Category: Horticulture

All These Leaves: Turning Fall’s Bounty into Leaf Mold for Your Garden

by Leon County Master Gardener Volunteer
October 20, 2026

By Mary Janik, Master Gardener Volunteer All. These. Leaves. What should we do with all these leaves?! It’s a common complaint in autumn. Folks rake ’em, bag ’em, burn ’em, compost ’em, and leave ’em. Or, you can make leaf ... READ MORE

Category: Agriculture, Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Forests, HOME LANDSCAPES, Horticulture
Tags: Composting, Fall Gardening, Fallen Leaves, Fungi, Leaf Mold, Master Gardener Volunteer, Mulch, Organic Matter, Soil Health

Borrowed Herbs: Grow a Garden from a Friend’s Clippings

by Molly Jameson
October 15, 2026

The tray of rosemary on my porch started as one shrub and a pair of pruners. Each stem I snipped is on its way to becoming a new plant, identical to the one it came from, and none of it cost me anything beyond some potting mix and a little ... READ MORE

Category: Agriculture, HOME LANDSCAPES, Horticulture
Tags: Fall Gardening, Gardening In The Panhandle, Herb Cuttings, Herb Garden, Lemon Balm, Mexican Tarragon, Mint, North Florida Gardening, Oregano, Panhandle Gardening, Propagating Herbs, Rooting Hormone, Rosemary, Softwood Cuttings

Watch Out for Stinging Insects

by Mark Tancig
September 18, 2026

As we enter September, many gardeners are getting their landscapes back in shape after the long, hot summer months. There are likely some large weeds and/or vines that have taken up areas where they are not wanted. As you begin to hack these ... READ MORE

Category: Horticulture, Pests & Disease
Tags: Gardening In The Panhandle, Hornets, Panhandle Gardening, Stinging Insects, Wasps, Yellow Jacket

What to Do in the Garden in September and October

by Leon County Master Gardener Volunteer
September 8, 2026

By David W. Marshall, Extension Agent Emeritus August brought brutal heat to our area this year. But thankfully we also got much-needed rain, which relieved some of the heat stress on our plants. Tropical storm development in the Atlantic ... READ MORE

Category: Fruits & Vegetables, HOME LANDSCAPES, Horticulture, Lawn, Pests & Disease
Tags: Cigar Flower, Cool-season Annuals, Cool-season Vegetables, Cuphea Micropetala, Fall Color Trees, Fall Gardening, Fall Perennials, Firebush, Firespike, Hamelia Patens, Japanese Maple, Lawn Care, Lawn Fertilizer, Malvaviscus, Mexican Bush Sage, North Florida Gardening, Odontonema Cuspidatum, Pineapple Sage, Salvia Leucantha, September Gardening, St. Augustine Grass, Tropical Sod Webworm, Turk's Cap

Start It or Sow It?

by Molly Jameson
September 3, 2026

Every September I start to get emails full of fall gardening questions, and some of them come down to a single decision: do I start these seeds in a seed flat, or do I put them straight in the ground? It's a fair question, and the answer ... READ MORE

Category: Agriculture, Crops, Fruits & Vegetables, HOME LANDSCAPES, Horticulture
Tags: Cilantro Bolting, Direct Seeding Vs Transplanting, Fall Vegetable Garden, Florida Vegetable Gardening Guide, Forked Carrots, Panhandle Gardening, Parsley Germination, Seed Flats, Shade Cloth, Taproot Crops, Transplant Ability

Why Your Windflower Is My Anemone

by Leon County Master Gardener Volunteer
August 28, 2026

By Camille Stein, Master Gardener Volunteer Fans of classic films may remember the Gershwin song "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off," written by George and Ira Gershwin for the 1937 Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers film Shall We Dance. The song ... READ MORE

Category: Florida-Friendly Landscaping, HOME LANDSCAPES, Horticulture
Tags: Anemone Blanda, Binomial Nomenclature, Black-eyed Susan, Botanical Names, Carl Linnaeus, Common Names Vs Scientific Names, Genus And Species, Grecian Windflower, How Plants Are Named, Plant Taxonomy, Rudbeckia Hirta

The Grape That Loves a Southern Summer

by Molly Jameson
July 24, 2026

The Grape That Loves a Southern Summer Late summer in the Panhandle has a flavor, and for a lot of us it tastes like muscadines. If you grew up here, one bite can send you straight back to a hot afternoon spent picking grapes off a backyard ... READ MORE

Category: Agriculture, Crops, Fruits & Vegetables, HOME LANDSCAPES, Horticulture, UF/IFAS Research
Tags: FAMU, Grape Harvest Festival, Home Orchard, Muscadine, Muscadine Cultivars, Muscadine Grapes, Native Plants, Panhandle Gardening, Scuppernong, Seedless Muscadine, Viticulture, Vitis Rotundifolia, Wine Grapes

Your Garden’s Deadliest Allies

by Molly Jameson
June 11, 2026

Your Garden's Deadliest Allies As a gardener, summer can feel like it takes knightly status to grow fruits and vegetables. You strap on your metaphorical armor, raise your shield, and draw your sword to battle the stink bugs, squash ... READ MORE

Category: Agriculture, Fruits & Vegetables, HOME LANDSCAPES, Horticulture, Pests & Disease, Pests & Disease
Tags: Arilus Cristatus, Assassin Bugs, Beneficial Insects, Biological Pest Control, Garden Pests, Insect Identification, Integrated Pest Management, IPM, Milkweed Assassin Bug, Natural Pest Control, Panhandle Gardening, Predatory Insects, Wheel Bug, Zelus Longipes

Garlic and Vampires: The Science Behind the Myth [Part 2]

by Suzanne Holloway
October 30, 2025

In part one, we explored garlic’s history and its remarkable ability to help protect against germs, health problems, insects, and even unwanted company. Now, in this post, we’ll take a deeper look into vampire lore, the creatures, and health ... READ MORE

Category: Agriculture, Fruits & Vegetables, Health & Nutrition, Horticulture, Pests & Disease, Pests & Disease, UF/IFAS Extension, WORK & LIFE
Tags: Bats, Folklore, Food Is Medicine, Garlic, Halloween, Health, Holiday, Leech, Living Well In The Panhandle, Mosquitoes, Supernatural, Vampire

Garlic and Vampires: The Science Behind the Myth [Part 1]

by Suzanne Holloway
October 23, 2025

You’ve probably heard the old myth that garlic repels vampires, but is there any truth behind this? There’s no scientific evidence to support the existence of vampires or their aversion to garlic. However, the myth likely has roots in garlic’s ... READ MORE

Category: Food Safety, Fruits & Vegetables, Health & Nutrition, Horticulture, Pests & Disease, UF/IFAS Extension, WORK & LIFE
Tags: Allicin, Food History, Food Is Medicine, Garlic, Halloween, Health, Holiday, Insect Repellent, Lentil Soup, Living Well In The Panhandle, Recipe, Repellent, Soup, Vampire

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