Start New Tomato Plants from Suckers of Existing Plants for Late-season Harvests

While most area gardeners either already are enjoying or are within a week or so of enjoying those first garden-ripe tomatoes of summer, it isn't too late to think about starting a few more tomato plants to give the last harvests in September and October a boost.

UGA's Frank Watson, in the Georgia FACES article "Rooting tomato suckers can provide great mid-season replacement plants, extend harvest," explains how to start new plants from suckers of existing healthy tomato plants that already are in the garden.

For those who aren't familiar with this particular use of the term "suckers," he clarifies: "Suckers are side shoots that grow between the stem and the branch of tomato plants."

He outlines the procedure as follows:

"To root tomato suckers, select healthy tomato suckers that are three to four inches long. Place several suckers in a jar and add sufficient water to cover the ends one to two inches. The use of a rooting hormone is not necessary but would probably hasten the process. Set the suckers in a cool, well-lit spot until new roots develop. Set rooted plants in the garden and immediately provide shade to each plant for a few days until suckers start to grow. Gardeners can use a few small leafy shrub branches to create the right amount of shade." 

For additional tips, check out his original article linked here, and read UGA's publication Georgia Home Grown Tomatoes.

Pollinator Week: Carpenter Bees

Pollinators - Carpenter and honey bees - on Anise Hyssop.

reprinted with permission from I've Got Company!

Here in Cobb County, any home with wood parts exposed to the outside world will at some point have those wood parts riddled with holes by carpenter bees. It's part of what carpenter bees do, and, as a result, it can be hard to think of those big, shiny, native bees as anything but pests.

They do, though, have some redeeming qualities. One of those is that they are pollinators of some flowers.

The U.S. Forest Service article Carpenter Bees, by Steve Buchman,  notes that some of our garden vegetable crops are effectively pollinated by carpenter bees:

"In our vegetable and flower gardens, carpenter bees are generalists and may be found foraging on a number of different species. They, like bumblebees are early morning foragers. Carpenter bees land on flower blossoms they become living tuning forks. Using their powerful thoracic muscles carpenter bees sonicate the dry pollen grains out of the flower’s anthers. This type of pollen gathering is called “buzz pollination.” Carpenter bees are excellent pollinators of eggplant, tomato and other vegetables and flowers."

Cornell University notes in its publication Wild Pollinators of Eastern Apple Orchards that carpenter bees also are effective pollinators for apples.

According to UGA's publication "Pollination: Other Pollinating Bees,"

"[Carpenter bees] are effective pollinators of passionfruit. In Georgia, they visit blackberry, canola, corn, pepper, and pole bean, but their value on these crops is uncertain. Carpenter bees are notorious for "robbing" flowers by cutting slits in the side of the flower to reach nectar without even touching the pollinating parts."

Even though they might not be primary pollinators for many plants, carpenter bees' role in pollination of passion flower, which is a host plant to several beautiful butterflies, might be enough to bring them a little sympathy from homeowners. However, the damage caused by carpenter bees in making their nesting holes can be extensive.

In order to have our pollinators and undamaged homes, too, it can be helpful to follow prevention guidelines such as those in Alabama Cooperative Extension's publication "Carpenter Bees, Biology and Management," and consider setting out wood nesting blocks for use by the bees.

Celebrating all Next Week: National (and Georgia!) Pollinator Week

Bumble bee, a native pollinator, heading for home. 

                               PHOTO/Amy W.

reprinted with permission from Squatters!

Next week, June 17-23, is National Pollinator Week, and it has also been declared by Governor Nathan Deal as Pollinator Week in the state of Georgia. In celebration, the publications rack in the lobby of Cobb County Cooperative Extension's office(678 South Cobb Drive, Marietta, 30060) will be packed with information about pollinators.

The publications, which will include printed activities for children, will be free to anyone who stops by. Please feel welcome to come over and learn about our native pollinators and honeybees!

Upcoming Events

Small and Beginning Farmers Workshop
Monday, June 17, 9:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Learn to improve soil quality for vegetable production, manage pests, and handle the harvest, and then obtain assistance with EQIP, and more. Free program, but preregistration is required. Register by June 13: call 706-295-6131 or email region1@gaswcc.org.

Canning Class: Pressure Canning

Tuesday, June 25, 6:00 to 8:30 p.m. Hands-on canning class for low-acid vegetables, soups, and meat products, taught by Cobb County Cooperative Extension’s Family and Consumer Sciences agent Cindee Sweda. Class will be at 678 South Cobb Drive, Marietta, GA, 30060. Cost is $10, payable in cash, check (made out to Cobb County 4-H Club), or money order. Preregistration is required. Call 770-528-4070 for additional information.

Planning the Fall Vegetable Garden

Tuesday, July 23, 6:30 – 8:00 p.m.  Learn what can be planted for fall crops, when to plant those crops, and how to find the space in a garden still crowded with summer vegetables. Taught by Cooperative Extension staff member Amy Whitney. Free event, but please preregister by calling 770-528-4070.

ALSO, come meet Cooperative Extension staff and some of our Master Gardener Volunteers at the Marietta Square Farmer’s Market, the last Saturday of each month through October. We will be there on June 29, July 27, August 31, September 28, and October 26 to answer questions on canning, food preservation, and gardening. Bring sick plants (or large pieces of them) for help with diagnosis and treatment options, and bring bugs for identification.

Small and Beginning Farmers Workshop

A Small and Beginning Farmers Workshop is scheduled for Monday, June 17, from 9:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. The workshop will be held at the Cobb Water Systems Lab, at 662 South Cobb Drive, Marietta, GA, 30060.

Topics to be covered:

• Improving Soil Quality for Vegetable Production
• Integrated Pest Management for Vegetable Crops
• Produce Safety
• FSA Programs
• NRCS Programs
• Community Supported Agriculture

Attendees can also get onsite assistance with obtaining farm and tract numbers and completing EQIP applications.

Registration deadline is June 13; the workshop is free of charge, but space is limited. Lunch will be provided.

To register, call 706-295-6131 

or email region1@gaswcc.org

The event is sponsored by Cobb County Soil and Water Conservation District, Cobb County Government, Cobb County Cooperative Extension, Paulding County Cooperative Extension, Farm Service Agency (FSA), Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), and Georgia Soil and Water Conservation Commission.

No Yard is an Island: Cottony Trampweed is in the Wind

For all those who work to maintain a lawn composed of just one kind of plant (Zoysia grass, or Centipede grass, or Bermuda grass, or Fescue grass, for example), UGA Turfgrass Extension Associate Becky Griffin has this timely reminder:

"Your neighbor’s weed problems are YOUR weed problems.  This trampweed (Facelis retusa) spreads by windblown seeds.  This means that if your neighbor’s lawn looks like this picture, chances are your lawn could look like this next year.  Working with your neighbors to address lawn problems can be a great community builder, and can create a beautiful neighborhood."

 The Trampweed she refers to is pictured below.

Lawn that is awash in the cottony puffs of Trampweed.                                                       PHOTO/Becky Griffin

UGA Extension Agent Frank Watson, in the FACES article "Weed Covers Turfgrass with Snowy Appearance," points out that seeds of Trampweed germinate in the fall and early winter, which means that May and June are not the months for trying to treat the lawn for this weed. Right now, this annual weed is producing its seeds and dying. 

However, Watson does suggest some other tasks that might be done - beginning now -  to reduce the weed's success in following years: "... since this weed is found on droughty sites with low fertility, make an effort to improve the turfgrass density by applying lime, fertilizer or increasing irrigation."

For appropriate chemical controls and the best timing for their use, contact your county Extension office.

Green Industry Updates

UGA's Green Team will be presenting Green Industry Updates around the metro area this summer.

The first will be in Cherokee County on Wednesday, June 12, at the Hoke O'Kelley Auditorium on campus at Reinhardt University, 7300 Reinhardt Circle, Waleska, GA, 30183.

 This is the schedule:

9:00 – 9:55 a.m.	New Herbicides for Problem Weed Control in Turf	Dr. Patrick McCullough UGA Crop & Soil Sciences
10:00 – 10:55 a.m.	Identification & Management of Ornamental Plant Diseases	Dr. Jean Williams-Woodward UGA Plant Pathology
11:00 – 11:55 a.m.	Using “New” Insecticides in Turfgrass IPM	Dr. Will Hudson UGA Entomology

The next Green Team GIU will be in Dekalb County on Wednesday, July 17, at the Dekalb Extension Training Center, 4380 Memorial Drive, Decatur, GA, 30032.


This is the schedule for that day:

9:00 – 9:55 a.m.	Turfgrass Disease IPM 2013 and Beyond	Dr. Alfredo Martinez UGA Plant Pathology
10:00 – 10:55 a.m.	Turf Insect Control	Dr. Will Hudson UGA Entomology
11:00 – 11:55 a.m.	Pest Management:  It Starts with Healthy Turf	Dr. Clint Waltz UGA Crop & Soil Sciences

According to the flyer that came to this office, both events qualify for 3 hours (category 24 or 25) Commercial Pesticide Credit, 1 hour Private Pesticide Credit, and 3 hours ISA Arborist Credit, but call to verify.

For both, registration and check-in begin at 8:30 a.m. Both sessions will conclude by 12:30 p.m.

Events are $15 each, which includes materials and refreshments, and a discount applies when registration is for both events.

To register, visit   http://tinyurl.com/greenteamupdates, or contact Beth Horne at 770-228-7214 or bhorne@uga.edu.

When the Onions Send up Flower Stalks

Many area gardeners who planted onions this year are looking out over onion patches that are punctuated by flowering stalks, also called seed stems. The onions will still be good.to eat, but this condition does reduce the keeping quality and ultimate size of the mature bulbs.

Unfortunately, the same problem is affecting onions in Georgia's best-known onion-producing region.

An article in the 2 May issue of UGA's Family, Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences newsletter,  Fluctuating Weather Patterns Reduces Vidalia Onion Crop Yields, includes a note about how many of this year's Vidalia onions have developed the seed stem condition:

"In some farmers’ fields, upwards of 70 to 80 percent of the onions had seed stems, said Reid Torrance, a Vidalia onion expert with University of Georgia Cooperative Extension who has been serving the Tattnall County onion-producing area since 1984."

Mr. Torrence has more to say about this year's abundance of seed stems:  “It’s hard to pin down exactly what triggers the onions to develop seed stems,” he said. “But I think these huge fluctuations in temperatures we had this year contributed to it. Anything that shocks the plant can cause it to develop a seed stem.”

Clemson University's Onion, Leek, Shallot & Garlic publication agrees with Mr. Torrence's statement about the probable cause for this condition:

"Onions will bolt (produce a flower stalk) if exposed to a prolonged cold period following a favorable growing period. This results in small bulbs with large necks which are hard to cure and generally unusable. The larger the plants are at the time of exposure to the cold period the higher the rate of bolting.

To help prevent bolting:

• Select onion sets of an inch or less and transplants about 6 inches high and about half the thickness of a lead pencil.
• Plant at the correct time for your area.
• Avoid high fertilizer rates applied in the fall."

Many gardeners believe that trimming off the flowering head of the seed stem will result in larger onions than if the heads are left, but the Texas Aggie Horticulture publication Growing Onions  has this to say about cutting off the flowering stalks:

"What can one do if flower stalks appear? Should the flower stalks be removed from the onion plants? Suit yourself but once the onion plant has bolted, or sent up a flower stalk, there is nothing you can do to eliminate this problem. The onion bulbs will be edible but smaller. Use these onions as soon as possible because the green flower stalk which emerges through the center of the bulb will make storage almost impossible."

Normally, storing mature, harvested onions in a cool, dry, dark area is enough to keep them good for several months, but onions affected by seed stem will not keep for very long even under optimal storage conditions.
Gardeners who have a fairly large crop of affected onions may want to share them with neighbors and friends so they can be used while they are still good.

Alternatively, the National Center for Home Preservation offers information on blanching and freezing onions for later use excerpted from UGA's wonderfully helpful book So Easy to Preserve.