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Q. I’ve attempted to grow zucchini and crookneck squash but the plants grow fine, begin to produce fruit, then the blossoms and fruit wither. Can you offer a solution to this problem? A. First, be very careful with fertilization. If the plants get too much nitrogen, they’ll produce a lot of leafy green growth at the expense of fruit production. Secondly, squash plants produce separate male and female flowers. In most cases there will be around seven male flowers for every
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Growing a lawn in North Florida can be frustrating. With time, most people discover this. Our climate, sandy soils and pest problems are unique compared to most areas of the United States. You don’t have to play a guessing game in maintaining a Florida lawn. I will discuss “Lawn Care in Northwest Florida” for the May 7th First Tuesday Series program at the Crestview Public Library. I will focus on best management practices to help make growing a Florida lawn less frustrating.
Do you have some drab, troublesome or hard-to-grow areas where you could use some color in your landscape? Try container-grown annual flowers. There are areas in most landscapes where it is not practical or possible to bring in the tiller and create a flowerbed. But that doesn’t mean you can’t have color in those areas. A little imagination, a decorative container and appropriate plants can turn a bare spot into a splash of color. Consider using a container
Even though mole crickets may injure any of 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 2 ounces of liquid dishwashing soap in 2 gallons of water and apply with a sprinkling can to 4 square feet of turf in several areas where mole crickets are suspected.
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
