...for discerning weeders A COOL WEATHER HERB INSIDE THIS ISSUE Illumination
2-3
Cogangrass
3
Game of Thrones
4
Events
5-6
Bad manners
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Book Review
7
Nursery in Action
8
Walk on the Wildside
9
Memoratus
9
Updates
10
Happy Birthday!
10
Transportation
11
Last Word
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HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY!
By Lee V.
Cilantro, Coriandrum sativum, also known as coriander or Chinese parsley is an annual herb. Cilantro is native to regions from southern Europe and North Africa to southwestern Asia. It begins life as a flat rosette of leaves and, after overwintering, sends up a tall, 10-12 inch, flower stalk. The leaves are variable in shape, broadly lobed at the base of the plant, and slender and feathery higher on the flowering stems. The flowers are borne in small umbels, white or very pale pink with the petals pointing away from the center of the umbel. The flowers, although tiny, are regularly visited by honeybees and other pollinators. The fruit, known as coriander, is a globular, hard, dry seedpod containing two brown seeds. Although sometimes eaten alone, the seeds often are used as a spice or an added ingredient in other foods. Every part of the plant is edible. Since this herb is a cool weather plant, it should be planted in August or September in northern Florida and used throughout the winter in salads, salsas and noodle dishes. Seedpods should be lightly rolled with a rolling pin or smooth jar to break them into individual seeds. The seeds need to be soaked overnight in warm water to hydrate then planted very shallowly, 1/4-1/2 inch deep, in rich, deeply cultivated soil. It grows well in pots and may be used as a potted patio plant throughout the cool seasons. Germination should take less than a week and the leaves may be harvested beginning when three mature leaves are present. The leaves should be harvested by pinching individual stems thus allowing the plant to continue producing new leaves.
Seeds should be gathered when they become light brown. Seeds shatter easily and care must be taken when harvesting to prevent loss. Coriander seeds may be stored in a jar in the refrigerator to be used to start a new crop in the early fall.
At first frost, cilantro leaves turn a bronze color but, when a few warm days occur, new, green leaves will appear. Harvest may continue all winter as long as the plant is growing. The first warm days of spring will stimulate the flower stalk to begin to form.
One of the simplest herbs to grow, cilantro or coriander is one you should try next fall.
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Southeast Asian cultures use all parts of the plant as garnish or seasoning. The leaves are used as garnish for soups and salads and are a major seasoning item in salsas while the coriander seeds are ground and used in soups, curries and sauces. Even the small carrot-like roots of mature plants are thoroughly washed and dropped whole into sauces such as spaghetti sauce or other tomato based dishes and discarded prior to using the sauce.
Ed. Note: We’d like to hear about different herbs our members are growing or are trying to grow. Let us know! February, 2014
AN ILLUMINATING TOPIC Remember the good old days when the subject of light bulbs was uncomplicated? Amusing, even? (How many therapists does it take to change a light bulb? Just one but the light bulb really has to want to change...) Well, laugh no more. Back then you went to the store and bought the incandescent bulb of your choice or fluorescent bulb, in some cases. They were cheap and it was easy to figure out which bulb suited your purpose. It seems that simple state of affairs has evolved over the past 6 years and we are now at the point where the average consumer is going to have to do some sell-educating in order to make informed purchases. Of light bulbs?? Yes, light bulbs. I will attempt to clarify. First, I'm going to give a brief summary of how and why we got to this point and then I'll summarize the current choices and the pros and cons of each so that you can be armed with the facts for your next bulb-buying outing.
By Karen H. Halogen lamps: these are similar to incandescent lamps, using a filament in a halogen-filled bulb to create light by running electricity through it. A halogen bulb will last only about 1,000 hours and consume approximately 43 watts for the equivalent of a 60-watt incandescent light, so there is not a great advantage over the old incandescent bulb. However, the per-bulb cost makes them the cheapest choice, at about $1.25 per bulb.
Compact fluorescent light, or CFL: these use fluorescent gas that lights up when exposed to electricity. CFL bulbs offer a good combination of efficiency and affordability. They cost about $2, each, can last 10,000 hours, and they consume 13 watts for the equivalent of a 60-watt incandescent bulb. However, they have disadvantages. Chief among them is the difficulty of disposing of used bulbs properly. They contain mercury and visions of calling in the Haz-Mat team when it's time to toss one The Energy Independence and Security Act was signed into law out have made most of us uneasy. It is estimated that 4 out of 5 by President George W. Bush in December of 2007. It provided CFL bulbs end up improperly in the landfills. (NOTE: in the new efficiency rules for the manufacturing of household light course of researching this article, I learned that both Lowe's and bulbs ranging from 40 to 100 watts. Basically what happened is: Home Depot have begun a CFL recycling project. Both say they on Sept. 30, 2011 it became illegal for the conventional 100-watt have recycle bins conveniently available for customers to deposit incandescent light bulb to be manufactured their spent CFL bulbs. I haven't verified yet in the U.S. or imported. On Jan. 1, 2013 the that our local stores have this service but I 75-watt incandescent bulb followed suit and certainly hope they do). Another issue with now, as of Jan. 1, 2014 the 60-watt and 40the CFL bulb is that fluorescent light is watt incandescent bulbs are also banned. much cooler than incandescent or halogen Retailers can sell all of these the bulbs until light, making it appear more blue than they run out of inventory, and we are aswhite since we have become accustomed to sured that the Light Bulb Police will not the warm, orange-tinted light of incandesswoop down and arrest us if we continue to cent bulbs. And they just plain look weird. use them. Important to us gardeners is that Light-emitting diode, or LED: these plant grow lights are exempt from the ban as bulbs use a series of semiconductors as a well as appliance bulbs, 3-way bulbs, collight source, often with a diffuser to make ored bulbs and a few others. We are further the multiple dots of light generated by the individual diodes look promised a second, more comprehensive set of regulations to be softer. LED bulbs are the most expensive up front, but offer the enacted in 2020. Details about that are unavailable as yet, but most efficiency in the long term. They can cost between $12 and estimates are that by 2020 the law will save Americans a total of $22 billion and have a significant reduction in emissions equiva- $60 each, but they can last 25,000 hours and consume 10 watts for the equivalent of a 60-watt incandescent bulb. LED bulbs lent to removing 28 million cars from the road. Title I (i.e. the can have adjustable colors, and don't have any toxic chemicals 2007 law) will be responsible for 60% of the estimated energy that need to be disposed of safely. LEDs become dim over time. savings of the bill. Bottom line is we might as well accept that They’re considered effectively dead when they produce no more the light bulb aisle is going to look different from now on and than 70 percent of their original brightness. begin familiarizing ourselves with what will be available. The first thing to know is that the new bulbs are considerably more In summary, LED bulbs appear to be the best choice, but they expensive (especially LED bulbs) so where exactly do these big are expensive because of the numerous electronic components savings come from? Well, we are promised much greater energy used in each bulb. As time goes on, the price is expected to gradefficiency with the new bulbs as well as much greater longevity, ually dip to $4 to $6 per bulb, but they'll never reach the more which should translate into energy and dollar savings in the long affordable the price of halogen or CFL bulbs because of the cost run. In the 21st century, your bulb choices will be halogen and complexity of the parts. For a discussion of that complexity lamps, compact fluorescent (CFL), which is the curly spiral bulb and the parts that are likely to fail: http://tinyurl.com/oq2c2ll we've already been using for a few years, and light-emitting diodes, (LEDs). Continued on page 3 An Okaloosa County Master Gardener Publication
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ILLUMINATING Dimmer Switch Warning: Halogen bulbs will be the only one you can reliably predict will work with your dimmer switches. This is because they work so similarly to incandescent light bulbs. They will most likely work with any solid-state dimmer made in the last 50 years. Not so with CFL and LED bulbs. They generally cannot be dimmed. The ones that can be dimmed are marked on the package but even if possible, it's complicated. You must be sure you have the right dimmer switch or the bulb may be damaged. Some CFL bulbs can function partly with a dimmer, but may cause a buzzing noise or a flickering effect. If you use dimmer switches in your home you are going to have to do some homework if you wish to use anything other than halogen bulbs with them. This article contains a very useful chart, comparing the features of the various light bulbs. It's well worth printing out and keeping handy for that inevitable time when your stash of incandes-
continued from page 2 cent bulbs runs out and you are faced with replacing them: http://tinyurl.com/o6olamy And here are some opinion pieces, pro and con, should you wish to do more in-depth reading on this subject: http://tinyurl.com/oz4mosk http://tinyurl.com/k5r5vd7 We will all have our personal views about the new law. On the one hand, a healthy skepticism would caution us to be wary of the lofty promises being made into the next decade. On the other hand, there is no denying that the new bulbs are much more energy-efficient than the incandescent bulb of yore. So it is probably a move in the right direction and, in any case, we're pretty much stuck with it!
COGONGRASS
By Linda M.
Cogangrass (Imperata cylindrical L.)
Reference:
This species of weed is an invasive grass. I am bringing this subject to light due to the problems of control or elimination. It has some specific warnings that you need to be aware of if you come in contact with the grass.
http://plants.ifas.edu/node/199
It grows in open fields, in lawns not being taken cared for, along the side of the roadways and where you least expect it.
UF/IFAS-EDIS Publication, "Weeds in the sunshine: Cogangrass (Imperata cylindrical), Biology, Ecology & Management in Florida by G.E. MacDonald, D.G. Shillting, B.J. Brecke, J. http:// edis.ifas.ufl.edu/wg202
Appearance: Perennial grass growing in loose or compact tufts; grows from a stout, extensively creeping, scaly rhizomes with sharp- pointed tips. Don't rub your hand down on the stem or you will encounter the silica that is embedded in the shaft. When our warm season grasses go dormant in the summer or fall, this grass stays very lt. green. To eliminate this weed, the rhizomes must be shredded and deep tilling used but that eliminates most vegetation and needs constant monitoring.
An Okaloosa County Master Gardener Publication
For more information on invasive weeds go to http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/topic_invasive_weeds
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February, 2014
GAME OF THRONES—GARDEN STYLE Saga of a Monarch Butterfly Caterpillar
leaf while the other two wandered aimlessly about the aquarium. This behavior continued until about 10:00 PM when I turned off the light in the container. December 21, 2013 7:30 AM — One larva has gone into pre-pupate configuration, hanging by its tail from a crepe myrtle twig, its body forming a “J”. The other two continue to wander around the aquarium - none of them are eating the fresh asclepsis leaves.
December 16, 2013 2:45 PM — I have a yellow asclepsis on which five monarch butterfly caterpillars appeared around December 1, 2013. I have watched them grow from about one inch to two inches in those two weeks. I was standing by the pot where the asclepsis is planted attempting to count all the caterpillars, I discovered that I had apparently overlooked two, for now there are seven. As I stood there, a fly, not much larger than a common housefly, (later to be identified as a tachinid fly), buzzed around the plant, apparently looking for something to eat. Since one flower had just opened, I figured that the fly was after a meal of nectar. Around and around it buzzed, eventually landing on a leaf about two inches from a caterpillar. As soon as the caterpillar realized the fly was there, it dropped from the leaf, hanging onto the leaf margin by its tail and forming its head and front legs into a “J” shape. The fly immediately flew toward the caterpillar and just touched it as it whizzed past. The caterpillar quickly went into convulsions and I thought that the “fly” was a actually a bee and that it had stung the caterpillar to kill it. The caterpillar hung there a few seconds, writhing but clinging to the leaf. Eventually, it fell to the soil surface, continuing to convulse until, after a couple of minutes, it lay still. Immediately after the "attack", the caterpillar swelled up sort of in the middle half of its body, almost like a blister but it encompassed several body segments. After about 20 minutes, it returned to its natural size. I thought that was a strange response. I figured it was dead and went about my business. A few minutes later, I looked back to see the caterpillar crawling across the soil! I lifted it back to a leaf where it began crawling. Okay, apparently not much damage was done and all will be well. A couple of minutes later the caterpillar was still crawling on the plant but was headed down the stem of the plant toward the ground. When it reached the soil, it crawled about three inches, stretched out to its full length and just lay there. Now, twenty minutes later, it is still there.
by Lee V.
December 21, 2013 7:00 PM — One larva has completed its transformation to a pupa - what a beautiful emerald! The other two have taken up their pupapreparation stance, each hanging from a crepe myrtle twig by its tail. Tomorrow morning should reveal all of the larva in their new form - chrysalis. Now begins the wait for the butterfly to emerge - and to see if one or more of the larva was actually parasitized. December 22, 2013 — All pupa have formed and appear to be healthy. The first to metamorphose has turned a orange-brown color while the other two remain green. December 31, 2013 — All pupa have now turned orange-brown. Complete metamorphosis normally takes about ten days so they should be breaking out of the chrysalis any day. January 5, 2014 — The pupae have all turned dark brown and occasionally extrude strings of what appears to be collagen. I turn the light on in the aquarium each day for about 10 hours to simulate daylight. Don’t know if it helps or not. January 9, 2014 — There are two flies in the aquarium. One of the pupae is shrunken on one side so I can surmise that at least one of the flies incubated inside the pupa and has emerged through the skin of the chrysalis,
January 10, 2014 — There are now four flies in the aquarium. Since there are only three pupae, more than one fly has developed inside at least one on them. I will watch the caterpillar as long as I can keep track of it but Researching parasitic flies on the internet, I ran across the folnow I believe that the fly actually parasitized the caterpillar, lay- lowing site: ing an egg on or in the insect as it did its quick fly by. If the cat- http://monarchparasites.uga.edu/parasites_in_monarchs/ erpillar does not move by this evening, I will put it into a conThere is a video on the site which shows how the tachinid fly tainer so I can watch it without worrying about losing track of its parasitizes the caterpillar, not a monarch butterfly caterpillar whereabouts. but a horned tomato worm. Same fly, different host. Also, there are some illustrations showing the exact process I have deDecember 16. 2013 4:01 PM — The caterpillar has moved back scribed. to the underside of a lower leaf on the asclepsis. Will check again tomorrow morning. December 20, 2013 3:30 PM — At 8:00 AM today, there were seven caterpillars on the asclepsis. By noon, one had disappeared. At 3:30 PM, three caterpillars remained, the other three had disappeared, apparently to pupate at some location known only to pupating monarch butterfly larva. Not wanting to lose track of all the caterpillars, I configured an unused aquarium for butterfly habitat, installing some crepe myrtle twigs with asclepsis leaves affixed strategically. I had noticed over the past few days that the caterpillars are not comfortable when in close proximity with another of their kind so the leaves were spaced so they did not touch. One larva immediately began devouring a An Okaloosa County Master Gardener Publication
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February, 2014
2014 UF/IFAS Basic Beekeeping School 6pm — 8pm February 24th March 3rd March 10th March 15th March 18th Cost for all five classes is $25 per person ($40 per family) Deadline to register is Feb. 17th Call 850-689-5850 to register BMP TRAINING FEBRUARY 14TH SANTA ROSA EXTENSION OFFICE 6263 DOGWOOD DRIVE MILTON FOR MORE INFORMATION EMAIL bthaxton@ufl.edu REGISTER AT https://bmp4src3.eventbrite.com/ Master Beekeeper Link http://tinyurl.com/ o85g4g3
An Okaloosa County Master Gardener Publication
GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING FEBRUARY 26TH EXTENSION ANNEX 127 HOLLYWOOD BLVD. FT. WALTON BEACH
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February, 2014
MORE EVENTS!
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February, 2014
HEAVENLY? NOT!!
by David S. Lantana camara (L. strigocamara) or common lantana is an evergreen shrub from the tropics. It is a member of the Verbenaceae family and is considered to have bad manners in a frost free climate. There are over 100 species known. It is widely seen throughout our area in all types of settings from home landscapes to disturbed roadside areas. Lantana reproduces vegetatively and via seed. Flowers are produced year round and are able to self and cross-pollinate. Florida has its own native species of Lantana (L. depressa) that is now considered endangered. The native Florida lantana is often confused with the invasive species. http://plants.ifas.ufl.edu/node/223. Unfortunately, due to its lack of manners, Lantana camara is considered an invasive in the Florida landscape. http://www.fleppc.org/ID_book/lantana%
20camara.pdf. There are alternatives for the gardener to use other than common Lantana. These plants are available and should be considered as appropriate replacements. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ep483. Lantana can also be a problem with livestock and pets and should be monitored closely if found in the landscape. Pets have reportedly become ill after ingesting lantana. The unripe berries are known to be very toxic and the foliage toxic to livestock. http:// www.floridata.com/ref/l/lant_c.cfm. As with all your plants do your homework before purchasing and planting in your landscape. Some of the most beautiful and available plants may be problems down the road.
BOOK REVIEW
by Marg S. Florida’s Birds: A Field Guide and Reference
100 Easy Recipes in Jars, by Bonnie Scott is a great addition to your kitchen library. This book is a collection of easy to make jar recipes that will put a big dent in your gift giving list OR just to have easy to prepare items in your own pantry.
Available through the UF/IFAS Bookstore
http://tinyurl.com/ m29pzze
The is the 2nd Edition and offers 30 new species. There are 348 species included and There are pictures with each has three color decorating ideas if you illustrations. The book choose to make these includes breeding mixes for gifts. months, best habitats and times for birding, An added bonus is that and a state map of 25 you’ll have access to birding hotspots. A 5-page checklist of 476 species and subspemore than 2000 online labels and recipe cards to personalize. cies, including wintering and migrating birds allows you to track Available through most book stores and Amazon. Also available your sighting. for Kindle. 360 pages with illustrations. Price: $21.95
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More pictures available on http://jalbum.net/ a/1463062
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February, 2014
WALK ON THE WILDSIDE
By Linda M.
February brings us early signs of Spring. Here are some interesting wildlife happenings for this month:
lawns.
Birds
Pocket Gophers begin their spring breeding season.
Striped Skunks begin their breeding season.
Early purple martin scouts will start Reptiles to appear in Florida this month. Alligator snapping turtles will start mating this month, with nestNow is the time to raise bird houses ing activity throughout the spring. Strictly a turtle of rivers, or gourds. though utilizes backwater swamps, overflow lakes, and impoundments as well as main channels. Present year-round but Ospreys will begin nesting in north rarely observed because of secretive, bottom-dwelling habits. Florida near the end of the month. Females nest in late April and May, with young emerging in Found throughout Florida, but may be rare in some areas. The August and September. interior of the Panhandle has very few nesting birds, and winter records are even less common. Population may be increasing, Gopher tortoises seldom seen outside burrows. The gopher torhowever, and sightings may become more regular at some inland toise is a medium sized land tortoise that averages 9 pounds lakes and rivers in the Panhandle. and is usually 9-11 inches long. It is estimated that gopher tortoise populations in Florida have decreased by 30% in recent North Florida woodcocks begin courtship behavior. Listen at years. Currently, most gopher tortoise are found in Florida and dusk for their "peenting" in open fields. southern Georgia. Gopher tortoise live in pine flatwoods, oak hammocks, scrub, and even on the beach. In urban-suburban Pileated Woodpeckers begin their mating season and will start areas they can be found in fields, pastures, and roadsides. Goannouncing territories by drumming on various objects including pher tortoise spend the majority of their time in burrows that houses and telephone poles. they dig with their specialized shovel-like forelimbs. The biggest threat to the gopher tortoise is loss of habitat due to construcOthers who are beginning their nesting season include: Little tion of buildings and roads. Vehicles hit and kill many gopher Blue and Tri-colored Herons, Wood and Mottled Ducks, and tortoise. Additionally, fire suppression causes vegetation to beSnail Kites. come too thick, altering the physical structure of the habitat and Purple Finches and Pine Siskins will leave our feeders and begin screening out the vegetation that the tortoise eat. Other threats their migration back to northern nesting areas. to the gopher tortoise include free-ranging or feral cats and dogs which eat many young tortoise and eggs. American Swallow-tailed kites begin returning to Florida from South American wintering area. Fishing Mammals
Crappie and Striped bass are spawning. Large schools of Spanish mackerel roam Florida Bay. Shad spawning occurring in rivers.
Eastern Moles are breeding this month in tunnels under our
MEMORATUS IN AETERNUM We said goodbye to a dear friend in January. Shirley Ann Howell. She was born in De-
troit, Mich. She graduated from Marygrove College in Michigan with an Art Degree. She later became a dedicated military wife following her husband to many locations, eventually settling with her family in Fort Walton Beach in 1966. Shirley had many careers working for Sears and an advertising agency, later retiring from Eglin Air Force Base Photo Lab in 2005. Throughout her life she was an avid volunteer, with over 25 years on the Fort Walton Beach Crisis Line and more recently following her passion she became a Master Gardener. She was also a long time member of the Eglin Yacht Club. She will be dearly missed by all who knew her. 9/30/33—1/14/14 An Okaloosa County Master Gardener Publication
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UPDATES
Compiled by Marg. S.
There are quite a few updated publications in IFAS (EDIS) as well as other helpful links that have been sent in.
UPDATED PUBLICATIONS Water Issues in Florida: How Extension Can Facilitate Stateholder Engagement and Involvement http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/wc151
Do you have pickles in the refrigerator? Ever wonder what else you could do with the juice that is left over? Courtesy of Rick H. http://www.onegoodthingbyjillee.com/2013/09/a-picklepredicament-39-ways-to-use-leftover-pickle-juice.html Are you interested in becoming a Florida Master Beekeeper? Check out the fact sheet that contains the requirements and general information at http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/in847 Everyone is interested in attacting more pollinators to their gardens. Here’s an information sheet on one of the more ‘flashy’ bees you might encounter, Euglossa dilemma Friese, (green orchid bee) http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/in1013
Conducting a blue dye demonstration to teach irrigation and nutrient management principle in a residential landscape http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ss594 The Role of Soil Management in Minimizing Water and Nutrient Losses from the Urban Landscape http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ss593 Rugose spiraling whitefly Aleurodicus rugioperculatus http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/in1015
Ladybird beetles are recent immigrants to Florida. A few have become very prevalent while others have been unreported and/ or little noticed. Print out this guide to the lesser known beetles. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/in1012
Stink Bugs in Florida Rice http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/in1009 The UF/IFAS Assessment of Nonnative Plants in Florida’s Natural Areas: History, Purpose, and Use http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ag376
A lot of us (and our residents) grow fruits and vegetables in their home gardens. Be aware that you still have to wash your produce. Check out this fact sheet on food safety specific to washing produce properly http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/fy1401
Plant profile Apalachee Crapemyrtle http://nwdistrict.ifas.ufl.edu/hort/2014/01/07/plant-profileapalachee-crapemyrtle-lagerstroemia-indica-x-faurieiapalachee/
Want to try your hand at growing a different edible plant this year? Humulus lupulus or Hops may be grown into Zone 8. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ep488
Drying and Preserving Plant Materials for Decoration http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ep004
It’s never too late to ‘winterize’ those garden tools. http://nwdistrict.ifas.ufl.edu/hort/2013/12/24/winterizinggarden-tools/
Necropsies of Reptiles: Recommendations and Techniques for Examining Invasive Species http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/uw382
A very handy resource guide for locating seed sources http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ep486 Rose Rosette virus (RRV) has been confirmed in Florida http://blogs.ifas.ufl.edu/pestalert/2014/01/16/rose-rosettevirus/
John B. Bob B. Valerie B. Marlin D. Karen H.
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Ruth H. Alex K. Joan L. Linda M. Bob T.
TRANSPORTATION
Compiled by Marg. S.
All those times we grumble that we have to pack up our ‘stuff’ to do a presentation, consider back in 1906 when the first Jesup wagon left the Tuskegee campus and served as a Moveable School. This wagon was named after Morris K. Jesup who supplied the funds (all $674.50 worth) to get it built. This wagon, when fully equipped, carried a revolving churn, butter mold, diverse cultivators, planters, cotton chopper, plow, fertilizers, seeds, food stuffs, a milk tester, cream separator and a number of charts and demonstration materials. Everything included was based on the season of the year as well as the location the Jesup wagon was going to. The Jesup wagon reached an average of 2,000 people per month and with the passage of the Smith-Lever Act, increased financial support allowed for a woman home demonstration agent to join the wagon staff. Eventually, demand became so great that the Jesup wagon was no longer practical. In 1918, a request was placed to the Alabama State Extension Director, John Frederick Duggar, to purchase a modern vehicle to replace the Jesup. This new vehicle was named the Knapp Agricultural Truck in honor of the ‘father’ of the national Cooperative Extension System, Seaman A. Knapp. This new movable school was just as popular and in 1920 a registered nurse (and Tuskegee graduate), Uva Mae Hester, was added to the school staff to teach improved home health and sanitation. Again, demand outweighed the Knapp truck’s abilities and a new vehicle, built by the Hobby Motor Company of Montgomery, AL was put into service in 1923. This vehicle brought spraying equipment, a set of carpenter’s tools, milk tester, inoculating set for vaccinating livestock, lighting plant for generating electricity, a moving picture projector, cameras, sewing machine, electric iron, baby’s bath tub, a set of baby’s clothes, medicine cabinet, kitchen utensils, and playground apparatus for games. The staff continued to include a farm demonstration
agent, a home agent and a registered nurse. This vehicle and its successors operated until the mid to late 1930’s. As Extension grew, agents traveled greater distances and with the advent of more vehicles, they took their supplies to far flung communities across the country. A home agent would load all of her gear (note the dressmaker forms above) into her car and brave the rutted paths that passed for roads in the 1920’s. Motorcycles soon became the vehicle of choice for many agriculture agents and enable them to reach farms and communities that regular vehicles just could not reach. Here is Floyd “Dutch” Bucher, hired in 1913 as Lancaster County’s first extension agent. This photo is from 1949. Even as early as ca. 1915, E.L. Luther, the first Extension agent in Wisconsin, was using his Indian motorcycle to go on his rounds.
In 1911, the “Better Farming Special” traveled Florida’s railways. Consisting of a day coach for instructors and lecturers, two cars full of the latest farm machinery, a car to carry improved breeds of hogs, an exhibit car, and in citrus growing territory, a car packed full of citrus products. At each stop, there would be 15-minutes lectures given on agriculture, canning, livestock and many other topics. After the lectures, the public was invited onto the train to view the exhibits and consult with experts. The “Better Farming Special” made 71 stops in two months around the state and reached an average of 1,000 people per day. So the next time you load up your car, turn on the air conditioning and head off to a lecture, take a moment to think how much information has been given out before you and on how very many different and difficult ways it had to travel. Photos courtesy of: The National Archives, Penn State University, Oneida Cty. Extension, UF/IFAS and Tuskegee Institute.
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Marg S.—Editor Shari F., Karen H. and Linda M.—Co-Editors
Have pictures or an idea for an article? Send it in! Articles and pictures are always welcome.
Your member site: www.ocmgamembers.org
The Foundation for the Gator Nation.....An equal opportunity institution.
LAST WORD Well, we have survived the ice storm of 2014. What a mess that was! You can see from the picture that I-10 was closed down...for 2 full days. My exploration consisted of bundling up and cautiously heading out the front door. I say cautiously because my driveway has a distinct downward slant. My distinctly downward slanting driveway is also directly opposite my neighbor’s driveway who is lower on the hill. I didn’t feel like explaining to my neighbor why there was a person sized dent in his garage door and/or having them have to come out and peel me off of said door. Once the storm passed, the local kids employed every cardboard box and/or implement they could get their hands on and created their own winter playground. I contributed materials but resisted the urge to partake. I may have plenty of padding but I also know that it wouldn’t be a pretty sight. I cheered from the sidelines. Now, I am so ready for a bit of warmer weather. Today was a lovely taste of sun and a breeze. Not enough to go running barefoot through the grass. Face it the grass is crunchy still and I’m not sure the local dog walker has been diligent in clean up duty. But still, it was nice to open up the windows and not have to wear multiple layers just to get the mail. I thought about this ice-storm and the way it impacted our modern life. The Panhandle was pretty much shut down. If you had any sense, you stayed at home and didn’t even try to navigate the icy roads. I thought of all this in relation to the article I compiled on the transportation
An Okaloosa County Master Gardener Publication
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By Marg S. the Extension (and even preExtension) agents were using. I also know, from doing other historical research, that the roads weren’t really roads at all. Most areas had dirt roads and those were usually ruts. AAA wasn’t an option if you got stuck and Motel Six didn’t dot the landscape. There weren’t fast food joints on every corner. You couldn’t call ahead to say you’d be late...heck, you usually couldn’t call at all.
You couldn’t sit at home and catch up on missed episodes of Walking Dead. If you wanted to catch the latest forecast today, you just flip on the radio, TV or check your phone (there’s an App for that). Back then, having a radio brought to the community was a big deal as you can see from the above picture. So, yes, we were inconvenienced a bit. Things had to wait. We could call to reschedule appointments with no trouble and we knew that our favorite munchies would still be available at the store when the ice melted. I think I will just enjoy our rare snow days when they occur, hope for spring to arrive (I’m rooting for the Punxsutawney not to see his shadow!) and consider myself lucky to have the luxuries we do. February, 2014