11

Inside this

issue:

Coming events 2

Critter calendar 3

November

gardening

3

Spring Ahead,

Fall Back

4

Weed of the

Month

5

Conference 6

Book Review 6

Last Word 7

...for discerning weeders November, 2011

DON’T FORGET!

You have to log your

hours onto the VMS

system!

Cool suggestions Linda Meyers

The holidays are right around the corner

and we aren‟t the only ones feeling some of

the stress of the season. Our house plants

and lawns will be facing stress as

well. Here are some suggestions to help the

NW Florida gardener.

When bringing indoor plants inside the

three main things to consider are humidity,

light and temperature. Most indoor plants

originated in the tropics and prefer a high-

er humidity than our homes will normally

provide. You can correct this problem by

installing a humidifier. A less expensive

option is to place potted plants on a two or

three inch bed of moist gravel contained in

a shallow, waterproof container. Add water

as needed. But make sure the pots are sit-

ting on the gravel, not in the water.

Suddenly bringing a plant inside after it

has been accustomed to outdoor light may

result in the plant dropping many of its

leaves. If possible, gradually move the plant

from high light to low light locations. This

allows the plant to better adjust to the low-

er light situation. Plants that will be located

in a dark room where they receive little or

no sun, will benefit from a combination of

supplemental light. Plants that receive

some sunlight each day may need only ex-

tra blue light from a fluorescent source.

Too much red light from an incandescent

source may stimulate undesirable leggy

growth. It‟s important to maintain the

proper balance.

Temperature is another critical factor.

Most plants grow better if the nighttime

temperature is lower than the daytime tem-

perature. Most plants do well when

the temperature is about 65 to 70 degrees

Fahrenheit during the day and about 10

degrees lower at night. Scientists have

found that a slightly higher daytime light

intensity will help compensate for a lack of

temperature variation for many plants.

Help protect lawns from cold damage: in

north Florida delay fall planting (sprigging,

sodding, seeding) of grasses until spring or

early summer. A late season (late Septem-

ber - October) application of fertilizer con-

taining nitrogen is also not recommended

for our area. It will promote shoot growth

in the fall, when grass growth and metabo-

lism are slowing down, this will deplete

carbohydrate reserves, which help the grass

regrow from any stress, and will also pro-

duce new, tender shoot growth that is less

able to tolerate adverse conditions such as

cold. Increasing mowing height can reduce

cold damage in a number of ways. First it

will provide deeper rooting, which is one

factor always associated with greater stress

tolerance. It will also allow for production

and storage of more carbohydrates late in

the summer. In addition, higher mowing

heights can create a warmer microenviron-

ment as a result of extra canopy cover pro-

vided by longer leaf tissue. Sources: article

12/2010 “Provide a Little Bit of the Tropics for Your

Houseplants

This Winter” by

Larry Williams;

Florida Lawn

Handbook, Lau-

rie E. Trenholm

and J. Bryan

Unruh

22

FFGC District 1 and

Dogwood Garden Club of Gulf Breeze

Present:

Welcome to our Home: Designs and Dessert!

Sunday, November 13, 2011

2pm—4pm at the Gulf Breeze Presbyterian

Church

100 Andrew Jackson Trail

A virtual holiday home tour, including how to

decorate for Thanksgiving thru New Years,

flowers, cooking, baking etc.

Vendors, Entertainment—cost $15

contact Marie Harrison for more information

AMERICA RECYCLES DAY

SATURDAY

NOVEMBER 19th

10:00am to 3:00pm

SANTA ROSA MALL

FOOD COURT AREA

Master Gardener

Christmas Party

and

Silent Auction

December 7th

9am until 12 noon

Extension Office

Old Bethel Road

33

A Walk on the Wild Side Linda Meyers

Courtesy of www.wec.ufl.edu/extension

Cooler weather, football, local fairs and the wonderful

holidays with family and friends are just around the cor-

ner. This is also a great time to enjoy wildlife that is ar-

riving for the winter. Happenings in our area are:

Birds:

Set up winter seed and suet feeders. Cedar waxwings

come south for the winter. Their flocks can be seen on

cedars, hollies, cherry laurels, privet, and other fruit

plants. Look for downy, hairy, red-bellied, and redhead-

ed woodpeckers on suet feeders. Bald eagles begin their

nesting season. Look for spectacular aerial courtship

displays. Sandhill cranes return in full force from their

breeding grounds up north. Many yellow-rumped war-

blers and palm warblers will be in neighborhoods, natu-

ral areas, and yards. Gray catbirds have already arrived

and will be skulking (and cat-calling!) in thickets. King-

lets, phoebes, robins, and other northern songbirds have

arrived for the winter.

Mammals:

Peak of deer rutting in central and north Florida. Bears

are on the move and crossing roads. Look for migrating

Hoary and Red Bats in North Florida. Hoary is a large

bat with frosted fur.

Amphibians:

Ornate chorus frogs begin calling.

Trees:

Cypress begin turning a rust color.

Fish:

Spotted sea trout should enter tidal creeks around

Thanksgiving.

November Gardening.....

Shari Farrell

With leaves still falling, it‟s almost too early to get out the

rakes. What we can do is get a head start on what has clut-

tered the beds and yard.

Mulch! Shredding leaves and pine straw will make the eco-

nomically free mulch available to most of us. It‟s a dusty,

dirty job and well worth the effort. Granted, a majority of

gardeners appreciate the finished look of bark mulch or

pine straw which can be obtained by using these materials

as the final layer. The thicker layer of „natural‟ mulch that is

hidden from view means less pocket money is needed to

attain the „look.‟

Other shredded materials from the clean-up process also

adds to the free layer. Those ginger and canna stalks, pas-

sion vines, small twigs, and discarded vegetable plants add

nutrients to the mixture. If available, a layer of home

grown, finished compost applied will help break down the

plant materials. Purchased compost will do the same great

job, just be sure the label reads desiccated or dried. Water-

ing between each layer also aids in the break down and

gives us a realistic depth to work with.

Often our neighbors put bags of leaves at the curb for the

trash men to haul away; just be sure the neighbor hasn‟t

added pet droppings or seeded weeds to the mixture. An-

other caveat to consider is the neighbor‟s use of chemicals

when cut grass is an addition. Those herbicides will defi-

nitely affect the soil and any planned seed germination.

This is where getting to know the neighbors is another ben-

efit.

Not everyone has the availability of a dedicated shredder;

using a string trimmer/weed eater in a strong container

does a great job. Just remember to limit the contents or the

storm created will have astronomic consequences! Another

alternative is putting dried debris in a large trash bag and

crushing the contents by walking on it.

Organic mulch is the best additive to the landscape.

Share your thoughts and ideas with the Editor so we can

post them in the December edition!

44

Spring Ahead.....Fall Back Karen Harper

Love it or hate it, we'll all be doing the semi-annual ad-

justment at 2:00 AM November 6 when we set our clocks

back an hour. But why do we have Daylight Saving Time?

How did this practice get started? And more importantly,

can we ever get rid of it? DST is observed in most of the

U.S. and its territories But the federal government

doesn't require U.S. states or territories to observe day-

light saving time which is why Hawaii, American Samoa,

Guam, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and most of Arizo-

na (with the exception of the Navajo Indian Reservation

in Arizona) don't have DST. Indiana, which used to be

split with a portion of the state observing DST and the

other half not, is now whole with the entire state of Indi-

ana observing DST as of April 2006. DST is also observed

in about 70 other countries. Why do we have Daylight

Saving Time to begin with? Well, the main idea has been

to save energy with DST but the jury is still out as to

whether it actually does result in energy savings. And

there are a number of studies that show detrimental ef-

fects on health. And more than a few opinion polls indi-

cate that most people don't much care for it.

We can blame Ben Franklin—of the "early to bed and

early to rise" fame— for the original concept, since he was

apparently the first person to suggest the idea of daylight

savings. While serving as U.S. ambassador to France in

Paris, Franklin wrote of being awakened at 6 a.m. and

realizing, to his surprise, that the sun would rise far earli-

er than he usually did. He thought of the resources that

might be saved if he and others rose earlier and burned

less midnight oil. However, Franklin did not suggest a

plan for implementing his idea. It wasn't until World War

I that daylight saving time was instituted on a large scale.

Germany was the first state to adopt the time changes, to

reduce artificial lighting and thereby save coal for the war

effort. Many countries followed suit. In the U.S. a federal

law standardized the yearly start and end of daylight sav-

ing time in 1918—for the states that chose to observe it.

During World War II, the U.S. made daylight saving

time mandatory for the whole country, as a way to save

wartime resources. Between February 9, 1942, and Sep-

tember 30, 1945, the government took it a step further.

During this period daylight saving time was observed year

-round, essentially making it the new standard time, if

only for a few years.

The American law by which we turn our clock forward in

the spring and back in the

fall is known as the Uniform

Time Act of 1966. Since the

end of World War II,

though, daylight saving time

has always been optional for U.S. states. Its beginning

and end have shifted—and occasionally disappeared.

During the 1973-74 Arab oil embargo, the U.S. once

again extended daylight saving time through the winter,

resulting in a one percent decrease in the country's elec-

trical load, according to federal studies of the time.

Thirty years later the Energy Policy Act of 2005 changed

both the starting and ending dates. Beginning in 2007,

daylight saving time starts on the second Sunday in

March and ends on the first Sunday in November.

So, does DST save energy? It depends on whose study

you choose to believe. In recent years several studies

have suggested that daylight saving time doesn't actually

save energy—and might even result in a net loss.

In the U.S., the state of Indiana provided a good oppor-

tunity for comparison since prior to 2006 only 15 of the

state's 92 counties observed daylight saving time. When

the whole state adopted DST, before-and-after energy

uses were studied. Indications were that while the use of

artificial lights dropped, an increase in air-conditioning

use more than offset any energy gains. It seems that peo-

ple got home an hour earlier to a warmer house and they

turned on the a/c. But how do people feel about DST?

National surveys by Rasmussen Reports show that 83

percent of respondents knew when to move their clocks

ahead in spring 2010. Twenty-seven percent, though, ad-

mitted they'd been an hour early or late at least once in

their lives because they hadn't changed their clocks cor-

rectly. Other telephone surveys by Rasmussen Reports

from 2009 and 2010 show that most people just "don't

think the time change is worth the hassle." Forty-seven

percent agreed with that statement, while only 40 percent

disagreed.

Here's a question that has puzzled some: In many

states, liquor cannot be served after 2 a.m. But at 2 a.m.

in the fall, the time switches back one hour. So, why can't

they serve for that additional hour in the fall? The an-

swer: the bars do not close at 2 a.m. but actually at 1:59

a.m. So, they are already closed when the time changes

from Daylight Saving Time into Standard Time. Gotcha!

55

Fall has definitely come to NW

Florida! Driving at this time of year

the ditches and the wood's edge

along the roadsides are brightened

with the yellow and gold flowers of

Tickseed (Coreopsis spp.), Golden

Aster (Chrysopsis spp.), Silkgrass

(Pityopsis spp.), Sunflowers

(Helianthus

spp.), and

Goldenrods

(Solidago

spp.). Climbing

high in the

trees a vine of

gold and scar-

let leaves is

adding to the

show. This is

most likely the native wild grapevine

Muscadine. A favorite and important

food of our wildlife, wild grape can

be a weedy, nuisance vine in our gar-

dens. Wild grape is also known as

muscadine, scuppernong, and south-

ern fox grape, and is valued for its

edible, tasty fruit. Wild grape grows

from Texas to south Florida, north to

Delaware, and west to Missouri.

Muscadine grape (Vitis rotundifo-

lia Michx.) is a commonly occurring

high-climbing woody vine growing

to 60‟-100‟ in the wild.

The grape vines will grow in full

sun to partial shade.

The leaves are simple, heart

shaped, deciduous, and about 4" by

4". The rounded leaves have coarsely

serrate edges and are smooth, dark

green above and green tinged yellow,

somewhat hairy below. They occur

alternately along the stem.

Muscadine grape has inconspicu-

ous yellow-green flowers from April

through June.

The fruit is a 1” round berry/grape

that ripens between July and Sep-

tember. It is green at first, turns red

to purple to black with tan spots

when ripe. The berries grow in small

clusters of no more than 12 or as

single grapes. The skin of the fruit is

very thick but separates from the

flesh of the fruit easily.

It is a favorite food for birds, white-

tailed deer, wild turkey, raccoon,

skunk, squirrel, opossum and black

bears.

Humans also enjoy the unique

fruity flavor of the grapes and make

jellies, jams, juices, and wines from

the fruit.

Wild grape is prolific because

mockingbirds, cardinals, and robins

spread the seed to various areas

away from the original vine.

Wild Turkey and quail consume

fruit that has fallen to the ground.

White-tailed deer readily consume

leaves, twigs and the ripe fruit that

grows within their reach or have fall-

en from the vine. Deer will eat wild

grapes no matter where they grow or

what variety - in the woods or in

your garden!

Commercial production is small,

but muscadine grapes are widely

grown for home use and local mar-

kets in southeastern states.

Native Americans in Florida also

made a blue dye from the grapes.

Wild grapes have been hybridized

and grown since the 1500‟s. For

more information on selection of

Muscadine grape varieties and gen-

eral care please read the University

of Florida publication titled “The

Muscadine Grape” http://

edis.ifas.ufl.edu/hs100

“If you want to get rid of the vines,

first cut them close to the ground.

Immediately paint the stump with

glyphosate. The upper portion will

die once it is cut. It may take a few

days but ultimately the vine will die

and then it will be easier to remove

from the trees. Reapplication of the

herbicide may be necessary for best

control.” http://nassau.ifas.ufl.edu/

horticulture/questions/other.html

Weed of the Month Jenny Gillis

MARK YOUR

CALENDAR

November 11th Annex and

Extension Office closed

Annex closed

the weekends of

Thanksgiving, Christmas

and New Years

November 16th

Board Meeting

November 19th

America Recycles Day

December 7th

Christmas Party

December 14th

Board Meeting

66

31st Florida Master Gardener

Continued Training Conference Courtesy of UF/IFAS

The State conference was held at the

Royal Plaza Hotel in Lake Buena

Vista, Florida on October 24th

through the 26th.

There were two pre-conference tours

offered on Sunday. Where Plants

Come From included tours of Knox

Nursery, DeRoose Plants and Agris-

tarts. Where Plants End Up included

a tour of Harry P. Leu Gardens and

Lukas Nursery.

The first full day of the conference

included General Session seminars:

Groceries from the Garden, What’s

New in IPM, and Gardening Sustain-

ability. Concurrent sessions: Turf

selection, The Lazy Gardener, Camel-

lias, FFL training and updates, New

Foliage Plants, Success with Fruit in

Florida, Household Pests, Shade Gar-

dening, New Pests, and Community

Gardening.

Everyone enjoyed the reception at

poolside that followed the first day of

seminars.

Tuesday began with the 4-H ID and

judging contest.

The general session was Flower Pow-

er: The People-Plant Connection.

Concurrent sessions included: FFL

training and updates, Attracting

Wildlife to the Landscape, Citrus Pest

Update, Tea Time with Dr. Bart, Se-

crets of the Pros, Backyard Bee Keep-

ing and Patio and Small Space Gar-

dening.

A full day of informative seminars

was followed by the horticulture auc-

tion.

Wednesday was the plated awards

breakfast and was followed by Tom

MacCubbin UF Extension Agent

Emeritus who presented Gardening

Challenges.

Next year‟s Training Conference has

already been scheduled and will be

held on October 1st through the 3rd

and will be in Clearwater, Florida.

If you haven’t attended a conference

and you are able to make the trip, it

is a great source of information,

meeting Master Gardeners from all

over the State and a lot of fun.

Congratulations to the Okaloosa

County award winners! Charlie

Reuter for Communications and

Fisher House crew for Special Audi-

ences!

Book Review Marg Stewart

Duane Campbell has

been a syndicated

humor/garden col-

umnist for over 30

years. While Mr.

Campbell has an im-

pressive resume, he

states: “I am not an

expert...I am a home

gardener with dirty

hands...through the

decades I have

learned more, usually

by screwing up, and I

managed to stay two

weeks ahead of my

audience.” You

guessed it, this is not your normal reference book. There

is a helpful index to the tools and tricks mentioned but

mostly it is a „gardener‟ (yeah, okay the guy is an expert

no matter what he says) pondering on frass, bilko doors,

begonias, concrete reinforcing wire and the desire to fi-

nally use those pesky garden journals he has laying

around.

With the weather getting cooler and perhaps a bit more

time on our hands, this is a great book to curl up with and

simply enjoy. It‟s nice to know that even an expert has

many of the same issues we do in the garden.

Learn how to calculate when to start seeds without need-

ing a slide rule, learn that when you get to the „article‟ ti-

tled Animals, put down the iced tea and perhaps make a

trip to the facilities first. Don‟t say I didn‟t warn you.

Even though we‟re in the South and Mr. Campbell is in

Pennsylvania, you‟ll get a laugh and probably learn a few

new tricks at the same time.

77

Master Gardener|

Plant Sale

A very big

THANK YOU

to everyone who worked so hard

to make this event a success

88

Your member site:

www.ocmgamembers.org

The Foundation for the Gator

Nation.....An equal opportunity

institution.

LAST WORD Marg Stewart

Have pictures or an idea for

an article?

Send it in!

Articles and pictures are

always welcome.

Instead of being tucked in bed like

any normal person, I‟m sitting at the

computer at 4am. Don‟t ask. I will

say this, the house makes weird noises

at this hour when no one else is awake

and all the appliances are turned off.

You don‟t realize how much noise

there is in a normal day until you find

yourself without it.

That got me to thinking about the

„noise‟ we have in our lives generally.

Between all the electronic gadgets that

we rely on, the people we are around,

traffic, planes.....none of that can

compare to the „noise‟ we generate in

our own minds.

The holidays are coming up and if

you haven‟t started already, the inter-

nal list maker will soon be in full

force. There are guests to attend to,

schedules to juggle, meals to plan and

prepare. There are gifts to get, wrap-

ping to be done. Don‟t forget the deco-

rating and the baking!

Cold weather is approaching fast

and we‟ve got to make sure we have

the cold protection in place. There are

still garden chores to be done and

spring planning to take care of.

Needless to say, it can be difficult to

keep your composure and your sanity

while all the „noise‟ is going on.

We all need to remember that we

MUST make some quiet time for our-

selves during this hyper-busy time.

Even if it‟s a quiet walk around the

yard to just enjoy the cool air.

If you have to make a list, decide on

what is most important to you during

this holiday season. Attend to what is

important first. Ask for help when you

need it and remember that sometimes

things won‟t get done. Remember, no

one is going to recall that you didn‟t

have 27 strings of Christmas lights

adorning your trees. What they‟ll re-

member is the warmth of your compa-

ny and the joy of your time.

DON’T FORGET TO VOTE!

“As we express our gratitude,

we must never forget that the highest appreciation

is not to utter words, but to live by them.”

John Fitzgerald Kennedy

NEXT MONTH!

THE YEAR IN REVIEW!

PICTURES, PICTURES AND

MORE PICTURES