Category: Planting

Arbor Day Tree Giveaway Event

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Next weekend is Arbor Day! First celebrated in Nebraska in 1874, Arbor Day is dedicated to planting trees and celebrating their various roles in the world. Trees do a lot including but not limited to boosting our mental health, eating greenhouse gases, cooling the areas around them, supporting wildlife, and cleaning the air!

To celebrate, Panama City Quality of Life is working with IFAS to give FREE trees to Bay County citizens. This offer is only good while supplies last, so come out early to secure your River Birch or Red Maple! The tree giveaway will be held from 9am-1pm at McKenzie Park. There will also be a free kid craft and tree planting kit at Oaks by the Bay Park from 10-11am while supplies last. Learn more by visiting the Facebook event page here. 

April Planting in the Florida Panhandle

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Now is the perfect time to begin planting your garden for the summer haul! April is a good time to transplant gingers, roselle, and tomatoes. If you have any starters ready to put in the ground, now’s the time! April is also a good time to transplant long squash, luffa, papaya, Seminole pumpkin, and sweet potatoes; however, these baby plants are still a little sensitive to the weather, so be sure to watch these transplants carefully after planting them. There is also a number of seeds that can be planted in April including beans (bush, lima, pole), cantaloupes, corn, cucumbers, okra, peanuts, peas, squashes, and watermelons. 

If you’d like to begin preparing for May planting, consider starting tropical spinaches, pigeon pea, amaranth, calabaza, Seminole pumpkin, or sweet potatoes inside the home or in a greenhouse. This way they have time to root properly before it is time to transplant them in May. For more detailed information about gardening in the Florida Panhandle, visit THIS LINK to access the UF | IFAS Extension North Florida Vegetable Gardening Guide. 

Camellia Show

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The Camellia Show and Sale is happening next weekend. Join the American Camellia Society at the Ocala chapter’s annual show on January 28th and 29th. It will be held at Fort King Presbyterian Church. While the exhibition will not be a judged show this year, there will still be a number of winning blooms available for viewing. Plants will be for sale from 9am to 4pm on Saturday and 1pm to 4pm on Sunday. Learn more by visiting the Facebook event page here. 

Houseplants 101

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Caroline Manuel and Rosey Melucci will be hosting a Houseplants 101 workshop at Native Nurseries in Tallahassee. The workshop will be held on January 21st at 10am. Houseplants can improve the aesthetics of a home or porch AND improves air quality. Manuel and Melucci will be sharing their favorite, easy-to-grow houseplants, how to care for them, and more! Registration is REQUIRED for this event; call the nursery at (850) 386-8882 to secure your spot. Call soon as the class is limited to 15 people. 

Please note: parking for the workshop is in the secondary parking lot. Use the driveway next door to the nursery with the ‘Workshop Parking’ sign seen from Centerville Rd. For more information, visit the Facebook event page here. 

C.M. Kidd Harris Events

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This Sunday will be a packed day for C.M. Kidd Harris Park in Panama City. The day starts with a Raised Bed Event at 10am. Put on by Living Healthy. Simplified and the Quality of Life Department of Panama City, this is a volunteer event to get raised beds built and filled for the benefit of the surrounding community. Learn more by visiting the Raised Bed Event Facebook page here.

During the event, there will be a number of other activities taking place so the whole family can come out. There will be plant starters for kids so they can help get seasonal plants going for your home, a tour of the food forest park, and a tour to learn about backyard beekeeping at 1pm. This will also be the location of the Fall Seed and Plant Swap; learn more here! Bring seeds and plants to swap with other community members. There will be snacks and refreshments available but they are of a limited quantity, so please prepare for a day in the Florida sun by bringing your own water, sun protection, and comfy clothes. 

Blueberry Workshop

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The Jackson County Extension Office is hosting a blueberry workshop this September. It will be held Thursday, September 29th at the ag center from 8am – noon. The workshop costs $10 per person; pre-registration is required. The workshop will feature several UF and FAMU specialists. They’ll cover soil preparation, soil health, insects, disease control, and more. There will also be updates about the emerging practice of growing blackberries in the Panhandle. 

If you can’t make the September class, it will be repeated on Tuesday, October 25th, at the Washington County Extension Office in Chipley. 

Tri-County Plant Swap

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This Saturday, September 24th, is the first annual Tri-County Plant Swap. The event is free and open to the public; it will run from 11am – 1pm (EDT). The Plant Swap is a social for gardeners of all levels to come together and chat about plants, swap goods, and more! There will be bulbs, seeds, seedlings, plants, produce, gardening books, pots, and more to swap. If you want to participate, please remember to label all seeds, cuttings, and plants with the name (common and scientific preferred). Additionally, Pemberley Farm will have some of its homemade goods for sale. The event will be held at 1745 Ben Road in Chipley. Ben Road turns East off Highway 77 just South of Wausau. Visit the event Facebook page here to learn more and stay up-to-date with event announcements. 

Jackson County Gardening Assistance

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There is going to be a series of talks held at the Jackson County Agriculture Center in Mariana (2741 Penn Avenue). This will be a huge benefit to gardeners in Jackson County who wish to grow their own food. The first focuses on Companion Planting and will be held Wednesday, September 14th from 10-11:30am. It will cost $5 per person. There is no pre-registration required. However, you can call to reserve a spot to guarantee your spot; call 850-482-9620 to get your name on the list.

The second class focuses on Fall Gardening. It will be held on Saturday, September 17th from 9am – noon. Participants will get to take home a variety of seeds. This class will cost $15 per person. 

The third class focuses on Garden to Table: Herbs. It will be held Tuesday, September 27th from 6-8pm. This event costs $15 per person. Participants will receive a small planter of herbs and a sample jar of dried herbs to take home. Additionally, they will have the change to taste several ways to use herbs in cooking during the class. 

Farm, Garden & Craft Swap

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Click on the image to visit the Facebook event page for more information and up-to-date announcements.

Mid-South Lumber Co is hosting its first Farm, Garden & Craft Swap on Saturday, August 6th. The event is FREE and will go from 8 am – 2 pm. Tex Kitchen will have a food truck on site. There will be additional food vendors and a variety of local vendors including but not limited to Jonesing 4 Cookies, Coastal Crafts, Tina Parrish’s canned goods, Southern Glitter Girls, Beachside Bakery, Wolf Feather Works, Sandhills Native Nursery, and more! Come support local individuals and businesses while fulfilling your needs for fresh produce, baked items, canned good, hand-made arts & crafts, plants, and small animals. If you have any questions, please contact Nikki Sullivan @ 850-722-5335

 

 

Native Grasses

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Native grasses are an essential topic that many don’t consider. Many of the green pasture grasses you see today are actually from other countries and contain 10x the amount of chemicals as farmland.(1) 

Native grasses are more cost-efficient as they require far less maintenance and promote beneficial wildlife. Natives have existed in the ecological landscape for so long that they have adapted to the soil, terrain, sunlight, and moisture conditions. This means homeowners won’t waste as much time and money watering, cutting, or reseeding. Reseeding is a natural aspect of native grasses because they are perennial which means they self-seed each year. They are more prepared to deal with natural droughts because their roots reach far, far down into the ground (see photo). This also means native grasses are beneficial for soil erosion; plant native grasses near pond edges and more. Their far-reaching roots also assist in maintaining healthy soil. Furthermore, native grasses are naturally resistant to many of the local pests and diseases that many homeowners would usually treat with pesticides. Not only does using fewer pesticides save you money but it also means a healthier ecosystem – less poison means more pollinators, healthier soil, and less chemical runoff that can affect human and animal lives. 

Learn more about native grasses, groundcover, and lawngrasses HERE at the UF|IFAS extension website.