Tomato Growing
Just For Fun May 23, 2021
Tomatoes are one of the most common vegetables in home gardens. They are great on a sandwich or eaten like an apple. You can can them and use them in all different recipes. My favorite is a fried green tomato. Tomato growing is rewarding and delicious.
Tomatoes are unique in that there are more tomato varieties out there than other garden plants. That’s because of the multitude of different ways that tomatoes can be used. So when you’re planting tomatoes, start with the end goal in mind. Use a variety that works well for what you want to do with it. Also, take a look at the disease resistance that tomato has in it. This can vary a lot by variety. Disease resistance will give you a serious leg up and give you a lot fewer headaches as the season goes on.
You’ll want to plant in an area that gets 6-8 hours of sunlight and has a soil pH of 6.2-6.8. Tomatoes can grow roots all along their stem. So when planting transplants plant them down to the first set of leaves. Plant them 2 feet apart in row, and set rows 4-6 feet apart. Firm up the soil around the transplants to push out any air pockets. After transplanting put 2 tablespoons of 5-10-10 fertilizer around each plant.
Most plants will need to be staked. You can buy cages to stake the plants. Alternatively, you can use wooden stakes that are 5-6 feet long. Drive a stake into the ground between every other plant about 1 foot deep. You can take twine or strips of cloth and weave these around the stakes to support the plants. As the plants grow higher, you can add more levels of twine.
Apply 1.5 pounds of 10-10-10 fertilizer per 100 square feet prior to planting. Once tomatoes start forming on the vine and are the size of a quarter apply 1 pound of 10-10-10 per 100 square feet. Repeat that application every 3-4 weeks until harvest is finished.
Tomatoes need about 1-2 inches of water per week. If we don’t get enough rain, you can supply the rest. When watering plants it’s better to give 1 or 2 heavy soakings, than multiple light sprinkles.
There are many insects that can cause problems for tomatoes. Insecticidal soap does a pretty good job for most soft-bodied insects. Bt is works well for caterpillars and insects that feed on the plants. Scout your garden regularly so that you quickly find new pests. Pests are much easier to control in small numbers and when they aren’t full-grown.
Blossom end rot is caused by a calcium deficiency. Maintaining a good pH, keeping plants well watered, and having enough calcium in the soil will prevent blossom end rot. Foliar sprays to give calcium are only short-term fixes. Healthy soil and good water practices will eliminate this problem.
Tomatoes are best if they fully ripen on the vine. However, if you pick them before they are fully ripe you can set them out in a room that’s around 70 degrees. I like to use the kitchen windowsill.
If you have questions about growing tomatoes contact your County Extension Office or email me at [email protected].
Plant It?
Just For Fun February 21, 2021
When to plant? That is a big question. We are still a ways off from warmer weather. However, that doesn’t mean that we can’t start thinking about the garden. Winter is a great time to go ahead and start planning your garden and picking up seeds. Let’s talk a bit about planting calendars and when to get started on that garden.
Soil temperature should be our guide for when we plant. Ideally, for warm-season vegetables we want the soil temperature to be at least 65 degrees. Some examples of warm-season vegetables are tomatoes, peppers, squash, and okra. Cool-season vegetables can be planted when soil temperatures have reached 50 degrees. Some examples of those are radishes, cabbage, collards, and kale.
Some crops like carrots, parsnips, beets, radish, turnips, and mustard do better from seed. However, for most other vegetables using transplants is a great way for your garden to get a head start. There are a few benefits to using transplants. One is spacing. Not every seed that you plant is going to come up. For most plants, if we have good quality seed we hope to get at least 85% germination. If you space out the seeds in your garden and some of them don’t germinate you’ll have wasted space. Using transplants, you know that you’ll have a live plant in every spot. Another reason is weed control. A transplant that is already up and growing with a developed root system will be able to compete against weeds for sunlight, water, and nutrients better than a plant growing from seed. You’ll also put yourself a little ahead of the game.
There are two ways to get transplants. The first is the easiest. Go to one of the garden centers or nurseries around here and buy them. The second option is to grow them yourself. This is not too difficult to do, and it gives you a fun project to do inside while it’s still cold outside. The things that you’ll need are seeds, growing media, and a grow container or tray. Fill the container with the growing media (a mixture of peat moss, sand, and loamy soil). Place one or two seeds in each cell of the tray, and then cover it very lightly with a little bit of soil. The timing of seeding is important. Tomatoes take 5 to 7 weeks before they’re ready. Squash only takes 2 to 3. Peppers take 7 to 9 weeks. So pick your target planting date and back up from there to determine when you need to start transplants. I usually recommend planting outside in mid-May for warm-season vegetables. Most seeds will need to be at least 70 degrees to germinate. You can purchase a heating pad to put your seed trays on to reach this temperature. Once the plant has germinated, you will need a way to provide light for it. A south-facing window won’t provide enough light and will need to be supplemented. Supplement with fluorescent or LEDs. Leave the bulbs on for 16 hours a day. You can plug the light into a timer to help keep track.
If you have questions about when to plant or starting your own plants you can contact your County Extension Office or email me at [email protected].
Hemlock Woolly Adelgid
Community, Lifestyle September 20, 2020
Have you seen small white cottony balls on hemlock trees? If you have then that means those trees are infested with Hemlock woolly adelgid (HWA). Let’s look at why it’s important to preserve hemlocks, what is the pest that is killing them, and what you can do to save them. We are getting to the time of year when they really start to come out.
Hemlocks are a native species that ranges from Maine to Northern Alabama. They are a keystone species that provides habitat for about 120 species of vertebrates and over 90 species of birds. Hemlocks are unique in their ability to thrive in shade. This attribute makes them common in ravines and along rivers and streams. Their proximity to streams and rivers means that they are crucial in reducing erosion and watershed protection. Hemlocks can be identified by their needles. They have short flat needles with two distinctive pale white stripes on the underside. The needles are wider at the base and taper to a rounded tip, unlike firs that have parallel sides the whole way down.
HWA is a very small insect. The white cottony sacks on the hemlock trees are egg sacks of HWA. They are an invasive species from Asia that doesn’t have a natural predator here. HWA feeds on the sap inside of hemlock trees. Wind, birds, deer, or humans can spread the HWA. Once a tree has become infected, it will die within four to 10 years. Therefore, it is important to treat trees as soon as possible after finding that they have been infected.
It is important to treat your own trees with cultural and chemical controls. Cultural controls include keeping hemlocks well mulched and watered. Hemlock trees don’t have very deep roots and droughts can make them more susceptible to infection. Don’t place any bird feeders or deer feeders near your trees. Birds and deer can carry the eggs for long distances. If you are hiking in an area that has HWA wash your clothes afterward because you may be carrying eggs. Be careful to not over-fertilize your trees as that could make them more enticing to HWA. Cultural controls may keep your trees healthy, but when they become infested, chemical controls are the only option. Chemical controls involves treating your tree with either Imidacloprid or Dinotefuran, and is the most common and effective method of control. An imidacloprid treatment will last four or five years. However, it may take one year before it is effective. Dinotefuran will last for two years in the tree and will take about four to six weeks to take effect. The ideal way to apply either of these insecticides is by soil injection or soil drench. Putting the insecticide in the soil will mean quicker uptake by the plant and reduce the chance of off target drift. If the trees are near open water, a trunk injection of insecticide is necessary, which will require a professional. Whenever applying a pesticide it is important to familiarize yourself with the label before using the product.
The Union and Towns County Extension Offices each have a soil injector that is available to be checked out. Checking it out requires a $250 dollar deposit that will be returned when the injector is brought back. I also have a soil drench kit in each office, which are simpler to use, especially if you don’t have many trees. You must provide your own insecticide.
Contact your local Extension Office or send me an email at [email protected] if you have any questions about HWA.
Discover Dahlonega: When you’re stuck at home – Gardening tips from the experts
Arts & Entertainment, Lifestyle July 19, 2020
(Article by Courtney Randolph in conjunction with the Dahlonega-Lumpkin Chamber and Visitors Bureau)
Feeling a bit restless, and looking for something to do? We sure do love a good DIY, especially when it involves some vitamin D! Learn how to build your own DIY garden from JoAnn Goldenburg, owner of the Dahlonega Butterfly Farm. If vegetable gardens and medicinal plants are more your thing, learn some tips from one of our favorite doctors, Dr. Whitfield.
Follow these steps to build a thriving butterfly destination and watch the colorful visitors arrive!
What Are Host Plants? Do I Need Them?
Photo: The Dahlonega Butterfly Farm
“HOST PLANTS are the plants where the female butterflies lay their eggs and where the caterpillars forage. Host plants aren’t always the prettiest plants in the garden but they’ll definitely bring butterflies into your yard. A few common host plants include Milkweed for the Monarchs, Parsley & Fennel for the Black Swallowtails, and Passion Vine for the Gulf Fritillary (to name a few). Keep this in mind; caterpillars eat a lot! So if you want to enjoy raising your own caterpillars – make sure to plant several host plants.”
What are “nectar plants” and how do I choose which one to plant?
Photo: The Dahlonega Butterfly Farm
NECTAR PLANTS support adult butterflies (and other beneficial insects) with their sweet nectar and add beautiful seasonal color to your garden. It’s a good idea to have a variety of nectar plants which bloom throughout the summer to give your butterflies a regular source of food. There are hundreds of nectar plants to choose from but you’ll want to pick the right plants based on your zone and location. North Georgia is in Zone 7a, which is great for growing Perennial Lantana, Verbena, Coreopsis, Zinnias, Black-Eyed Susan, and Buddlei. For a seasonal pop of color you can also add annuals, Begonias, Pansies, Impatiens and Geraniums. And don’t forget the shrubs and trees; Butterflies need a safe place to rest and sleep.
How To Create a Butterfly Garden
Photo: The Dahlonega Butterfly Farm
A SUNNY SPOT and a small water puddle are also important to complete your butterfly habitat. Butterflies love to soak up the “sun” because they’re cold blooded and need the heat to fly. Butterflies need a water source to stay hydrated.. You can try adding a shallow dish to your garden with water or fruit juice. As a matter of fact, some butterflies prefer fruits and will be happy to feed on rotting bananas, oranges, mangoes or even dung. Last but not least; try to eliminate or reduce the use of pesticides and herbicides. Chemicals aren’t safe for butterflies, pets, or humans. Butterflies need a healthy environment and so do we!”
Top Photo provided by instagram account user, @i_shoot_people77
“Most of us find “sheltering in place” something to be endured until the COVID-19 pandemic is over. Plants, on the other hand, are of course happy to stay put and flourish in dirt, no less. And like most of us, they do even better when they are surrounded by nurturing companions, hence the gardening practice of companion planting.
Now that most of us are expected to spend most of our time at home, an escape to the garden for exercise and sun is a logical stress reliever to being home bound. So, what better time than this spring planting season to add to our gardening “know how”?
To that end, I would like to share some of my favorite gardening tips, especially for our first-time gardeners. So, let’s talk about frost dates, using planting calendars, and companion planting techniques which may help you grow a beautiful and productive garden.”
“Frost dates can be confusing. Gardeners talk about the last “hard” or “killing” frosts and “light” frosts. A frost date is the average date of the first or last light freeze that occurs in spring or fall. Dave’s Garden website tells us that, on average, our risk of frost in Dahlonega is from October 27 through April 10. And, almost certainly, we will receive frost from November 14 through March 21. We are almost guaranteed not to get frost from May 1 through October 9. Our frost-free growing season is about 200 days. I try to be relatively conservative with frost dates and use March 30 as the last killing frost date and May 15 as the last average light frost date in Dahlonega. There will be a lot of variation in these reported dates due to local weather, microclimates or topography, but the conservative dates seem to work well for me.”
“These are wonderful slide rule type planners that you can use to enter the last frost date and learn when you should start seeds indoors and/or outdoors. They provide information such as recommended plants, dates to start indoor seeds and the types of seeds to start, first outdoor planting dates, and expected harvest dates. You can also find programs on line to help you develop and save your own gardening data.
My first garden planner was called “Clyde’s Garden Planner – Clyde’s Vegetable Planting Slide Chart” which I found on line. I also have a “Garden Vegetable Guide” that United Community Bank gave away a few years ago, and it provides data such as: how easy or challenging different seeds are to grow, when to start or plant them, planting depth, row width/ spacing between seeds, days to maturity, hardiness and type of soil. The University of Georgia has a fantastic web site you can easily access. Just google: Vegetable Garden Calendar, UGA Cooperative Extension.”
What Should I Plant? What is Companion Planting?
“Said to be part experience, part folklore, and part wishful thinking, most companion planting teachings are passed down by gardeners who experimented with different pairings of plants and had some success. The companion planting technique is the result of placing various crops close to each other so they symbiotically compliment each other leading to greater vigor, growth and often better flavor. Some companion plants are used to repel and deter insect pests and diseases. Companion planting also involves separating plants that are antagonistic to each other.
Companions for tomatoes include: amaranth, asparagus, basil, bean, borage, calendula, celery, chive, cleome, cosmos, cucumber, garlic, lemon balm, lettuce, marigold, mint, nasturtium, onion, parsley, peas, sage, stinging nettle, sow thistle, and squash. Amaranth may repel insects. Basil improves growth and flavor and repels mosquitoes and flies. Borage improves growth and flavor and repels tomato worms. Bee balm, chives, and parsley are reported to improve tomato health and flavor. Garlic repels red spider mites and garlic sprays help control late blight. Stinging nettle nearby improves taste, while sow thistle aids growth. Tomato antagonists include: cabbage and members of the Brassica family (broccoli, Brussels sprouts, collards, cauliflower, kale, kohlrabi, rutabaga, turin), corn, fennel, and mature dill plants.
“Some of my favorite resources on Companion Planting include: Carrots Love Tomatoes by Louise Riotte and Great Garden Companions by Sally Jean Cunningham. (My disclaimer: Contrary to popular belief, tomatoes and carrots may not have a symbiotic relationship. In fact there is some suggestion that tomato plants can stunt the growth of carrots.)
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