garden, we have an organic garden and use Serenade or Actinovate for plant diseases and AzaMax for our pesticide. All these products can be ordered through Amazon. Early in the season the prices are much better than during peak demand times.  Pike's does carry a small bottle of Serenade that is premixed and ready to spray. This is economical if you have a small garden or while your plants are small. If you have a large garden, it is more economical to get the large bottle of concentrate.

The sprayer we use is a Flo Master from Home Depot. It holds
a half gallon of mixed chemical and is easy to use.

 As for disease in the garden...well....it is easy for it to spread like wildfire so a good offense is an excellent defense. With as much rain as we've been having, conditions are ripe for all the different blights that affect tomatoes as well as powdery mildew attacking the cucumbers and squashes.

Since the chemicals we use are water soluble,  they wash off after frequent rains or if the rain was especially heavy. The AzaMax does stay a bit longer than the Serenade and Actinovate. Generally, spraying every 7 to 10 days is the recommended time frame. But if you spray on Day 1 and it then rains for 5 days straight, you should spray again as all your chemical has washed off.

Part Two will have the  mixing instructions that we use at the garden.

Vicki - Bed 41

Tool Safety and Garden Reminders

Just a few reminders for the garden

Trash those wild onions! Composting works but don't tempt fate with those wild onions.

Prevent tripping Hazards

Clean and put up any tools and equipment you use.

       Thanks!

What a big mess of wild onions someone removed when they weeded.
Only thing is...wild onions need to be trashed, not composted.



Uh oh.....this shovel is all dirty....
 

Now it is nicely washed and ready to hang up on the wall of the shed.
Less to sweep out of the shed next time it is swept.


  

Hmmm...someone forgot to put the tools up and sweep out the wheelbarrow.
 



An accident waiting to happen
 

Safety conscious - no one will trip over these tools.



Why have a windsock?

Besides being fun and pretty, our windsock does have a purpose. I don't know about you, but I like to know which way the wind is blowing before  I start to spray Azamax, compost/worm tea, Actinovate, fishy stuff or mist my plants with the hose.

Spraying in a gale force wind means you end up spraying your neighbors plants instead of yours. Now it is easy to stay up wind just by keeping an eye on the windsock!

Way too windy to spray anything! Even watering with the hose
will get you wet.

Starting to get better but still too windy.



Much better! Anything sprayed will
go on the plants now.

Tool Safety

I'm always reminded each season that there is a right way and a wrong way to temporarily leave my tools sitting around. Usually I only manage to trip but there have been a time or two I've managed to knock myself in the head with a tool. Small tools with tines can be just as dangerous as tools with long handles.

Never leave a tool with the tines up!

 If you step on it you can

• A: Knock yourself in the head with the handle when it flies up
• B: Leave claw marks on your legs
• C: End up with a hole in your foot

This is better because you won't step on the tines

but you can still trip over the handle.

Much better! You are less likely to trip over it

 when it is propped up like this.