Category: Fruits & Vegetables

Community Garden Success Story in Pasco

by Whitney Elmore
June 1, 2017

Just three months into the development of a community garden with our partner, at the Hilltop Landings Community (Pasco Housing Authority) in Dade City, and already great strides have been made. Community members have taken over all of the watering ... READ MORE

Category: Community Volunteers, Fruits & Vegetables, Home Landscapes, UF/IFAS Extension
Tags: Community Gardens, Cooking, Family, Household, Mother, Nutrition, Partners, Sustainable, Vegetables

Soil Amendments: Why are they important?

by Whitney Elmore
May 17, 2017

Soil amendments are often used in gardening and agriculture to improve the quality of the soil you will be planting. In Florida, our soils tend to be sandy and slightly alkaline (or high pH). Sandy soils tend to drain water extremely quickly ... READ MORE

Category: Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Fruits & Vegetables, Home Landscapes, Lawn
Tags: Compost; Manure; Vermicomposting, Humus, Organic Matter, PH, Soil

Spraying Soapy Water Correctly and Other Low Toxic Pesticides

by Whitney Elmore
May 10, 2017

Using low toxic pesticides, like soapy water, is a great idea. You can help control pest populations like aphids, thrips, mealybug, and even white fly. When using soapy water (solution recipe: http://bit.ly/2nElF3U), try to spray early in the ... READ MORE

Category: Fruits & Vegetables, Home Landscapes, Pests & Disease
Tags: Disease, Neem Oil, Pest, Pesticides

Aphids vs Ants: The World in Your Garden

by Whitney Elmore
April 20, 2017

I was scouting one of my community gardens last week, when I was bombarded by a massive aphid population boom on my kale. Dozens of aphid clusters were evident on the undersides of most of my kale. You could even see the aphids start to spread ... READ MORE

Category: Fruits & Vegetables, Home Landscapes, Pests & Disease
Tags: Ants, Aphids, Cabbage, Gardening, IPM, Kale, Scouting

Soil Solarization

by Whitney Elmore
April 13, 2017

Summer in Florida is rapidly approaching and at this point, many farmers/gardeners take this time to take a break from their growing cycle, and use the summer months (June to August) to clean and reinvigorate their soil. They do this for two ... READ MORE

Category: Fruits & Vegetables, Home Landscapes, Pests & Disease
Tags: Community, Fruits, Gardens, Soil, Solarization, Vegetables

Using Fertilizers

by Whitney Elmore
April 5, 2017

Most people think that when it comes to fertilizer (“plant food”), the more the better right? Don’t you want your vegetables or flowers to grow and look the best they can? Although many people do think this way, the logic isn’t accurate. ... READ MORE

Category: Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Fruits & Vegetables, Home Landscapes
Tags: Fertilizer, Gardens, PH, Soil Test

Scouting and Pests

by Whitney Elmore
March 31, 2017

A couple days after I completed planting out my two first community gardens in Dade City, my tomatoes, bell peppers, and eggplant started to show signs of pests or disease damage. Figure 1 is a picture of one of my pepper plants. Most of all ... READ MORE

Category: Fruits & Vegetables, Home Landscapes, Pests & Disease

From My Garden to Yours (3/22/17)

by Whitney Elmore
March 22, 2017

We are nearing the end of the spring planting season in Florida. The last danger of frost has come and gone, and it’s time to start planting warm weather plants and vegetables. Usually, the spring season extends until April in central Florida, ... READ MORE

Category: Fruits & Vegetables, Home Landscapes

Community Gardens Take Shape in Pasco

by Whitney Elmore
March 16, 2017

The UF/IFAS Pasco County Extension office has recently added a new face. Eden Santiago is the new Community Garden Program Assistant for the Pasco Extension Horticulture program. Eden will be working specifically on the east side of Pasco County ... READ MORE

Category: Fruits & Vegetables, Home Landscapes

UF/IFASExtension Pasco County

UF/IFAS
Extension Pasco County