Stay Informed with Information from the County Extention Agent

Mornings are Best for Picking Vegetables

 By:  Eddie Ayers, County Extension Agent

In this “hurry up” world we often have to do chores when we can and many times it is not the right time.  So the question comes up, when is the best time to harvest vegetables.  The heat of our afternoons after you get home from work makes picking garden vegetables a sweaty chore and that’s not the worst of it; read on!

Darbie Granberry, a former Vegetable Specialist with the University of Georgia Cooperative Extension, says picking vegetables in the heat of the day instead of the cool of the morning may be tougher on the vegetables than it is on you.  Granberry says that the quality of any vegetable will be better if it’s picked in the morning before it starts building up field heat.  Granberry goes on to say that with some vegetables, it is much more important than with others.

While the quality of any vegetable begins to go down as the thermometer goes up, Granberry says sweet corn is actually sweeter if you pull it early, while it’s still cool in the garden.  Once the conversion from sugar to starch starts, it can’t be reversed and the conversion process accelerates as the ear gets hotter.  Eight hours of a hot day can make a very big difference in the sugar content of sweet corn.

Broccoli is another vegetable that quickly loses quality as it heats up.  Any leafy vegetables, too, should be harvested early in the morning, because their quality deteriorates very quickly as the heat goes up and their moisture content goes down.  Any harvested vegetable should not remain in the garden in direct sunlight very long.  Move them to a shady spot as quickly as you can and take care not to let heat build up in them after you pick them.

If you don’t like picking vegetables when the early morning dew can soak your clothes and make you miserable, Granberry says that’s just great because you shouldn’t be out there that early anyhow.  He goes on to say that it’s best you don’t work in the garden while the foliage is still wet with dew because if you do, any disease you have in the garden can be transmitted from infected plants to healthy plants.  For your own comfort, the best time to pick vegetables is just after the morning dew has evaporated, but before the heat builds up later in the morning.  Mother Nature must have been smiling when she made that the best time for the vegetables!

Also keep in mind that if you want fresh locally grown vegetables and you don’t want to pick them yourself, visit the Gilmer County Farmer’s Market, sponsored by the Master Gardener Cooperative Extension Volunteers of Gilmer County and the University of Georgia.  In addition to the vegetables there are vendors there with homemade crafts and the Master Gardeners have some special raffles coming up next month. The market is located on Broad Street between Watkins Hall and the court house in Ellijay.  The hours are 8 am – 12 noon every Saturday through October 3^rd.

 

 

Exciting New Activities at the Farmers Market

 By:  Eddie Ayers, County Extension Agent

The Gilmer County Farmer’s Market celebrated its 12^th anniversary this spring on Broad Street in Ellijay. Since the beginning, it’s made several changes over the years and this one is no different.

The Farmer’s Market is sponsored by the Master Gardener Cooperative Extension volunteers of Gilmer County and the University of Georgia and according to the market managers, Bonnie Waldron and Paula Lineback, it has been a very good year.  There have been almost 40 different vendors utilizing the market and as a result of suggestions from vendors, the managers have added two new activities this year.

As a way of saying “thank you” for coming to the market, the vendors are providing produce for a drawing and everyone that attends the market can enter the free drawing and win a basket of fresh produce.  If you just attend the market, you are eligible to win. The next two drawings will be on August the 8^th and August the 15^th.

Another new event that the Master Gardeners (MG) are planning is a small plant sale that will start in September.  MG Volunteers will bring plants from their local gardens to sell at the market.  The proceeds will help them defray the costs of running the market.  It will be a different selection each week and will only feature a few plants.  If you would like to get plants that are known to grow in this area, make sure you attend the market in September.

Saturday, October 4^th will be the last day of the market for this year.  The hours are Saturday mornings from 8:00 am until 12 noon.  If you’re planning to visit the market, remember that produce vendors can leave as soon as they sell out, so make sure you arrive early to select from all the choices available.

It’s also not too late to become a vendor so if your garden did well and you have extra produce, the Farmer’s Market is an excellent venue to sell your produce and help cover the cost of your garden.  Vendors register at the market on the first morning they arrive for the season, fill out their registration card and pay the $10.00 fee which is good for the remainder of this year’s program. Vendors should arrive no later than 7:30 am to set up and can leave at 12:00 noon or as soon as they are sold out.

And once again this year, the MG Volunteers have their “Ask a Master Gardener” table set up that has information about flowers, vegetables, and general gardening. There are a lot of exciting events happening at the market this year, so make sure you stop by and take advantage of local offerings.

For more information about the Farmers Market, contact me at the Gilmer UGA Extension office.

 

 

Do you have “Cones” on your Evergreens?

 By:  Eddie Ayers, County Extension Agent

Lately I have had a lot of calls from people who have noticed thinning in their needled evergreen shrubs. Upon closer inspection they have seen their trees or shrubs loaded with lots of tiny cone-like objects. These little needle covered bags can become so numerous that an affected evergreen can look like a Christmas tree hung with ornaments. What you are seeing is actually an insect problem and the culprit is the common bagworm.

In order to control bagworms you really need to understand their life cycle. Bagworms hatch in May or June each year. The tiny larvae spin a long silken thread which is blown about on spring breezes. The larvae hang onto the blowing thread like a tiny Tarzan until they land on a suitable plant. Once they land on a needled evergreen they begin feeding. Cedar, arborvitae, and junipers are their favorites.

When feeding begins, they start construction of a silken bag which they use for protection.  As they continue to feed the worm attaches bits of needles to the outside of its protective bag. This creates very effective camouflage for the insect and prevents us from spotting it. Throughout the summer the insect continues to enlarge the bag as it feeds.

By late August they stop feeding and find a comfortable spot to rest for a while. The worm permanently attaches its bag to a twig and begins to form a pupae and later an adult bagworm, which is a moth. The adult males fly over to the bags of the legless, wingless females for a date. After mating, the female lays eggs inside her bag and dies. The eggs rest comfortably through the winter in their Mom’s protective bag until hatching time next spring.

When conditions are right, and they obviously are this year, bagworms can multiply to huge numbers. Their feeding activity can completely defoliate trees. Unfortunately, most needled evergreens don’t recover well from bagworm damage. They can remain weak and unsightly for years. Severe infestations can actually kill the plant.

The trouble with controlling the pest is that they are seldom noticed until late in the season when they are in their bag. The protective bag makes a good raincoat shielding them from rain and pesticide applications. If you don’t believe the bags are tough, try tearing one open by hand. Finally, if you wait too late in the year, they have already stopped feeding and are “hunkered down” deep in their bags where they have virtually no contact with the insecticide.

Once the bagworms have stopped feeding, the best control is to hand pick the bags and discard them in the trash. Removing the bag will eliminate either the bagworm or a clutch of eggs. I know that handpicking hundreds of bagworm bags is not the way you want to spend your free time, but you could get creative and turn it into a fun family function. However, once you’ve missed the creepy crawly stage, you won’t have another good opportunity to spray until next spring.

The best control is obtained when the critters are still feeding and crawling in spring. Then, you can use Malathion or various pyrethroid sprays (cyfluthrin, permethrin etc.), dinotefuran or Bacillus thuringiensis type insecticides like Thuricide or Dipel.  So if you have them now, make notes to be on the lookout for them next spring and control them before they start eating your evergreens. For more information, contact me at the Gilmer UGA Extension office.

The Gilmer County Farmer’s Market, sponsored by the Master Gardener Cooperative Extension Volunteers of Gilmer County and the University of Georgia, has been going strong this summer.  Don’t miss out on your opportunity to shop locally and buy from the artisans and produce growers in this area.  Also stop in to learn about and take part in the various activities that the Master Gardeners have going on this month and next month.  The market is located on Broad Street between Watkins Hall and the court house in Ellijay.  The hours are 8 am – 12 noon every Saturday through October 3^rd.

 An Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Institution

Eddie Ayers

Gilmer County Extension Agent   1123 Progress Road, Suite A, Ellijay  Phone 706 635-4426