When and how to harvest rosehips. That’s coming up on This Land of Ours. Rosehips generally appear between late summer and late autumn, depending on where you’re located. Try to gather them after the first frost. Freezing temperatures break down the fruits’ cellular walls, which makes rosehips sweeter and juicier. If you live in a place that only gets mild …
Ways for Making this Year’s Garden the Best Ever to Enjoy
Some ways to make this year’s garden the best, yet. That’s coming up on This Land of Ours. Setting some goals now will help you jump-start the spring growing season. Here are some ways to get prepared for the gardening months ahead. Starting with getting all of your gardening tools organized. When your tools are always at the ready, you’ll …
Grant Looks at Mitigating Climate Change Impacts on Florida Grasslands
(UF/IFAS) — A professor with the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) has been awarded a $500,000 grant to study how climate change is threatening subtropical grasslands and the ways they sustain agriculture, wildlife biodiversity, and ecosystems and their benefits to humans. Subtropical grasslands – such as those in Central-South Florida — are wide expanses of …
Adaptation matters – Indiangrass selections for the Deep South
(USDA/NRCS) — Indiangrass (Sorghastrum nutans) is a native, warm-season perennial grass that occurs across most of the United States east of the Rocky Mountains. It is commonly found in several ecosystems, including tallgrass prairie, savannahs, and as an understory component in southeastern pine forests across the South. In pine forests, it provides nesting habitat for game birds and songbirds, cover and …
Treating the Plant Pathogen Verticillium Wilt Naturally
Common plant pathogens and how to treat them naturally. That’s coming up on This Land of Ours. If you’re familiar with verticillium wilt and various leaf blights, then you’ve already met a couple of the worst bacterial plant pathogens. Although these are soil-borne, they’re generally distributed by insects. Bugs bite through stems or roots, and the bacteria in their filthy …
COVID-19 Impacts Mental Health on the Farm
A strong majority of farmers and farm-workers say the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted their mental health, according to a new American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) poll. The poll also indicates that more than half say they are personally experiencing more mental health challenges than they were a year ago. The survey of rural adults and farmers/farmworkers reveals how the pandemic …
Treating the Plant Pathogen Powdery Mildew Naturally
Common plant pathogens and how to treat them naturally. That’s coming up on This Land of Ours. Powdery Mildew is a fungal infection caused by a range of fungi known to attack all manner of different plant families. It has been known to annihilate entire crops and can be difficult to get rid of. You’ll recognize it by its description, …
Treating More Common Plant Pathogens Naturally
Common plant pathogens and how to treat them naturally. That’s coming up on This Land of Ours. Rust blight is easy to identify because of the hue that gives it its name. Basically, it causes rust-colored pustules on the plants it infects. It also thrives in wet weather but prefers cool temperatures rather than hot. You’ll recognize it by the …
How to Treat Common Plant Pathogens Naturally
Common plant pathogens and how to treat them naturally. That’s coming up on This Land of Ours. Fungi, bacteria, viruses, and nematodes will undoubtedly show up in your garden eventually. Fortunately, there are ways to identify them and treat them with natural means. We will cover this in the next week of programs. Potato Blight was caused by one of …
Global Group Recognizes UF/IFAS Engineer for Strawberry Spray App
(UF/IFAS) — Now that we’re knee-deep in strawberry season, many growers owe Clyde Fraisse and Natalia Peres a debt of gratitude. About a decade ago, Peres saw a need for a fungicide decision-support tool. Farmers sprayed about every week to control strawberry diseases known as anthracnose and botrytis during the growing season, which goes from November through March in Florida. …