Yes, You Can Grow Carrots in North Georgia

Yes, You Can Grow Carrots in North Georgia

Carrots have a reputation of being hard to grow in the clay soils of North Georgia.  But, with a little knowledge and a few tricks you can have success with carrots.  Since they are a cool-season crop now is the time to plant.

Since the interesting part of carrots grow underground you need to start with well drained, loose soil.

This is key.  No rocks or sticks.  You want that carrot to have no resistance as it grows.  If you are growing in raised beds you are probably ahead of the game here.   Carrots like a soil pH of  5.5 – 6.5.

Yes, You Can Grow Carrots in North Georgia
Carrot seeds are very small and can be a challenge to work with.

Carrot seeds are very tiny.  Once you have your soil rock-free, smooth it out for planting.  There are two schools of thought in how to plant carrot seeds.  One way is to plant in traditional rows.  Another thought is if you have a defined area, like in a community garden raised bed plot, to broadcast the seeds.  Either way just lay the seeds on the soil bed and then sprinkle about 1/4 inch of soil on top. Consider mixing in a few radish seeds at planting.  They come up quickly and can help mark your rows, if you are a row planter.  And, they will help prevent the soil from crusting.

To ensure good seed-to-soil contact with such small seeds it is a good idea to lightly tamp the soil down.  A tamper is useful here to put just enough pressure for that contact without compacting the soil.  Water in.  Be patient as carrots take several weeks to germinate.

Yes, You Can Grow Carrots in North Georgia
This homemade tamper is just a 12 inch 2 X 4 attached to a waist high 1 X 1. The weight of the tamper is enough to ensure good seed to soil contact. Just lightly tamp the ground; no need to push down.

Mulch is important here.  The temperatures are still warm and you want to try and keep the soil moisture even.

Once the carrots come up thinning is essential.

If the carrots become too crowded underground, they can become stunted.  Thinning is a pain, especially if you broadcast planted.  But, don’t skip this step.  Instead of pulling up the thinnings, just use a snipper to cut the seedlings off at the root.  This will minimize disturbance of the remaining plants.  The goal is about 2 inches between carrots.

Yes, You Can Grow Carrots in North Georgia
These carrots ended up a bit close to each other.

Pay attention to the days until harvest number on the seed packets.  As the soil cools the carrots actually get sweeter.  Some gardeners leave the carrots in the ground over the winter with good results.  When harvesting be very gentle so you don’t damage your crop.

When choosing a cultivar remember that all carrots don’t have to be orange.  Chantenay Red Core has a reddish color while Purple Haze is obviously purple.  Danvers 126, Scarlet Nantes, and Nantes are all recommended orange cultivars.  Look for them at feed and seed stores, old hardware stores, and even big box retailers.  If you want to try something new there are several seed

Yes, You Can Grow Carrots in North Georgia
Even in Skagway Alaska, people like to grow food in community gardens. This plot had a mix of carrots, lettuce, and violets.

companies like Burpee and Johnny’s Selected Seeds that have interesting choices in their catalogs.  If you have any questions about growing carrots contact your local UGA Extension Agent.  He/She will have great advice.

Happy Gardening!

Make Room For Legumes in Your Georgia Garden

In anticipation of October’s Farm to School month Georgia Organics has launched the Make Room for Legumes campaign. Schools can register and receive free seeds as well as resources for the classroom including lesson plans. This is a fantastic program for all schools.

If you are excited to make room for legumes, it is not too late to grow beans this season in your school or community garden. If you are planting in August, choose bush bean varieties. These will mature in 50-60 days. Consider Bronco, Roma, Blue Lake which are all harvested and used fresh.

A bean crop in the UGArden in Athens

Dried beans are also a possibility although they require a longer maturity time. Dragon Tongue and Tiger Eyes are used fresh or dried. The pretty black and white Calypso beans or the historic red Hidatsa beans are traditionally dried. Consider planting several varieties.

One concern planting this late are Mexican bean beetles. Keep a look out for these pests, checking regularly for eggs. Removing the eggs is the best way to handle these pests in a small garden. Scout regularly!

Happy Gardening!

Planning Your Georgia Fall Garden

Although we are in the middle of a hot summer it is time to think about your fall garden.   We have put together a list of “tried and true” cultivars of cool-season vegetables.  These recommendations come from UGA’s Vegetable Planting Chart.  The transplants or seeds should be easy to find at your local feed-and-seed store or easy to order from seed catalogs.

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Herbicide Damage in the Georgia Community or School Garden

Herbicide Damage in the Georgia Community or School Garden

Oftentimes community gardens are located on county Parks and Recreation land or in the middle of land maintained by people other than the community gardeners.  School gardens have maintenance crews that maintain the land near the school garden.  How this surrounding land is managed can have an affect on your garden.  Sadly, herbicide damage to community garden plants when the garden itself does not allow herbicides is common.  The article below by UGA’s Donn Cooper explains:

Broad-leaf herbicides

Herbicides applied to lawns and hay fields contain compounds that selectively affect broad-leafed weeds, such as dandelion and thistle, but do not kill the grass. Tomatoes, grapes, peppers and other broad-leafed plants are damaged when the herbicides move from the lawns and fields into the vegetable garden.

These herbicides — 2,4-D and pyridine compounds — cause the most striking damage on sensitive plants by short-circuiting the plants’ hormonal system and ability to regulate growth, said Elizabeth Little, a University of Georgia Plant Pathologist.

Parallel veins and cupping are some of the symptoms in the new growth of plants affected by these herbicides.

Because Georgians love tomatoes — and hate weeds, this is an issue that Extension personnel at the UGA see again and again.

“People often do not understand how the herbicide was able to move into their gardens and will swear up and down that no herbicides were used, but the symptoms are distinctive,” said Little. “Unwanted herbicide can come from different sources.”

 

Herbicide Damage in the Georgia Community or School Garden
Tomato herbicide damage. Photo by Elizabeth Little

Means of exposure

Some of those sources are obvious. For example, herbicide sprays to the lawn can become airborne and harm plants within close proximity. Even with barely a breeze, compounds applied as sprays can drift quite far from the site of application.

But there are more subtle avenues for accidental damage. In hot weather herbicide compounds on lawns can volatize, or become a gas, and eventually affect vegetables around the home.

Gardeners using grass clippings as mulch should be mindful that the clippings could have been treated with herbicide.

Herbicide in manure

While most lawn herbicides will break down within a few months, some of these herbicides, especially those applied to hay fields, will persist in the environment for several years.

Pyridine compounds — such as picloram, clopyralid and aminopyralid — appear to be causing the most damage in home gardens. These herbicides can reach gardens through composted manure from animals fed with treated hay, said Little.

“Horse manure is a very common source of unwanted herbicide because the hay that horses eat is very often sprayed with these persistent herbicides,” said Little, who is an Extension specialist in integrated disease management with the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.

Growers need to be mindful about the origins of their compost and mulch. Organic farmers can even lose their certification by accidentally introducing contaminated compost from off-farm sources.

“Many gardeners have stopped using horse manure, which is a shame,” said Little.

She points out that horse manure is often easy to obtain and has a balanced nutrient composition. Although likely free of 2,4-D and related herbicides, poultry manure can create problems with nitrogen and phosphorous if used in excess.

Herbicide Damage in the Georgia Community or School Garden
Another view of tomato herbicide damage by Elizabeth Little.

Ask about pasture treatments

Little suggests that gardeners who buy manure should ask what herbicides were applied to the pasture and to the hay that the animals consume. Anyone who grows hay should be able to provide a list of his or her herbicide treatments.

Hay field herbicides are used so commonly because the farmers can have persistent problems with tough perennial weeds such as thistles and dock.

“With more and more people wanting to grow their own food, I think it is something that we all need to be aware of,” said Little.

Glyphosate has different symptoms

Glyphosate, another herbicide often used around the home, causes different damage on tomatoes. It affects the whole plant, not just new growth, and can be identified in bleached, yellow leaves.

If you have any questions about whether herbicide damage has affected your community or school garden, contact your local UGA Extension agent.  He/she has experience with this.

Happy Gardening!