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...for discerning weeders

Inside This Issue!

Homemade garden helps!

The Sting!

Updated and new publications And much, much more!

The Foundation for the Gator Nation.....

An equal opportunity institution.

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE Greetings to all of the outstanding members of Okaloosa County Master Gardeners Association! Our organization plays a vital role in preserving and protecting our native habitats and encouraging others to do so. As we grow in knowledge and expertise in the area of horticulture, we become better equipped to educate the public. As each person, Master Gardener as well as homeowner, gains a better understanding to make best practices decisions, the circle of integrity in the horticulture area widens.

S. Farrell D. Gordon D. Green S. Licht S. Olsen F. Todd

Like any organization, we have varied interests, talents and abilities. As a whole, we offer a variety of assistance to each other as well as the homeowner.

We all must be life-long learners because we are part of an organization which, by its nature, continuously educates and constructs value in the science and art of horticulture. I appreciate the help you have given me as I gain knowledge in areas I did not even know existed! Wow, this is a fun ride and I feel blessed to be traveling with you.

We make a difference and we matter.

L. Penry, President OCMGA

34th Continued Training Conference October 18-21, 2015 Kissimmee, FL http://www.conference.ifas.ufl.edu/ gardener/index.html MARK YOUR CALENDARS!

A full house at our first free seminar!

Field trip to 7-Pines Native Nursery.

INSIDE THIS ISSUE Events Calendar

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DIY Garden

You may access the VMS site by clicking on the link below: https://florida.volunteersystem.org/

An Okaloosa County Master Gardener Publication

Thank you

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Wildlife Happenings

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Book Review

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All A-Buzz

Sign in to VMS and log in your hours!

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Recipe Roundup

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Updates and Info

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Invasive with claws

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Info graphics

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Addicted

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Last Word

11 May, 2015

Here are May’s events.

You may access our interactive Events calendar by visiting: http://www.ocmga.org/Calendar.html

May 1—9:30am—12:30pm Annex Phone Coverage; 9:30am—12:30pm Nursery Work Day May 2—8am—12pm Destin Garden Club Plant Sale and Garden Mart; 10am—3pm Panhandle Butterfly House Grand Opening May 4—9am—12pm C. Reuter; 1pm—3pm L. Penry and M. Evors May 6—10am—1pm D. Green May 7—8am—12pm C. Strom/M. Stewart; 1pm—4pm F. Todd; 6pm—8pm Pasture Management Series May 8—9am—12:30pm Africanized Honey Bee Emergency Response Training; 9:30am—12:30pm Annex Phone Coverage; 9:30am—12:30pm Nursery Work Day; 10am—1pm Plant Clinic May 11—9am—12pm C. Reuter May 13—9am—12pm Board Meeting; 10am—2pm City of Ft. Walton Beach 2015 Health & Wellness Fair May 14—8am—12pm C. Strom/M. Stewart; 1pm—4pm F. Todd; 6pm—8pm Pasture Management Series May 15—9:30am—12:30pm Annex Phone Coverage; 9:30am—12:30pm Nursery Work Day May 18—9am—12pm C. Reuter May 20th—10am to 11am Lawn/Turf Care Seminar @ Annex May 21—8am—12pm C. Strom/M. Stewart; 1pm—4pm F. Todd May 22—Annex closed!

May 25—Office closed!

May 27—9am—12pm Monthly Meeting @ Shalimar May 28—8am—12pm C. Strom/M. Stewart; 1pm—4pm F. Todd May 29—9am—12pm Gulf Coast Small Farm Spring Field Day; 9:30am—12:30pm Annex Phone Coverage; 9:30am—12:30pm Nursery Work Day

Amaryllis courtesy of J. Fitzhugh

The Jokester: So She Said…..

Do not argue with an idiot. He will drag you down to his level and beat you with experience.

An Okaloosa County Master Gardener Publication

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May, 2015

DO YOU DIY? You might be someone who likes the idea of making things ‘from scratch’ so that you know for sure what’s in them. You might be the fiercely independent type who wishes to reduce dependence on manufactured products. You might be supportive of the ‘reduce, recycle, reuse’ concept. Or you might simply be thrifty (read: cheap). Whatever the reason, there is an appeal to ‘rolling your own’ and this appeal is particularly strong for gardeners, probably for all of the aforementioned reasons! Here are some common garden items that can be homemade. (I won’t say ‘easily’. I’m already eyeballing the trellis project and thinking about how I can get the husband to ‘help’, i.e. provide the labor…)

Homemade Insecticides Recipes abound for homemade insecticidal soap using dishwashing liquid detergent as the basis of a spray to use in the war against soft-bodied insects such as aphids, spider mites, and thrips. These recipes also often suggest additional ingredients such as oil to help the soap spray ‘stick.’ I would be wary of spraying such a concoction on my plants especially during our brutally hot summers because of the possibility of foliage damage. So forget dishwashing detergent and oil and keep it simple.

According to Horticulture Magazine, dishwashing detergent does not contain the fatty acids needed to kill the little suckers. You need liquid soap. Commercial insecticidal soaps work because the fatty acids in the soap dissolve the insects’ exoskeleton, causing them to dehydrate. Makes sense to me! Your task is to find a soap that contains fatty acids. Pure castile soap is one suggestion. Others include Fels Naptha and Ivory liquid soap. Beyond that, all you need is water and a spray bottle.

Here is the entire article with the recipe included: http://www.hortmag.com/weeklytips/pests-diseases/mix-your-owninsecticidal-soap-for-garden-pests If you have some insecticidal soap concentrate that’s been around for a while, here is a way to test it to be sure it has not oxidized and thus become potentially harmful to your plants: http://www.livingwithbugs.com/insecticidal_soap.html

by K. Harper shed is Spinosad and I rarely use it even though the product label states it is ‘only’ toxic to bees for three hours after application: (http://www.planetnatural.com/product/monterey-gardeninsect-spray-spinosad/) So, what to do? Well, I’ve had moderate success in some years with bright yellow sticky traps and have already put the first of those out around my trees this spring.

This year, though, I thought I’d get creative and try some of the homemade insecticides. I have a ready supply of peppermint growing in a container so I’ll start there with a strong concentration of mint leaves steeped in hot water, strained and then sprayed on the trees. I figure there is nothing to lose and I might well be onto a solution to the problem. And if the mint doesn’t work I can move on down the line of all the old favorite spray ingredients like hot peppers, garlic, etc. If any of it actually works, I will report back.

Homemade trellis: About those trellises. I’ve spent a fair sum of money over the years buying ready-made trellises and cages and towers for my tomatoes, cucumbers, blackberries, raspberries, pole beans, etc.

And while they have done the job fairly well, they are beginning to fall apart because ‘galvanized’ in a climate like ours doesn’t mean much after a few years of being subjected to rain and humidity. And, darn it, I just haven’t gotten around to building that climate-controlled storage shed that I really should have. Anyway, I foresee the need for new plant supports in the next year or two and rather than ponying up another $200-300 to buy ready-made, I think I’ll look into making my own. I’ll save money, have a more useful plant support system and it doesn’t look all that difficult, especially if a willing spouse helps.  Watch this short video starring Kenny from a neat site called ‘Veggie Gardening Tips’ for a great idea for tomato trellis: http:// www.veggiegardeningtips.com/new-tomatotrellising-and-training-system-video/

I like everything about it, including the simplicity of the materials and construction, the relative ease of setting it up, the adaptability to other crops AND the fact that it can be made much taller than the towers, fences and cages that I now use. Most of my tomato I am always on the hunt for a way to stop citrus leafminers from plants get very tall and heavy and end up flopped over the top of having their way with my beloved citrus trees. Those of you who the support often dragging the ground by the end of their growgrow citrus will be familiar with the gnarled, deformed leaves ing season. And while I like turtles as well as the next guy, I that are the result of the leafminer’s activity. And, no, they don’t don’t really like going out to the garden and find them noshing kill the tree outright unless it’s a very young tree with a particuon my best tomatoes that are on the ground within their reach. larly heavy infestation, but they are still a nuisance. They create They always seem to eat half a tomato and then move on to the very unsightly damage on the leaves and they do provide a path- next! Being able to support the plants adequately as they reach 6’ way for pathogens to invade your trees. I’ve been studying this and more will decrease the turtle tomato happy hour in my garproblem for years now and as far as I can tell, there is no effecden. I already use those nifty plant clips that he describes. All tive solution to the problem that is available to the home garI’ll need is a ladder to reach the top levels to harvest my tomadener and is reasonably safe for bees and other beneficial intoes! Be sure to read Kenny’s update which was added the year sects. I check the EDIS research pages every spring to see if there after he actually started using the system and includes his sugare any new recommendations there but the same insecticides gestions for improvements: http:// and soil drenches are still suggested in the most recent article www.veggiegardeningtips.com/providing-better-support-for-tall (http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/in686) along with all of the warnings -tomato-vines/. With our sandy soil I can certainly see the need that these are not safe for the beneficial insect populations, infor braces for the end posts, and the need for additional support cluding bees. Most of the suggested pesticides (See Table 3) are along the wires is a point well taken. not to be used during either pre-bloom or bloom time. Hmmm.

The problem with this restriction is that pre-bloom and bloom Continued on next page time are when the trees are also experiencing lots of foliage growth flushes which is the very thing that attracts the leafminer moth. The only pesticide from this list that I have in my garden An Okaloosa County Master Gardener Publication

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DIY cont’d.

Homemade hummingbird nectar:

*The nectar in the feeder becomes contaminated as soon as it is touched by a bird. Therefore, boiling the nectar is unnecessary once the sugar has been dissolved. If you use extra fine sugar no boiling or heating may be needed. *The 4:1 water to sugar ratio most closely approximates the sucrose levels in natural nectar. *Unused hummingbird nectar can be stored in the refrigerator for up to one week. With experience, you can adjust the recipe quantity to only make enough for one week to eliminate waste and ensure that the birds have the freshest possible nectar available. *Clean hummingbird feeders at least once a week and refill them with fresh nectar. In warm weather or when multiple birds are using the feeder, clean them more frequently.

Dying the nectar red is not necessary. People do this because hummingbirds are attracted to bright colors. However, most feeders have colored parts that will attract the birds without the use of dyes. Other ways to attract the hummers to your feeders include planting red flowers nearby, hanging red ribbons from the feeder or adding a red gazing ball near the feeder to help catch the birds’ attention.

Disclaimer: I feed all kinds of birds year-round in my yard and have a huge variety that come through here but I gave up having hummingbird feeders because of the need to keep them scrupulously clean. Hummers visited my feeders for awhile and then turned up their dainty little beaks and went elsewhere even though I felt pretty sure the feeder was clean. OK, said I, instead of feeders I will simply grow bright, pretty flowers that are tubular shaped because that is what hummers prefer when feeding naturally. So I do that and, with binoculars, I can watch them when they come to feed on my moonflowers or morning glories or bee balm or daylilies. It’s not as cool as watching them right outside the window but with all the critters I take care of every day, I don’t have time for birds that are fuss budgets. So there.  For those of you who are willing to keep those feeders scrubbed, the birds will benefit as much if not more from a homemade nectar solution than one of the commercially-available mixes that include different flavors, vitamins and other additives that are not necessary for hummingbirds’ health. And you’ll save money making your own. Most homemade hummingbird nectar recipes simply call for using one part sugar to four parts water, heating it to boiling to dissolve the sugar, cooling the solution and then Homemade garden tools: pouring it into clean feeders. Here are a few more tips: Make your own garden tools? Yes you can, and here’s a few prac*If your tap water contains heavy chemicals, consider using bot- tical suggestions for items you can use in place of more expentled or purified water for your nectar. Alternatively, you can also sive garden tools: http://flowers.about.com/od/Flowerboil tap water before adding the sugar to help purify it. Be sure Gardening/a/6-Homemade-Garden-Tools-For-The-Flowerto check your water amount after extended boiling to be sure you Garden.htm If you want to go a step further and make a soilhave not reduced the volume too far, which could make the firming board that will also mark the rows for seeding your flats, sugar concentration much higher.

Martha Stewart has a detailed video showing you how to do that: *Do NOT use honey, brown sugar, molasses or artificial sugar http://www.marthastewart.com/248735/homemade-gardeningsubstitutes for any hummingbird nectar recipe. Honey, molasses tools#248735 and brown sugar are not digested well by hummingbirds and can ferment more quickly, creating a mold that is fatal to humming- And no less an authority than The Old Farmer’s Almanac says an old kitchen fork makes a great cultivation tool, especially in hard birds. Sugar substitutes do not contain the calories needed by to reach areas. I guess it would! hummingbirds for energy.

We all enjoy K. Harper’s articles but recently she received a note of thanks that we felt was appropriate to share: “I would like to thank Master Gardner Karen H. for her time and expertise in lending a hand to make the Eagle Claw memorial site a better tribute to our fallen brothers. We are sprucing up the site in preparation for the upcoming 35th anniversary memorial remembrance of the loss of the valiant men at a place called Desert One on 25 April 1980.

Following the loss the greater Ft Walton community and Hurlburt Field joined in making a lasting monument to those brave Americans. The Prayer Tower was built, generous folks from the community donated funds for the stained glass window and the bronze plaque and granite pedestal all built adjacent to the Base Chapel.

In conjunction with the dedication of the Prayer Tower, Stained Glass and Bronze Plaque, eight roses were planted in memory of the eight heroes lost in service to their country. Due to Karen’s efforts those roses will display brilliantly during the 35th anniversary event.

Thanks Karen and God Bless.

Buff Underwood, President, Combat Talon Memorial Foundation”

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May, 2015

WILDLIFE HAPPENINGS May means the onset of Florida’s summer. Night temperatures can get quite cool but we’ll start seeing daytime temperatures rising. Here are some things to look for this month.

Birds Brown pelican and white ibis young are now visible in nests. Least terns and snowy plovers nest on Panhandle beaches Breeding begins for many resident and summer songbirds. The last of the cedar waxwings and goldfinches head for their northern breeding grounds.

Mammals Gray Bats congregate at maternity caves now through midJuly.

Amphibians/Reptiles Alligators begin to court and make loud resounding ‘bellows’. Loggerhead sea turtles begin nesting.

courtesy of www.wec.ufl.edu/extension Soft-shell and alligator snapping turtles complete egg laying.

Fish Bluegill are bedding at the full moon. Redbreast sunfish and spotted sunfish begin spawning. Pompano running in the surf in North Florida.

BOOK REVIEW

by E. Smith

“The best things come in small packages” is an apt phrase when referring to this book. If you are a lover of nature and the use of language, I highly recommend this book to you. This is not a horticulture textbook, for it goes beyond drab scientific details into the pleasure of observation and experience as the part of nature we are. By the adroit use of simile and metaphor the author provides a pathway for the reader to wander and visualize nature is the author's time and the many areas of the United States where he visited. As noted in one review, "We can place this book on the shelf with the writings of Thoreau and John Muir."

Aldo Leopold was more than well versed in the knowledge of plants and animal habitats and was an early environmentalist.

He studied at the School of Forestry at Yale and was a professor at the University of Wisconsin where he established the Department of Wildlife Ecology. Even with all of his education in his chosen area of expertise he never lost his sense of excitement and awe when out in the field.

ing conservation, wilderness and our place as part of nature and not apart from it.

For a little insight to Aldo Leopold I provide this quote: “Such a view of land and people is, of course, subject to the blurs and distortions of personal experience and personal bias. But wherever the truth may lie, this much is crystal clear: our bigger and better society is now like a hypochondriac, so obsessed with its economic health as to have the lost the capacity to remain healthy ."

Give yourself a comBy arranging the book into three sections it does allow for selec- mune with nature via A Sand County Almanac: And Sketches tive reading if you so choose. The first section is, "The Delights the written page, Here and There, by Aldo Leopold with an and Dilemmas of a Sand County Almanac" and, as the title indi- read this book! introduction by Robert Finch cates, is broken up in to monthly observations as the seasonal changes occur. The second section is, “Sketches Here and There” which covers observations over a wide geographical area. The third section “The Upshot” provides food for thought concern-

Native azalea (left) and French garden trug with sedum (right) courtesy of S. Farrell

An Okaloosa County Master Gardener Publication

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May, 2015

ALL A-BUZZ! As promised, I will finally finish up with sting physiology but first; I must relay a true story when first becoming a beekeeper 5 years ago. You may remember my tale from the tight jeans saga?

If not, a quick recap. While helping my great-grandfather work his hives as a 15 year old, I received quite a few stings on my legs due to my tight jeans he warned me not to wear. Fast forward to many years without having received a bee sting. One tends to forget how much pain such tiny, barbed lancets attached to a venomous sac can inflict!! So, five years ago during our first official hive inspection by Doug Corbin (then our state inspector), I was amazed as Doug didn’t even wear a veil most of the time and received multiple stings without so much as flinching. I decided that day, I had to get over this fear and give in to the sting. I proceeded to ask Doug to pick up a honey bee and put it to the finger (of my choosing) so I could “receive” a sting. Why did I pick my dominant index finger? I had to go to work that very day and type! When a digit swells, there is little room for the swelling to go, so the pressure makes it worse! I wanted to receive a sting on my finger as I surmised it would help me get used to stings and I could work a colony without gloves. Sometimes I think I’m losing it….I mean who was I trying to convince? Did I say I didn’t like pain? I rarely go without gloves even now, five years later, but occasionally do, depending on what I’m up to in the hive.

by P. Garrett to my tight jean era?) I will not say anymore except that a worker bee, when extremely angry, can find the tiniest opening in which to crawl into and wreak havoc, letting her presence bee known!

Approximately one or two people out of 1,000 are allergic or sensitive to bee or wasp stings. As a rule of thumb, the average person can tolerate 10 honey bee stings per pound of body weight. Elderly, however, with compromised cardio/respiratory function, may succumb to death more easily from multiple stings.

I hope most know that if stung by a honey bee, the first thing to do is remove the stinger as quickly as possible. One would not want to squeeze the stinger to remove, but simply scrape the stinger out of the skin with a fingernail, credit card, knife blade, etc. As mentioned in a previous article, the stinger is barbed and when a honey bee tries to free herself after stinging, she literally pulls the stinger, venom sac, and attached muscles from her abdomen. The muscles, nerves & glands attached to the stinger enables more venom to be pumped in for up to a minute! So it is imperative to act quickly without squeezing the stinger with your fingers, thereby forcing more venom in. I have mentioned a honey bee’s stinger is not only one, but two barbed lancets. The lancets are able to move into the skin with a “sawing” action and then the barbs keep it in place. Which brings me to another interesting tidbit. One of the first questions I ask someone who blames a honey bee on a sting is ask him or her: did you see a stinger embedded in the skin? If not, then I tell them it was probably a wasp or a yellow jacket. For as we know, they have smooth stingers without a lancet or barb and can sting repeatedly.

Then I had a friend visit from MS who was convinced she needed bee venom to “cure” the tendonitis in her wrist. This had worked for her Mom, and would surely work for her. Imagine this scene: me, trying to pick up a worker bee, with forceps, and do it quickly enough for the bee to deliver a sting to her wrist, at just the right spot. She also insisted we do it three times, just like her Mom had received. Honestly this “treatment” would have been a YouTube sensation and gone viral! I can still hear her There are two types of reactions: local and systemic. screams……

Another YouTube sensation may be the time when in the middle of the night I woke up suddenly, sat up in bed and yelled out to M that I was convinced the new queen we had just introduced into the hive was “suffocating”. You see they arrive in a little wooden box with a cork on one end, and a candy plug on the other end. This allows the bees in the hive to gradually get used to the new queen’s pheromone. Over a period of days, they eat away the candy plug and release her. When I placed the box between the frames, I didn’t remember if I positioned it so the little slits in the wood were uncovered, thereby providing the queen with adequate oxygen. I was sure she was in trouble. Every time I ignore my intuition, I regret it. So I had M get up with me and get into the hive to check on her majesty. Did I ever say honey bees do NOT like to be disturbed at night? It was chaos. Carnage is the only word I can use to describe the event. I don’t know how many stings I received that night, but M won’t even talk about it!

Another stinging event was when M and I were called on to help this elderly, retired beekeeper. He had a hive that had been living in a shed for about 4 years. Apparently it had swarmed there from his apiary and he never moved it. Now, he wanted to get rid of the colony, but physically, just couldn’t do the work anymore.

We had so many honeycombs to cut out; we worked way into the night. At one point I saw M leave and come back with duct tape across his fly….yes, you read right. I said what in the world is he doing (to myself of course). Not until I got home and picked out 5 dead bees from my work pants that buttoned up, instead of zipping did I realize now what M was doing with the tape! (Why I didn’t wear my bee jumpsuit is beyond me ). Again, the desire to look good overtook my common sense….was I regressing back An Okaloosa County Master Gardener Publication

Bee venom is a foreign protein known as an antigen. Our body, in response to this antigen, produces antibodies (our defense proteins also called immunoglobulins). Bee venom reacts with IgE (a specific class of immunoglobulin). This is very complex physiology and about all I am going to say about it here. A local reaction is characterized by pain, swelling, redness, itching and a wheal surrounding where the stinger went in. Sometimes the swelling is very alarming, but still, very common. For example, M was stung on the neck and the entire side of his face on that side became swollen. Of course any prudent medical person becomes a little concerned with facial swelling as we worry about the airway (mouth, throat, etc.). However, even though M had profound local reactions in all his stings, he was not affected systemically. In other words, he did not have venom-induced anaphylaxis. Surprisingly, his localized reactions improved over the years and all his reactions have improved dramatically! So now we say he has become desensitized without having to see the allergist! Thank goodness.

Anaphylaxis is a systemic allergic reaction wherein the entire body is affected to include organ systems. To put it simply, during these chemical reactions, histamine is released from cells which can causes the problems of vessel constriction, bronchial tube constriction, rash or hives, stomach cramps, nausea, vomiting or diarrhea, dizziness or severe headache, swelling NOT in the general area of the sting (throat, neck or tongue), shortness of breath, difficulty swallowing, shock, drop in blood pressure and unconsciousness.

Continued on next page

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BUZZ cont’d.

Not everyone undergoing an anaphylactic reaction has symptoms this severe. Some allergic, systemic reactions are mild and not life-threatening. Of course if you experience ANY of these symptoms, seek medical attention immediately. Anaphylaxis can be treated with injected epinephrine. Given in the ER, doctor’s office, by a paramedic, in an ambulance, etc., this medicine is also available by prescription and one can carry an Epi-Pen as a precaution if known sensitivity exists. Also, some cases require support in the form of oxygen, IV fluids, antihistamines such as Benadryl, and corticosteroids.

Interestingly, Africanized bees do not harbor more potent venom, or a greater volume, etc. When experiencing an encounter with Africanized bees, however, one may sustain more stings as they are more aggressive and quick to react. Just think, a 160 lb. man can sustain over 1500 stings and still live! However, if you have been stung multiple times, or are feeling ill, or are starting to believe you may be allergic to bee stings, seek medical care! In summary, bee venom is a protein which can cause tissue inflammation and swelling at the very least…depending on the person of course and the dose received, etc. and could develop into a more severe, systemic reaction.

Remember, when out foraging, honey bees really have no desire to sting. Don’t step on them, don’t mash them, don’t swat at them, and you’ll probably bee ok. If you see multiple honey bees in your yard, don’t worry and think you have a feral hive somewhere. They are probably foragers and are not out to sting you.

As I said, we do not have Africanized bees here, but if for some reason you are attacked by a group of bees, RUN! Pull your shirt up over your head and get to a shelter. (Car, building, etc.) Do NOT dive into the water and expect the bees to be gone when you

come up for air. They won’t be. They’ll be waiting for you most likely. They do have a gland that releases the “alarm” pheromone called the “sting” gland. This alerts other bees and marks an enemy. When I receive stings through my gloves when working the hive, I blow smoke from the smoker onto my gloves and rub the smoke in, which helps in blocking the alarm pheromone. Incidentally, bananas have a chemical called isoamylacetate, which honeybees hate! Don’t eat bananas and go around honey bees…not a good thing to do! Also, remember this tidbit: drones (male bees) cannot sting. A queen bee can, but usually doesn’t bother with humans. Her stinger is smooth and she can sting repeatedly. A queen has never stung me. She saves that action for another queen she is trying to eradicate!

Now that warmer temps are upon us, next month we will get into more safety tips on how to avoid a stinging incident and have the best time possible outside and in our gardens doing what we love!

Also, how to bee proof our homes, protect our pets, etc.

References: Dr. J Ellis, Dept. of Entomology and Nematology, IFAS, UF, Gainesville, FL 32611 Paschall, V, Hymenoptera Venom Allergy, Cleveland Clinic, Dept. of Allergy and Immunology, Center for Continuing Ed. USDA/ Agricultural Research Service/Honey Bee Research/ Bee Stings/Safety.

Sammataro, D and Alphonse, A. The Beekeeper’s Handbook, 3rd Ed., 1978

RECIPE ROUND-UP

by M. Evors

TANGY YELLOW SQUASH Do you have a recipe that you’d like to share? Send it in! We’d like to make the recipe round-up a regular feature each month! Check out those recipe cards that you’ve got stashed away and share!

Ingredients: 5 medium squash, sliced thin 1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions 1/2 cup chopped green bell peppers 1/2 cup thinly sliced celery 2 tablespoons wine vinegar 1/4 cup sugar 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon pepper 1/3 cup salad oil 2/3 cup cider vinegar 1 clove garlic, crushed

The Jokester: If a parsley farmer is sued….

Mix all the ingredients together. Cover and chill 12 hours or overnight. Serves 10.

An Okaloosa County Master Gardener Publication

Can they garnish his wages?

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May, 2015

UPDATES AND INFO

staff

PLANTS:

nal infection cyclosporiasis, often referred to as “traveler’s diarrhea” for its prevalence among visitors to regions where the species is endemic. These organisms have a protective covering that Butia odorata: Pindo Palm or jelly palm is a small, singlestemmed, feather-leaved palm widely grown in warmer parts of makes them resistant to disinfectants and that gives Cyclospora the ability to survive outside of hosts for extended periods. The the US due to its unusual cold tolerance. It is considered hardy down to about 10 degree F. The palm is slow-growing, eventually incidence of cyclosporiasis has been increasing worldwide, with several documented cases in the United States and Canada. reaching 15 to 20 feet, making is suitable for planting under http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/fs130 power lines. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/st105 Palms are widely planted in Florida landscapes. Their bold leaf textures create a tropical or Mediterranean look that is highly desired by residents and tourists alike. But palms have very high nutritional requirements, and deficiencies of any element can result in conspicuous and unattractive symptoms on their large leaves. UF/IFAS research shows that the most effective fertilizer has 100% of the N, K, Mg, and B sources in slow-release or controlled-release form and that all of the Mn, Fe, Zn, and Cu sources should be water soluble. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ep516 Horticultural consumers in Florida are interested in local and organically produced plants. But these terms can mean different things in different regions. UF/IFAS researchers conducted a survey last summer which suggests that consumers in central Florida define local as plants that are grown near where they are sold and identify the most important local benefits as product safety, quality, and community support. Organic plants are perceived as requiring fewer chemical additives and being healthier for the environment. The importance of these traits varies by plant type. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/fe964 HEALTH: Honey has been used for medicinal purposes for thousands of years. It is rich in sugars such as glucose and fructose, but it also contains small amounts of vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and antioxidants such as phenolic acids and flavonoids. These nutrients help to make honey a unique, natural health product. Its market niche as a health product is growing, and current research supports the potential of honey as a medicinal product. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/fs267 Cyclospora cayetanensis is a microscopic, spore-forming, intestinal protozoan parasite and a known cause of the gastrointesti-

OTHER: Perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) or perfluorochemicals (PFCs) are the most widespread and persistent manmade chemicals on earth. Common products that contain PFASs are Teflon pans, non-stick cookware, rain/waterproof jackets (like Gore-Tex), fire -fighting foams, food packaging, carpets, and furniture fabrics.

PFASs stay in the environment for a long period of time, which means they can accumulate in organisms to levels that cause harmful effects. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ss631 Pharmaceuticals and personal care products contain a variety of chemical substances that enter household wastewater from bath and shower, sinks, and washers and ultimately find their way into the environment. Continuous discharge of wastewater contributes to the accumulation of these substances in the environment — where they can be harmful to organisms.

Part 1 provides an overview of the use and sale of PPCPs in the United States and the world: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ss632 Part 2 discusses the sources and impacts of PPCPs and offers common-sense ways we can protect our environment from PPCPs. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ss633 APPS AND MORE: UF/IFAS has many apps available! You can go to www.ifas.ufl.edu/mobile-apps/ and check out the full list. Everything from Agroclimate (weather and forecast data) to UF Campus Tree Guide (guide about the tree species that can be found on the campus of UF in Gainesville) Concerning news about termites http://www.foxnews.com/ science/2015/04/01/termite-superswarm-threatens-southflorida/

Iris courtesy of S. Olsen

The Jokester If a pig loses its voice, is it disgruntled?

An Okaloosa County Master Gardener Publication

8

May, 2015

A VINE WITH CLAWS

by D. Stever

Cat’s claw vine, Macfadyena unguis-cati (now known as Dolichandra unguis-cati), is a native from West Indies and Mexico to Argentina. It derives its name from the 3-pronged clawlike climbing appendages that are used to grasp onto plants or surfaces.

Cat’s claw vine is a long lived plant that grows relatively slow.

As the plant matures, typically in its second year, root tubers and stolons form. Tubers and stolons can also form at each node if the vine is creeping along the soil surface. Due to its rooting abilities, a dense mat will cover the forest floor and smother native vegetation. Areas that are susceptible to invasion to cat’s claw include river or stream banks, near human habitations, and undisturbed hammocks.

The plant thrives in full sun or partial shade and in a wide variety of soils. It stays at seedling stage for some time, while enlarging roots into tuber like storage organs; then rapidly elongates stems, forming long runners when no erect substrate is within reach. The plant clings tenaciously to any substrate with adventitious roots and clawed tendrils. During their brief bloom season in Florida, cat's-claw vines are most noticeable and recognizable

by their flowers, which are large, bright yellow, and very showy.

The flowers generally appear in early to mid April in Florida. The plant flowers with high seed production, and may not begin flowering until the vine is well established. Seeds are dispersed by wind.

There are three native vines that are very similar to cat's-claw vine and are found in similar habitats in Florida. Yellow jessamine (Gelsemium sempervirens), whose flowers are bright yellow, blooms in late winter and usually finishes blooming before cat's-claw vine comes into bloom. Crossvine (Bignonia capreolata) whose flowers are reddish-orange, blooms for a brief period in mid-spring and Trumpet creeper (Campsis radicans) whose flowers are red to orange.

Cats claw vine is considered a Category I exotic invasive by Florida’s Exotic Pest Plant Council. http://plants.ifas.ufl.edu/node/259 http://www.texasinvasives.org/ http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/fr391

Above—Blue-eyed grass courtesy of S. Farrell.

Top left—Orange dog caterpillars on Korean Evodia courtesy of P. Garrett Left—Nun orchid courtesy of P. Garrett

An Okaloosa County Master Gardener Publication

9

May, 2015

Info graphics courtesy of www.gardeningsolutions.ifas.ufl.edu

YOU KNOW YOU ARE ADDICTED! You Know You’re Addicted to Gardening When……...

Your neighbors recognize you in your pajamas, rubber clogs and a cup of coffee.

You grab other people’s banana peels, coffee grinds, apple cores, etc., for your compost pile.

You have to wash your hair to get your fingernails clean.

All your neighbors come and ask you questions.

You know the temperature of your compost every day.

You buy a bigger truck so that you can haul more mulch.

You enjoy crushing Japanese beetles because you like the sound that it makes.

Your boss makes “taking care of the office plants” an official part of your job description.

Everything you touch turns to “fertilizer.”

Your non-gardening spouse becomes conversant in botanical names.

You find yourself feeling leaves, flowers and trunks of trees wherever you go, even at funerals.

You dumpster-dive for discarded bulbs after commercial landscapers remove them to plant annuals.

You plan vacation trips around the locations of botanical gardens, arboreta, historic gardens, etc.

You sneak home a 7-foot Japanese maple and wonder if your spouse will notice.

When considering your budget, plants are more important than groceries.

You always carry a shovel, bottled water and a plastic bag in your trunk as emergency tools.

You appreciate your Master Gardener badge more than your jewelry.

You talk “dirt” at baseball practice.

You spend more time chopping your kitchen greens for the compost pile than for cooking.

You like the smell of horse manure better than Estee Lauder.

You rejoice in rain...even after 10 straight days of it.

You have pride in how bad your hands look.

You have a decorative compost container on your kitchen counter.

You can give away plants easily, but compost is another thing.

Soil test results actually mean something.

You understand what IPM means and are happy about it.

You’d rather go to a nursery to shop than a clothes store.

You know that Sevin is not a number.

An Okaloosa County Master Gardener Publication

Courtesy K. Kirk-Williams

You take every single person who enters your house on a “garden tour.”

You look at your child’s sandbox and see a raised bed.

You ask for tools for Christmas, Mother/Father’s Day, your birthday and any other occasion you can think of.

You can’t bear to thin seedlings and throw them away.

You scold total strangers who don’t take care of their potted plants.

You know how many bags of fertilizer/potting soil/mulch your car will hold.

You drive around the neighborhood hoping to score extra bags of leaves for your compost pile.

Your preferred reading matter is seed catalogs.

And last but not least: You know that the four seasons are:

  

Planning the Garden Preparing the Garden Gardening And...preparing and Planning for the next Garden.

Author Unknown This little gem originally appeared in the Summer 2012 edition of Leaf Notes, The Newsletter of Lee County (Alabama) Master Gardeners. Thank you K. Kirk-Williams for letting us all know that we are in serious need of intervention!

GARDEN HOLIDAYS FOR MAY American Wetlands Month Gardening for Wildlife Month Gifts From The Garden Month National Sweet Vidalia Onions Month National Wildflower Week 5th—11th Hurricane Preparedness Week 24th—30th Dandelion Days 1st—2nd World Naked Gardening Day 2nd Garden Meditation Day 3rd Straw Hat Day 15th Learn About Composting Day 29th 10

May, 2015

M. Stewart —Editor S. Farrell , K. Harper and S. Berry—co-editors

Have pictures or an idea for an article?

Send it in!

Articles and pictures are always welcome.

Mission To assist Extension Agents in providing research-based horticultural education to Florida residents.

Vision To be the most trusted resource for horticultural education in Florida.

LAST WORD

By M. Stewart

There is no snooze button on a cat. I just wish Ms Puss wouldn’t play alarm clock 4 minutes BEFORE my alarm is set to go off. I mean, really, just 4 more minutes...is it too much to ask?

I shouldn’t complain because her version of a wake-up call sure beat the weather radio going off at some ungodly hour last week! When those things go off...you get up! I mean straight up! Thankfully the only thing we were subjected to was a distinct feeling that I might just see some ruby slippers sail past. No luck but lots and lots of pine cones.

I had to go on a home visit where a neighbor was claiming to be invaded by ground bees. We all know these little critters. They make their mounds and pretty much leave everyone alone. I figured she was exaggerating. Upon arrival, I saw a few mounds in the front yard. Not a big deal.

She then directed me to the back yard.

Folks, I now know what it would look like should the garden gnomes have a war! It looked like a miniature version of ‘no man’s land’ from the old war movies! I’ve never seen so many bees in one area. Now, thankfully, the homeowner is all about saving the pollinators but even she had reached her limit. Hopefully, she can get the lawn in better shape and it won’t be quite so attractive next year to the ‘guests’.

Either that or we really need to check on the garden gnomes a bit more closely to make sure they aren’t stock-piling weapons.

Happy hubby is working on another book.

This one is on another set of newsreels. He is literally going through each one and making sure the written descriptions match (most of the times they don’t) and filling in the information that is missing.

All in all, a valiant service to preserving history. As for me, I am about ready to lose my mind. Anyone who has ever listened to an old newsreel knows the vocal cadence (everything and I mean everything was just soooooo exciting) and the music…...it’s the same. You can tell (without looking at the video) when the military part is being shown, when it’s a home-front story…..I am hearing it in my sleep!!!! To make matters worse, HH informed me that there are only a little over 80 to go! Oh joy……..

flower bed to go on in whatever comes next in the life of a snake.

Yup, I’m that neighbor that folks shake their heads and hope I stay medicated.

My lawn is gorgeous in the spring time—yellow, white, pink….I don’t dare treat for weeds because I wouldn’t have anything growing out there! It is kept mowed and edged and it’s green now. Green is good...it’s just not necessarily lawn grass.

So here we are in May. Mother’s day is coming up and so is Memorial day. Memorial day—the ‘official’ start of summer.

Also, the day when every store from here to eternity will have a sale. Barbecue's, picnics and parties...days at the beach. Traffic, sand in your britches, and sunburn. Ahh, yes, summer will soon be upon us in force.

Let’s go back a bit in history for a minute.

Three years after the Civil War was over, Maj. Gen. John A. Logan declared that Decoration Day was to be observed on May 30th. This was the day that the graves of veterans would be decorated. Why May? It’s assumed that the date was chosen because flowers would be in bloom all over the country by that time.

There have been quite a few changes to this holiday. Memorial Day wasn’t declared a national holiday until 1971. It was shifted to the last Monday in May at that time (to coincide with other national holidays).

Memorial Day is a day to ensure that the sacrifices of America’s fallen heroes are never forgotten. With that in mind, in December 2000, Congress passed The National Moment of Remembrance Act. So before you head back out in the garden, fire up the grill or head out to the beach on May 25th, set your phone/clock/watch for 3:00pm. When that alarm sounds, stop.

Stop what you are doing and take one minute of silence to remember and honor those who have offered up the ultimate sacrifice in service to this nation. Let’s put the memorial back into Memorial Day.

Plentiful Plantings

Shooed a snake off the driveway a few days ago. Did the little rhyme ‘red touch yellow…..’ and yup, this was a ‘good’ guy. So here I am scooting said snake into the An Okaloosa County Master Gardener Publication

May, 2015