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HURRICANE PREPAREDNESS PROGRAM MAY 29 AT EOC, by Larry Williams UF/IFAS Extension Agent
There's never a convenient time for a hurricane or a convenient time to prepare for one. With hurricane season just around the corner, the University of Florida/IFAS Okaloosa County Extension Office is offering you the opportunity to participate in an educational event to help you better prepare for a storm. Join us for a free hurricane preparedness program being offered from 5:30-8pm May 29th at the Emergency Operations Center.
The Preparing for a Storm program will focus on preparation methods for the upcoming hurricane season. Topics include homeowner's insurance, storm-resilient landscapes, home preparation, managing pets during a storm, clean-up safety and special information for military families. Okaloosa Emergency Management and UF Extension faculty will present information and displays. Extension staff members Larry Williams and Sheila Dunning will be sharing tips on developing a storm-resilient landscape, and Jennifer Bearden will share strategies for pet/animal care during a storm. Ken Wolfe, emergency management coordinator, will discuss local procedures and resources before, during and after a storm.
As part of the educational displays, we will showcase a University of Florida/IFAS Extension Disaster Preparation/Recovery Mobile Unit. This portable trailer houses an impressive inventory of recovery items to help provide you ideas on things you might want to have on hand during and following a hurricane or other disaster. Have you thought about portable file storage to quickly store and transport your important papers? Have you seen a hand-crank radio or a wind-up flashlight? Have you included a way to filter water in your family emergency kit? What about a pet evacuation kit and items for children to occupy their time and keep them more comfortable following a hurricane such as games, coloring books and a handheld battery powered fan? In addition to large items such as chainsaws and generators, have you considered smaller items such as sunscreen, insect repellent and sanitizing wipes? These items and more will provide ideas and help you develop your own personal recovery inventory.
The Emergency Operations Center is on the Northwest Florida State College Campus in Niceville, 90 College Blvd. E. Take the west entrance, which is the entrance closest to the sports complex. The EOC building will be to your right.
To pre-register for this free program or for further information, call the Okaloosa County Extension Office at 689-5850.
COMMON LAWN INSECT PESTS, by Larry Williams UF/IFAS Extension Agent
Even though mole crickets might injure the lawn grasses we grow in Florida, Bermuda, Bahia and centipede are most severely damaged. Mole crickets are active in North Florida spring through fall. The best window of opportunity to control them is June and July.Soap flush is a technique to check for mole crickets. Mix two ounces of liquid dish washing soap in two gallons of water and apply with a sprinkling can to four square feet of turf in several areas where mole crickets are suspected. If two to four mole crickets surface within three minutes, then a treatment is probably needed.
Chinch bugs only damage St. Augustine grass. Chinch bugs are active spring through fall. They are usually found in open sunny areas of the yard during warmer summer weather, particularly if it's dry..Inspect a St. Augustine lawn weekly during spring, summer and fall. Look for areas that quickly turn yellow and then straw brown. Part grass at the margin of the yellowed areas and closely examine the soil surface for tiny insects. Immature chinch bugs are pink to bright red and are about the size of a pinhead. Adults are black with white wings and are about one-fifth inch long.
Sod webworms favor Bermuda grass. They will attack St. Augustine grass and centipedegrass. They usually are not in North Florida until August and continue to feed on lawns until frost.The small green caterpillars are no larger than three-quarters inch. They mostly feed at night and are curled up on the soil surface during the day. The grass blades will be notched from their chewing and heavily infested turf may appear mowed.
Spittlebugs attack all turfgrass species but centipedegrass is their favorite. The first generation of adult spittlebugs is abundant in June and the peak population is usually in August to early September.An early sign of spittlebug activity are masses of white, frothy spittle found in the turf. Each piece of spittle contains a single larva. Infested turf turns yellow and eventually brown. Damage usually first appears in shady areas. As the population builds, the one-quarter inch-long adults are abundant. As you walk through or mow an infested area, numerous adult spittlebugs appear to hop when disturbed (actually, they fly for short distances). The adults are black with two orange transverse stripes across their wings.
For lawn insect control options, contact the UF/IFAS Extension Office in your county or contact a reputable and licensed pest control company.
COTTON WEAVES THROUGH OUR LIVES by Jennifer Bearden, Extension Agent
You probably can't go a day without touching cotton or a cotton byproduct. In 2007, according to USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service, 7,099 bales of cotton were produced in our county. Each bale weighs about 480 pounds.
That's enough cotton to make more than 1.5 million pairs of jeans or more than two billion $100 bills. That's right. U.S. paper currency is 75 percent cotton. In 2009, we used more than 20,000 bales of cotton to produce our paper currency.
Cotton is produced in 17 states in the U.S., in an area called the cotton Belt. This stretches across the Southern U.S. from Virginia to California.
About 30 percent of our cotton is exported. Each cotton plant produces lint and seed. The lint is used to make fabrics, fishnets, coffee filters, tents and more. The cottonseed is important too. Cotton seed is separated into three products: oil, meal, and hulls. The oil is used in cooking and the meal and hulls are used as livestock, poultry and fish feed. The total economic value of cotton in the U.S. exceeds $120 billion.
Cotton is being planted this month in Okaloosa County. In a couple of weeks, you can see the cotton seedlings emerging from the ground. They will grow tall and flower. The flower will fall off and leave a cotton boll in which the cotton fibers will form.
Cotton will be harvested in the early fall in Okaloosa County. You can see the big bales of cotton sitting in the field in north Okaloosa County. Just remember, each bale can make 215 pairs of jeans or 1,217 T-shirts or even 313,600 $100 bills. Cotton is important to our county, our country and our world!
UF EVALUATING NEW BLUEBERRY CULTIVARS IN FLORIDAY, by Larry Williams UF/IFAS Extension Agent
The UF/IFAS North Florida Research and Education Center (NFREC) in Quincy established a blueberry evaluation earlier this year. The Southern highbush cultivars in the evaluation are patented by the University of Florida and were developed by Dr. Paul Lyrene, UF professor of plant breeding and genetics. The cultivars require low chill hours and ripen very early but have not been adequately tested in north Florida. The following description of these cultivars is provided by Dr. Pete Andersen with NFREC.
Emerald is perhaps the most popular Southern highbush cultivar grown in Central and North Florida. It is vigorous and produces a high yield. Berry size is large.
Farthing is a new cultivar that appears to perform well in both south Central Florida in areas with an average chilling of only 50 hours and in North Florida. It is a squat plant with unusually dark green leaves. The bloom date of Farthing is between Emerald and Star and berry ripening is similar to Emerald and Star.
Flicker is an upright, vigorous and high yielding blueberry cultivar that may have the potential for evergreen production in very warm climates. It is deciduous in Gainesville and is reported to have a chilling requirement of about 200 hours. Berries are light blue and larger than Star.
Jewel may be the second most popular Southern highbush blueberry in Florida. It is often planted with Emerald for cross pollination. It produces a high yield of large, round berries.
Kestrel has distinguishing characteristics that include early ripening, an evergreen potential and excellent berry quality. Berries are large, plump, firm and aromatic.
Meadowlark has an upright growth habit. It is noted for early ripening, about 10 days before Star. Berry size is large with a good balance of acid and sugar.
Scintella was released for north central Florida but may do well in Central Florida. It is vigorous with a semi-upright growth habit. Bloom date is extremely early (late January). Berry size is very large, and color, firmness and flavor are good.
Snowchaser is the earliest blueberry to ripen in North America (late March). Frost protection is required because of an early January bloom date. Berries are medium in size, light blue in color with good firmness.
Springhigh is vigorous with an upright growth habit. It ripens about 10 days before Star. Berries are very large, medium dark with good firmness and flavor.
Sweetcrisp is noted for unusually firm, crisp and sweet berries. Sweetcrisp and Bluecrisp are the best flavored Southern highbush blueberries developed thus far. Sweetcrisp plants are highly vigorous. Berries are medium to large in size and dark in color.
BONSAI SHOW COMING MAY 5, by Larry Williams, UF/IFAS Extension Agent
Fort Walton Beach Bonsai Society will host the annual Tri-City Bonsai Show on Saturday at Westwood Retirement Resort. Bonsai enthusiasts from across the Gulf Coast region will gather to show, their finest trees, and you are invited to join us for the day.
Lynn Fabian, Okaloosa County Master Gardener and member of the Fort Walton Beach Bonsai Society, invites you to enjoy the art of bonsai in today's article.
At some point, someone thought their surroundings could be improved by planting a few flowers. From that small beginning, the world has seen the Hanging gardens of Babylon, Monet's gardens in France, botanical gardens in almost every corner of the world and the garden you call your own.
A garden may range from hundreds of acres of highly manicured grounds to large and small rooftop gardens in urban settings. Many an office desk has a vining philodendron adding a bit of green and violets bloom in profusion on windowsills. Even small spaces can hold a plant to nurture our love of growing things. It might be a terrarium on a shelf or an enclosed patio or courtyard filled with container gardens of delightful sights and scents.
Evidence of plants in pots goes back several thousand years. About 1,000 years ago, records begin to show that people were turning plants in pots into an art form, and this art form, called bonsai in Japan or penjing in China, became popular across many regions of the Far East.
Today the art of bonsai is practiced worldwide and enjoyed by many people. Trees and shrubs you can find in your own yard are potted, trimmed and cared for to allow the plant to flourish in a pot for many years. This is the art of bonsai. In the Bonsai and Penjing Museum at the National Arboretum in Washington, DC, there is a pine tree that is 400 years old.
In addition to bonsai trees, suiseki (viewing stones) the Japanese dolls will be on display at Westwood, Exhibitors from Pensacola Gulf Coast Bonsai Society, Azalea City Bonsai Society of Mobile, Mississippi Gulf Coast Bonsai Society and the Fort Walton Beach Bonsai Society will be on hand to share their knowledge and enthusiasm about this art called bonsai.
There is no admission charge. The exhibit is open from 9am to 4pm. Come enjoy the art of bonsai. Westwood Retirement Resort is located at 1001 Mar Walt Drive in Fort Walton Beach, across the corner from Fort Walton beach Medical Center.
For more information, contact Lynn Fabian at 897-2622 or elfabian@cox.net; or Lee Vanderpool at 862-7592 or llev4@cox.net
HOW TO WATER TO ESTABLISH A LAWN, by Larry Williams, UF/IFAS Extension Agent
When watering to establish a new lawn or when redoing an old lawn, we normally call for two to three "mists" throughout the day for the first seven to 10 days until roots get established. These are just 10-minute bursts. Then back off to once a day for about a half hour for seven to 10 days. Then go to two to three times a week (for about seven days). By then your lawn should be established.
With adequate rainfall, you might not need to irrigate. Rain counts. But in the absence of sufficient rain, you will need to provide enough water at the correct time to allow your new sod to root--hence, the above directions.
A well-designed and correctly installed irrigation system with a controller, operated correctly, helps to achieve uniform establishment. It can be very difficult or impossible, inconvenient and time consuming to uniformly provide sufficient water to establish a lawn with hose-end sprinklers, especially if the lawn is sizable and during dry weather. Most people are not going to do the necessary job of pulling hoses around on a regular basis to result in a well-established lawn.
Too much water will result in rot, diseased roots, diseased seedlings and failure. Too little water will result in the sod, seedlings, springs or plugs drying excessively and failure to establish. The end result is a poorly established sparse lawn with weeds. Or complete failure.
There is no substitute or remedy for incorrect irrigation when establishing a new lawn or when renovating an entire lawn or areas within a lawn.
It would be wise to not invest the necessary time and money if the new lawn cannot be irrigated correctly. Taking the gamble that adequate (not too much, not too little) rainfall will occur exactly when needed to result in a beautiful, healthy, thick, lush lawn is exactly that: a gamble.
An irrigation system is nothing more than a tool to supplement rainfall. As much as possible, learn to operate the irrigation controller using the "Manual" setting. It also is wise and is state law to have a rain shutoff device installed and operating correctly. The rain shutoff device overrides the controller when it is raining or when sufficient rainfall has occurred. Rain shutoff devices are relatively inexpensive and easily installed. Also, a good rain gauge can be an inexpensive tool to help you monitor how much rain you've received. Rain counts.
The above schedule should help when planting a lawn from see, sprigs, plugs, or sod.
For addition information on establishing and maintaining a Florida lawn, contact your county UF/IFAS Extension Office or visit http://hort.ifas.ufl.edu/yourfloridalawn.
CRAPE MYRTLES IMPORTANT TO POLLINATING INSECTS by Larry Williams, UF/IFAS Extension Agent
Honey bee colony collapse syndrome has been widely publicized. Actually, honey bee populations have been declining for a long time. As pollinators, honey bees are important to agriculture, gardening, and food security.
Dr. Russ Mizell, UF/IFAS Extension entomologist, shares interesting findings concerning research with crape myrtles and pollinating insects in today's article.
Honey bee populations have dwindled to about 50 percent of what they were 10-25 years ago both in commercial production and wild bees. As a result of this potential calamity, greater interest in other pollinators and particularly our native bees has increased. We have a large number of native bees that are important pollinators in Florida. The biology, ecology and behavior of many of these species remain unknown.
Many people are familiar with the widely planted ornamental crape myrtle as a result of its beautiful summer blooms in a variety of colors--white, lavender, pink, and red. Crape myrtle is a non-native and has been in the U.S. since colonial times. Bees and flowers would seem to go together and one might suppose given its beautiful summer glowers that crape myrtle has been studied for its use by pollinators. Surprisingly, until now it has not been. Recently, UF/IFAS researchers have been looking at pollinators on crape myrtle. They found that there are a number of native bee species as well as honey bees that use crape myrtle flowers.
Crape myrtles do not produce flower nectar but they are unusual in that they do have two types of anthers that produce two types of pollen. One of the pollens is for reproduction and the other is to feed the pollinators. If you examine the flowers you'll see the brown pad-like reproductory anthers arranged higher above and over the bright yellow anthers providing food.
Including honey bees, the study found five major species and a number of minor species use crape myrtle flowers for pollen gathering. Bumble bees and two species of carpenter bees were the most prevalent native species observed. Most all crape myrtles in flower were visiting by bees. The cultivars Apalachee, Miami, Byers Wonderful White, Osage, Acoma, Natchez, Yuma, and Lipan were the cultivars most often used.
From this work its is clear that crape myrtles are important pollen sources for honey bees as well as native bees, Lots of other insects also use crape myrtle pollen including many predacious insects like syrphid flies.
Such insects will also consume the honeydew excreted by the crape myrtle aphid. Their usefulness to augment pollinators ties one more ecological service to this important landscape plant.
DON'T KILL CENTIPEDEGRASS WITH TOO MUCH FERTILIZER by Larry Williams, UF/IFAS Extension Agent
Are you dissatisfied with your centipedegrass lawn this spring? Do you have dead areas within your lawn that failed to turn green, or areas that are weak, open and thinning with intermingled yellow grass blades? If so, you're dealing with a very common problem. It's called centipedegrass decline.
This condition involves a complex of incorrect management practices and sometimes involves nematodes (microscopic worms in the root area), ground pearls (scale-like insects in the root area) and fungi. But the major contributing factor to centipedegrass decline is over fertilization. As a matter of fact, if you wanted to induce this condition in a centipedegrass yard, all you need to do is to be a little heavy handed with fertilizer. And in a year or two, you will see sections of the lawn beginning to show the classic symptoms of decline--patches that begin to die at spring green-up or shortly thereafter. It's that simple. Centipedegrass does not and will not tolerate very much nitrogen.
Fertilize centipedegrass sparingly; accept its light crabapple green color and low-maintenance requirements.
Pay close attention to the following checklist when fertilizing centipedegrass.
- Don't apply fertilizer until warm spring weather is here to stay. Mid-April is the earliest you should fertilize centipedegrass. You may even skip a year in fertilizing a centipedegrass lawn.
- Choose a fertilizer with 30 percent to 50 percent of the total nitrogen in a slow- or controlled-release form. The product should contain about as much total potassium (third number) as it does nitrogen (first number).
- Avoid fertilizers with high nitrogen yet contain low percentage of potassium.
- Avoid the use of high nitrogen or high phosphorus containing products. Phosphorus is the middle number on most fertilizer containers. Excessively high levels of this element in the soil have also been implicated in centipede decline and the inability of the grass to take up iron and other micro-nutrients.
- Only a little fertilizer is required with centipedegrass. Two light, split applications spaced several weeks apart are better than one heavy application. Always be light handed when fertilizing a centipedegrass lawn.
- Never apply a high-nitrogen fertilizer after July.
- Water immediately after the application in order to activate the fertilizer and prevent burning.
For information on how to grow a Florida lawn, contact your local University of Florida/IFAS Extension Office or visit yourfloridalawn.ifas.ufl.edu.