by Larry Williams | April 2, 2020 With most of us being at home more due to restrictions on getting out, people seem to be noticing more of what is going on in their own lawns, landscapes and gardens. As a result, I am getting more questions about “unusual” things being seen. One of which happens to be slime mold. ...
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by Larry Williams | Mar 20, 2020 Ground-dwelling bees get a lot of attention in late winter and spring as they create large numbers of small mounds in local lawns and landscapes. Many people become concerned as they see these bees hovering close to the ground out in their lawns and landscapes. But these bees are interesting, docile, beneficial and are unlikely to ...
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by Larry Williams | March 17, 2020 In times like these, it seems that our own perceived “problems” pale in comparison to the “big picture.” In my day-to-day work, I have the opportunity to help people solve problems with their landscapes, lawns and gardens. I enjoy the problem solving part of my job as an extension agent. You’d be surprised how ...
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Friday, November 08, 2019 by Jennifer Bearden When people put in food plots and are not successful, I normally see the following three problems as possible cause. First, they didn’t consider soil pH or fertility. Second, they didn’t choose the right plant varieties for our area. Third, they didn’t manage weeds properly or at all. So following these three steps can ...
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Tuesday, October 15, 2019 by Larry Williams It is possible to create a landscape that is impossible to maintain. A landscape should be aesthetically pleasing, functional and maintainable. A pleasing, low maintenance landscape requires some planning and some thought put into correct plant selection and placement. You can think of it as low maintenance by design. Done correctly, you should end up ...
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Monday, October 7, 2019 By: Jennifer Bearden Peanuts are pretty big business here in Okaloosa county. In 2015 we harvested 2,049 acres of peanuts, for about 8.1 million pounds. That’s enough peanuts to make over 82 million peanut butter sandwiches. So, suffice it to say, peanuts are an important crop for us here. Peanuts and peanut butter are also protein ...
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by Jennifer Bearden | Oct 07, 2019 | Livestock, Poultry Raising chickens in your backyard is becoming more popular once again. There has been a push to change land use codes to allow for small scale poultry production in large cities and towns as more people want to raise their own chickens for eggs and meat. Under the Limited Poultry and Egg Farm Operation Program (regulated by FDACS), ...
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August 17, 2019 By Jennifer Bearden | Okaloosa County Extension Office Soil scientists like to use the phrase “it depends” an awful lot for educated folks. Before getting a master’s degree in soil science, I used to get very frustrated with that answer. Now I find myself saying just that to clients. Case in point: a client who hadn’t had ...
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by Larry Williams July 25, 2019 Recently, Okaloosa County Commissioner Carolyn Ketchel mentioned to me that she had seen brown widow spiders in parts of Okaloosa County on multiple occasions. Concerned about this and to provide better awareness of this spider, she asked if I could write an article about this spider. Most people seem to be aware of the black ...
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by Matt Lollar July 12, 2019 The UF/IFAS Small Farms and Alternative Enterprises Team and the Panhandle Agriculture Extension Team are pleased to announce the return of the Panhandle Fruit and Vegetable Conference. Registration is now open for the 2019 Panhandle Fruit & Vegetable Conference. This year’s event will move to the beach, to the Emerald Coast Convention Center in Fort Walton ...
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