Tag: Central Florida

Tree Bark: A Landscape Showstopper- A New Episode of Your Central Florida Yard Podcast

by Anne Yasalonis
August 10, 2026

Tree Bark: A Landscape Showstopper Join us in this episode as we take a closer look at trees with interesting bark. Whether you’re designing a landscape or just love trees, you’ll come away seeing bark in a whole new way! Your Central ... READ MORE

Category: Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Home Landscapes,
Tags: Anne Yasalonis, Ayasalonis, Central Florida, Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Florida-Friendly Plants, Jschelb, Master Gardener Volunteer, Polk County, Polkgardening, Polkmg, Trees, UF-IFAS, UF/IFAS Polk County, Weeds, Your Central Florida Yard Podcast

Top Five Sub-tropical Fruits to Grow in Central Florida

by Tia Saracino
July 30, 2026

Central Florida has a sub-tropical climate that is excellent for growing a variety of fruits. Here are our top five choices for easy-to-grow productive fruits for your home landscape. Pineapple Pineapples can be grown and fruit ... READ MORE

Category: , Fruits & Vegetables, Home Landscapes, Horticulture, UF/IFAS Extension
Tags: Avocado, Banana, Central Florida, Edible Landscaping, Featured Hot Topic, Fruit, Home Landscapes, Mango, Papaya, Pineapple, Silvasy, Tampa Bay

The Landscape Order of Operations: Water. Test. Fertilize—if needed.

by Lauren Spaduzzi
July 15, 2026

A simple guide to diagnosing landscape problems before reaching for fertilizer. When plants start looking unhealthy, it's tempting to reach for a bag of fertilizer. Yellowing leaves, stunted growth, or poor flowering often seem like obvious ... READ MORE

Category: Agriculture, , Conservation, Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Fruits & Vegetables, Home Landscapes, Horticulture, Lawn, Natural Resources, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Extension, UF/IFAS Teaching, Water
Tags: Central Florida, Fertilizer, Fertilizer Ordinances, Florida, Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Fruit, Garden, Gardening, Hillsborough, Hillsborough County, Home Landscapes, Irrigation, Landscape, Master Gardener, Soil PH, Soil Test, UF/IFAS Extension, Vegetable, Vegetable Gardening, Watering Efficiently

Getting the Most Out of Compost in Your Home Landscape

by Tia Saracino
June 28, 2026

How to using compost in a home landscape?Compost can be applied to various garden and landscape areas, including vegetable gardens, landscape beds, turfgrass, especially before installing sod, flower beds, grow boxes, container gardens, and ... READ MORE

Category: , Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Fruits & Vegetables, Home Landscapes, Lawn, UF/IFAS Extension
Tags: Central Florida, Compost, Fertilizer, Home Landscapes

Every Count Counts: Why Local Pollinator Observations Matter

by Lauren Spaduzzi
June 16, 2026

When people think of scientific research, they often picture Bunsen burners, beakers, and scientists in white lab coats hunched over microscopes. But some of the most valuable data comes from community members observing the world around ... READ MORE

Category: , Conservation, Events, Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Home Landscapes, Natural Resources, Relationships & Family, UF/IFAS Extension, UF/IFAS Research, Wildlife
Tags: Central Florida, Citizen Science, Citizen Scientist, Florida, Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Garden, Great Florida Pollinator Census, Greatsoutheastpollinatorcensus, Hillsborough, Hillsborough County, UF/IFAS Extension, Youth

How to start a food forest in your central Florida yard

by Anne Yasalonis, Julie Schelb and polkmg

June 15, 2026

The garden journey of a Master Gardener Volunteer is always fascinating. UF/IFAS Extension Polk County Master Gardener Volunteer, Jessica, shares how she started a food forest in her yard. To learn even more, take a listen as we chat with Jessica ... READ MORE

Category: Community Volunteers, Home Landscapes, UF/IFAS Extension
Tags: Anne Yasalonis, Ayasalonis, Central Florida, Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Florida-Friendly Plants, Flowers, Food Forest, Fruit, Gardening, Jschelb, Master Gardener Volunteer, Native Plants, Polk County, Polk County FL, Polkgardening, Vegetables, Your Central Florida Yard Podcast

Chop and Drop Gardening: Turning Plant Waste into Healthy Soil

by Lauren Spaduzzi
May 29, 2026

Nature doesn’t waste nutrients, and your garden doesn’t have to either! What is ‘chop and drop’ gardening? Chop and drop gardening involves ‘chopping’ plant material, and then ‘dropping’ it in place, where it decomposes naturally ... READ MORE

Category: Agriculture, , Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Fruits & Vegetables, Home Landscapes, Horticulture, Lawn, UF/IFAS Extension
Tags: Central Florida, Chop And Drop, Compost, Florida, Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Garden, Gardening, Home Landscapes, Mulch, UF/IFAS Extension, Vegetable Gardening

Growing Everglades Tomato

by Tia Saracino
May 26, 2026

Everglades tomato is a wild type of current tomato that thrives in Florida's hot humid summers. The small red fruits, about the size of a dime, are abundant and tasty. This is an indeterminate type of tomato and can easily grow 6 to 10 feet ... READ MORE

Category: , Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Fruits & Vegetables, Home Landscapes, Horticulture, UF/IFAS Extension
Tags: Central Florida, Edible Landscaping, Everglades Tomato, Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Fruit And Vegetables, Home Landscapes, Tomato, Vegetable Gardening, Video

Want to grow papaya trees in your backyard? Ask IFAS bilingual resource offers top research tips for success

by Lourdes Mederos
May 19, 2026

With the right care, papaya trees thrive in Florida backyards, producing sweet fruit and flowers. Depending on the variety, this slender tree can produce more than one bright white flower in less than 12 months. Well suited to Central ... READ MORE

Category: Agribusiness, Agriculture, Blog Community, Conservation, Crops, Fruits & Vegetables, Home Landscapes, Pests & Disease, Pests & Disease, SFYL Hot Topic, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Extension, UF/IFAS Research
Tags: Ask IFAS, ASK UF/IFAS En Espanol, Central Florida, Diseases, English, Food Is Medicine, Harvesting, Healthy, Healthy Environment, Home, Irrigation Needs, Jonathan Crane, Landscape, Papaya, Papaya Growing, Papaya Seeds, Papaya Tree, Pests, Plants, South Florida, Superfruit, Sustainable, UF-IFAS, UF/IFAS Tropical Research And Education Center

Want to grow papaya trees in your backyard? Ask IFAS bilingual resource offers top research tips for success

by Lourdes Mederos
May 19, 2026

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