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The 63rd Annual Panhandle Watermelon Festival is scheduled for Saturday, June 23rd. We are requesting both homeowner and commercially grown melons for contribution to our Big Melon Contest and Auction.
Entries must be brought to the Washington County Agricultural Center, 1424 Jackson Ave., Chipley FL. no later than 3:30pm on Friday, June 22nd.
Winners of …
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Permanent link to this article: http://nwdistrict.ifas.ufl.edu/phag/2018/06/08/panhandle-watermelon-festival-2018-big-melon-contest-june-23/
Today in the nursery trade, when you think of roses, your mind inevitably turns to the ‘Knockout’ rose and its offspring. That’s fine, there’s nothing wrong with ‘Knockout’ roses, it makes a great ornamental landscape plant, and it’s easy to propagate.
With all the ‘Knockout’ mania, since the early 2000s, many garden …
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Permanent link to this article: http://nwdistrict.ifas.ufl.edu/phag/2018/03/09/alternative-rose-options-for-florida-nurseries/
Every winter season in the Florida Panhandle is different. It can be wet or dry, frigid cold or unseasonably warm. We may have early frosts and early springs, or cold snaps in late march after fruit trees flower. Because of this variability, it is impossible to predict the perfect time to prune fruit crops in …
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Permanent link to this article: http://nwdistrict.ifas.ufl.edu/phag/2017/12/15/when-should-you-prune-fruit-trees/
Both niche market farmers and home gardeners may be uncertain about late winter management of Satsuma trees. Several questions that have come in to the Extension Office recently include: Should I prune my trees? Why are the leaves yellow? How soon should I fertilize? The focus of this article is to provide some answers to …
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Permanent link to this article: http://nwdistrict.ifas.ufl.edu/phag/2017/02/10/late-winter-citrus-considerations/
A recent visit to the North Florida Research and Education Center reminded me of the potential of a specialty fruit that is often forgotten about in Northwest Florida, the Oriental persimmon. The Oriental, or Japanese, persimmon (Diospyros kaki) was introduced to the Southern United States in the mid to late 1800s. Although it is native to …
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Permanent link to this article: http://nwdistrict.ifas.ufl.edu/phag/2016/10/21/oriental-persimmon-for-the-specialty-fruit-market/
The Eastern Lubber Grasshopper, also known colloquially as the “Georgia Thumper,” can be highly destructive to a variety of vegetable crops. This May many growers and vegetable gardeners have reported unusually high numbers of nymphs, the juvenile form of the grasshopper.
This observation is consistent with the usual increase of nymphs in vegetable plantings during …
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Permanent link to this article: http://nwdistrict.ifas.ufl.edu/phag/2016/05/27/control-grasshoppers-when-they-are-young/
I’ve heard it said there’s no such thing as a vegetable that grows fast, tastes good, and is cheap….well they must not have considered the radish!
If a fast growing, quick producing vegetable is desired, nothing is better than a radish. Radishes can develop from seed to mature root in 20-30 days, and can be …
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Permanent link to this article: http://nwdistrict.ifas.ufl.edu/phag/2015/12/18/radish-the-fastest-vegetable-to-market/
On Tuesday August 4, 2015, twelve Innovative Farmers and Ranchers were recognized by University of Florida IFAS Extension and Farm Credit of Northwest Florida at the Jefferson County Opera House, in Monticello. This is the fifth year these two organizations have teamed up to honor a selection of the most innovative farmers from the Florida …
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Permanent link to this article: http://nwdistrict.ifas.ufl.edu/phag/2015/09/11/bill-brenda-maphis-honored-as-washington-county-agricultural-innovators/
Last year, I wrote an article for this newsletter about late bearing muscadine cultivars. There are many early, mid, and late bearing cultivars, and a list can be found in the publication: The Muscadine Grape. August is the very beginning of the muscadine harvest in the Florida Panhandle, which may last through October. Contrary …
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Permanent link to this article: http://nwdistrict.ifas.ufl.edu/phag/2015/08/07/tips-for-properly-pruning-muscadines/
In the Florida Panhandle, blueberry jam, blueberry cobbler and fresh blueberries seem to be a staple. This is because there are many local, u-pick, direct-market, and wholesale growers who provide a top quality product.
Farmers wanting to add blueberries to their operations sometimes struggle to find the varieties grown by other local farmers. Vaccinium ashei …
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Permanent link to this article: http://nwdistrict.ifas.ufl.edu/phag/2015/03/13/small-farm-blueberry-production-for-the-panhandle/
