The UF/IFAS Extension and FAMU will be bringing the Florida Pest Management Conference to Milton on April 17th. Attend to earn CEUs for your PCO License. Attendance is free and we are currently seeking sponsors at $80 per sponsoring business/organization. For more details and to register, please visit the conference webpage at Northwest Pest Management Conference.
The Evidenced-Based Zoysiagrass Management Workshop is returning to Milton on April 23 at the University of Florida – Milton Campus. Attend to get updates on managing zoysiagrass and to earn CEUs. Register at: UF/IFAS Evidence-Based Zoysiagrass Workshop
UF/IFAS Extension Agents and Master Gardeners of Leon County have partnered with the Leon County Office of Resource Stewardship to lead multiple educational activities at this year’s Leon County Sustainable Community Summit.
The conference is breaking out of the indoors this year and will be held at the beautiful J.R. Alford Greenway at 2500 Pedrick Road in Tallahassee on Saturday, March 23, 9:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. There will be many interactive educational activities, including a chance to learn about electric vehicles, waste reduction, green spaces, local food systems and vegetable gardening, and energy and conservation. There will be a kids’ tent and post event tours, including a nature walk, greenway hayride, and a bike ride with Joyride Bicycle Collective.
During the Summit, there will be an opportunity for the community to provide input for the Leon County Sustainability Action Plan, learn about the Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) financing program for making homes more energy efficient, and the Community Garden Network of the Capital Region will be giving away a free garden bed kit.
Please register to attend the Leon County Sustainable Community Summit on Eventbrite (https://www.eventbrite.com/e/2019-leon-county-sustainable-community-summit-tickets-54664825966). Coffee, snacks, and lunch are included in the registration fee. For more information, visit the Growing Green website (www.GrowingGreen.org/Summit2019). Please bring a water bottle and wear weather appropriate clothing.
Finding professional landscape services for your home or business can be difficult. Unlike many skilled trades in Florida, landscapers/groundskeepers are mostly unregulated. No state exams exist to determine mastery of the basic skills required to perform lawn or landscape maintenance. Ultimately, consumers are left on their own to determine who to hire.
As UF/IFAS Extension Agents, we cannot endorse or provide referrals to companies; however, we can offer some guidance to help you with your search for qualified professionals.
The Florida Friendly Landscaping™ program is a great place to start. Most Extension offices have free books on how to care for Florida landscapes. Or you can find online resources at www.floridayards.org
Commercial landscape fertilizer applicators must obtain state certification.
Start preparing now so your fall garden will be full of dark leafy greens, multi-colored lettuces, and root vegetables of all shapes and sizes. Photo by Molly Jameson.
August is a double-edged sword. The oppressive heat is at its pinnacle – where even the thought of spending time in the garden makes you break into a sweat – but it is also the time of year that visions of fall start coming into focus, and you can’t help but peek at the weekly forecast for signs of declining temperatures.
If your garden looks anything like mine, there are sweet potato vines weaving in and out of every corner of sunlight they can find. The sweet peppers you let fully ripen are bright red and sweeter than ever. You may have already reaped the reward of your watermelons, but you’re still hoping you can get the harvest timing right for the late season bloomers. Your okra is as tall as you – maybe even taller – and you’re grateful, for their big oblong heart-shaped leaves are shading out at least some of those warm-season weeds.
Fall is the time to start growing kale, lettuce, onions, parsley, mustard greens, and much more. Photo by Molly Jameson.
But the seasons are-a-changing, and soon you’ll be pulling up the last of your summer garden to make room for dark leafy greens, a cornucopia of roots, and a rainbow of lettuce varieties.
If this is making you want to rush to your nearest plant nursery and unearth all your half-used fall seed packets, then come on down to the Leon County Extension Office in Tallahassee to join us for our annual Fall Backyard Gardening Series!
This is a two-part series, running from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. on September 4 and 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. on September 11, 2018, at 615 Paul Russell Road. I, along with Extension Agents Mark Tancig and Trevor Hylton, will discuss garden site selection, soil and fertilization, and fall planting and gardening techniques. As a bonus, you’ll leave with freshly planted vegetable seeds to take home to later transplant into your garden.
Please register on Eventbrite. The cost for both evenings is $10, and light refreshments will be provided. For more information, contact Molly Jameson at mjameson@ufl.edu or by phone at 850-606-5219.
And if you’re not in the Tallahassee area, check with your local extension office to see what fall gardening events they may have available. Tending a fall garden in Florida can be one of the most rewarding outdoor endeavors you can experience!
On June 6th, we held an Invasive Species Workshop: Air Potato Challenge and Species Awareness day at the UF/IFAS Extension Office in Panama City. Over 700 air potato leaf beetles were distributed to more than 30 sites in Northwest Florida by citizen scientists to help manage the invasive air potato vine!
We were joined by University of Florida Wildlife Ecology Professor, Dr. Steve Johnson, and representatives from Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), and Science and Discovery Center (SDC) of Northwest Florida. If you would like to learn more about topics covered at the workshop, please click on the videos below. We hope you enjoy and share!
Steve Johnson, UF/IFAS Extension, shares Exotic Invaders: Reptiles and Amphibians of Concern in Northwest Florida. (Updated June 7 2018 – 10AM CDT) http://www.eddmaps.org and http://ufwildlife.ifas.ufl.edu/steve_johnson.shtml
Rick O’Connor, UF/IFAS Extension, tells us about the ball python, a potential invasive species. Rick also provides an overview of keeping pythons and other snakes as pets. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pdffiles/UW/UW34100.pdf
Holli Nichols, FWC, tells us about the Wildlife Assistance program for homeowners and property owners. Holli helps out find solutions for negative encounters with Wildlife. Most problems are easily solved and she provides a few tips. Holli also tells us about the FWC Pet Amnesty Program for Exotic Pets. Watch to learn more. http://myfwc.com/conse…/you-conserve/assistnuisance-wildlife
Kira Burdeshaw, SCN of NW FL, shows off the tokay gecko we found at the Extension office on the front porch earlier in May. The Gecko moved in with Kira and her other reptiles at the Science and Discovery Center.
…http://myfwc.com/wildlifeha…/nonnatives/reptiles/tokay-gecko
Kira Burdeshaw, SCN of NW FL, introduces us to Jewel the iguana and Eva, a boa contrictor. She also tells us more about the Science and Discovery Center in Northwest Florida. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pdffiles/IN/IN52800.pdf and http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pdffiles/UW/UW34200.pdf
Mike Kennison, FWC, shares resources and efforts to manage lionfish in Florida waters. Learn more about this Summer’s Lionfish Challenge at http://myfwc.com/…/saltwater/recreational/lionfish/challenge
Derek Fussell with FWC Invasive Aquatic Plant Management talks about Giant Salvinia, a species of concern for Deer Point Lake in Bay County, Florida. Here’s a link to a story about the discovery of giant salvinia in Bay County from 2016 https://nwdistrict.ifas.ufl.edu/…/nisaw-2016-working…
Derek Fussell shares a behind the scene’s view of their new boat for controling aquatic plants in Bay County and Northwest Florida. We will visit with Derek and Jamie later and show some of the aquatic invasives they work to control everyday!
Scott Jackson and Julie McConnell, UF/IFAS, show Air Potato Beetles and discuss vine look-alikes. Schedule for the June 6, 2018 is briefly discussed. https://t.co/8c9KdV9Ezm More at https://t.co/gVh28N714E#airpotatochallenge #invasivespecies
