Exotic, Peculiar Looking Melon with a Unique Flavor

Dan Fruits, Specialty Crops, This Land of Ours

An exotic and peculiar looking melon with a unique flavor that you can grow in your garden.  That’s coming up on This Land of Ours. The Kiwano Melon has a yellowish-orange horned skin and looks more like a cucumber on the inside than a melon. They have a wonderfully unique flavor, something like banana mixed with lime. These horned melons …

Alabama Sweet Potato Farmer to Be Featured on National TV Show

Clint Thompson Alabama, Vegetables

Sweet potatoes are not a crop we think a lot about across the Southeast. But one farmer in Baldwin County, Alabama thinks about them regularly. His story will receive both statewide and national exposure. On the next episode of “Simply Southern TV”, Joel Sirmon will explain what it takes to grow sweet potatoes. Alabama Farmers Federation’s Kevin Worthington, co-host of …

How to Enjoy a Herb and Vegetable Garden Indoors

Dan Herbs, Specialty Crops, This Land of Ours, Vegetables

How to enjoy a garden indoors. That’s coming up on This Land of Ours. If you don’t have access to outdoor space for a garden, try starting your own garden indoors. With a little effort and the right lighting, you can grow an indoor garden filled with all kinds of interesting plants. A mini herb garden for example requires a windowsill …

Researchers Help Expand Indoor Gardening Trend Triggered by Pandemic

Dan Coronavirus, Education, Florida, Fruits, Herbs, News from Our Sponsors, Research, Specialty Crops, Vegetables

(UF/IFAS) — COVID-19 led many people to start gardening, and it’s no passing fancy. Recent research shows that about 80% of those who took up gardening since the beginning of COVID-19 will continue the pastime in 2021. Growing in the outdoor garden is one thing. Tending to plants indoors at home presents other challenges and opportunities. As they recognized the …

What Causes Your Houseplants to Turn Yellow

Dan Nursery Crops, Organic, Specialty Crops, This Land of Ours

Why my houseplants are turning yellow. That’s coming up on This Land of Ours. Yellow leaves are a symptom of a fixable problem. Like most plant maladies, yellow leaves have several causes. The trick is determining which one you’re dealing with and how to help your houseplants thrive again. The most common causes for houseplant leaves turning yellow: Overwatering and …

When is the Best Time and How to Harvest Rosehips

Dan Nursery Crops, Organic, Specialty Crops, This Land of Ours

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

Dan Herbs, Nursery Crops, Organic, Specialty Crops, This Land of Ours, Vegetables

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

Dan Florida, Research, Specialty Crops

(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 …