by Mark Mauldin, Agriculture & Natural Resources, Washington County
Calling all watermelon producers, commercial growers to gardeners. Planting season is just around the corner. As you plan your plantings don’t forget about the Big Melon Contest at the Panhandle Watermelon Festival. The festival and the contest have been summer-time staples in the Central Panhandle for decades. Don’t miss out on the opportunity to showcase your skills as a grower and a shot at some serious prize money.
To make the contest fun for growers of all types of watermelons, a winner and first runner-up will be recognized for each variety of melon entered in contest*, with the heaviest melon in the class winning $50 and the first runner-up $25. In addition to the variety classes, there will be a $300 grand prize paid for the overall heaviest melon in the contest and $200 for the first runner-up.
New for 2024, the Junior Jubilee Contest is a melon growing competition open only to kids 18 and under. To participate in the Junior Jubilee Contest, kids must sign-up this Spring (3/4/24 – 3/22/24). Upon signing up, kids will receive seeds and growing guide. Through the Spring the kids will grow their own melons and then bring their 2 biggest back, to enter the contest at the festival. All kids who bring a melon back for the contest will be recognized at the melon auction and prizes will be given for the 10 biggest melons, including a $200 grand prize for the biggest melon. For more information or to enter the Junior Jubilee Contest contact the Washington County UF/IFAS Extension Office. Click the link below for more details about the Junior Jubilee Contest.
There is no cost to enter a melon in the contest. However, melons entered in the contest are donated to the festival and will be sold via auction. Proceeds of the auction will go to help off-set the costs of next year’s festival. All contest melons will be on display during the festival and their variety, weight, and grower will be announced during the auction.
The 2024 Panhandle Watermelon Festival will be Friday June 21st and Saturday June 22nd in Chipley, FL. The Friday night concert festivities will be held at Jim Trawick Park and Saturday’s events (including the melon auction) will be at the Washington County Ag Center. The auction will begin at 12 noon on Saturday.
Melons being entered in the contest will need to be delivered to the Washington County Ag Center prior to the festival. Melons will be received and weighed-in at the Ag Center Wednesday 6/19 between 8am and 4pm and Thursday 6/20 between 8am and 7pm central time. If you have melons that you would like to enter in the contest but are unable to deliver during the specified times, contact Mark Mauldin prior to 6/19 to make arrangements. Pick-up may be possible, to the extent practical, provided arrangements are made in advance.
The Washington County Ag Center is located at 1424 Jackson Ave. Chipley, FL 32428.
If you have any questions regarding the contest, contact Mark Mauldin at the UF/IFAS Extension, Washington County Office (850-638-6180 or mdm83@ufl.edu).
Rainfall in the Florida Panhandle can be described as feast or famine, alternating between daily rain and weeks without a drop. Plants can struggle in these circumstances and if not well adapted to the area may need a little help from gardeners. One plant that is perfectly happy without intervention in these extreme climatic conditions is the resurrection fern (Pleopeltis polypodiodes).
Resurrection fern is a semi-evergreen epiphytic fern that grows along the branches and trunks of shade trees, rocks, stumps, and other suitable spots. An epiphyte obtains water and nutrients from the air and organic matter on the surface where it is attached; it is not parasitic. This native plant thrives in part to full shade and is cold hardy into Zone 6A. Resurrection fern has fibrous roots and creeping rhizomes that allow this clumping fern to spread and attach itself to trees or objects. Like other ferns it reproduces by spores that are born on the underside of fronds.
When rainfall is scarce, the normally lush fern turns brown, and fronds curl up and it looks dead. Once moisture returns, the fern hydrates and returns to its normal lush look earning the name resurrection fern.
When rainfall is scares, resurrection fern will dry up until water is available. J. McConnell, UFIFASClumps of resurrection fern on the trunk of a live oak. J. McConnell, UFIFASResurrection fern and Spanish moss on live oak branch. J. McConnell, UFIFASResurrection Fern spores. J. McConnell, UF/IFASResurrection fern attached to the trunk of a live oak. J. McConnell, UFIFASResurrection fern on live oak. J. McConnell, UFIFAS
Since 2020, we have delivered timely webinars using Zoom and Facebook Live to reach Gardening in the Panhandle LIVE! viewers. In 2024, we are changing things up just a bit. Due to changes in the way Zoom and Facebook interface we will only be transmitting live through Zoom.
What does that mean for our Facebook viewers? We will still post Events about upcoming programs with links to register for the episode and will continue to share videos after they are uploaded to YouTube (usually this is within 24 hours). Thank you for your patience as we make this change
Below is our lineup for 2024 – we hope you will join us!
In case you missed it, you can watch our last session of Gardening in the Panhandle LIVE! that aired on October 12th by visiting our YouTube Playlist with all the past episodes of our gardening webinars.
We had a great conversation about herbs and cool season edible plants last month and this article compiles the links shared by the expert panel in the episode. Thanks for watching!
Weeds can be the bane of the gardener’s existence and Extension Agents get a lot of questions on how to manage them throughout the year. Whether you are growing edibles, ornamentals, or turfgrass you have probably encountered a plant out of place which is basically the general definition of a weed. Just like with any other landscape challenge the first thing you need to do when dealing with weeds is accurate identification. Understanding the life cycle of the pest (weed in this case) you are targeting will be key for the most effective control with minimal inputs. Your local Extension office can assist with weed identification, and you can find a list by county here.
If you missed the live broadcast, you can watch the video on YouTube
Below are the links that were shared during the episode in the order discussed if you would like to follow along:
We have one more episode of Gardening in the Panhandle LIVE! scheduled this year on October 12th. We hope you will join us for Herbs and Cool Season Edibles!
