by Sheila Dunning | Apr 12, 2013
This month, recognized by the Senate and Florida’s governor, reminds diggers why calling 811 before all outdoor digging projects is important to your safety. Before installing a mailbox, fence, deck, garden or tree make sure to call Sunshine 811 to have underground lines marked. 811 is the free national number designated by the Federal Communications Commission. It notifies utility companies, who in turn send their professional locators to identify and mark the appropriate location of underground line with paint and flags in colors that identify the utility type. The following colors represent the seven various utilities: red – electric, orange – communications (telephone, cable tv), blue – potable water, green – sewer, yellow – gas, purple – reclaimed water, and white – site of intended excavation. To learn more about color designation and their corresponding utility go to: http://www.call811.com/faqs/default.aspx. Locate marks are good for 30 calendar days. Any work beyond that requires another call to 811. If the marks are destroyed before your project is done, stop digging and call 811.
Hitting an underground utility line while digging can cause injuries, utility service outages to an entire neighborhood and damage to the environment. The depth of utility lines varies, and there may be multiple utility lines in one common area. Even if you think you know where an underground line is, time tends to change things. Erosion or tree roots can shift those utility lines. Failure to call before digging results in one unintentional utility hit every eight minutes nationwide. You could also be financially affected with costly fines and high repair costs.
The Common Ground Alliance (CGA) Damage Information Reporting Tool (DIRT) provides industry stakeholders with a way to anonymously submit data into a comprehensive database for analysis of the factors that lead to events. An event is defined by the CGA DIRT User’s Guide as “the occurrence of downtime, damages, and near misses.” The number of events submitted to DIRT for 2011 totaled 207,779. However, according to CGA DIRT “when a call is made to the one call canter (811) prior to excavation, 99% of the time there will be no damage”.
Calling 811 in Florida is the law. At least two full business days before digging, do-it yourselfers and professional excavators must contact 811 by phone to start the process of getting underground utility lines marked. This is a free service. Be sure that all utilities have been marked before grabbing the shovel. If you don’t see locate marks, don’t assume there are no underground utility lines. Verify with the Sunshine 811 Positive Response system. Follow up on your one call ticket by contacting 811 again on the third day. Sunshine State One Call is a not for profit corporation which began with the 1993 adoption of the “Underground Facility Damage Prevention and Safety Act,” Chapter 556, Florida Statutes. Online you can visit: www.online811.com, or call (800) 852-8057. If you provide a valid e-mail when requesting your locate ticket, positive response updates will automatically be sent to you when all utilities have responded. For more information on Florida’s law, visit www.Sunshine811.com.
by Matthew Orwat | Feb 15, 2013
According to the National Weather Service a mild freeze is predicted for Northwest Florida this weekend, specifically Saturday night to Sunday morning. Washington County Horticulture extension agent Matthew Orwat says,” While mature, dormant Satsuma trees are cold hardy down to 14° – 18 °F, young trees need protection if temperatures dip into the upper 20s.”
Photo Credits David Marshall
Here are a few techniques to protect young citrus trees from late-season freezes:
- Wrap the trunk with commercial tree wrap or mound soil around the base of the tree up to 2 feet. This will protect the graft of the young tree. Thus, if the branches freeze the graft union will be protected.
- Cover the tree with a cloth sheet or blanket. For additional protection, large bulb Christmas lights may be placed around the branches of the tree. This will increase the temperature under the cover by several degrees. Be sure to use outdoor lights and outdoor extension cords to avoid the potential of fire.
- Water your Satsuma trees. Well watered trees have increased cold hardiness.
- Frames may be installed around young trees to hold the cover. This option keeps the blanket or sheet from weighing down the branches.
- For homeowners with lemon, lime or other less cold hardy citrus, micro-irrigation is an option. This practice will protect citrus trees up to 5 feet, but must be running throughout the entire freeze event. For additional information click here.
- Always remember to remove cold protection once the temperature rises so that the trees do not overheat
- Do not cover trees with plastic tarps, these will not protect the tree and can “cook” the tree once temperatures rise.
Please see the following publications by retired UF / IFAS Extension agents Theresa Friday and David Marshall for additional information regarding freeze protection of citrus.
by Carrie Stevenson | Jan 11, 2013
Master Gardeners demonstrate correct tree planting techniques.
Arbor Day (which literally means, “Tree Day”) was founded in 1872 by J. Sterling Morton, a naturalist and journalist in Nebraska. By 1882, it was celebrated by thousands of schoolchildren nationwide, who planted trees and took care of them with their classmates. Today, millions of communities and schools celebrate Arbor Day all over the world. Trees provide endless benefits, including shade, recreation, food and building products, wildlife habitat, oxygen production, and carbon dioxide uptake.
Arbor Day is typically celebrated in the United States on the last Friday of April, but as ideal tree-planting conditions differ by climate, each state has its own specific Arbor Day, as well. Winter is the ideal time to plant trees in Florida, because it allows roots to develop without expending energy on growing new leaves and shoots. Our state celebration this year is January 18th. Many local communities in Florida hold special events around this time, including:
Escambia County:
Extension and Water Quality divisions are partnering with the Florida Forest Service to give away 4,000 seedling trees, including Crabapple, Mayhaw, Cherrybark Oak, Wax Myrtle, Bald Cypress, and River Birch. There are two events: January 14 from 9:30-11:00 am at the Walnut Hill Ruritan (7850 Highway 97), and January 18 at Pensacola State College Warrington (198 Patton Drive) from 11:00 am- 2 pm. The Jan. 18 event will include a tree planting demo at Pensacola State College and dedication of the Southwest Greenway Trail Opening Celebration. For more information contact Beth at bbolles@ufl.edu
Okaloosa County:
Okaloosa Extension will host a tree giveaway on Jaunary 18 from 9 am – 12 noon, in conjunction with the county and state forestry service. Trees available include Mayhaw, Red Maple, Cherrybark Oak, and Yellow Poplar. The schedule includes a dedication and installation of a Winged Elm, demonstration on correct tree planting and a guided tour of the new Extension building. Okaloosa County UF Extension Office, 3098 Airport Road, Crestview, Florida. For more information, contact Sheila at sdunning@ufl.edu
Walton County:
An Arbor Day celebration will be held on Friday, January 25 in the DeFuniak Springs Lakeyard. Former first lady, Rosalyn Carter will be present at tree planting ceremony around lunch time. For more information, contact Mike at mjgo@ufl.edu
Leon County:
Arborist Stan Rosenthal will host an Arbor Day tree planting on Saturday, January 26 at Lafayette Park in Tallahassee. The event starts at 9:00 am. For more details, contact Stan at stanr@ifas.ufl.edu
Click here to find more information about ways to celebrate Arbor Day.
