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HURRICANE PREPAREDNESS PROGRAM MAY 29 AT EOC, by Larry Williams UF/IFAS Extension Agent

ocmga — Mon, 21 May 2012 06:26:39 GMT

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

ocmga — Sun, 13 May 2012 14:22:39 GMT

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

ocmga — Wed, 09 May 2012 14:39:10 GMT

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

ocmga — Sun, 06 May 2012 16:46:35 GMT

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.

ARE YOU PREPARED?

ocmga — Sun, 06 May 2012 16:33:09 GMT

ARE YOU PREPARED?

ocmga — Fri, 04 May 2012 20:25:01 GMT

BONSAI SHOW COMING MAY 5, by Larry Williams, UF/IFAS Extension Agent

ocmga — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 11:45:28 GMT

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

ocmga — Sun, 22 Apr 2012 20:02:21 GMT

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

ocmga — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 11:36:11 GMT

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

ocmga — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 02:34:58 GMT

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.

CONSIDER REDOING OLD WEEDY LAWN, by Larry Williams UF/IFAS Extension Agent

ocmga — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 14:45:50 GMT

I've seen people use herbicides to control weeds in an old, declining lawn. Then, with all the weeds gone, the lawn's owner suddenly realized he or she had no lawn left.

Sometimes the best solution is to start over. Many older, thinning, declining, weedy lawns need to be reestablished. As lawns decline and thin, the weeds move in. When you reach the point where there is less than 60 percent desirable cover, reestablishment should be considered.

In the process of redoing a lawn, attempt to determine whey the lawn declined and correct mismanagement practices that were contributing factors in the lawn's demise.

Common causes for lawn decline:

Soil compaction: Mowing equipment, vehicles and foot traffic (from adults, children and pets) all result in the soil becoming compacted within a lawn. Compacted soil results in less water and oxygen getting to the lawn roots and less than favorable growing conditions for the roots.
Nutrient imbalances: Routine fertilization can result in some fertilizer elements building up to excessive levels while other elements may be lacking. It's common to find high levels of phosphorus in older lawns. Phosphorus does not leach readily even in our sandy soils. Other elements such as potassium leach readily. Over time, we'll end up with too much of some nutrients and too little of others, which contribute to growth difficulties and possible decline in our lawns.
Tree competition: Trees and larger shrubs can compete with a lawn. As a tree gets larger with time, it becomes more competitive with lawn grass. The tree's demand for water and nutrients increases as it becomes larger. Its root area becomes more extensive and it progressively produces more shade. Lawns usually thin significantly in association with older, large trees and shrubs.
Root pests: Root pests' numbers may slowly build to damaging levels as a lawn ages. Some common examples include nematodes (microscopic roundworms), soil inhabiting fungi such as Gaeumannomyces and ground pearls (a scale insect found in the soil).
Improper lawn maintenance: Improper lawn maintenance practices may be a contributing factor int he decline of an older lawn. Common contributing factors to a lawn's demise include routinely mowing too low, excessive fertilization and irrigating incorrectly.

Sometimes herbicides are only a "band aid" approach when dealing with an old, mismanaged lawn.

The following UF/IFAS Extension link provides a wealth of information on growing a Florida lawn: http://hort.ufl.edu/yourfloridalawn.

HOW TO GROW TOMATOES IN FLORIDA SEMINAR, by Larry Williams, UF/IFAS Extension Agent

ocmga — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 13:43:41 GMT

If you've experienced difficulties in growing tomatoes in Florida, you're not alone. If you plan to grow tomatoes this year, you may want to attend one of three seminars titled How to Grow Tomatoes in Florida offered by the University of Florida Extension Service.

We are offering three seminars: one in Okaloosa County and two in Walton County. The first seminar will be on Friday, April 6 from 9 a.m. to 12 noon at the Okaloosa County Extension Office, 5479 Old Bethel Road in Crestview. The second seminar will be on Friday, April 6 from 2:30 to 4:00 p.m. at the Walton County Extension Office, 732 N 9th Street, DeFuniak Springs. The third seminar will be on Friday, April 13 from 10:00 to 11:30 a.m. at the Walton County Coastal Branch Extension Office, 70 Logan Lane, Santa Rosa Beach.

Correct variety selection is a key factor in successfully growing tomatoes in Florida.

One reason home gardeners have a difficult time growing tomatoes in Florida is because of incorrect variety selection. Most popular tomato varieties lack resistance to Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus (TAWV) and bacterial wilt. These two diseases wreak havoc in home as well as commercial plantings.

Plant breeders develop varieties that have some resistance to these diseases. We encourage home gardeners to look for and request varieties that commercial farmers have had success with in recent years. We can recommend varieties to look for but there are not many of them in the home market, yet. Homeowners may have to buy the seed and start the transplants themselves.

At this year's tomato seminars, we'll share the basics of how to grow tomatoes in Florida's challenging environment. We'll also cover tomato pest control options, including non-chemical choices of combating the scores of tomato insect and disease problems.

We hope to have some tomato plants which are resistant to TSWV for participants to take home and try.

To preregister for the Crestview seminar, please call the Okaloosa County Extension Office at (850) 689-5850 by March 30. To preregister for the DeFuniak Springs or the Santa Rosa Beach seminar, please call the Walton County Extension Office in DeFuniak Springs at (850) 892-8172 by March 30. There is a $5 cost to attend each of the seminars. Space is limited. You must call to reserve a seat.

TULIPS TREATED AS ANNUALS IN FLORIDA, by Larry Williams, UF/IFAS Extension Agent

ocmga — Sun, 04 Mar 2012 12:44:49 GMT

Q. I received beautiful tulips this Valentine's Day. The blooms are now gone and I would like to know how to care for the bulbs? When should they be planted? I would love to try to have them bloom again next spring.

A. Tulips are treated or grown as annuals in Florida. We have two problems with successfully growing tulips this far south. First, they do not receive enough cold weather to meet their requirements to bloom. Secondly, it gets hot quick enough in the spring to cause the foliage to die prematurely, which does not allow the tulip plants enough time to store sugars and carbohydrates in the bulb to resume growth the following year. As a result, the bulbs become smaller and weak and flower poorly, if at all, the following year.

At best you may get one to three years worth of blooms out of a tulip in our area no matter what you do. Most tulips will only bloom once in our area and then they are spent. Florida doesn’t provide the right kind of weather for tulips. We may have cold weather for a few nights. Then it warms again. This goes on all winter. Tulips need consistently cold weather in order to initiate flower buds.

You can trick the bulbs into "thinking" they’ve been through a consistently cold winter by placing them in a refrigerator for about 8 weeks prior to planting. This requires purchasing the bulbs ahead of time in order to provide this chilling treatment and still have time to plant during late fall to mid winter (late November to mid January). Some nurseries sell pre-chilled bulbs, most don’t. The above treatment will meet their requirements for flowering but does nothing to offset the fact that it gets warm too quickly in the spring for tulips.

The few people that grow tulips in Florida either buy pre-chilled bulbs or place them in the refrigerator, plant them, enjoy their blooms the following spring and then throw them away. They treat them like annuals. Here is a link for a UF/IFAS Extension publication on bulb type plants that do well in Florida. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pdffiles/MG/MG02900.pdf

Q. Would you recommend pine straw or mulch in flower beds?

A. Pine straw is a type of mulch. There are many materials that can be used for mulch in plant beds. Personal preference, availability and cost are the main factors dictating which much is used. Here is a link to a UF/IFAS Extension publication on landscape mulch choices. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/fr079

PREPARE FOR LAWN GROWING SEASON, by Larry Williams, UF/IFAS Extension Agent

ocmga — Sun, 26 Feb 2012 12:27:24 GMT

Before the next lawn-growing season begins, you would be wise to know the following.

Know the square footage of your lawn. Most people overdo it when fertilizing their lawn as a result of not knowing the size of their lawn. Fertilizer and lawn pesticides, including herbicides, are applied based on square footage. Take time to accurately measure your lawn, record and save the measurement before spring. Doing so will allow you to purchase and use the correct amount of fertilizer and pesticides.
Know how to fertilize your lawn. In the absence of a soil test, choose a lawn fertilizer with equal amounts of nitrogen and potassium and low phosphorus. Look for lawn fertilizers with numbers such as 8-0-8, 12-2-14 or some similar analysis. The three numbers on a fertilizer bag tell you the percentage of nitrogen (N), Phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) and always in that order (N-P-K).

In North Florida, your first lawn fertilization should not be made until mid-April. Fertilizing while the root area is too cool wastes fertilizer and may injure your lawn. A second fertilizer application may be made during summer but not after mid-September. Calibrate your fertilizer spreader. A UF/IFAS Extension publication is available online at http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/lh024 to help you with this.

Know how to water your lawn. To determine how long to run your sprinkler system to apply the correct amount of water, set out small, straight-sided cans randomly within an irrigation zone and see how long it takes to fill them to the desired depth of one-half to three-quarters of an inch. Tuna fish or cat food cans work well for this calibration exercise. Repeat this process for each irrigation zone in your lawn. Large differences in water amounts between cans within the same zone will let you know that your coverage is not uniform and your system needs to be inspected further. The goal is to uniformly apply one-half to three-quarters of an inch of water to the lawn only when the grass needs it. When the grass needs water, leaf blades fold, like a book closing; footprints remain in the lawn long after being made; and the lawn turns grayish in spots. When 30 percent to 40 percent of the lawn begins to show these signs of water need, it's time to apply one-half to three-quarters of an inch of water. Don't water again until the lawn begins to show these signs of water need. Publications on irrigating a Florida lawn are available at http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/topic_lawn-watering.

IT'S STILL TOO EARLY TO FERTILIZE LAWNS, by Larry Williams UF/IFAS Extension Agent

ocmga — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 22:14:05 GMT

Fertilizing your lawn before the soil temperature is adequately warm results in waste of fertilizer and possible lawn injury. Certain fertilizer elements are not readily available under cool soil conditions and potentially leach below the root zone before the roots are in a position to take in the elements.

Despite the fact that you can easily force your lawn to turn green early with many of the high nitrogen fertilizers, it's a false sense of accomplishment. That new green growth is dependent on the availability of other elements, some of which are poorly available under cool soil temperatures. Iron, for example, is not readily available while the soil is cool. This is exactly what happens when your lawns begins to turn bright yellow after being fertilized too early. In other words, you've induced or caused a nutrient deficiency by fertilizing too early. It's simply a matter of the soil being too cool to allow the roots to take in the needed iron to support the new growth you've caused by fertilizing too soon.

There are other needed nutrients, such as potassium, which are not readily available under cool soil temperatures. As a result, some of these fertilizer elements leach below the root area before grass roots are in a position to use them. As a result of fertilizing too early, you're wasting fertilizer and money that's washing away and not being used by your lawn. Waiting to fertilize during more favorable soil temperatures allows for more efficient use of the fertilizer and less waste.

The soil is much like a body of water. Despite the fact that we've had a number of warmer days, the temperature of a pond or lake is still cold. You'd quickly realize this if you decided to go for a swim in the local lake now. It takes consistently warm night temperatures in order for the water to warm. This is true with the soil as well.

In order for our warm season grasses, such as centipede and St. Augustine, to efficiently use fertilizer, consistently warmer nights are required. So why not wait until mid April to fertilize. You'll waste less fertilizer, save money and have a healthier lawn in the process. It's a win, win, win situation.

BE CAREFUL WITH PRUNING AND FERTILIZING IN WINTER, by Larry Williams, UF/IFAS Extension Agent

ocmga — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 15:55:13 GMT

With the milder weather lately, one of the worst things you can do in your landscape is to prune and/or fertilize. Both practices can stimulate new growth in your landscape plants at the wrong time of year.

Try not to encourage any new growth on landscape plants until all frost danger has passed. Many times pruning will force a plant to produce new growth. This new growth will be much more susceptible to the next frost or freeze. And, it's best to not fertilize your landscape plants until the danger of cold weather has passed. Fertilizing too early can cause tender new growth that is much more like to be damaged by cold weather.

It's OK to go ahead an prune out dead or broken branches, as you find them, always pruning back to live wood. Don't worry too much about leaf damage on woody shrubs and trees now. In most cases, as new leaves come out in spring,the old frost-burned leaves will drop off the plants.

On average, our last killing frost occurs around the middle of March, but, lately we've had near record highs. Our temperatures go back and forth all winter--one week is freezing, the next is spring-like. Waiting to prune allows you to make a better decision as to what has to be removed. Come spring, what does not produce new growth is removed (pruned). By pruning now, you may remove parts of the plant that did not have to be removed.

Despite these spring-like days, it's a mistake to begin fertilizing our warm-season lawn grasses now. Applying fertilizer when your lawn is dormant or when it's not actively growing due to the shorter days and cooler temperatures of the winter months is comparable to you drinking a pot of regular coffee when it's time to go to sleep. Fertilizer, especially nitrogen, interferes with the dormancy process, forcing the lawn to "wake up" (produce new tender growth) at the wrong time of year when it is supposed to be "resting" or in a state of dormancy. You set the lawn up for damage. And you potentially wast your fertilizer as it is more likely to leach with the colder soil temperatures and because the lawn brass has fewer roots now to pull in the fertilizer.

The time to fertilize our lawns in North Florida is when they are actively growing. This equates to the first fertilization being made in April and the last fertilization being made in mid-September, if needed.

BE CAREFUL WITH PRUNING AND FERTILIZING IN WINTER, by Larry Williams, UF/IFAS Extension Agent

ocmga — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 15:54:47 GMT

2012 ECO-NOMIC LIVING EXPO, by Larry Willaims UF/IFAS Extension Agent

ocmga — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 16:36:49 GMT

The 2012 Eco-Nomic Living Expo will be Saturday, Feb. 4, 9:30am-3pm at the Emerald Coast Convention Center located at 1250 Miracle Strip Pkwy in Fort Walton Beach.

The Expo features nationally known and local speakers, exhibits, free document shredding, free tax prep, workshops and seminars on sustainable living, gardening, money management, healthy living and more. There will be special activities for teens and children. Nationally known speaker Dr. Jennifer Languell will provide a presentation titled, “Green, Healthy, Affordable-The Easy Way.” Languell has been featured in BusinessWeek and on CNN Headline News, HGTV and CNBC’s “Bullseye” and is cohost on the Discovery Channel “Project Earth.”

A few of the seminar topics include: Paying for College, Vegetable Gardening: Keys to Success in Northwest Florida, Green Pest Control, Landscaping on the Edge, Financial Apps, Healthy Meals in a Snap, Managing Student Loans, Identity Theft and Coexisting with Wildlife. I will provide a seminar titled “Correct Lawn Management Saves Money” with emphasis on how to grow a green lawn while keeping some “green” in your pocketbook.

Youth activities include: “Animal Ambassadors” is an exhibit with live animals from the Emerald Coast Wildlife Refuge. “Become a Farmer” is a fun activity provided by the Okaloosa County Farm Bureau where children will make a radish seed necklace and a homemade “Chia pet” to learn about farming and gardening. “Wind, Sun and Bots” and “Kill A Watt” are two interactive activities for children to learn about alternative energies with robotics and discover phantom energy in their homes to save on the power bill offered by the UF/IFAS Extension 4-H program in Okaloosa County.

Workshops include: “Coupon Magic” and the Choctawhatchee Basin Alliance will provide a workshop on how to build a rain barrel.

There is no cost to attend the Expo and all seminars/workshops are free except for the rain barrel workshop. This workshop costs $40 with participants taking home the rain barrel they make.

Cintas will have shredder trucks on site for families to bring documents to be securely shred from 10am-2pm.

The IRS will offer free tax preparation for families with adjusted gross incomes $49,000
and below.

To see complete schedule and list of sponsors, visit http://economiclivingexpo.com.

THINGS TO DO IN THE WINTER GARDEN, by Larry Williams, UF/IFAS Extension Agent

ocmga — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 14:13:04 GMT

Gardeners can get a jump on the spring season by doing some things during the winter. In fact, some practices are best done at this time of year.

Apply a spray of horticultural oil emulsion to dormant fruit trees. This is a relatively nontoxic method of controlling overwintering pests such as scale insects. Gardeners who grow peaches, plums, and nectarines should not leave out this spray application. It's necessary on these pest-sensitive fruits to control white peach and other scale insects.

Container grown plants can be transplanted almost any time of year. But bare-root trees and shrubs should be int he ground promptly. Dormant season planting allows time for establishment before hot weather arrives.

Prepare and stick hardwood cuttings to root hibiscus, crape myrtle, fig, althea, forsythia, and other deciduous plants. Anyone who has not tried this simple method of propagation can get specific information from you UF/IFAS County Extension Office.

Start seeds of warm season flowers and vegetables indoors for transplanting outdoors in spring. Approximately 5 to 6 weeks is required to grow vegetable seedlings such as tomato, pepper, and eggplant to a transplantable size. Flowers generally take longer from seeding to transplanting size, about 8 to 12 weeks.

There is still time to plant some of the winter vegetables. Look for transplants of broccoli, cabbage, cauliflowers, kale, leek, and bunching onions. Others can be started from seed, including beets, carrots, celery, kohlrabi, mustard, English peas, radish, and turnips. Irish potatoes are also started in January and February from the cut tubers. Some garden supply outlets sell "seed potatoes" locally. Use these instead of grocery store potatoes.

Set out cold hardy flowers such as foxglove, pansy, petunia, and snapdragon. These hold up well during our brief winter frosts and freezes and flower much longer than if planting is delayed until spring.

Have a soil test done. Don't wait until spring, because laboratories are swamped with samples at that time of the year, causing delays. Your UF/IFAS County Extension Office can provide a kit containing instructions, a form, bags and a box for mailing the sample.

Beds that are bare now, but will be planted in spring, can be enriched by adding and incorporating organic amendments now. Apply peat, mushroom compost, manure, or homemade compost. Incorporate with the existing soil by tilling or spading to a depth of six inches. This allows time for increased biological activity to occur and settle down before planting next spring.

Ed. Note: The Okaloosa County Master Gardeners also offer soil pH testing free of charge. Contact the Extension Office for instructions on how to get your sample.

2012 Florida Arbor Day Celebration in Crestview, by Larry Williams UF/IFAS Extension Agent

ocmga — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 14:51:59 GMT

In celebration of Florida's Arbor Day, free tree seedlings will be given away Thursday, January 19th from 8:30am until gone at Tractor Supply, 320 James Lee Blvd., Crestview.

This event is sponsored by the Florida Division of Forestry, The Natural Resources Conservation Service and the University of Florida Extension Service in Okaloosa County. FDF and NRCS will provide bare-root tree seedlings including flowering dogwood, flatwoods plum, and river birch. Seedlings will be available as long as supplies last.

University of Florida Extension agents Larry Williams and Sheila Dunning will conduct tree-planting and pruning demonstrations. Master Gardeners will be available to answer questions.

Arbor Day was originally founded in Nebraska on April 10, 1872, as a tree-planting day. every state recognizes Arbor Day but because of differences in climate, each state selects its own date to fit the best planting time for trees. Florida's Arbor Day is the third Friday in January. National Arbor Day is the fourth Friday in April.
Florida foresters and other tree experts take advantage of the cooler time of the year. Planting trees now allows young trees to become established by the time hot spring weather arrives.

USDA forester Glenn Roloff came up with 29 reasons for planting trees. Here are a few that make sense for our area:

Trees prevent or reduce soil erosion and water pollution.
Shade from trees can reduce utility bills for air conditioning by 15 to 50 percent.
Trees help recharge ground water.
Trees can screen out noise pollution and unsightly views.
Trees will soften harsh outlines of buildings.
Fuel wood, lumber, plywood and other wood products come from trees.
Shade trees cool hot streets, which can be 5-9 degrees cooler than areas without trees.
Trees and shrubs can significantly increase property values.
Trees provide habitat for wildlife.
Colorful fall leaves turn into valuable mulch.
Trees help reduce stress in the workplace and speed recovery of hospital patients.
Trees and landscaping can instill community pride and help cool tempers.
Trees add beauty and grace to any community; they make life more enjoyable, peaceful, relaxing and offer a rich inheritance for future generations.

For more about Florida's Arbor Day, visit www.arborday.org/states/?state=FL

For more about the Arbor Day Celebration in Crestview, contact the Okaloosa County Extension Office at 689-5850 or 729-1400, ext. 5850, or the Florida Division of Forestry Office in Okaloosa County at 689-7838