The recent cool weather is proof autumn is really here. Choices for garden crops are limited to those which will handle the anticipated lower thermometer readings. Since carrots are a cool season crop in panhandle Florida, they can be planted now or as late as the early spring. Carrots are a root crop, and they…Read more
To the relief of most panhandle Florida residents, the rains have finally returned, even if it is November and many plants are going dormant. But with the return of much needed rain comes the question of how to handle storm water runoff? The typical down bursts in Florida combined with our porous soils to create…Read more
It is an oft heard complaint, “I’m having a difficult time getting grass to grow under the trees in my yard. The soil seems to be good, but without grass any heavy rain just washes it away”. And it is always followed by the question, “Is there any type of grass I can plant there…Read more
While the thermometer may not know it, autumn 2024 is almost half gone. Even so, the trees and plants are reacting to the gradually shortening days. Surely, the temperature will noticeably drop in a week or two, but in the meantime the greenery will steadily retreat. Native plants have stopped producing new foliage and some…Read more
The month of November will bring a number of noteworthy dates to residents of panhandle Florida, and the rest of the country. As has been the tradition of the last few years, all forms of advertising will shift away from political ads to holiday events, and the associated gifts which need to be purchased. While…Read more
Retail marketing in the 21st century has occasionally strange and odd juxtapositions of merchandise which have some shoppers scratching their heads. For example, on the shelves currently are about 20 different cream-of-mushroom soups from a famous brand. There is the usual fat free variety, but there is also the gluten free, heart healthy, low salt,…Read more
In north Florida, October is a transitional month for home gardeners with the summer vegetables ebbing in both growth and production. Fall and winter crops are going in, but in most cases, they are still too underdeveloped to utilize in any volume. It is a curious alignment of convenience that one of the last to…Read more
The cooler days and cool nights of October are appreciated by most residents of panhandle Florida. Much of the local commercial vegetable production is wrapping up in north Florida and is moving to warmer counties in the extreme southern part of the state. The soon-to-arrive holiday season has refocused the attention of many, with Christmas…Read more
Gardening during the summer of 2024 has been “interesting”, to say the least, in panhandle Florida. The temperatures have been higher than recent averages and several storms have been quite violent. The environment’s tantrums limited the choice of crops to the stalwarts able to handle the 90-degree temperatures, high humidity and the intermittent rains, some…Read more
As the days become marginally shorter, it is safe to say the leaf raking season is on the horizon. The weeks leading up to the cooling weather can be productively spent on a variety of tasks or idled away thumbing through the library of last spring’s gardening catalogs which are by now pretty shopworn. While…Read more
