June 2011 Newsletter
June 7, 2011
Executive Director’s Address
Dear Members,
We are having a delightful summer at the Southeastern Horticultural Society (SHS). The gardens and the farm are bustling with flora and fauna. A friendly herd of sheep visited our East Lake Community Learning Garden for several weeks to lend a helping hand with invasive plant removal. Gardeners and growers are working daily tending seedlings, creating rich soils by composting, and harvesting nutritious organic produce. The Edgewood Community Learning Garden celebrates the second year of learning and growing this month. We will be hosting weekend events with refreshments and pizzas baked in the garden’s cob oven. Join us Friday, July 8 in the East Lake Community Learning Garden along with our friends from the Coca-Cola Company to experience the renewed beauty of nature.
Thank you to the Southeastern Flower Show volunteers and SHS board members who are committed to taking extra time and care to prepare for the 25th Silver Anniversary Flower Show that will be presented in late winter of 2013. We are planning a host of new and exciting events for the fall and winter of 2011 and all of 2012 beginning with Farm, Fork & Cork this September. The 25th Silver Anniversary Flower Show will celebrate a quarter of a century of showcasing the best horticulture practices and the talented artistic expressions throughout the region.
Our summer intensive programs are educating and inspiring a new generation of young adults. The Edgewood Farm Crew has been busy tending the urban farm and building raised beds, promoting local foods and helping people to grow their own organic fruits and vegetables. You can visit the Farm Crew at the East Atlanta Farmers Market every Thursday through the end of November. We hope to see you in the gardens, at the Farmers Market and at one of our many new upcoming programs and events.
Enjoy the pleasures of summer,
Kate Chura
Executive Director
In each newsletter we try to feature a timely article about horticulture from various professionals and enthusiasts in the Southeast. If you would like to submit an article for consideration please send it to: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Landscaping Tips by Kate Wright
There is no doubt about it; the weather in Atlanta right now is HOT! It has been the Hot topic of conversation since the beginning of June and from what I am hearing there is little reprieve in sight. This summer we are definitely earning the nickname HOTlanta! So what is a garden to do amid these brutal conditions? Many of us have little recourse than to watch our lovely landscapes struggle in the hot summer sun waiting for Mother Nature to deliver the water required to keep our plants healthy. Still others utilize the old fashion way of delivering water, the water hose. Even if you have an irrigation system, it is still a challenge to keep things looking great all summer. As a homeowner, you can take several more steps, beyond water management, to help get your landscape through this trying time.
The most basic way to protect your landscape actually should have started before your landscape was installed. Utilizing proper planting techniques, as well as, employing the old adage “Putting the right plants in the right places” can make all the difference in the world to ensure your landscape looks good no matter what the environmental stress may be. Ideally, most plants love morning sun and afternoon shade, but this only works if our homes were two dimensional. In reality we have four or more sides and need to select plants that will thrive in all the different environments our homes create. To help them thrive it is important to properly mulch with an organic material. Pine straw, bark or wood mulches, leaves, or grass clippings, can act as a sponge and help to keep the area around the root zone moist longer than if no mulch were present. Resist the urge to mulch with an inorganic material, such as rock or rubber as these materials can actually absorb and hold heat causing higher temperatures around the root zone. Mulch should be replaced at least once per year, but it is a good idea to add a thin layer during the summer to ensure a 3-4” base is maintained.
Now that we have addressed what is on the ground, let’s think about things we can do from above. It is said that the most effective way to shade your home for energy savings is to have trees planted within 60 feet of your west facing side and 40 feet from your south facing side. This is a ca se of what’s good for the house is good for the landscape. By preserving trees in these areas, you will effectively block the majority of the sun during the hottest part of the day, the noon to four time frame. If you are not fortunate enough to have existing trees located in these areas, during the fall and winter months you should consider making the investment and installing good quality trees. Remember that larger, established plants will require less effort to maintain and provide more shade than a younger plant.
The final way to reduce heat stress is by utilizing proper pruning and trimming techniques. During periods of high temperature, it is best to minimize the amount of pruning. The reason is two-fold, plants feed by absorbing sunlight through their leaves where it is converted into sugar and transported throughout the plant. By removing the foliage, you limit the amount of surface area the plant has to collect the sun’s rays and as a result create added stress to the plant that may already be under heat stress. Additionally, a plants natural response to pruning is to regenerate the lost foliage and new leaves are tender and can be harmed by the intense rays of the sun. It is also advisable to raise the mower blades during times of intense heat and sun. Longer grass blades encourage a deeper root system which will be able to handle longer periods without water.
In the end, it is good to remember that even if a plant shows signs of stress during the mid-day sun, it may be just their natural defenses against the heat and no corrective action may be needed. The clear indicator is if the plant does not bounce back after the sun sets, then it is time for concern.
About Kate Wright
Kate is a degreed Botanist and a certified pesticide applicator, certified arborist and holds a Level 1 certification in erosion control. She is an award winning landscape designer, with over 14 years experience and owns Bloom’n Gardens Landscape, a design/build/maintenance firm, based in Mableton, GA. Please visit www.bloomngardens.com for more information. If you have any questions or are seeking advice, please feel free to contact her at 404-314-1474 or email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Edgewood Community Learning Garden Update Farm Crew 2011
SHS’s Edgewood Farm Crew started a strong second season on May 31, with five returning Crew and five new crew members. This year’s Farm Crew consists of five rising 9th graders, Marcus Newton, Audrina Hardy, Estella Santillan, and Jarquiz Mack, all Coan Middle School graduates. DeMarcus Brown and Rashid Davis, students from Maynard Jackson High School, are returning from last summer, and this year’s team leaders are Terrance Davis, Brian Beck and Desmond “Ike” Thompson. We also welcome Chef Geoff Paine, who leads a Crew team to cook lunch for all of us every day.
In the first two weeks, the Farm Crew has harvested loads of garlic, potatoes, kale, lettuce, onions, and herbs, and has planted corn, beans, squash, okra, tomatoes, eggplants, cucumbers and watermelons. Visit us every Thursday from 4-8 pm at the East Atlanta Farmers Market, 561 Flat Shoals Ave, across from the Midway Pub.
Check out updates and photos from the Crew on our Facebook page: here
Upcoming Edgewood Events:
Saturday, June 25, 2011 - Edgewood Community Learning Garden 2nd Anniversary 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Every Thursday through November - East Atlanta Farmers Market sales by the Farm Crew 4:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
For more info, please contact KylaZaro-Moore at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
SHS Partner of the Month
Decimal.Place Farm
Decimal.Place Farm is a dairy goat farm on about 18 acres in Conley, Georgia, not far from Hartsfield International Airport and Atlanta, run by Mary Rigdon. Mary has supported the growth of the Coan Edible Schoolyard from day one with loads of rich composted manure that she donates on a regular basis to the project. Mary sells her cheese at the East Atlanta Farmers Market, among other places, and the Farm Crew enjoys visiting with her at market and asking how her goats are doing. Check out her website for more info. http://home.comcast.net/~edwardrigdon/”> http://home.comcast.net/~edwardrigdon/
Goat Facts
Smaller than Cattle Why dairy goats? Unlike cattle, dairy goats are a manageable size. The largest animals, adult males (“bucks”) may reach 200 pounds, but even mature females (“does”) are likely to be closer to 100 - 140 pounds.These animals won’t overwhelm their handlers or overburden the land.
Less Dear than Sheep
Dairy sheep are scarce and expensive in the US, while serviceable milking goats can be bought for $300 to $500. Prices are higher for “show goats,” which are bought for appearance qualities that score well in the show ring. Milkers can also command a premium price, depending on their bloodlines, while outstanding bucks can command very high prices, based on their potentially broad impact on herd quality and their resale value. Even so, dairy goats are far more reasonably priced than dairy sheep.
Browsers, not Grazers
Goats and sheep prefer to eat in slightly different ways. In particular, goats enjoy “browsing”—eating leaves from shrubs and trees—while sheep are strictly grazers—eating grasses and similar plants. Faced with a green lawn bordered by leafy rose bushes, sheep will enjoy the lawn, while goats will stroll right over to the bushes. However, milkers are most productive on a diet of grain and hay, our own herd being very partial to alfalfa. Goats are also rather fond of poison ivy, privet and kudzu (a smothering vine with large leaves which grows rapidly here in the South)—a small herd of goats will happily keep kudzu in check.
How Much Milk?
US dairy farmers measure milk production in pounds, rather than in volume measures like gallons or liters. A gallon of goat milk weighs about 8 pounds, but the weight of a fluid gallon will vary from animal to animal, and even from occasion to occasion, depending on the concentration of solids, like milk fat, in the milk. In our herd, we expect even our less productive does to approach 8 pounds—or about a gallon—per day, although a good deal of that may go into their “kids” (offspring). The “stars” of our herd will approach 16 pounds—or about 2 gallons—per day.
East Lake Community Learning Garden Update Growing the Garden Together
Things are going great in the ELCLG garden! We are into our second week of the summer programs, and have four young people from the neighborhood working Monday through Friday from 1:00 -5:00 p.m. They are in the garden clearing kudzu, watering plants, building beds, painting found artifacts, and whatever else needs to be done. Tony and Darius Craft, a 17 and 13 year-old Crew Teen and rising Crew Teen, have been working at the garden since May. Their mom contacted me originally looking for volunteer opportunities for the boys, and around the time school was ending inquired about summer employment. The third young man, Terrence, also 13, lives up the street from the garden. His stepmom heard about the Green Youth program from Doug Williams and got in contact with me. Our fourth program participant is Ashley Johnson, a Villages of East Lake Clubside resident and former Crew Teen on summer break of her freshman year at Darton College. Ashley heard about the program from her mentor and neighbor, Melba Potter (a virtual dynamo who has been at the garden just about every day since she found out about it a month ago) and as a result of her connection to the garden Ashley was recently hired as a part-time salesperson for The Pop Shop, a frozen treat vendor at the East Lake Farmers Market.
Ms. Potter has been instrumental in spreading the word about the ELCLG. She has taken a leadership role in garden maintenance, garden club leadership, and is responsible for recently organizing a resident led meeting of the newly self-titled club, the Harambee Gardeneers. Originally an attendee at the Green Thumb Garden Club Workshops, Ms. Potter really pushed for onsite gardening at the Villages and participated in the Global Youth Service Day activities and followed up several days later by bringing her grandson’s Cub Scout Troop to finish planting and spreading mulch as a requisite to receiving their community service badges. She was the only gardener to attend the ARC/Atlanta Urban Garden Leadership Program sponsored Senior Gardening Summit. Upon returning from the summit, Ms. Potter was raring to go and immediately began planting seeds on her back porch of corn, beans, and tomatoes that she received at the summit. The plants didn’t perform very well on her porch so she asked permission to move the remaining plants to her new found haven at the ELCLG.
Ms. Potter has been an integral part in garden development, recruiting members from the Villages, volunteering to “manage” their plots by helping to plant, water, weed, and even bring kids from the community to help maintain the beds. She has joined the summer program staff and is acting as a “senior leader and supervisor in my absence.
The Harambee Gardeners had their first meeting and it was well attended, 18 Villages Of East Lake (VOEL) residents attended. Seniors, young adults, and families with their children were all present. The meeting discussed garden business as well as the need for the formation of a community action group around the VOEL resident issues and concerns and needs for organization and representation.
Upcoming East Lake Events
Saturday, July 2, 2011 - Green Independence Day - 4th of July Weekend where we will be grilling healthy alternatives, “veggie dogs and burgers”, and have a treasure hunt for the youngsters. 5:00 - 8:00 p.m.
Friday, July 8, 2011 - Coke and a Smile: Corporate Volunteer Day. 9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
For more info, please contact Khari Diop at (404) 351-1074 or .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
FOR THE GARDEN OF YOUR DAILY LIVING
PLANT THREE ROWS OF PEAS:
Peace of mind
Peace of heart
Peace of soul
PLANT FOUR ROWS OF SQUASH:
Squash gossip
Squash indifference
Squash grumbling
Squash selfishness
PLANT FOUR ROWS OF LETTUCE:
Lettuce be faithful
Lettuce be kind
Lettuce be patient
Lettuce really love one another
NO GARDEN IS WITHOUT TURNIPS:
Turnip for meetings
Turnip for service
Turnip to help one another
TO CONCLUDE OUR GARDEN WE MUST HAVE THYME:
Thyme for each other
Thyme for family
Thyme for friends
WATER FREELY WITH PATIENCE AND CULTIVATE WITH LOVE.
THERE IS MUCH FRUIT IN YOUR GARDEN BECAUSE YOU REAP WHAT YOU SOW.
