Preventive Tree Maintenance Before High Winds Strike
The 2020 Atlantic Hurricane Season got off to an early start with some tropical storm activity before the season’s official June 1 start date. We live in a high wind climate. Even our thunderstorms can produce fifty-plus mile per hour winds. Preventive tree...
Why are My Squash Not Producing?
This spring, I have received several questions about spring squash. Some of the most worried gardeners asked me why their squash was not producing? Initially, I thought it was a pollination issue. It turns out, in more than one case, their plants were not producing...
Assassins of the Garden
As a gardener, the summer is the season you might feel it takes knightly status to grow fruits and vegetables. You put on your metaphorical armor, hold up your shield, and draw your sword to battle the stink bugs, squash vine borers, armyworms, green peach aphids, and...
Why Can’t I Kill Weeds?
Why are the plants we are trying not to grow so hard to kill? Weeds can be quite frustrating to home gardeners as they struggle to get them under control. There are a few things you can do to help make your efforts more successful. [gallery...
Video: Saving Tomato Seeds
Many gardeners enjoy saving their own seeds for next year's garden. Learn the basic steps of saving seeds from your favorite tomato selections. View the handout version too. https://youtu.be/S7kelBTJ9d0
Sundews: Tiny, delightful meat-eaters
There are few words better than "pure delight" to describe the face of someone who sees and appreciates a sundew for the first time. Maybe it is their size—often no bigger around than a quarter—or the miniature pinwheel shape, but sundews could easily fit into a fable...
Protect Your Laurel Trees from Ambrosia Beetles with Verbenone.
While most bark beetles are important in forest ecology by recycling fallen dead trees and eliminating sick and damaged trees, some of them may impact healthy trees. A group of bark beetles that has become a major concern to forest managers, nurseries, and homeowners...
Video: Cantaloupe in the Home Garden
Learn a little about cantaloupe that is growing in the late spring garden. Beth Bolles with UF IFAS Extension in Escambia County shares experience from her backyard garden. https://youtu.be/1asdylW3b64
Pineapple Guava: An Outstanding Florida-Friendly Shrub
One of the most common questions I’ve gotten across the Panhandle over the last several years is “What can I plant to screen my house and property?” I surmise this has a lot to do with Hurricane Michael wiping properties clean and an explosion of new construction,...
Video Feature: Ground Pearls in a North Florida Lawn
The insect ground pearls can damage many types of turfgrass in North Florida. Learn to identify ground pearl damage and find the insects in your soil with Larry Williams, Horticulture Agent with UF IFAS Extension Okaloosa County....