Symptoms of Heat Exhaustion and Heat Stroke

The past few weeks have been extremely hot and unfortunately, we still have quite a few more months to go before temperatures are reliably cooler. BJ sent me this great graphic illustration which lists the signs of heat exhaustion and heat stroke.

Be sure to study the graphic.  To help prevent heat exhaustion (which can frequently lead to heat stroke) remember to drink LOTS of water and take rest breaks in the shade.  Wear a hat or use an umbrella to create a large circle of shade for your body if you have to go to the garden in the middle of the day. (If you have to be outside for a long time - use a beach umbrella stuck in the ground.)

Personally, I try to stay out of the full sun as much as possible because I know it wipes me out.  I've luckily never had heat stroke but I have suffered heat exhaustion before. The worst part is that I couldn't tolerate any heat for the rest of that year.

                  Vicki

End of May

Just to give us some hope that winter will go away, here are a couple of pictures from May 30th, 2013 at the garden. Now true, it was a WARM winter last year so everything started growing faster. But soon, we'll see similar sights at the garden.

We might even be wishing it for it to be cooler too!

Things Are Heating Up At Green Meadows!

Hey Everyone,

Well one week of nice weather and we probably all want to get out the bikinis and speedos.  It's not quite that warm yet, so keep those clothes on for a while longer.

As if I needed an excuse to run over to the garden, I thought it would be a nice time to take a temperature reading after the warm weather this week and the rain last night.  This would provide an accurate account of just where things stand.

Things are definitely heating up...............................

Soil Temperatures - Spring 2014 - Friday 2/21

All temperatures were taken between 4:15 and 4:30 p.m. on Friday afternoon. The sampling included 20 beds, five from each section.

Of the beds checked, our coolest was number 22 with a temperature of 54.3 degrees Fahrenheit.  As anticipated, this bed would be somewhat cooler in temperature compared to others in that section due to the nice mulch layer of pine bark nuggets.  The bed next-door (number 23) was a full 5 degrees warmer without any evidence of mulch on top of the soil. 

Our warmest bed is number 43 in the process of preparing to improve soil structure.  The temperature in this bed was 64.4 degrees Fahrenheit.  It is too early to tell if one area of the garden is warmer than another as at this point readings are well mixed in each section.  

After some basic math, the garden average at this time is 59.6 degrees Fahrenheit.  In looking at the extended 10-day forecast, they are predicting four nights below freezing with one in the teens next week.  This will take our ground temperatures back a bit.  It will be interesting to see if we are able to hold on to any of the rapid gain from this week. 

Happy Gardening,

Denise, Beds 25 & 29   

Last Night's Rain

Tremendous amount of rain!

Hey Everyone,

We received just under two and one half inches of rain in the gauge last night. 

The garden is extremely beautiful today and the plants all look quite happy!

Happy Gardening,

Denise, Beds 25 & 29

Freeze Warning! Freeze Warning!

If you have baby plants, just put out tender transplants, or even not so tender plants....this post is for YOU! 

Thursday morning there is a freeze warning from 4:00 am until 11:00 am. If you have brand new seedlings you definitely need to cover and fix the cover so it doesn't blow off and expose the tender growth. If those tender plants are exposed they will get frost bite or even get killed.

Freeze Warning(s)

There is a Freeze warning out for Thursday night. More than likely there will be a freeze warning for Fri (low 30), Sat (low 27) and Sun (low 25) nights as well.

Protect your carrots!

Artic Chill Coming

Warning, warning!

If you still have anything that you want to protect, we are going to have another week of very cold temperatures.  Actually, it will be a week of temperatures that will cause the plants whiplash. Pleasantly warm in the middle of the afternoon some days with below freezing temperatures in the dark hours.

Remember that with the high winds the windchill will make it even colder for the plants. If you cover, be sure your cover isn't touching your plants. This will help prevent burned plant parts.

Thursday Feb 14:        High 54,   Low 35
Friday Feb 15:             High 59,   Low 28 - very windy
Saturday Feb 16:        High 41,    Low 24 - very windy
Sunday Feb 17:           High 49,   Low 28 -  just windy
Monday Feb 18:          High 57,   Low 43
Tuesday Feb 19:         High 53,   Low 29
Wednesday Feb 20:   High 54,   Low 35

Beyond Freezing Temps Warning

Here is another HEAD's UP that we are going to have beyond freezing temps for the next few days. The only good thing is that everything is extremely well watered at the garden.  Cover as soon as possible on Thursday to trap as much heat under your frost cover to get through Friday and Saturday.

Friday am - 29 with a high of 38
Saturday am  - 22 with a high of 49
Sunday am - 35 with a high of 55
Monday am - 30 with a high of 54

After Monday morning it looks like we won't have any super cold temperatures for a few days.

Serious COLD Tues AM & Weds AM

Just a heads up that Tuesday morning the low is going to be 26 and Wednesday morning the low is going to be 24. If you have anything the least bit tender it is most likely going to be hit hard. The extremely heavy frost on Saturday morning did damaged most of the lettuce that was still in the garden and this freeze may finish them off.

Rain at the Garden

Lots of rain! Thursday we got 1.2 inches and on Monday we got 1 inch. Yippee.....a total of 2.2 inches of rain! We don't have to worry about watering for the next few days during the current cold spell. What a great Christmas present that is.

                          Vicki

Christmas is coming - with a hard freeze

The totally unseasonal beautiful warm weather is over!  Luckily for us we are having lots of rain this week at the garden so all the plants will be nicely hydrated for the hard freeze that is going to happen over the next few days.

  Fri 21st     low 29, high 45
  Sat 22nd   low 25, high 52
  Sun 23rd  low 30, high 56

Our Christmas present will be no freezing temperatures Mon, Tues, Weds but we will get more rain.

But starting with Thursday the 27th we are back in that cycle of freezy, frosty weather.

 Thurs 27th   low 35, high 48
 Fri 28th        low 28, high 51
 Sat 29th       low 29, high 54
 Sun 30th      low 33, high not announced yet

Subject to change of course! The above predictions are based on what The Weather Channel was saying at 8:30 am Thursday morning. It is best to check frequently if you are planning on putting your frost cover on. Also remember to vent your frost cover if the temperatures are going to be above 50 for very long! This will help prevent disease and heat problems.

http://www.weather.com/weather/tenday/Marietta+GA+USGA0353:1:US
    Easy link to take you to the 10 day forecast for 30064 Marietta Georgia
    (I'm putting this link on the right sidebar of the blog as well)

Just remember that when The Weather Channel shows the high/low for each day the high is for the day indicated, the low is for the NEXT morning! It is sooo easy to get confused and cover too soon or not soon enough.

      Safe Travels and Have a Merry Christmas

                        Vicki

Weather Warning

Thank goodness we got a good rain today. That will help prepare the plants for the cold snap that is coming up.

According to The Weather Channel towards the end of the week we are going to have a little cold snap. You might want to check the weather every day to keep an eye on the temperatures. By the way, they don't post frost warnings on The Weather Channel until around 4:00 pm!

The predicted lows are:
Weds am -  35
Thurs am -  33
Fri am      -  30

  When in doubt...cover up. And when cold is predicted ALWAYS water well!

                 Vicki

Cold Weather Warning

Hello Everyone!
   I hope you had a great Thanksgiving and are ready for the weather to shift into a more Christmas like pattern. The shift begins Friday night!

Sat - low of 31
Sun - low of 26
Mon - low of 31

Then the temps go back up and the next "low low" will be on Thursday (32).

The important thing you have to remember is that frost can and will form at 34 or 35 degrees, especially in a garden that is so exposed like the Community Garden. The trees are far enough away they don't prevent the air from settling and frost developing.

The key to preventing cold damage to your vegetables (if you aren't going to use a row cover) is to keep everything well watered. Plants can tolerate more cold when they have been watered well.

If you have a chance, be sure and water thoroughly (not a sprinkle and run) on Friday but if you can't on Friday you definitely need to water extra well on Saturday!

If you want to look at the link Denise posted a few weeks back about the frost tolerance of vegetables, you can find it in this post on the blog.

                     Frost-tolerance-of-vegetables

Good luck everyone!

Vicki

Frost & Temperature Warning

Hey everyone!

They say the temperature is going to go down to 28 tonight (Thursday Nov 9). If you still have anything tender you might want to try covering it up. When I checked the hourly temperatures on the Weather Channel website, it said it was going to hit 32 at 4 am and not go above freezing again until 8 am Friday morning.  Even 4 hours will do a lot of damage to tender, cold sensitive plants. I'd better dash up to the garden and put a 2nd layer on my bed.

    Vicki