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The Georgia Environmental Protection Division recently lifted restrictions on watering. All outdoor water use activities can be resumed on the odd-even schedule with no hourly restriction. Even and unnumbered addresses can use outdoor water on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays. Odd numbered addresses on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. Residents are still strongly encouraged to continue water conservation efforts. For more information, including conservation tips, visit cobbcounty.org/water
April 24 – Rain barrels workshop. Three make-and-take workshops at 10:30 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. Cobb County Water Quality Lab, 660 South Cobb Drive, Marietta. Limit one per household. To sign up, call Emily Toriani-Moura at 770-528-8214.
New amendments to the state water restrictions allow residents to use drip irrigation and soaker hoses on established plants for a full hour between midnight and 10 a.m. on assigned watering days. The new rules come with restrictions and do not change the existing rules regarding use of other watering methods, including the 25-minute hand watering limit and the odd-even day schedule. Even and unnumbered addresses may water on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays. Odd numbered addresses may water on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays.
Under the new amendments, established plants are defined as trees, flowers, vines and shrubs. However, soaker hoses and drip irrigation cannot be used for turf or lawn grass. The additional rules define drip irrigation as systems manufactured and sold specifically for delivering water through small flexible pipes and emitters slowly and directly to the soil around the base of individual plants in a manner that minimizes evaporative losses, pooling, runoff and wetting of plant foliage.
A soaker hose is one connected to a typical outdoor faucet and that is manufactured and sold specifically for delivering water slowly and directly to the soil around the base of individual plants by allowing water to seep from it in a manner that minimizes evaporative losses, pooling, runoff and wetting of plant foliage, according to the amendments.
Up-to-date statewide Environmental Protection Division guidelines are available at cobbcounty.org/Water
Yard of the Month:
Congratulations Mr. & Mrs. Nichols and family, 3672 Ten Oaks Circle, Powder Springs!
Garden of the Month:
Congratulations Mr. & Mrs. Villegas and family, 1760 Aircraft Drive, Marietta!
We are absoultely convinced that we have THE BEST homeowners of all the Habitats anywhere! With over 200 homes to choose from, our decision on who to pick each month is very difficult. However, in our eyes you are all winners (and there are 12 months in the year) so don’t give up.
Do you have someone you’d particularly like to nominate? Someone you know has worked extra hard and should be recognized? Let us know (it’s ok to nominate yourself). Also, do you have any tips or ideas for other homeowners? Feel free to post them under comments or call and we’ll do it for you. We’re all about neighbor helping neighbor and learning from each other.
We’re most familiar with olive oil in relation to cooking, but there’s so many other ways it can be used; often avoiding the need to use chemicals, compounds and substances that aren’t very environmentally friendly. For these tips, you don’t need to use the best grade of olive oil.
- After polishing copper or brass, rub it with a little olive oil to slow down the reocurrence of tarnish
- Can be used as a stainless steel cleaner; apply sparingly
- Rub olive oil into wooden cutting boards to help prevent cracking, repel staining and marking
- Remove paint from hair or skin by dabbing a cotton ball dipped in olive to the affected area Read the rest of this entry »
Yard of the Month:
Congratulations to the The Lopez Family at 6980 Brumley Cove Drive, Hillcrest West, Austell
Garden of the Month:
Congratulations to the Bektic Family at 2597 Bates Street, Smyrna
We are amazed! After driving through every one of the Cobb Habitat neighborhoods, all of us, including our Executive Director, were absolutely blown away at how beautiful your yards and gardens are. The fact that we have super-great families living in Habitat homes is reflected on the outside as well! Thank you for the work and tender loving care you put in to making your neighborhood so beautiful!
If your home didn’t get picked this time, keep up the good work. We will be choosing a different winner each month, one for Yard of the Month and one for Garden of the Month. You could be the next winner!
The heat is on! July and August are traditionally the hottest months in Georgia. Keeping your yard and garden green and healthy can be challenging to both your time and budget.
Irrigation accounts for the bulk of water use in homes, particularly in drier areas over the summer months. A few of the biggest mistakes made are:
a) Plant selection; usually by using plants that aren’t native to the area
b) Sprinklers that throw water up into the air, which is then windblown or evaporates
c) Watering during the hottest part of the day
d) Over-watering
Here’s some tips for reducing your garden watering footprint – and to save some money on water rates at the same time.
Plant selection
When you’re next shopping for plants for your garden, consider not only your area’s current rainfall, but what’s projected for the future. In many regions of the world, rainfall is dropping; so a plant that might get by fine now without additional watering may not do so in the future.
Sprinklers
Many sprinklers throw out fine droplets and on a hot day, these droplets simply evaporate. While your garden gets some water, much is lost. Look to buy a sprinkler that throws water closer to the ground in large drops. Read the rest of this entry »
You’ll find great lawn and gardening tips on this site! Sign up to get their newsletters and even create your own garden and landscape plan with their customizable “Landscape and Garden Planner.”
http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=pg&p=Down_to_Earth/randy.html
Q. Is there a natural, chemical-free, “green” way to get rid of ants?”
A. Here are a few things you may want to try:
- Pour lemon juice around ant areas.
- Baking soda can deter ants – pour a solid line in areas of activity and they won’t cross it.
- A mixture of borax and sugar or honey will attract and kill silverfish and ants.
- A ring of coffee grounds around sensitive plants can discourage ants.
- A puree blend of orange peel and water can be applied to an area to discourage ants from crossing.
- Ants hate vinegar; so spray it around doorways and other areas they frequent to repel them.
These suggestions were sent to us and we haven’t tried them all. Let us know how they work for you - or – if you have any other suggestions, please post them below.
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Our awesome construction team is asking that you please DO NOT put anything in the dumpsters around the build sites. Since we only pay to have constuction debris picked up they charge us a ton more if anything else in in there.
As a Habitat homeowner you must have trash pickup service set up. It is illegal for you to dump your trash in Cobb Habitat’s dumpster and you will be fined if you are caught.
Thanks so much for your help with this.
Hillcrest Habitat homeowner, Irene Kagika, was interviewed and quoted in the following article in the Atlanta Journal and Constitution. Congratulations Irene!
Cultivation method using square grids gains converts
/The Atlanta Journal-Constitution/04/10/08
The promise of a tomato, sun-ripened and bursting with flavor, inspires many would-be gardeners to dream in the spring of a vegetable patch in the summer.
The reality of finding a large, sunny spot, creating rich soil and weeding in the summer heat dashes some of those dreams.
What if that tomato came with a different kind of promise: No big patch of ground or weeding required. Who could resist? For more than 25 years, an intensive cultivation method called square-foot gardening has beckoned gardeners who want an easier, space-saving way to grow.
Changes to the method that make it even easier — no more back-breaking double-digging — are attracting a new generation of converts. In Atlanta, it offers an answer to smaller yards and tight watering restrictions.
Square-foot gardening is based on a 4-foot-by-4-foot raised bed that holds 16 squares marked off by a grid. (No surprise that a retired engineer and efficiency expert, Mel Bartholomew of Utah, came up with the system.) Like traditional gardening, the quality of the soil is crucial. For the soil, as with everything else related to square-foot gardening, there’s a recommendation calculated with mathematical precision. Read the rest of this entry »
On February 6, 2008, Governor Sonny Perdue mandated that water use in 61 counties in North Georgia during the period from April – September 2008 be reduced to a level equivalent to 90% of the average use for the months April – September 2007.
As Cobb County recognizes the need during this historic drought to preserve our water resources, several actions have been taken by County agencies including limitations on fire flow testing, total ban on outdoor irrigation, and the retrofitting of County buildings with low flow plumbing fixtures.
The following represents a Drought Response Plan to serve as the basis for Cobb’s efforts to comply with the Governor’s updated mandate. As the current drought is a changing situation and the seasons greatly impact water use and commercial needs, Cobb County will revisit the existing Drought Plan if changes in conditions or in the water resource occur. Any exemptions granted in the Cobb County Drought Response Plan are subject to change if the drought worsens or the resource becomes stressed.
Beginning March 1, 2008 as indicated below, limited watering of existing landscape by hand will be permitted.
Landscaping Read the rest of this entry »
Did you miss Habitat’s Organic Gardening class on March 15? Not to worry. There’s still plenty of time to get a garden started and reap the rewards of fresh, pesticide-free, affordable, healthy vegetables throughout the summer.
Start by looking around your yard for a small place to put a garden. You’ll want to pick a spot that has at least 6 hours of sun and has good drainage (no low spots). It’s also handy to have easy access to water and proximity to your home. The closer to your home the easier it is to take care of.
The next step is to outline your garden space. You can simply dig a square or, to make it more defined, outline the border with rocks, bricks, or build a simple frame with boards. For more detailed information we highly recommened the “square-foot” gardening method outlined in Mel Bartholomew’s book, Square Foot Gardening. If you get a chance, check it out at your local library. It’s full of great ideas that work!
Once you know where your garden will be you will want to turn the soil and add in amendments. Peat moss, manure, mushroom compost all help the soil encourage healthy plants and discourage pests. Good soil is key so don’t skimp here. A blend of 1/3 peat moss, 1/3 manure or mushroom compost and 1/3 original soil usually works well.
That’s it. Simple, easy and fun. Several Habitat families have already gotten started. Post your gardening questions here and get valuable tips from others.
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