Nloctober16

WELCOME FALL!

for discerning weeders

Find out things to do and learning opportunities...pg 2 What’s new on the Nature Trail…………………………..pg 4 News you can use………..pg 9 Yummy recipes…………..pg 10

The Foundation for the Gator Nation.....

An equal opportunity institution.

October, 2016

NURSERY NOTES

by L. Vanderpool

Front cover: Garlic chives in our nursery.

Photo courtesy of M. Stewart

The nursery staff focused on the plant sale for most of the month. Most unreadable tags or mislabeled pots were updated.

Soil was added to many of the pots which had settled and plants were trimmed, fertilized and groomed to look their best for the sale.

The Jokester

Thirty-one Master Gardeners turned out to help with setup, conduct and clean up of the sale. What an outstanding turnout!

The easiest way to find something lost around the house is to buy a replacement.

Several take away lesson were learned. We will keep better track of the desirable plants next propagation season. We will stick cuttings and plant seed which people ask for such as red and purple firespike, Odontonema strictum and Odontonema callistachyum as well as firebush, Hamelia patens. Blue porterweed, perennial peanut and most of the four asclepias, tuberose, perennis, curassavica and incarnata sold well and will need to be replenished.

Don’t forget to log your hours in the VMS system!

Blue passionflower vine literally jumped out the door! We already have several donors of these plants for the spring.

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

Speaking of blue passionflower vine, S. Gerber and A. Ogle planted one from the nursery on the trellis near the east door of the annex. It took off and within a month had covered the trellis.

Then the Gulf fritillaries showed up! True to D. Gordon’s word, it literally took the caterpillars six days to eat every leaf and tendril on the vine and they were even eating the stem sheaths. Several members took caterpillars home to put on their vines to keep them from dying from starvation. Reports of their survival have been encouraging.

See? You can transplant almost anything!.....even caterpillars!

Events calendar

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October chores

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Wildlife happenings

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On the Trail

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Info-graphics

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Gardener holidays

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Plant sale

6-7

Ye Olde Farm

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Free guides

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News you can use

9

Presidential material

10

Recipe Round-Up

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Last word

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Daylight Savings time ends 2:00am November 6, 2016

An Okaloosa County Master Gardener Publication

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October, 2016

For details on any of the upcoming events, go to www.ocmga.org/Calendar.html

An Okaloosa County Master Gardener Publication

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October, 2016

OCTOBER CHORES

compiled from UF/IFAS Gardening Calendar

Annuals: Digitalis, petunia, and Shasta daisy are good plants for the fall garden.

Continue to monitor your lawn and landscape for pests and other problems. Monitor rainfall and watch out for drought stress.

Helpful Links

Perennials and Bulbs: There are some daffodils that are suitable for our area. Carlton, Fortune, Silver Chimes, Thallia, and Sweetness are a few varieties.

Vegetables/Herbs: Plant crops that will grow and produce through the winter months like beets, carrots, and onions. Dill, fennel and oregano will do well this time of year.

Lawns: Apply pre-emergent herbicides when the nighttime temperatures are 55-60°F for 4-5 days. Watch for large patch and brown patch fungal diseases. Why mow through winter? If you have to have a green lawn all year, overseed with annual ryegrass when daytime temperatures are in the low 70’s.

Other: Set out strawberry plants this month. Gather pine needles that are dropping and use them for a natural mulch.

Evergreen hollies add bright color to the winter landscape.

Gardening with Annuals in Florida Florida Vegetable Gardening Guide Herbs in the Florida Garden Bulbs for Florida Weed Management in Home Lawns Hollies at a Glance Growing Strawberries Overseeding for Winter Color Brown Patch Questions? Not sure if you are dealing with a pest or something else? Contact our Master Gardener Help Desk for assistance when necessary, 850-689-5850 (Crestview) or 850-651-7476 (Fort Walton Beach).

WILDLIFE HAPPENINGS

compiled from wec.ufl.edu

October is the first real Fall month in our area. We get to enjoy cooler temperatures and a whole new batch of wildlife to enjoy.

Other: -Flatwoods salamanders breed with the first rains of October.

-Monarch butterfly migration nears its peak.

Birds: -Redfish and trout -Warbler migration peaks early this month. move up creeks and -Sandhill cranes begin to move down and join our resident birds. rivers.

-Ducks begin to arrive for winter.

-Fall spawning of -Grosbeaks, warblers, tanagers, orioles, and thrushes begin redear sunfish. migrating.

-Largemouth bass active in cooler Mammals: waters.

-Flying squirrels will be moving into pecan groves.

-Black bears are feeding heavily in preparation for winter.

Sphinx moth in car. Not to worry, it was safely rescued by A. Ogle and friends.

An Okaloosa County Master Gardener Publication

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October, 2016

ON THE TRAIL

by B. Bayer

We have had great success with the Compost project. The addition of green grass from the side lawn increased the decomposition a multitude, however the extra work of cutting the grass, by hand, in the extreme heat was brutal. Along with the extra heat that was produced and the wet weather the wooden pallets deteriorated much more rapidly than we expected. They only lasted a little over two years and needed replacing. Rather than anticipating the renewal again we decided to go with a more permanent but removable alternative. The annex had 25 cement blocks that were not being used, so D. Stever and I picked them up and brought them to Crestview.

These were enough for the start of a double bin system of 40" x 40" x 16” high each. The following week we purchased additional blocks and raised the height to two feet. The plan is to raise the finished bins to 32.” This means that each will hold slightly more than 1 cubic yard each.

Keeping with our earlier idea of decorating an otherwise bland block wall, we upgraded the English Ivy into six inch pots and placed them in the block holes. With the increased container size, we should have larger leaves and greater growth. At some later date, we may consider replacing part of the Ivy with more colorful plants provided the funding is available.

During the process of demolishing the old bins we had several wheelbarrow loads of nearly finished unscreened compost to dispose of. We deposited them into the soon to be started pollinator garden.

If the weeds now growing in the area are any indication of what the result of increasing the organic matter will do, we can expect the plants that find a new home here to think they are in paradise.

As promised in an earlier article, I would tell you about our hope to increase the number of visitors to our Nature Trail. D. Stever's wife, is involved with Geocache. It is sort of an adult game of hide and seek using GPS (Global Positioning System). She asked and received permission from Larry Williams to secret a cache on our trail and another elsewhere on the property. Within days there were nine responses. In addition to more people visiting, they have to go past the Honor Nursery. We are hoping they will stop to view and possibly purchase plants.

The Jokester Did you ever notice that when you put the two words ‘The’ and ‘IRS’ together it spells “Theirs”

Monarch caterpillar courtesy of D. Edmiston

An Okaloosa County Master Gardener Publication

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October, 2016

INFO GRAPHICS

GARDENER HOLIDAYS Monthly Observances American Cheese Month Apple Month Bat Appreciation Month Corn Month Feral Hog Month National Bake and Decorate Month National Chili Month National Field Trip Month National Popcorn Poppin’ Month Weekly Observances 4-H Week 2-8 No Salt Week 3-10 Drink Local Wine Week 9-15 National Chestnut Week 9-15

by Staff

Techie’s Day 3rd National Taco Day 4th National Kale Day 5th National Handbag Day 10th National Cake Decorating Day 15th National Clean Your Virtual Desktop Day 17th National Chocolate Day 28th Happy Birthday to: L. Buhrow L. Chambers A. Donatelli G. Hess D. Hickenbotham J. Jones D. Rogers D. Stever

Daily Observances World Farm Animals Day 2nd An Okaloosa County Master Gardener Publication

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October, 2016

PLANT SALE Ed. Note: You will notice in the photo below that it’s almost impossible to get our group to (a) all behave (b) all look at the camera at the same time . That being said--awesome group and good job!

An Okaloosa County Master Gardener Publication

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October, 2016

PLANT SALE

An Okaloosa County Master Gardener Publication

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October, 2016

A CREEK RUNS THROUGH IT The beautiful colors of fall are on the way. As we head into October cooler weather is forecast. Hay, peanuts, and cotton are all being harvested in the general area of Darlington. This is such a nice time of the year to watch the farmers in action. The harvesting will continue into November.

Many of the hardwood trees are showing fall color and will continue even into December. Various trees on Chestnut Creek will have great color into late fall. Now is the time of year to begin venturing into the woods on hiking trips. A number of turkeys have been spotted in the field across from the house as well as several hawks. Since the hay has been cut, the hawks have an easier time spotting their prey.

There are still lots of butterflies but no passion vine. The Gulf Fritillaries have eaten every leaf available. A number of skippers and swallowtails are still finding nectar in the pollinator garden.

Hummingbirds are still coming to feeders and will continue to do so until about the middle of October. They love the Firespike and Firebush in the garden. There is also a Skyvine that they really enjoy. A number of migratory birds are beginning to move through the area.

The pollinator garden is still producing an abundance of flowers for insects, birds, and other animals.

Hopefully, the picture of Brickellia

An Okaloosa County Master Gardener Publication

by D. Gordon does it justice. I purchased the plant from Dara Dobson on our last field trip. It is about six feet tall and covered with flowers. The flowering heads are composed of about 45 pinkish to rose pink disk flowers, but there are no ray flowers. Each flower produces a branched style that protrudes from the tube and, taken collectively, gives the flower head a bristly appearance. This plant is endangered and is found in southeast Alabama, southwest Georgia, and parts of the panhandle. It is a member of the aster family and is certainly one I would encourage you to include in your garden.

Another picture I was able to take is of a predaceous stink bug on the caterpillar of a Gulf Fritillary.

This is the first time I have noticed this kind of activity.

In the coming months I hope you enjoy your garden and the all of the activities that you can participate in during cooler weather.

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October, 2016

NEWS YOU CAN USE The mystery of the ‘ghost trees’ may be solved http://wapo.st/2dORRts Southern tick-associated rash illness (STARI) is a human tick-borne disease that occurs following the bite of Amblyomma americanum, the lone star tick, which is the most common and aggressive human-biting tick in the South, accounting for over 90% of human tick bites in the region. STARI is often described as a “Lyme-like illness” because it causes a rash like the “bulls eye” rash associated with Lyme. Other symptoms of STARI that are similar to symptoms of Lyme disease include headache, fatigue, and muscle and joint pain. Scientists know the tick vector and that some wildlife species play a role in maintaining the disease in nature, but very little else is understood about this mysterious illness. This 4-page fact sheet provides the basic facts we do know, the differences between STARI and Lyme disease, plus advice for tick-bite sufferers and strategies to avoid tick bites. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/uw421

by Staff http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/hs1178 Luffa is the genus name of several tropical and subtropical plants in the cucumber family. Alternatively spelled “Loofa” or “Loofah,” the name is derived from the plant’s use as a material for sponges and dish cloths for bathing and cleaning dishes. This six page fact sheet describes the two types of Luffa, how to cultivate them, and what they can be used for. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/hs1285 This six-page fact sheet provides an overview of Ragweed Parthenium, Parthenium hysterophorous L, including a species description and information on how to manage ragweed parthenium culturally, physically, and chemically. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ep531

Consumer demand for indoor foliage plants is decreasing. One strategy to counter decreasing demand is to align products with consumer needs. To explore this strategy, this 4-page fact sheet examines purchasing barriers for indoor foliage plants so that During the summer, many of Florida's nutrient-enriched lakes breeders, growers, suppliers, and retailers may develop and and reservoirs experience proliferations of cyanobacteria promote products to overcome those barriers. This paper also commonly called “blooms.”. Cyanobacteria are natural in Florida investigates the potential of using novel plant attributes that are lakes and reservoirs, but when they grow to high levels and not readily apparent in retail outlets to generate consumer bloom, they become a big problem. They look awful, smell bad, interest in indoor foliage plants. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/fe994 and can poison fish and other animals in the water. To help resource managers considering costly remediation projects or Of the more than 4,000 known plant species growing in Florida, evaluating the effectiveness of nutrient reduction strategies to approximately 30% are not native to Florida or the Southeast, manage the problem, this 7-page fact sheet presents the results and in the US invasive exotic species cost an estimated $120 from 15 years of studies observing three large, nutrient-rich lakes billion each year in damages. Early detection and removal of in Florida (Lake Harris, Lake George, and Lake Okeechobee) to invasive plants is the key to successful management. This study the relationship between rainfall and cyanobacteria publication describes many of the current methods used in north blooms and learn causes of year-to-year bloom variability.

Florida forest operations to manage invasive exotic plants. It also http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/sg142 provides references for additional sources of information.

In October of 2016, the United States Department of Agriculture http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/fr133 confirmed that the primary screwworm, also called the New World screwworm, has returned to Florida. The fly was found infesting Key deer on Big Pine Key. Key deer are an endangered species found only on the Florida Keys, and unfortunately several have died from the 2016 screwworm infestations, but the screwworm is not only a problem for deer and other wildlife. The pest poses a serious threat to all warm-blooded animals, including livestock, pets, and people, and it cost the US livestock industry billions of dollars before it was finally eradicated decades ago. This four-page fact sheet provides more information about this dangerous pest and how to spot it, as well as what to do and whom to contact if you suspect an infestation in your livestock or pets or in a wild animal. If you suspect an infestation of screwworms in an animal, do not move the animal (to prevent spreading the infestation). Call 1-800-HELP-FLA (1-800-435-7352) inside Florida. Non-Florida residents should call (850) 4120-3800. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/in1146 This four-page fact sheet gives a brief description of the biology and management of goosegrass, a common annual turf and horticultural weed found throughout Florida that grows well in compact, wet soils and superficially resembles crabgrasses.

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October, 2016

PRESIDENTIAL MATERIAL

courtesy of D. Hickenbotham Not every tree has a nickname, but ‘The President’ has earned it.

This giant sequoia stands at 247 feet tall, and is estimated to be over 3,200 years old. Imagine, this tree was already 1200 years old when Jesus walked the earth.

The trunk of ‘The President’ measures at 27 feet across, with 2 billion needles from base to top. (That’s billion with a B) Because of its unbelievable size, this tree has never been photographed in its entirety. Until now.

A team of national Geographic photographers have worked along with scientists to try and create the first photo that shows ‘The President’ in all its glory.

They had to climb the tree with pulleys and levers, and took thousands of photos. Of those, they selected 126 and stitched the together to get this incredible portrait of ‘The President.’

You can read about the whole thing at http:// petapixel.com/2012/12/19/capturing-the-second-largest-tree-in -the-world-in-a-single-image/ ‘The President’ is not the tallest giant sequoia--that record is currently held by ‘General Sherman’ at 274.9 feet. ‘General Sherman is also considered to be the largest tree in the world with a Bole volume of 52,508 cubic feet. That’s a BIG tree.

We can always use your submissions!

See something interesting on the internet? Someone else would probably think it interesting as well.

A reminder: photos should be submitted as a jpeg when possible. If you are sending from your phone, please put something in the subject line or send a text that indicates who you are! We don’t open emails we can’t identify the sender from. Also, be sure to tell us what is in the picture.

Articles and other submissions are due by the 24th of each month. Be kind to your editor and at least run it through spell check.

Remember -- this publication is only as good as the material we receive!

An Okaloosa County Master Gardener Publication

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October, 2016

RECIPE ROUND-UP

staff

Quick and Easy Apple Crisp

Ingredients

Ingredients

6 medium size apples (Granny Smith or McIntosh work best) 1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon 1 cup flour 1 cup sugar 1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature Directions 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

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Shrimp Fried Rice

Preheat oven to 350°F. Peel, core and cut apples into bite size chunks Place the apples in an 8x8 baking pan Sprinkle with 1/2 tsp cinnamon (or more if you like) In a medium size mixing bowl combine sugar, flour, cinnamon Add butter to mixture and cut in with a fork until it resembles pea size crumbs Sprinkle mixture over top of the apples Bake for 45-60 minutes until the top is golden and the apples are soft Let sit for 10 minutes before serving.

3 Ingredient Salsa Chicken

1 1/2 cups uncooked rice 3 cups water 4 Tbsp. vegetable oil 1/2 cup onion, diced 1 1/2 cups cooked medium shrimp 1/4 cup green onion, chopped 2 eggs, beaten 1 tsp. salt 1/4 tsp. black pepper 4 Tbsp. soy sauce 1/4 tsp. sesame oil Directions 1.

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Bring water to a boil. Add rice. Simmer covered for 20 minutes. Allow to cool and fluff with fork.

Heat a large skillet or wok for 2 minutes. Add vegetable oil and onion. Cook for 3 minutes.

Add rice and shrimp; cook 3 minutes, stirring constantly.

Add green onion, eggs, salt, pepper, soy sauce, and sesame oil.

Cook 4 minutes until eggs are firm and everything is well blended.

Bonus! (courtesy of Florida Gardening Magazine) Florida Cranberry Sauce Ingredients 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts 2 cups salsa 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped 2 cups rice, cooked Directions 1.

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Spray crock pot with cooking oil Add chicken and salsa, cook on low 5-6 hours Add cheddar cheese, cook 1-2 more hours Serve over rice, garnished with cilantro

An Okaloosa County Master Gardener Publication

To prepare Roselle ‘fruit’ cut base of each calyx with a sharp knife, separate from seed pod, and wash well. For the ‘cranberry’ sauce you will need: 3 cups Roselle calyxes, 2 cups water and 1 1/2 cups sugar. Boil water and calyxes for 15 minutes, add sugar and bring again to a fast boil for one minute. Pass through blender or rub through a coarse sieve. Chill.

Roselle-orange relish Prepare the Roselle calyxes as above. You will need 3 cups Roselle calyxes, 1 orange or tangelo, 1 cup sugar and 2 tablespoons Florida honey. Put Roselle and orange sections through a food chopper. Add sugar and honey and mix well. Refrigerate.

Roselle jelly Prepare the Roselle calyxes as above. You will need 4 cups water, 6 cups Roselle calyxes, 5 1/2 cups sugar, 1 package fruit pectin.

Boil water and calyxes for 15 minutes; cool and strain through jelly bag. Measure 3 1/2 cups of Roselle juice, add pectin, and follow directions on package. Pour into jars and process.

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October, 2016

M. Stewart —Editor S. Farrell , K. Harper, V. Graham and S. Berry—coeditors

Have pictures or an idea for an article?

Send it in!

Articles and pictures are always welcome.

Mission To assist Extension Agents in providing research-based horticultural education to Florida residents.

Vision To be the most trusted resource for horticultural education in Florida.

LAST WORD It was a dark and stormy night. Okay, it was after midnight so yes it was dark and maybe stormy is an exaggeration but it was misty.

And here I go to throw out garbage. I lift the lid of the garbage can (you know the ones-you could throw away a VW in those things) and ’something’ leaps away and goes PLOP on the house.

Now this ’something’ was rather large but the PLOP. Okay, there aren’t many mammals that I know of that will go PLOP and stick to the side of ones house. At least none that are native to our neck of the woods. So instead of retreating I set out to discover the Plopper.

Sure enough--it was a frog…..a BIG frog.

I know what a regular frog looks like and I know what a tree frog looks like. This guy was definitely not a regular frog and I have never seen a tree frog around here that is almost 3 inches!

Even at that hour, my brain managed to send enough signals that this was not normal.

Mr. Frog is just hanging out on the side of the house so I head in for trapping materials. Jar with lid?

Check. Holes poked in top?

Check. Flashlight? Check.

Do a fast search on tree frogs and……..uh-oh. All the descriptions are telling me that Mr. Frog may be a Cuban tree frog. Which, by the way, isn’t supposed to be around here. But we are talking about my yard and me so………

I decide to trap this critter and get him identified by a professional. If he’s just a weird frog he’ll be released but if he’s not….cue the death march music.

Back outside and or course, Mr. Frog has now migrated to the top bend in the downspout. Great. I find the long handled brush you use to wash windows and cars with and while still holding my jar (ever notice how your brain doesn’t tell you that you don’t have three hands at this point?) and the flashlight-I coax my victim downwards. He doesn’t even jump like a frog would...more like a ’thug’ frog.

Once he’s in range I pounce and before I can drop the brush to get the jar lid out of my pocket….Mr. Frog leaps for freedom. (thankfully away from me as I was to later learn) So here I am, 12:30 am, in the misty rain and my pajamas...chasing a frog with a jar…….and you wonder why my neighbors didn’t even blink over a fire truck parked in front of my house last year.

Ta-dah! I finally catch the escapee and just in case he isn’t an evil invader--I’m nice and put damp leaves etc. in with him. (okay for the record I have no idea if it was a him or a her or what gender he/she/it preferred so sorry PC police--I’m calling it a him)

An Okaloosa County Master Gardener Publication

by M. Stewart I bring the jar inside and wrap it with a towel so it doesn’t get too cold. Happy Hubby unwraps it later on because ’it couldn’t breath.’ I rewrap it because lord only knows what else got trapped in the jar. You can see how the rest of the weekend went.

Come Monday morning I haul my prize up to the Extension Office and present him to Sheila Dunning. She checks out Mr. Frog and then dons rubber gloves. Come to find out, if it is a Cuban tree frog they secret in their mucous a chemical that will make you think your worst case of poison ivy was a walk in the park! Wonderful! I’m glad that I didn’t touch it AND glad he didn’t jump on me.

Mr. Frog really doesn’t like being handled so he’s secreting like crazy. Skin on his head doesn’t move (another tell-tale sign)...yupper we have a Cuban tree frog.

Appropriate notices are sent to appropriate people and I leave Mr. Frog in the capable hands of Extension folks to dispose of.

Side note: You now have to put lanacane (sic) down their back which numbs them before freezing.

It does make sense though that this guy was in my yard. I had noticed that there weren’t many lizards, frogs and toads about lately. I figured it was the weather or something else but with this voracious guy around...I am happy to report that within a week of his departure I’ve seen loads of baby lizards and frogs as well as toads reappearing.

Hopefully this was a fluke and he came in on someone’s belongings. We’ve had a lot of new folks moving in over the past couple of months. I will be installing the PVC pipe to see if he had any friends with him.

Another tell-tale sign is the size of the toe pads. They are huge! So there you have it. I wasn’t sucked into any power equipment this time around--just chasing a nasty invasive species through my yard. Never a dull moment at our house.

Plentiful Plantings

October, 2016