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The Neighborhood Gardener – September

Happy gardening!

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New Resource for Using Pesticides Safely

A new website for pesticide stewardship provides one-stop shopping for anyone who needs to use a pesticide—and wants to know how to use it properly. The Pesticide Environmental Stewardship (PES) website contains information about pesticide use, storage, disposal, and handling. It also includes downloadable applicator forms and references to federal laws about pesticide use. Ten quick tips

Florida MarketMaker

There’s a new service to help Florida farms and producers meet the growing demand for locally-grown food. The Florida MarketMaker (http://fl.foodmarketmaker.com) is an interactive mapping system that locates businesses and markets of agricultural products, such as citrus groves, vegetable farms, and wineries. The online service is free and efforts are currently underway to add profiles of the more than 47,000 producers statewide, with a public marketing campaign to begin early next year.

Plant of the Month: Bamboo Muhly

Bamboo muhlyBamboo muhly blends the look of bamboo with the easy versatility of an ornamental grass. With its billowy green foliage, bamboo muhly can anchor a perennial bed, serve as a screen, or give height to a container planting.

Sharpening Landscape and GardeningTools

Sharpening a blade makes cutting tasks both easier and safer. When a knife is dull, cutting requires more force, and the extra force makes it easier to slip and cut yourself. The same is true for landscape and garden tools that are used for cutting or chopping. Some obvious examples are axes and pruners, but tools like shovels and hoes also are used to cut and chop. Digging with a sharpened shovel often requires less effort and can reduce the amount of time a job takes.

September in Your Garden

Start the fall planting season now. Plant cool-season vegetable crops such as celery, cabbage, lettuce, and collards. Using transplants from your local garden center will get the garden off to a fast start, but seeds provide a wider variety from which to choose.

Friend or Foe? Friend: Periwinkle

Pink periwinkleResearchers have turned this ornamental plant into a tool for combating a bacterial disease that threatens the world's citrus crops. Periwinkle (Catharanthus roseus) has proved to be an effective screening tool for treatments to control Huanglongbing (HLB), or citrus greening.

 

Firebush

Success Stories

  • We're looking for inspiring, Florida-Friendly success stories from your county. Submit yours today at gardening@ifas.ufl.edu.

Other Resources

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