UF Ext. Service for Okaloosa County

Wednesday, January 18, 2023 by Larry Williams Crestview, FL — In celebration of Florida’s Arbor Day, free tree seedlings will be given away on Friday, January 20, 9 am to 1 pm or until trees are gone. This event will be held at the John McMahon Environmental Center located at 132 Butler Avenue in Crestview. This event is sponsored by the Florida Forest Service (FFS), ...

The Okaloosa County Extension Office of the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences will hold a meeting for row crop farmers to get updates regarding crop management and to earn pesticide CEUs. The meeting will be held at the extension office located at 3098 Airport Rd  Crestview, FL 32536 on Monday, January 30, 2023, 5:30 PM to ...

Wednesday, December 14, 2022 by Larry Williams Do you have that difficult to buy for person on your Christmas shopping list? I have an idea, especially if that person enjoys gardening. The University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Extension Bookstore offers a wealth of books, CDs, DVDs, identification decks and manuals. These resources include gardening, lawn and ...

Apr 28, 2022 by Larry Williams A number of years ago, I had the opportunity to speak at the International Flower and Garden Festival at Epcot in Orlando. I provided eight presentations on the topic “Right Plant, Right Place.” The audiences consisted of people mostly from Florida but there were attendees from other parts of the U.S. and even from other ...

Saturday, July 23, 2021 by: Jennifer Bearden I don’t know about you but I’m getting excited about planting cool season food plots!  Now is the time to get those soil samples tested and start planning for this upcoming hunting season.  Once we get our soil pH adjusted and our forages chosen, we need to turn our attention to weed management.  ...

Sunday, March 14, 2021 by Larry Williams The University of Florida Extension Office in Okaloosa County is taking applications for the 2021 Master Gardener Volunteer training course. We are looking for people who will provide volunteer time at the Extension Office in Crestview assisting with our planned educational activities. After successfully completing the program, participants will be ready to begin 75 hours ...

by Matthew Orwat During these unusual times, the Gardening in the Panhandle Team has been working to bring you quality remote content through this online newsletter. In that vein, they have developed some new educational programming for their loyal readers. The University of Florida IFAS Extension Service will be providing one hour “Gardening in the Panhandle LIVE!” sessions on Zoom. These ...

by Larry Williams Friday, August 14, 2020 Oleander caterpillars, which are active on some oleanders during summer, can provide a number of gardening lessons. The adult moth is striking in appearance. The bluish to purplish moth has white dots on its black wings. The moths resemble wasps as they fly in and around oleander shrubs. It’s the orange caterpillars with black ...

by Carrie Stevenson Friday, August 14, 2020 There is something deeply satisfying about plucking fruit off a plant growing outside and tasting it right off the vine/bush/tree. Since childhood, I have reached carefully through the tiny and numerous thorns of blackberry bushes growing in the woods, hoping the berry I’d worked for was more sweet than tart. One vine-ripe fruit that ...

by Jennifer Bearden  | June 19, 2020 Last week, I was viciously attacked by one of the world’s deadliest and most dangerous creatures. Mosquitoes are very deadly insects.  Well, at least the females are.  Males don’t feed on blood.  Although their bite is really annoying, the mosquito’s deadly reputation comes from the diseases and parasites they transmit. Mosquitoes can vector parasites ...