2025 Gardening in the Panhandle LIVE! Webinars Begin March 6th
Gardening in the Panhandle LIVE! is launching Season 6 with new topics starting on March 6, 2025! Each episode is delivered live on Zoom Webinar then posted to our YouTube Playlist. If you would like to join us live and help drive the panel discussion, be sure to...
Break the Breeding Cycle to Minimize Mosquitoes
Summer showers are finally giving gardens relief, but in addition to happy flowers, mosquitoes are also benefitting from the rainfall. Mosquitoes are not only a nuisance, but they can also transmit diseases and parasites to people, pets, and livestock so managing them...
Nuisance Gnats abound in Northwest Florida this spring
If you’ve been outside this spring, you’ve probably been bothered by gnats. These tiny flies relentlessly congregate near the face getting into the eyes, nose, mouth and ears. Eye gnats come right up to the faces of people and animals because they feed on fluids...
Dung Beetles of the Florida Panhandle
Dung Beetles of the Florida Panhandle There aren’t many creatures that can stir up a mix of admiration – and possibly some mild disgust – like the dung beetle. But if you spend much time around pastures, the woods, or even in your own garden, you might be...
The Praying Mantis
The gloriosa lilies have been in full glory, so to speak, in our garden at the Extension office the last few weeks. While photographing them, I noticed a tiny visitor hidden in plain sight among the flower’s frilly petals and stamen. A bright green juvenile praying...
Weed Control Methods in Landscapes and Gardens
by Ben Hoffner, UF IFAS Jefferson Extension As we continue to tend to our summer landscapes and gardens, it is important to have a proper weed control plan in place. Unwanted plants that grow in your garden or landscape can cause for poor germination rates and poor...
Brightening Up A Shady Spot
Shade is a wonderful feature in the landscape as we move into our summer months. It can also offer an opportunity to include a different palette of beautiful plants the bring color and brighteness to some filtered shade or full shade locations. Here are a few plants...
Plants That Carry Stories
Most gardeners I know love to share plants. Propagating and dividing them can be just as much fun as growing them. Some of my favorite plants in the garden came from loved ones offering a cutting or telling me to dig up whatever I liked. Lately, I’ve been thinking...
Watch Out for these Common Lawn Diseases
The Florida Panhandle’s warm, humid, and sunny climate makes it ideal for lawns to stay lush and green for most of the year—but it’s also perfect for turfgrass diseases to develop. The summer weather has already been ramping up with temperatures reaching a little...
Doveweed Control in Centipedegrass Lawns & Landscaped Beds
The Panhandle’s dreaded summer heat has finally arrived in force and has brought with it one of the most difficult to control lawn/landscape weeds, our annual enemy Doveweed (Murdannia nudiflora). Doveweed is characterized as one of the world’s worst weeds due to its...
Explore Blackberry Production at the 2025 Blackberry Field Day
Blackberries are a deciduous crop that thrive in temperate climates. While several native blackberry species grow wild in Florida, their small fruit size, late maturation, and low yields make them unsuitable for commercial production. Historically, cultivated...