Cantaloupes, Daylillies, Plant Watering and Cactus

Question: What is the difference between a mushmelon, a muskmelon and a cantaloupe?

Answer: Here in the United States these words are used interchangeably to refer to the same type of orange-fleshed melon with a netted skin. The true cantaloupe has a hard rind with a warty or scaly surface that is not netted. True cantaloupes are not commonly grown in the U.S.

Q: I have fallen in love with daylilies. I see them along the interstate and saw some beautiful ones for sale at the garden center. Can they be planted now or do I need to wait for fall?

A: They can be planted now. By visiting a your local garden center or nursery, a botanical garden or the garden of a daylily fancier, you can get a good idea of the colors you like. There are also numerous mail-order sources you may want to consider. Visit the website of the American Hemerocallis (Daylily) Society at www.daylilies.org/AHSsource.html. Mail order sources may not be shipping in the summer, however, but they have a wide selection to choose from including some that the growers hybridized themselves.

Q: Is it safe to use warm or hot water on plants? For example, using water from a watering can that has been left out in the sun?

A: Extremely hot water can kill or injure plants, but it is unlikely that water would get hot enough in a watering can to do any damage. Water in a black hosepipe that has been in the broiling sun all day could get hot enough to injure or kill young or sensitive plants if they are doused with it. Drain the hose after you use it and test the temperature of the water coming out before using it on your plants.

Q: I saw cactus plants for sale that had straw-like flowers in numerous colors. Are these the actual cactus flowers?

A: No. It is a merchandising trick. The flowers you describe are strawflowers or other dried flowers stuck into the flesh of the cactus.


Consumer Q’s
Prepared by the Office of Public Affairs
Georgia Department of Agriculture
Tommy Irvin, Commissioner
www.agr.georgia.gov

Prepare Now to Protect Plants from Japanese Beetles

Japanese beetles and other summer beetles will soon be busy chewing plants. University of Georgia Cooperative Extension agents get the most calls about these destructive garden pests in June and July. 

Adult Japanese beetles live for four to six weeks, lay eggs and die. The rest of the year, the beetles live underground in a grub stage. These plump, C-shaped white grubs literally turn up in gardens when soil is tilled in the spring. They feed on the roots of grass and other plants before maturing into adult beetles the next summer. 

Adults can fly in and out

Most homeowners rarely have grub populations large enough to cause damage to home lawns. If lawn treatments are necessary, late summer and early fall applications are most effective at killing young grubs. However, controlling the grub stage generally has little effect on the overall damage caused by adult beetles, since the adults can fly into your landscape from miles away. 

Adult beetles cause the most visible damage to plants in a very short window of time. The good news is that because the beetles only affect the leaves of trees and shrubs, plants that are otherwise healthy can tolerate significant leaf loss without long-term consequences. 

If they've dined before, they'll be back

If Japanese beetles have plagued your landscape in previous years, there's a good chance they will return to dine on their preferred plants. Japanese beetles feed on more than 300 species of broad-leaved plants, but some 50 species seem to be their preferred diet. 

Commonly attacked hosts include peach, cultivated and wild grapes, raspberry, plum, roses, apple, cherry, corn, hibiscus, hollyhock, dahlia, zinnia, elm, horse chestnut, linden, willow, crape-myrtle, elder, evening primrose and sassafras.

To manage Japanese beetles, follow these steps:

Monitor plants closely in late May and early June. This is the time when adult beetles will start arriving. The first beetles to arrive are known as "scouts." When they find a good food source, they release scents that attract other beetles. The key is to catch these scouts as soon as possible. Knock the adults off of plants and kill them by dropping them into a container of soapy water. This is a good organic control option for small infestations. Avoid installing plants that Japanese beetles prefer. Instead, plant non-attracting plants like begonias, carnations, boxwoods, columbine, daisies, dogwood, forsythia, hollies, hydrangeas, junipers and magnolias. Keep a journal of other plants that avoid beetle damage for making future garden selections.Several "lure" traps are available on the market. These traps are not recommended for general use in a small garden area because they can actually work too well and attract more beetles than would normally be present. Place traps in areas away from gardens and landscapes to lure beetles away.Control adult beetles with over-the-counter insecticides available at local garden centers. Select insecticides that contain the active ingredient carbaryl, bifenthrin, cyfluthrin, deltamethrin, lambda-cyhalothrin or permethrin. During heavy adult activity periods, sprays may be needed every 5 to 10 days to protect high-value specimen plants like roses. 
Applications of a systemic insecticide containing imidacloprid generally need to be made 20 days before anticipated Japanese beetle adult activity, which usually occurs around mid-May. Systemic treatment options are not labeled for use on plants that produce edible fruits. As always, read and follow all labeled application rates and safety precautions when using any insecticides.

By Paul Pugliese
University of Georgia

Organic Gardening Takes More Time, Effort and Forethought

Home gardeners who want to try their hand at growing organic vegetables should lower their expectations just a little and be prepared to put in more "sweat equity."

Plan ahead

Growing organic vegetables takes extra planning. If you use organic fertilizer sources or organic soil amendments, these need to be tilled into the garden well in advance to be effective. (Ideally, this process should begin in the fall prior to spring planting.)

Organic amendments don't provide nutrients as quickly as synthetic fertilizers. So, if you want to gain the benefits of organic fertilizers, give them plenty of time to decompose. Soil microbes have to convert them into a form that plant roots can absorb. An added benefit of organic amendments is that they can act as a slow-release fertilizer throughout the season. This improves soil structure.

Less pesticides, more weeding

Growing organic vegetables takes extra work. Since you won't have the option to "shoot first and ask questions later" with herbicides and insecticides, you will need to spend extra time and energy in your garden.

Weeds must be pulled or hoed. Mulch must be applied to prevent weeds. Disease or insect damage must be pruned away from plants. The key is to catch all of these problems as early as possible to prevent them from becoming bigger problems and spreading throughout the garden.

Organic gardening requires homework. You must become familiar with common garden problems and be able to tell the "good bugs" from the "bad bugs." The last thing you want to do is get rid of beneficial bugs like lady beetles that actually help control aphids, mites and other insects.

Veggies don't have to look beautiful

Growing organic vegetables requires the gardener to lower his expectations. To understand my point, go to the produce section at your local grocery store and watch customers pick through a pile of tomatoes or apples in search of that one spotless specimen.

Unfortunately, I think we are all habitually programmed to do this. When growing organically, you can't be that picky. Small spots and blemishes can be easily cut off of fruits or vegetables. Appearances don't affect taste, especially if the produce is headed for a casserole dish.

Tips to follow

Here are a few more tips for the novice organic gardener:

• Get your soil tested by taking a sample to the local University of Georgia Cooperative Extension office. This is the most important thing to do first.

• Start small and increase garden size each year as you become more comfortable with organic techniques.

• Use basic cultural control options like mulching, pruning, proper spacing, crop rotation, using resistant varieties and planting at the proper times.

• Clean equipment periodically. A 10-percent bleach solution used on pruners and other tools after cutting away diseased plant material will minimize the spread of diseases.

• Water plants as needed and only in the early morning. This helps prevent diseases and develops strong, deep root systems.

When you have gardening questions, call your local UGA Extension office at 1-800-ASK-UGA1 and ask to speak to a certified Master Gardener. These volunteers are trained to help you solve gardening problems.

For more information, see UGA Extension publication B1011, "Growing Vegetables Organically," and other gardening factsheets at www.ugaextension.com.

By Paul Pugliese
University of Georgia
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UGA Researcher Sends New Abelia Plants to Market

Abelias are perfect for Southern landscapes. The drought-tolerant, disease- and insect-resistant evergreen shrub thrives in Georgia’s climate. Thanks to a University of Georgia plant breeder, gardeners and landscapers will soon have four new stunning varieties to choose from.

“Abelias are everywhere,” said Carol Robacker, a horticulturist with the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. “They have virtually no pests, grow during drought conditions and some varieties will bloom from May until frost.”

In their natural state, abelias can grow 10 feet tall and have a wild, free-form structure. Flowers are small and not very fragrant.

“The nice thing about breeding abelia is its tremendous variability. There are huge differences among seedlings,” she said.

In her Griffin laboratory, Robacker has spent the past decade breeding varieties that are compact, fragrant and full of blooms, making them more attractive for use in the landscape. A member of the honey-suckle family, the abelia’s sweet, floral fragrance was one attribute she wanted to emphasize.

“We were breeding against some of the wildness,” she said. “Selecting compact growth, fragrant flowers and great foliage color, we have made them stunningly beautiful.”

The new varieties are as follows:

Cloud 99 billows with fragrant white blooms all summer. Reaching a height of 4.5 feet tall, the emerald-green foliage contrasts against the crisp white blooms, creating a cloud-like appearance. The variety has exceptional drought tolerance and survives 0 degrees Fahrenheit.

Plum Surprise’s leaves and stems are worth watching. The leaves go from yellow-green and purple in March and April to emerald-green in May, eventually turning crimson in autumn. New stems are bright red before developing a brown cast with age. The purple beauty has an unusual weeping shape that grows to be 3 feet tall and 5 feet wide. Relatively light on blooms, flowers are scattered individually or in pairs and are pale yellow with purple blush. It’s extremely drought- and heat- resistant.

Raspberry Profusion blooms early and with force. An abundance of fragrant raspberry flowers bloom in early May. By mid-June it’s completely covered in pink. The emerald leaves are evergreen and hardy to 6 degrees below zero. This plant can grow to be 5 feet tall and 6 feet wide.

Lavender Mist gets its name from its mist-like glossy blue-green leaves and fragrant lavender blooms. It’s unique among abelias. Blooms appear in mid-June and stay until autumn, with flushes in June and August. With a slightly sweeping structure, it grows to 5.5 feet tall and more than 9 feet wide.

Ball Horticultural Company holds the license for Plum Surprise, Raspberry Profusion and Lavender Mist. For more information or locations, visit the Web site www.ballhort.com.
“There is a lot yet to be done with this species,” Robacker said. “The biggest limiting factor is people don’t know what it is, so they don’t ask for it, and don’t use it”.

Abelias don’t require much maintenance, but do need at least six hours of sunlight a day. Rainwater usually provides enough water. Every two years, cut abelias back to knee height to keep the blooms heavy and the shape compact.

(Author April Sorrow is a news editor with the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.)

Consumer Q’s: Muscadines and Azaleas

Q. Is it true that muscadines are rich in antioxidants?

A. That is what the nutritionists say. However, antioxidants are just one more reason to eat muscadines. The main reason is that they are delicious. They are excellent fresh. They also make one of the most flavorful jellies you’ll ever eat. And muscadine wine is a favorite for many.

* * *

Q. I love azaleas but want to plant something else because I see azaleas everywhere. Do you have any suggested alternatives?

A. Azaleas are ubiquitous in Georgia. Because azaleas are common, some people are looking for something different, for a shrub that offers more than one season of interest or for a shrub that offers blooms or something else in a time of year that is not as abundant with flowers as spring is.

There are other shrubs that can be planted instead of azaleas. Here are some possibilities: glossy abelia (Abelia x grandiflora), American beautyberry (Callicarpa americana), sweet-bubby bush (Calycanthus floridus), tea-oil camellia (Camellia oliefera), flowering quince (Chaenomeles speciosa), summersweet clethra (Clethra alnifolia), winterhazel (Corylopsis pauciflora), Scotch broom (Cytisus scoparius), redvein enkianthus (Enkianthus campanulatus), dwarf fothergilla (Fothergilla gardenii), Virginia sweetspire (Itea virginica), Japanese kerria (Kerria japonica), spicebush (Lindera benzoin), lorepetalum (Lorepetalum chinense), Japanese pieris (Pieris japonica), Yeddo hawthorn (Rhaphiolepis umbellata), Japanese skimmia (Skimmia japonica) and blueberry (Vaccinium spp.).

This is a varied group a shrubs. The list is not exclusive; these are just a few possibilities. Your county Extension agent or local nursery or garden center can answer questions about whether any of these will be suitable for your particular site and needs. They may also offer other suggestions.

Before you totally write off azaleas, however, please note there are also more varieties and species of azaleas available than ever before. For example, it is now possible to find native azaleas for sale, azaleas trained as standards, ‘Encore’ azaleas that have a second crop of blooms in the fall, groundcover azaleas such as ‘Flame Creeper’ and late blooming azaleas such as one of the ‘Gumpo’ varieties or our native summer-blooming plumleaf azalea (Rhododendron prunifolium).

Visit your local nursery or garden center for more details.

Prepared by the Office of Public Affairs
Georgia Department of Agriculture
Tommy Irvin, Commissioner
www.agr.georgia.gov

USDA wants to introduce families to their farmers

Kathleen Merrigan believes all families should know where their food comes from. To do that, they must first know where it all begins -- with farmers.

The deputy secretary for the U.S. Department of Agriculture visited the University of Georgia campus in Athens Oct. 26 to promote the department’s new Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food initiative (www.usda.gov/knowyourfarmer).

“By better connecting consumers of food to their producers, people across the country will have a greater understanding of the challenges in agriculture today and the effort it takes to put food on their tables,” Merrigan said.

The initiative is especially important considering the average age of a U.S. farmer is 59 and climbing and many national and state agriculture experts are nearing retirement age, she said. Getting the next generation involved now is important.

“There seems to be more opportunities to talk about agriculture now than at any other time in my adult life,” she said.

As part of the initiative, she wants farmers to have the chance to talk to her and other USDA officials in person and through Web sites like YouTube. “We want to recognize a lot of expertise comes from the countryside,” she said. “We want to know what’s going on in Georgia, what’s working.”

While on campus, she spoke with UGA researchers, administrators, farmers and students and found out what the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences is doing to support locally grown food.

CAES promotes local food through work by the Center for Urban Agriculture, Farm to School programs, service-learning courses and community and school gardens.

The college recently graduated its first students in the organic agriculture certificate program, put together an organic production team that works with producers statewide and developed a new sustainable agriculture Web site (www.sustainagga.org) and newsletter.

“We have a unique opportunity to develop and supply local food systems right now,” said CAES sustainable agriculture coordinator Julia Gaskin.

To promote locally grown food, CAES also partners with the Southern Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education, Fort Valley State University, Georgia Organics, the Atlanta Local Food Initiative and Promoting Local Agriculture and Cultural Experiences, or PLACE.

Local food producers need places to process products like meat. CAES conducts feasibility studies to determine if meat-processing plants are feasible in certain parts of the state.

“There are no small processing facilities in the state,” said Georgia Organics director Alice Rolls. “For small poultry processing, they’re taking it to Mississippi.”

Merrigan mentioned there is interest in mobile poultry processing units, but said at best it’s a gray area when it comes to governing these facilities.

South Georgia farmer Bill Brim asked Merrigan how her department plans to tie food safety back to locally produced efforts.

“There is no size exemption on food safety,” she said. “We’re working on this.”

CAES dean Scott Angle reminded her that some critical research is not getting the funding it needs, for example, phosphorous use in watermelon and other environmental and sustainable issues.
“For farmers, it’s critically important, but government and industry doesn’t see it as important enough,” Angle said.

Farmers need financial help during disasters, like last year’s salmonella-related tomato scare that cost them $1.2 million in sales, said Terry Coleman, the Georgia deputy commission of agriculture.

“They’re vulnerable to natural disasters and also to misspeak,” Coleman said.

To get the next generation involved, young people need access to land and skills to grow food, said Craig Page with Athens-based PLACE.

“We need to be making it affordable so young people who want to farm closer to urban areas can,” he said, “so they can meet their social needs, too, and not be restricted to rural areas.”
Brian Barrett with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service told Merrigan that Georgia may soon move from being a state with few certified organic acres to one of the top 25. A $1.2 million NRCS grant will help it do that.

“Ag continues to grow in Georgia,” Angle said, “both at the state and local levels. It’s an interesting place to be right now.”

By Stephanie Schupska
University of Georgia

Thanks for plant ID! Jersusalem Cherry it is...

Thanks to the person who identified the plant in a previous blog... it is a Jerusalem Cherry. Turns out the berries are highly poisonous so I am considering getting rid of it. I kind of hate to do it though as I like it AND it's not supposed to thrive in Georgia. Not only does it come back every year without any help, but it's thriving. So there experts!

I need to make sure somehow that visiting children don't have access to it if I keep it. I was even tempted to try it myself... it looks just like an orange tomato or edible fruit. I wouldn't do it, but if it tempts me, I know a young child wouldn't hesitate.

Good luck in finding your plant!

Have you tried your local extension service? I was told recently that they're a great resource when it comes to identifying local plants. They were next on my list of places to try.

I'll be happy to post a photo and description on here if you'd like to send a link.

Thanks again.

ID Plant? Orange "berry", white flower...

I have a mystery plant that pops up each year in a shady part of one of my flower beds. I love the colors and the way it is so hardy (which means it's probably a weed ;-).

I had one plant, now I have two, which I "assume" means one of the berries seeded. With all the berries it produces I'm surprised I don't have a hundred of them, but maybe I'm pulling them up as weeds unaware.

I've lived here five years and a fair percentage of my garden was here when I arrived so it could be something planted by the previous owner or it could be a wild plant.

I've asked my plant friends, the lawn guy and made countless searches on the Internet but haven't been able to identify the plant. My Mom, who knows a lot about plants couldn't identify it either (however, she only had my verbal description to work with... maybe when she sees these photos she'll go "a-ha, I know what it's called...").

I'm sure it's something simple, something common, and someone out there in blog or Twitter land will know the answer... right? please?

The plant is about 2 feet high and is located in the Atlanta, Georgia area (southeast US).

It has pretty small white flowers during early summer that hang upside-down. They have a dark yellow or orange center. I think the petals come to a point, but after looking at so many photos on the Internet I could be remembering incorrectly.

I thought it might be in the Fairybell family because of the flowers, but didn't see any located in the Southeast.

I took a photo of the flowers earlier this year, but can't find them now (of course). They're tiny, not as large as the fruit / berry.

It has 3/4 inch dark shiny fruit or berries that turn a gorgeous orange. I cut one open this morning to see what's inside. It rather looks like a tomato but it's not soft.

It has a familiar smell to it, but for the life of me I can't quite attach it to whatever it's reminding me of from the garden (or maybe the wilds).

Hopefully the plant isn't in the poison sumac family (read that some have an orange berry it seems...) given the fact that I pulled off one of the berries, took it into the kitchen to cut and photograph! That's going to be my next Internet stop. Making me itch just to think of the possibility.

I have searched for "orange berry" and "white flower". Could be I need to change "berry" to "fruit" in my Internet search efforts.

I also tried a search on "Fairybell" and while I found similar flowers, none of the photos showed the fruit.

Any ideas? Anyone know what my mystery plant is named?

Preserve your summer bounty

More and more, people are planting gardens and preserving its bounty. For some, the draw is self-sufficiency and quality control.

“I have an organic garden, and I want to keep my organic produce,” said Ken Davis. “I know I could buy organic at the store, but I know exactly what I used to grow and can my food.”

Some people can food to preserve family traditions.

“Growing up, my mom always had a jar of something around the kitchen,” said Stephen Crae. “I want to keep up what she started.”

Crae and Davis recently attended class, offered by University of Georgia Cooperative Extension in Oconee County, on the proper way to can food to preserve it.

Canning fresh food isn’t easy. You can’t just put it in a jar and stick the lid on. And it isn’t fast. It takes several hours to can foods safely. It’s a scientific process that requires following instructions, said Denise Everson, the UGA Extension agent in Oconee County who taught the class.

“Food preservation does not allow for personal variations,” she said. “Creativity happens after you open the jar.”

You can’t leave ingredients out, add extras or double recipes. Recipes must be followed exactly, one batch at a time.

Process and cooking times are exact. Use recipes tested and approved by the United States Department of Agriculture or other food preservation specialists such as with Cooperative Extension, she said. Recipes tested and approved by the University of Georgia are available in the book, So Easy to Preserve or online at the National Center for Home Food Preservation Web site.

Process

Canned foods need to be processed or cooked to a temperature high enough to destroy dangerous bacteria like Clostridium botulinum. Botulism is a potentially deadly illness caused by consuming the nerve toxin produced by bacteria found in dirt. According to Everson, nearly 80 percent of botulism cases occur from food preserved at home.

Numbness in fingers and toes, upset stomach, blurred vision and difficultly speaking, swallowing and breathing are signs of botulism that usually occur within 12 hours to 72 hours of eating tainted food. Once it starts, the nerve damage is permanent.

Processing jars also stops enzymes that can cause changes in color, flavor and texture.

There are two methods for processing jars: in a boiling water bath or pressure canner.

“The food you choose determines which method you use,” Everson said.

High-acid foods like fruits, pickles and tested salsas can be processed in a boiling water bath. Boiling water should completely cover the jars and sit at least one inch on top. Add jars when water is simmering, and start timing once the water boils.

“Table salt can make foods cloudy,” Everson said. “Acid levels are important in canning, so don’t use homemade vinegar or fresh lemons in canning recipes.”

Most vegetables, soups and meats are low-acid foods that need to be processed in a pressure canner. Start timing a pressure canning process once the correct pressure is reached. Dial gauges on pressure canners must be accurate and operated correctly to prevent injury or illness. Dial gauges should be tested each year. Many local UGA Extension agents can do this.

Canning 1-2-3

Use mason-style canning jars, lids and bands. Canning jars and rust-free bands can be used for several years. Lids, however, only create one safe seal and must be tossed once used.

To can properly, follow these steps:

• Prepare food as directed in recipe.

• If required, sterilize canning jars in a hot water bath.

• Fill hot jars with hot food. Leave correct amount of headspace listed in recipe.

• Remove air bubbles in jars using a plastic knife. Readjust the liquid and headspace if needed.

• Use clean, damp paper towels to clean jar rims before adding lids.

• Center lid over the jar. Screw bands down just enough to close finger-tip tight. (Do not overtighten.)

• Process in a boiling water bath or pressure canner for the required time listed for each food.

• When the process time is over in a boiling water canner, turn off the heat, carefully remove the canner lid, and let the jars sit for 5 minutes before taking them out. At the end of the process in a pressure canner, turn off the heat, let the canner cool naturally to 0 pounds of pressure. Remove the weight, let the canner cool another 10 minutes, then remove the lid carefully.

• Remove jars by lifting them straight up and placing them on a towel. Don’t move the jars for 24 hours.

• After they cool and seal, remove bands and wash jars with soapy water to remove any food residue.

• Store in a cool, dry, dark place.

• Enjoy canned foods within a year for best quality.

By April Sorrow
University of Georgia

Outdoor Writer Says "Sting Stopper" Saved His Life

Bob Epstein, past President Florida Outdoor Writers Association , was recently stung on the lip by a yellow jacket wasp. Almost perishing from an allergic reaction, Denver’s Sting Stopper was applied by his wife Barbara. All symptoms including major facial swelling, pain, and breathing returned to normal in under 2 minutes... http://www.chattanoogan.com/articles/article_101720.asp

We carry the Denver's Sting Stopper. Great stuff, something everyone should have handy when out in the yard, on a picnic, a hike, camping or anywhere they might go in the great outdoors.