by Rick O'Connor | Jun 8, 2018
We have been posting articles discussing some of the issues our estuaries are facing; this post will focus on one of the things you can do to help reduce the problem – a Florida Friendly Yard.
Florida Friendly Landscaping saves money and reduces our impact on the estuarine environment.
Photo: UF IFAS
The University of Florida IFAS developed the Florida Friendly Landscaping Program. It was developed to be included in the Florida Yards & Neighborhoods (FYN) program, HomeOwner and FYN Builder and Developer programs, and the Florida-Friendly Best Management Practices for Protection of Water Resources by the Green Industries (GI-BMP) Program in 2008.
A Florida Friendly Yard is based on nine principals that can both reduce your impact on local water quality but also save you money. Those nine principals are:
- Right Plant, Right Place – We recommend that you use native plants in the right location whenever possible. Native plants require little fertilizer, water, or pesticides to maintain them. This not only reduces the chance of these chemicals entering our waterways but also saves you money. The first step in this process is to have your soil tested at your local extension office. Once your soil chemistry is known, extension agents can do a better job recommending native plants for you.
- Water Efficiently – Many homeowners in the Florida panhandle have irrigation systems on timers. This makes sense from a management point of view but can lead to unnecessary runoff and higher water bills. We have all seen sprinkler systems operating during rain events – watering at that time certainly is not needed. FFY recommends you water only when your plants show signs of wilting, water during the cooler times of day to reduce evaporation of your resource, and check system for leaks periodically. Again, this helps our estuaries and saves you money.
- Fertilize Appropriately – No doubt, plants need fertilizer. Water, sunlight, and carbon dioxide produce the needed energy for plants to grow, but it does not provide all of the nutrients needed to create new cells – fertilizers provide needed those nutrients. However, plants – like all creatures – can only consume so much before the remainder is waste. This is the case with fertilizers. Fertilizer that is not taken up by the plant will wash away and eventually end up in a local waterway where it can contribute to eutrophication, hypoxia, and possible fish kills. Apply fertilizers according to UF/IFAS recommendations. Never fertilize before a heavy rain.
- Mulch – In a natural setting, leaf litter remains on the forest floor. The environment and microbes, recycling needed nutrients within the system, break down these leaves. They also reduce the evaporation of needed moisture in the soil. FFY recommends a 2-3” layer of mulch in your landscape.
- Attract Wildlife – Native plants provide habitat for a variety of local wildlife. Birds, butterflies, and other creatures benefit from a Florida Friendly Yard. Choose plants with fruits and berries to attract birds and pollinators. This not only helps maintain their populations but you will find enjoyment watching them in your yard.
- Manage Yard Pests Responsibly – This is a toughie. Once you have invested in your yard, you do not want insect, or fungal, pests to consume it. There is a program called the Integrated Pest Management Program (IPM) that is recommended to help protect your lawn. The flow of the program basically begins with the least toxic form of pest management and moves down the line. Hopefully, there will not be a need for strong toxic chemicals. Your local county extension office can assist you with implementing an IPM program.
- Recycle – Return valuable nutrients to the soil and reduce waste that can enter our waterways by composting your turfgrass clippings, raked leaves, and pruned plants.
- Reduce Stormwater Runoff – ‘All drains lead to the sea’ – this line from Finding Nemo is, for the most part, true. Any water leaving your property will most likely end in a local waterway, and eventually the estuary. Rain barrels can be connected to rain gutters to collect rainwater. This water can be used for irrigating your landscape. I know of one family who used it to wash their clothes. Rain barrels must be maintained properly to not produce swarms of mosquitos, and your local extension office can provide you tips on how to do this. More costly and labor intensive, but can actually enhance your yard, are rain gardens. Modifying your landscape so that the rainwater flows into low areas where water tolerant plants grow not only reduces runoff but also provides a chance to grow beautiful plants and enhance some local wildlife.
- Protect the Waterfront – For those who live on a waterway, a living shoreline is a great way to reduce your impact on poor water quality. Living shorelines reduce erosion, remove pollutants, and enhance fisheries – all good. A living shoreline is basically restoring your shoreline to a natural vegetative state. You can design this so that you still have water access but at the same time help reduce storm water runoff issues. Planting below the mean high tide line will require a permit from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, since the state owns that land, and it could require a breakwater just offshore to help protect those plants while they are becoming established. If you have questions about what type of living shoreline you need, and how to navigate the permit process, contact your local county extension office.
Santa Rosa Sound
Photo: Dr. Matt Deitch
These nine principals of a Florida Friendly Yard, if used, will go a long way in reducing our communities’ impact on the water and soil quality in our local waterways. Read more at http://fyn.ifas.ufl.edu/about.htm.
by Erik Lovestrand | Jun 8, 2018
Have you ever eaten a wild mushroom and then wondered afterwards if you might have made a mistake? If you are prone to forage outdoors for tasty treats from nature, I’ll bet you have. The problem is, unless you are harvesting one of a few “foolproof” species of edible fungi, positive identification can be very challenging. Oft-times wild mushroom harvesters take a notion to branch out and seek new varieties that are outside of the identification capabilities of the novice mycologist. This is where folks begin treading on dangerous ground and may be at risk for gastrointestinal distress;
Properly inoculated shiitake logs can be quite productive
with symptoms that may range from a mild upset stomach to permanent damage or death.
Yes, death!
Everyone has heard about poisonous mushrooms but few people realize that some of the deadliest species are look-alikes for some of the tastiest species. And you would not be able to distinguish the difference by nibbling a sample. Even a small sample of some of the “bad actors” can be lethal, leading to painful symptoms and organ failure. If this scares you out taking a risk then this article has served a good purpose.
If you wish to enjoy a safe, tasty experience with a highly-prized mushroom species, just take up the hobby of growing your very own shiitake mushrooms. Shiitake comes from the root Japanese “shii” (meaning oak) and “take” (for mushroom). Shiitake mushrooms are a billion dollar industry in Asia with 92% of the world production coming from Japan. Many culinary and medical uses have been identified. This species was only available as dried mushrooms in the US until 1972 but with the removal of a ban on importing live fungi a commercial industry has blossomed.
Hardwood logs are the key, with oak being a preferred tree species. There are six considerations if you are to be successful:
1. You must acquire living Shiitake inoculum (the mycelial or rooting stage) already growing on a wood medium, usually hardwood dowels or sawdust (internet search will yield many providers).
2. Proper cutting and handling of the logs to be inoculated is important. Cut trees close to the time of inoculation (2 weeks max.), 4-8 inch diameter and 3-4 feet long.
3. Inoculate by drilling holes in the logs, inserting the living inoculum/spawn and seal the holes with melted wax to retain moisture. A single log may have 30-40 holes drilled in it.
4. Place logs in a shady/moist environment (i.e. under the canopy in a woodlot with at least 75% shade).
5. Maintain logs by wetting during dry spells. A sprinkler or mister run for a couple of hours a day works well.
6. Proper harvesting and storage is most important and information is available in many places online.
Shiitake fruiting is usually triggered by changes in temperature and humidity so spring and fall are key times to check your logs. It does not take long for a mushroom to go from the early “pinning” stage to mature, so weekly checks are advised. Significant tropical weather events will also stimulate fruiting. Logs produce mushrooms for at least two years, until the nutrients in the wood are used up.
Don’t be in a hurry though, as the full colonization of the log by the mushroom mycelium will take up to 9 months before mushrooms begin to appear. Remember, beware the risks of harvesting wild fungi. A small-scale shiitake growing operation is a safe alternative for getting your “mushroom-fix.” Also, be ready to compete with a squirrel or two for your crop as they know a good thing when they see it too.
by Andrea Albertin | Jun 8, 2018
Flooding along the South Prong of the Black Creek River in Clay County on September 13, 2017. Photo credit: Tim Donovan, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC).
As hurricane season is upon us again, I wanted to share the results of work that UF/IFAS Extension staff did with collaborators from Virginia Tech and Texas A&M University to help private well owners impacted by Hurricanes Irma and Harvey last year. This work highlights just how important it is to be prepared for this year’s hurricane season and to make sure that if flooding does occur, those that depend on private wells for household use take the proper precautions to ensure the safety of their drinking water.
About 2.5 million Floridians (approximately 12% of the population) rely on private wells for home consumption. While public water systems are regulated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to ensure safe drinking water, private wells are not regulated. Private well users are responsible for ensuring the safety of their own water.
Hurricanes Irma and Harvey
In response to widespread damage and flooding caused by Hurricane Harvey in Texas and Irma in Florida in August and September 2017, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (VT) received a Rapid Research Response Grant from the National Science Foundation to offer free well water testing to homeowners impacted by flooding.
They partnered with Texas A&M AgriLife Extension’s Well Owner Network (run by Diane Boellstorff and Drew Gholson) and us, at UF/IFAS Extension to provide this service. The effort at VT was led by members of Marc Edward’s lab in the Civil Engineering Department: Kelsey Pieper, Kristine Mapili, William Rhoads, and Greg House.
VT made 1,200 sampling kits available in Texas and 500 in Florida, and offered free analysis for total coliform bacteria and E. coli as well as other parameters, including nitrate, lead, arsenic, iron, chloride, sodium, manganese, copper, fluoride, sulfate, and hardness (calcium and magnesium). Homeowners were also asked to complete a needs assessment questionnaire regarding their well system characteristics, knowledge of proper maintenance and testing, perceptions of the safety of their water and how to best engage them in future outreach and education efforts.
Response in the aftermath of Irma
Although the sampling kits were available, a major challenge in the wake of Irma was getting the word out as counties were just beginning to assess damage and many areas were without power. We coordinated the sampling effort out of Quincy, Florida, where I am based, and spread the word to extension agents in the rest of the state primarily through a group texting app, by telephone and by word of mouth. Extension agents in 6 affected counties (Lee, Pasco, Sarasota, Marion, Clay and Putnam) responded with a need for sample kits, and they in turn advertised sampling to their residents through press releases.
Residents picked up sampling kits and returned water samples and surveys on specified days and the samples were shipped overnight and analyzed at VT, in Blacksburg, VA. Anyone from nearby counties was welcome to submit samples as well. This effort complemented free well water sampling offered by multiple county health departments throughout the state.
In all, 179 water samples from Florida were analyzed at VT and results of the bacterial analysis are shown in the table below. Of 154 valid samples, 58 (38%) tested positive for total coliform bacteria, and 3 (2%) tested positive for E. coli. Results of the inorganic parameters and the needs assessment questionnaire are still being analyzed.
Table 1. Bacterial analysis of private wells in Florida after Hurricane Irma.
| County |
Number of samples (n) |
Positive for total coliform (n) |
Positive total coliform (%) |
Positive for E. coli (n) |
Positive for E. coli (%) |
| Citrus |
1 |
0 |
0% |
0 |
0% |
| Clay |
13 |
5 |
38% |
0 |
0% |
| Hernando |
2 |
1 |
50% |
0 |
0% |
| Hillsborough |
1 |
1 |
100% |
0 |
0% |
| Marion |
19 |
5 |
26% |
1 |
5% |
| Monroe |
1 |
0 |
0% |
0 |
0% |
| Pasco |
40 |
19 |
48% |
1 |
3% |
| Putnam |
61 |
19 |
31% |
0 |
0% |
| Sarasota |
16 |
8 |
50% |
1 |
6% |
| Overall |
154 |
58 |
38% |
3 |
2% |
Of 630 samples analyzed in Texas over the course of 7 weeks post-Hurricane Harvey, 293 samples (47% of wells) tested positive for total coliform bacteria and 75 samples (2%) tested positive for E. coli.
What to do if pathogens are found
Following Florida Department of Health (FDOH) guidelines, we recommended well disinfection to residents whose samples tested positive for total coliform bacteria, or both total coliform and E. coli. This is generally done through shock chlorination by either hiring a well operator or by doing it yourself. The FDOH website provides information on potential contaminants, how to shock chlorinate a well and how to maintain your well to ensure the quality of your well water (http://www.floridahealth.gov/environmental-health/private-well-testing/index.html).
UF/IFAS extension agents that led the sampling efforts in their respective counties were: Roy Beckford – Lee County; Brad Burbaugh – Clay County; Whitney Elmore – Pasco County; Sharon Treen – Putnam and Flagler Counties; Abbey Tyrna – Sarasota County and Yilin Zhuang – Marion County.
We at IFAS Extension are working on using results from this sampling effort and the needs assessment questionnaire filled out by residents to develop the UF/IFAS Florida Well Owner Network. Our goal is to provide residents with educational materials and classes to address gaps in knowledge regarding well maintenance, the importance of testing and recommended treatments when pathogens and other contaminants are present.
Remember: Get your well water tested if flooding occurs
It’s important to remember that if any flooding occurs on your property that affects your well and/or septic system, you should have your well water tested in a certified laboratory for pathogens (total coliform bacteria and E. coli) and any other parameters your local health department may recommend.
Most county health departments accept samples for water testing. You can also submit samples to a certified commercial lab near you. Contact your county health department for information about what to have your water tested for and how to take and submit the sample.
Contact information for county health departments can be found online at: http://www.floridahealth.gov/programs-and-services/county-health-departments/find-a-county-health-department/index.html
You can search for laboratories near you certified by FDOH here: https://fldeploc.dep.state.fl.us/aams/loc_search.asp This includes county health department labs as well as commercial labs, university labs and others.
You should also have your well water tested at any time when:
- The color, taste or odor of your well water changes or if you suspect that someone became sick after drinking your well water
- A new well is drilled or if you have had maintenance done on your existing well
Testing well water once a year is good practice to ensure the safety of your household’s drinking water.
