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WEDNESDAY, JUNE 3, 2020                  FARMERS AND CONSUMERS MARKET BULLETIN – 404-656-3722 – agr.georgia.gov                               PAGE 15
        Now is the best time to plant a home garden


        By Bob Westerfield                                                                                      Some form of irrigation will be necessary to help vege-
        Cooperative Extension horticulturist                                                                 tables get started and maintain them through the growing
        UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental                                                        season. Drip irrigation or soaker hoses are the best options to
        Sciences                                                                                             conserve moisture and keep plants dry. Overhead irrigation,
                                                                                                             however, can be used when it is the only option.
           While adults and children spend more time at home as a                                               Most vegetables require one to two inches of water per
        result of the COVID-19 crisis, planting a garden or container                                        week. Raised beds tend to drain much faster and may re-
        garden is a great activity to plan together. It’s outside, active,                                   quire additional applications of water. Organic mulch placed
        educational and edible. With some grocery stores taking lon-                                         around vegetable plants will help conserve moisture and help
        ger than usual to stock some items, vegetable gardening is a                                         keep weeds under control.
        great way to keep your refrigerator stocked.                                                            As the season progresses, keep a careful eye on your de-
           For those who have never considered growing their own                                             veloping vegetable plants. Insects, disease and even weeds
        vegetables, the task may seem daunting, but it’s actually a                                          can take over quickly if not kept in check. Proper identifi-
        very simple process.                                                                                 cation of the pests is essential in choosing the right control.
           Vegetables need soil, sunlight, moisture and fertility. Any                                       UGA Extension can help identify pest issues and recommend
        location in your landscape that receives at least six hours of                                       the best controls.
        sunlight could be a good location for growing your crop. The                                            Don’t let these difficult times keep you down and feeling
        amount of space you have available will dictate the size of                                          helpless. Turn your backyard into vegetable heaven and enjoy
        your garden. Even very small gardens can produce a surpris-                                          the delicious fruits of your labor. Supplies can be ordered
        ing quantity of vegetables and easily feed a family of four                                          online if you don’t want to don your mask and practice social
        or more.                                           John Michael Carter, 13, with the raised bed garden of tomatoes,   distancing at your local garden center.
                                                           cucumbers, lettuce and Blue Lake beans he planted in his North
           One simple method of getting started is to grow vegeta-  Fulton County backyard after schools closed in March. (Amy Carter/  For additional  gardening information, visit  extension.
        bles in raised beds. Treated lumber, two feet by six feet or   GDA)                                  uga.edu/publications to view numerous related publications.
        larger, can be safely be used to form the sides of the bed.                                          Search the topics for a specific variety you are interested in
        Compost, manure or bagged topsoil are good amendments  can be directly seeded into the garden with excellent success.  growing, such as corn, beans, squash, okra, etc.
        to use to fill the beds.                             Take care to plant seeds at the proper depth recommend-  Other suggested publications include:
           Summer vegetables can typically be planted through  ed on the seed packet. Apply a light starter fertilizer, such as  •  Home Gardening (Bulletin 577)
        June, but with the cooler temperatures we have been having,  5-10-15, at planting time to give vegetables initial nutrition.  •  Vegetable Gardening in Georgia (Circular 963)
        there is plenty of time to start a home garden.    More fertilizer should be applied after vegetables have been  •  Vegetable Garden Calendar (Circular 943)
           I would suggest purchasing transplants of tomatoes, pep-  pollinated and are developing tiny fruits.  •  Weed Control Options for the Home Vegetable Gardener
        pers and eggplants. Theses crops do not establish easily if   Soil testing, available through your local University of   (Circular 1144)
        planted directly into the garden from seed. Other vegetables,  Georgia  Cooperative  Extension  office,  is  the  best  way  to  •  Raised Beds vs. In-Ground Gardens (Circular 1027-3)
        such as squash, corn, cucumbers, beans, okra and melons,  know the true nutritional needs of your garden soil.  •  Growing Vegetables Organically (Bulletin 1011)

        reCover: Coronavirus, market competition make recovery difficult

        Continued From Page 1

           “We would have peaked in the last four-  added, “We’ve been reduced to a two-pick  one day.                    Crosby said.
        to-five  days,  but  because  of  the  quantity  of  crop this year. That’s the word I’ve been hear-  “In that field, it was the best crop I’ve had   Cornelius said he understands internation-
        that loss. My farm, for example, my heavier  ing from a lot of farmers.”    in probably seven or eight years,” Cornelius  al trade is needed but thought policymakers
        harvest will now be this week, and it won’t be   Recent  data  from  the  United  States  De-  said. “Between hurricanes, cold events and  should consider factors like labor cost in set-
        as heavy as last week,” he said. “The last five  partment of Agriculture showed that Georgia  pollination issues over the last, probably, five  ting trade rules.
        days would have been my heaviest harvest,  was expecting a healthy crop. Georgia led the  years, this was the year I was going to get   “I know that trade  is required for this
        and I’ve lost that.”                  nation with 21,700 harvested acres for 2019.  kind of squared back up with everybody.”  country, but we compete against segments
           Blueberry growers can pick bushes four to  According to the USDA, production was up   All said recovery will be slow. The more  of the world that have labor costs that are 10-
        five times a season with the second pick usu-  76 percent, and the value of production was  significant concern is the markets.   15 percent of what ours is,” Cornelius said.
        ally being the largest. However, the tornados  up 52 percent from the 2018 hurricane-dam-  “The coronavirus has really damaged the  “When you’re in a crop that 60-70 percent of
        damaged a lot of berries on the bush. These  aged crop.                     market demand, and  anytime  you have  re-  your cost is labor, that is hard to overcome.”
        “split berries,” as Crosby described them, can   Tornados were reported in Mitchell and  duced demand, you then have reduced pric-  Joe Young said he had seen beef prices
        recover, but it takes time and the right con-  Colquitt  counties  where  significant  damage  ing,” Crosby said.  also drop for him since the pandemic began.
        ditions. Heavy rain and cooler temperatures  occurred. Another round of tornados followed   For Georgia blueberry growers, the con-  He was frustrated because while there are cat-
        after the tornados prevented salvaging of  roughly along Ga. Highway 122 between Adel  cern has also been in-season competition  tle in the fields, it is difficult getting them to
        the damaged berries, so growers had to pick  and Waycross, which Crosby described as the  from imports. Crosby wondered why retail-  processors due to coronavirus concerns.
        through the damage and set up for the next  heart of Georgia’s blueberry industry.  ers would stock imported berries when local   “They’re just not bringing anything, and
        harvest.                                 Joe Cornelius, a blueberry farmer in Man-  growers are harvesting and certainly need the  I’m ready to have to sell some calves off. My
           “It’s taken us seven-to-10 days to pick it  or, said the tornado was particularly discour-  business.          calves come in June, and if something doesn’t
        out, so for seven-to-10 days our volume is se-  aging for him following hurricanes Michael   “They made a business decision with disre-  happen, I’m basically going to be giving them
        verely reduced because we’ve had to discard  and Irma and other setbacks. He said he lost  gard to American-grown and Georgia-grown.  away.”
        the damaged product,” Crosby said. He later  70 percent of his crop in one of his fields in  They are just chasing an almighty dollar,”
        animals: If you’re exposed to COVID-19, limit contact with your animals


        Continued From Page 1

        does all this mean for you? Most important-  such as trying to arrange for someone else  COVID-19 don’t automatically need to be   We’re learning more about SARS-CoV-2
        ly, right now it doesn’t appear that domestic  to care for your animals as long as you’re  tested, either. There are specific criteria out-  and COVID-19 every day. As time passes,
        animals are involved in spreading SARS-  affected. If you are in a situation where you  lined by our State Veterinarian and State  we’ll have a much better understanding of
        CoV-2. If you are not affected by COVID-19,  need to interact with your pet, service ani-  Public Health Veterinarian to determine if an  how the virus spreads among people and
        then simply use healthy habits when interact-  mal, livestock or other animals while affect-  animal should be tested because it has clini-  what role, if any, animals might play. In
        ing with animals and be sure to wash your  ed by COVID-19, be sure to wash your hands  cal signs and is known to have been exposed  the meantime, check out resources on in-
        hands after handling animals, feed or waste.   regularly, consider wearing a cloth face cov-  to a person with COVID-19. Consult your  teracting with animals if you’re affected by
           If you are affected by COVID-19, there  ering, and avoid hugging, kissing or sharing  veterinarian remotely if you are affected by  COVID-19 at our website: http://agr.georgia.
        are good practices outlined by CDC that you  food with them.                COVID-19 and have questions regarding  gov/COVID-19.aspx#animals.
        can follow when interacting with animals,   Animals that are exposed to people with  your pets or other animals.
        BeGin aGain: GDA personnel continue to serve with grateful hearts


        Continued From Page 1

        temperatures every morning. Masks will be  right-of-way tonight I witnessed one clear  type of friends. Energy drink and beer con-  Now I’ve seen it all. Regrettably, improper
        prevalent and social distancing practiced.  indicator that perhaps normal is beginning  tainers topped tonight’s offering, followed  trash disposal seems to have survived the
        But this team will be serving you and we  to begin again. All of my friends who leave  by empty cigarette packages, a shredded,  pandemic.
        are grateful for the opportunity.     me roadside gifts – otherwise known a  dud lottery card (shredded because I did   God bless you as you and your family
           And now back to my “roadside gifts.”  trash – seem to be easing back into normal  not stop quickly enough) and a sleeve that  begin to begin normal again, albeit differ-
           During my zero-turn session in the  behavior. I bet many of you have the same  previously held a serving of cheese curds.  ent.
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