Applying the right amount of water to the lawn when the turf actually needs water is not always the easiest task for busy homeowners. UF IFAS Extension Escambia County Master Gardener Volunteer Greg Leach shares information about a soil moisture monitoring system that attaches to a home sprinkler system. This can help you apply water to the turf when it is actually needed by measuring soil moisture availability.
Our Gardening in the Panhandle blogs cover many horticultural topics concerning yards, however let us not forget about properties that contain a body of water (pond, lake, retention or detention basin, stream, river or Gulf of Mexico). Out of the nine Florida-Friendly Landscaping™ principles, five directly deal with water quality. Those principles are #2 Water Efficiently, #3 Fertilize Appropriately, #6 Manage Yard Pests Responsibly, #8 Prevent Stormwater Runoff, and #9 Protect the Waterfront. An easy argument can be made that the remaining four principles (#1 Right Plant, Right Place, #4 Mulch, #5 Attract Wildlife, and #7 Recycle) can also impact water quality on your properties.
Photo Credit: University of Florida/IFAS Extension
The quickest and easiest way to start improving water quality is setting up a maintenance-free zone along your shore. At minimum, you should keep all chemicals 10′ away from the water’s edge and increase that distance as your slope becomes steeper. Chemicals include all fertilizers (#3) and any pesticides/herbicides (#6) meant for the landscape (there are times when situations arise where treatment of the water is warranted). If you must fertilize up slope, make sure to reduce irrigation (#2) to about 25% of normal the first time which keeps the fertilizer from dissolving and running down your slope’s surface (#9).
Cascades Park in Tallahassee, FL.
If possible replace turfgrass with a no mow zone containing plants adapted for shorelines to prevent applications of fertilizer and chemicals. Plants (#1) other than turfgrass will have deeper roots, stabilize the bank better and absorb more chemicals before entering the water. These taller plants in turn can become habitats (#5) for birds and other specimens which can increase your ecosystem’s biodiversity. Some properties have collection swales or low lying areas where water pools and then flows into the water. It is best to understand how water flows through the property and reduce chemicals in those areas too (#8).
Heavy rains caused water levels to raise around this pond and decomposing leaf litter added a film over the pond.
As gardeners, we tend to compost our leaves and yard debris (#7) plus use mulch (#4) to reduce water loss from our soils. Keep mulches and compost piles away from flood zones and when possible keep leaves from washing into your water as they can create films on the surface. Never allow grass clippings to land on water surfaces as they will add nutrients when tissue decays.
As Florida continues to grow, we all must play an important role in keeping our water clean and safe for us, animals, birds, and aquatic life. If you have questions on improving your water quality, please contact your local county Extension Agent or Water Regional Specialized Agent (RSA). For additional information visit these other sites.
Protecting Florida’s Water Resources: https://gardeningsolutions.ifas.ufl.edu/care/florida-friendly-landscapes/floridas-water-resources.html
Living on Water’s Edge: http://www.sarasota.wateratlas.usf.edu/upload/documents/LivingontheWatersEdgeFreshwater.pdf
Urban Fertilizer Ordinances in the Context of Environmental Horticulture and Water Quality Extension Programs: Frequently Asked Questions: https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/AE534
Beach vitex in bloom is an attractive plant, which can make it more difficult to convince property owners of its harmful potential. Photo credit: Rick O’Connor, Florida Sea Grant
One of the biggest problems with beach vitex (Vitex rotundifolia) is its beauty. It has rounded, deep green leaves (with a silvery gray cast) and a beautiful little lavender-purple bloom. Like most weedy invasive plants, the plant was imported and sold as an ornamental groundcover for many years. Homeowners and landscapers planted it in coastal areas where it is well adapted to the salt and heat, and no one realized it would be so problematic. Ever since, beach vitex took root and has continued growing, unchecked, throughout the coastal south.
In this photo, beach vitex has overrun all native dune vegetation to form a monoculture. Photo credit: Randy Westbrook, Invasive Plant Control, Inc. bugwood.org
North and South Carolina started having big issues first, when beach vitex was planted deliberately to stabilize sand dunes after hurricanes. Soon after, a coastal restoration specialist with the Army Corps of Engineers realized the mistake. The vines run along the ground in such thick mats that native vegetation like sea oats can be choked out. The wide-spreading fibrous roots and tall profile of sea oats hold sand in place better than the beach vitex’s low growth and taproot, which have long term consequences for maintaining dune stability. The thick tangle of vitex growth is yet another obstacle for hatchling sea turtles in a long list of man-made problems that has made nesting and reproduction difficult.
The invasive vine beach vitex has taken over a stretch of sand on Pensacola Beach. Photo credit: Rick O’Connor, Florida Sea Grant
Eradication of the noxious weed has proved difficult. When a plant gets the nickname, “beach kudzu,” you know something went seriously wrong. Beach vitex produces millions of seeds in late summer and early fall, which are dispersed by wind, birds, and float over water. Unless removed before going to seed, even a small patch of the vine can expand rapidly. While not as prevalent in Florida, over 80 sites have been identified in the western panhandle with beach vitex. Due to these problematic issues, the plant was recently added to the Florida Noxious Weed and Invasive Species List, making it illegal to sell, grow, move, or release the plant.
To learn more about how to identify, report, and remove beach vitex, visit www.eddmaps.org or contact Rick O’Connor at roc1@ufl.edu.
As we have all observed communities are growing in the Panhandle through new home construction or through renovation of existing properties. This article will address new home construction. Many questions come to mind as construction begins with some of these questions needing to be addressed prior to start of construction. Determining impacts on the plant resources that already exist on the site should be included in the planning, design, construction and post-construction phases to be successful in achieving a healthy vibrant landscape for all to enjoy.
Photo Courtesy: Stephen Greer
Homes in community developments are being located on smaller lots in groups with conservation areas saved for the open spaces for all to enjoy. An older term for this was new urbanism and now is often referred to as conservation or clustered development. This type of development identifies and encourages environmentally friendly habitats for plants and animals creating a biodiversity within a walkable neighborhood designed to protect yet allow residence to enjoy some of the Northwest Florida beauty.
How can the objectives of building the new home desired, manage to protect the healthy plants already existing on the site? These challenges are difficult to answer but there are steps to accomplish both. For this article I will address construction and tree protection.
Protecting existing trees during the construction and post-construction phases takes expertise and a plan. First, consider hiring a professional arborist or urban forester to assist in this plan development. Understanding the existing trees on site prior to construction from the variety, location, visual impacts, size, overall health and location on the property are a good start. How do you protect the selected trees? First identify the trees that will need to be removed. Look for unhealthy stressed trees, significant limb death already occurring, poor crown growth (thinning) and other observations.
Photo Courtesy: Stephen Greer
The next step is to make a sight plan that needs to include grading needs for the home, drainage on the property, existing trees and surrounding vegetation, property lines, set back requirements, driveway location, utility placements and site of home. Flag trees that will be impacted and will need to be removed during the construction.
Following the sight plan, a tree protection plan needs to occur. This must happen before construction begins and include all parties involved to make sure all are in agreement. This is the stage where the group can identify conflicts involving tree protection and construction. Oversight by the owner, contractor and equipment operators is critical. A tree protection zone must be identified and implemented before construction. This typically involves setting up a fence around the protected trees and vegetation to restrict access of equipment and potential damage to the root system. A rule of thumb is to maintain a radius of at least 1.25 feet of protected area for each 1 inch of tree trunk diameter. An example would be a 12-inch diameter tree trunk with good protection at 15 feet to best protection at 30 feet of radius.
Photo Courtesy: Stephen Greer
The point is to give the best chance of a health survival of the tree during this soil and site disturbance as the construction process progress all the way to post construction with the removal of the protective fencing. Difficult decisions may need to be made of selecting trees to protect but will be needed. Enjoy the successes and plan for creating a new landscape that includes part of conserving plants that were there before and going forward.
Lawns and landscapes are greening up this time of year, and it’s not just plants showing signs of activity. All sorts of creatures are out there living their lives, and some of them are doing some digging.
From little piles of dirt to big mounds and long tunnels, it can be frustrating to figure out what is disrupting your carefully tended lawn or ornamental bed. Luckily, there are differences between the possible culprits. Here are some of the possibilities (see the associated links for more information and control methods):
A miner bee hole. Photo: Evan Anderson
Miner Bees (and other ground nesting bees and insects) – Miner bees are harmless, solitary bees that tunnel into the soil. Not to be mistaken for yellowjackets, each bee digs her own small nest to lay her eggs in. Multiple such bees may be attracted to the same location, but they do not form hives and aren’t aggressive. Small mounds of soil may form around the entrances to their nests, but these will vanish after a rain.
Mole cricket tunnels. Photo: N. Leppa
Mole crickets – These are crickets that dig small tunnels just under the surface of the soil. Several species live in Florida, one of which is native and is not a pest. Non-native species can become pests of turfgrass.
A fire ant mound in the landscape. Photo: B. Drees
Fire Ants – A single ant isn’t particularly threatening, but fire ants have found that thousands of rage-filled friends make a good deterrent. They build large mounds of soil to help regulate temperature and moisture in their nests, which can be quite unsightly in the landscape. Disturbing these mounds will unleash hordes of stinging ants, so beware; while they don’t necessarily do any harm to plants, they aren’t terribly friendly neighbors.
For animal pests, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission maintains a list of nuisance wildlife trappers at https://public.myfwc.com/HGM/NWT/NWTSearch.aspx. For insects, you may need to contact a local pest control specialist or company. For help in identifying a problem, contact your local Extension office.