Conserving Water in the Home Garden, A Fluid Situation
Water is a precious resource for Floridians, even if the last couple of months of rainfall may make you think otherwise. As home gardeners, we should keep water conservation in mind. Wasting water now may cause restrictions in the future, as basic water needs of a...
Clean Up for the Fall Vegetable Garden
A common question for gardeners at the end of the season is if one should till the soil or use no till practices. Opinions vary regarding this question, even among Extension Agents. However old crops harbor insects, both good and bad. This phenomenon was noticed on...
False Potato Beetle: An Overlooked, Destructive Pest of Eggplant
August is awful. Its heat makes one miss the relative cool of July. Its rain is so sporadic that it invokes nostalgia for the rainy afternoons of early summer. But if there is a silver lining in August for gardeners, it is the simplicity that it brings. The weaker...
Meet Beth Bolles
Beth has served as a horticulture educator with the University of Florida for 23 years in Escambia County. She assists both homeowners and professionals with evidence-based information to improve their gardening and landscaping practices. Beth earned degrees from...
Video: Mint for the Garden and Kitchen
Mint is an easy herb to grow in the North Florida Garden. Learn the basics of plant care and culinary uses with UF IFAS Extension Escambia County's Garden to Table series. https://youtu.be/Dxtor62mKV0
Garden Ideas – Les Furr’s Sunflower Screen
Veteran Master Gardener, Les Furr shares an idea he and his wife had to hide an ugly debris pile following Hurricane Michael. He planted a temporary sunflower screen to block something ugly with something beautiful. Sunflowers can be planted along a road or fence, and...
Meet Mary Salinas
Mary is the Residential Horticulture Agent and Master Gardener Volunteer Coordinator for UF/IFAS Extension in Santa Rosa County. She earned a B.S. and M.S. in environmental horticulture at the University of Florida. She and her volunteers provide research-based...
Lessons in Landscaping Provided by Oleander Caterpillars
Oleander caterpillars, which are active on some oleanders during summer, can provide a number of gardening lessons. The adult moth is striking in appearance. The bluish to purplish moth has white dots on its black wings. The moths resemble wasps as they fly in and...
Muscadines–Our Florida Wild Grape
There is something deeply satisfying about plucking fruit off a plant growing outside and tasting it right off the vine/bush/tree. Since childhood, I have reached carefully through the tiny and numerous thorns of blackberry bushes growing in the woods, hoping the...
Help Us Keep A Watch Out for Rose Rosette Disease
Austin N. Fife, PhD student, Entomology University of Florida IFAS North Florida Research and Extension Center Phyllocoptes fructiphilus: a new threat for Florida roses Phyllocoptes fructiphilus Kefier is a microscopic plant-feeding arachnid belonging to a group of...