The Compost Pile May 2023

for discerning weeders

Every year we take a moment to recognize and thank individuals and/or businesses that have helped the Master Gardener Volunteer Association further its mission

In 2022, we presented to Mr. Neil Barlow, Destin Branch Manager of Synovus bank. The plaque and recognition was in appreciation for the donated office furniture that is currently being used at our present annex and will be put to use once the new building is done.

This year, we presented to Aaron and Amanda Rippert of Wildwood Garden Shoppe & Nursery. We’ve attended several of their events and they are dedicated to providing great service and knowledge to our community.

Thank you!

FROM THE EDITOR

2023 and things are hopping. If our group isn’t having lectures, we are planting wildflowers along the highway where our new building will be. In our spare time, we do attend field trips, answer the phones, have plant clinics, maintain the teaching landscape, keep the nursery up and running and hold plant sales.

There’s always something to do and this year I encourage everyone to take one step outside of their comfort zone when it comes to our organization. If you’ve never worked in the office, grab a buddy and give it a try you might just surprise yourself.

Maybe you know a lot about a certain aspect of horticulture. Well, take this year and create a presentation so you can share that knowledge! There’s plenty to do and you’ll learn something new every day

Plentiful Plantings

The Editors

Please submit articles, photos, recipes, etc. no later than July 15th to be included in the next issue of The Compost Pile which is due out August, 2023

Please remember when submitting photos to let us know who took the picture and provide us some information as to content.

UPDATED PUBLICATIONS

IN1400 The Hibiscus Button Weevil

IN509 Biological Control Containment Facilities in Florida

IN1024 Hydrilla Leafcutter Moth

IN859 Alligatorweed Thrips

PP306 Tomato Chlorotic Sport Virus

IN1390 Coloring with Spiders

PP274 Citrus Black Spot

AG132 Sugarcane Cultivar

HS142 Identification of Insect Pests on Citrus

HS130 A guide to Soil Insect Pests

FP114 Celosia plumosa

HS1458 Floricane Blackberry Pruning Guide

AE585 How much water am I using to irrigate my yard?

WILDLIFE HAPPENINGS

May is the herald of Florida summer. Night temperatures can still get chilly but we’ll start seeing the higher daytime temperatures.

BIRDS

Brown pelican young are visible in nests. Least terns and snowy plovers nesting

Breeding begins for many resident summer songbirds

MAMMALS

Gray bats congregate in maternity caves now through mid-July.

REPTILES

Alligators begin courting

Loggerhead sea turtles begin nesting Soft-shell and alligator snapping turtles complete egg laying

FP111 Cassia bahamensis

PF100 Canavalia maritima

FP105 Capsicum annuum

FP109 Carpobrotus edulis

FP107 Carissa grandiflora

FP104 Capparis cynophallophora

FP117 Cephalanthus occidentalis

FP108 Carissa macrocarpa

FP099 Campsis radicans

FP112 Catharanthus roseus

FP096 Calyptranthes pallens

FP095 Calycanthus floridus

EP488 Humulus lupulus

FISH

Bluegill are bedding at the full moon

Redbreast sunfish and spotted sunfish begin spawning in rivers

Pompano running in the surf

PLANTS

American lotus bloom at Paynes Prairies State Preserve

Information courtesy of Florida Wildlife Extension at UF/IFAS (ufl.edu)

TREES WITH ABS by Marg Stewart

On a recent jaunt around the landscape, I came to a halt before one of my Crape Myrtles and couldn’t figure out what was wrong with it. Seemed like it had managed to make several trips to the gym and was working on some serious ab toning. Since it was a slow day, I decided to be like some of the contestants on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire and I used a lifeline. Turns out my tree wasn’t secretly sneaking off to Planet Fitness and there wasn’t anything wrong with it. My tree has gotten old

enough and large enough to start exhibiting the ‘muscle’ wood that Crape Myrtles will exhibit if they are allowed to grow properly. Not to be confused with Carpinus caroliniana this muscle wood happens only when the tree reaches a certain age and looks quite striking.

That being said, Carpinus caroliniana, or American Hornbeam, is also called musclewood due to the naturally occurring fluted, muscle-like ridges that gives it the name. This tree is listed to grow in

zones 3 – 9 and is a native to the Eastern United States and Canada. Growing to 20 – 30 feet, this slow grower , prefers moist soil and being an understory tree so it does well in heavy shade. It’s notoriously difficult to transplant so best moved in spring.

It’s the larval host plant for the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail and Red-spotted Purple butterflies. If you want an alternative to Crape Myrtle, you might want to consider American hornbeam it can also be pruned into a hedge!

WORD OF THE DAY

SPUDDLE: a useful verb from the 17th century that mean to work feebly and ineffectively, because your mind is elsewhere or you haven’t quite woken up yet. To be extremely busy whilst achieving absolutely nothing.

This is not to be confused with fudgel. That means pretending to work (looking busy) when you’re not actually doing anything useful.

Maryland Goldensaster

Chrysopsis mariana or Maryland goldenaster is a perennial native Florida wildflower and a food source for butterflies, moths, wasps and other small invertebrates plus hummingbirds. During most of the year, it consists of a low rosette of hairy leaves but in August through October it sends up foot tall shoots with golden yellow flowers on forked branches at the top. The flowers last several days then seed heads replace the blooms.

by Lee Vanderpool

The Maryland goldenaster occurs from New York to Florida making it one of the most

dependable late flowering natives. It thrives in damp to wet locations in pinelands and sandy areas and can be in full sun to part shade.

Propagation is by seed planted in autumn or early spring, by clump division, or severing of short rhizomes.

DIY CLEANERS

Simple Window Cleaner

1/4 cup alcohol (isopropyl)

1/4 cup white vinegar

1 tablespoon cornstarch

2 cups warm water

20 oz spray bottle

Combine ingredients in the spray bottle. Shake well before using and periodically during use. Cornstarch settles and must be redistributed. Apply sparingly and clean window with cloth or paper towel.

Scented All-Purpose Cleaner

One part white vinegar

One part water

Lemon rind

Rosemary sprigs

BLUE STAR

When you next see Lee Vanderpool, remember that you’re looking at the powerhouse at having the Blue Star Memorial to be installed at the Destin Library. After months of work, meetings and all that goes with it, this living tribute to the mean and women who serve in the Armed Forces of the United States, joins more than 3,000 other Blue Star Memorial markers across the country.

Congratulations again, Lee.

Combine all the ingredients, pour into a spray bottle, shake, and let infuse for a week before using. This is an acidic cleaner so do not use on granite and proceed cautiously on stainless steel.

Heavy-Duty Scrub

1/2 lemon

1/2 cup borax powder

Dip the lemon into the borax and scrub the surface. Rinse. Do not use on marble or granite.

CHOCOLATE! I have been advised that is an attention-grabbing word. Now that I have your attention, I will verify chocolate is one of the Genius food referenced in the book. So let me give you my reason for this book selection and a little review of it.

I made my decision when I read, “It was the moment I learned one of life’s hardest lessons: that nothing else matters when a loved one gets sick.” this was the statement made by the author when he noticed the first signs of mental decline in his mother. He had always considered her as the first genius in his life and now at the young age of 58 she was unable to identify the current year. The whole family was present, and all were in a state of shock.

The seemingly endless doctor visits resulted in a general diagnosis of Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s. In his desperate efforts researching her medications, he found an alarming and new to him phrase, “No diseasemodifying ability” and “limited efficacy.” The best he could hope for was a slowing of the decline. The medical field, like many others, seems to operate within silos of knowledge. All are well intentioned and somewhat restricted. So began his journey.

Correlation is not proof of causation is the phrase often used in research, but it can lead down some interesting pathways. One of these pathways has been well established when it comes to diet. After the wars of the 20th century, when large segments of the world’s population changed their home location, a noticeable change occurred in their health. They began to acquire more diseases and, in some cases, a shorter life span. Could this be related to a modification of their diet to that of the industrialized Western World? Seemed to be enough correlation to justify investigation and so

he did.

Lugavere’s use of the word “Genius” does refer to knowing the brain controls all bodily functions. If it is properly nourished there is the opportunity to have a healthier, longer, and more rewarding life. Of course, there is that old ‘free will’ which allows you to manage it as you will. We all know years of habit, cultural norms, and societal pressures have taken control of most of us. If in doubt, just recall the societal norm of inhaling smoke. Really, that is normal? The marketers of the world made it seem so and society bought it and we all know the results.

The author’s style is somewhat different and

REVIEW, cont’d.

appealing with occasional levity and chapter summation when appropriate. Those foods he finds most beneficial are the ones called ‘Genius Foods’ and each has its own chapter. His solid dietary suggestions make for an informative as well as entertaining book. My copy has so many page tabs it looks like a porcupine. Also, some of you will be pleased to know black coffee is beneficial!

A SAD GRASS STORY

When my physical issues prevented me from being able to mow my lawn, I hired a local service. The lawn is St. Augustine, which I had been cutting at 3 1/2”. It was lush and green. The workers proceeded to scalp it down to 1/2 inch! I tried several times to get them to raise the mowers, but there was a significant language barrier and their management was not responsive. So it was too late to fix it. The following spring, the yard is nearly dead. I have fired the service, but the damage has been done.

I went online to the local Niceville chat site to warn others about this problem and the service in question and got some interesting replies. One ‘expert’ told me I needed lime.. Another said shade was killing it. (It’s St. Augustine, for Pete’ s sake.) Another said all I needed was a bunch of Black Cow® and another said to cover it with sand. Another said there were “other” issues, and scalping was not the problem. None of these ‘experts’ advised me to consult the Extension Office.

I’m determined to get the turf to recover, but there is an important lesson here. Thoroughly vet

Max Lugavere is not a medical doctor, but his co-author is, and his finding shave been reviewed by many respected in the medical field. One last quote from the end of his book, “I wrote this book with the sole intent of helping others to feel better and suffer less.” I urge you to read Genius Foods and stay health.

Genius Foods by Max Lugavere and Paul Grewald, M.D. ISBN 978-0-06-256285-2

by Bill Buckellew

the people you are trusting your grass to. I interviewed the new guys I’m hiring and got assurances that they would follow best practices in caring for my yard. I’ll be watching. Just heard from another ‘expert’ who recommended Weed and Feed®.

Rayless sunflowers may not be as showy as other sunflowers, but are very interesting in the landscape. This plant is usually found in a moist area near a ditch or drainage area. It has a basal set of leaves that blend into the surrounding grass. In summer a leafless stem will emerge that is topped by a round flower with discs but not rays. It mostly appears brown but may offer a tinge of red or purple from the disc flowers.

These pictures of rayless sunflowers were taken along the roadway in the Ft. Walton Beach area. They are a unique plant that should be included in your pollinator garden.

RAYLESS SUNFLOWERS by Dave Gordon

DEATH BY BLUEBERRIES

I’ve grown blueberry plants in large containers on my patio since long before ‘edible landscaping’ became a thing. They may not be everyone’s idea of a decorative plant, but I think they’re pretty charming. They are very low-maintenance and

by Karen Harper

people. I put several pounds in the freezer so we can have blueberries year-round, I make blueberry jam. I make blueberry pancakes. But the very best thing I do with my blueberries every year is make a blueberry cheesecake. I found this recipe several years ago and I’ve tweaked it a bit and perfected it over the years. It’ s very pretty (and tasty) all on its own. But one year, faced with an extra-abundance of blueberries, I added fresh blueberries on top and a blueberry glaze over that and that’s how I do it every year now. This is pretty much death by blueberries, but it’s such a pleasant way to go.

remain healthy with regular fertilizer, no spray of any kind, a little winter pruning for shape, and re-potting about every 5 years or so. They start blooming and attracting bees just after Christmas when I need a little post-holiday pickup, I get 20+ pounds of blueberries off them every spring and then they turn a pretty color in the fall. What’s not to love there? So, what to do with 20 lbs. of blueberries every year? Well, I give a lot away to those friends who will come over and pick them because I do draw the friendship line at standing out there in the hot sun picking blueberries for other

Blueberry Swirl Cheesecake

Blueberry Puree:

1 ½ c. crushed blueberries

¼ c. sugar

2 tsp. cornstarch

1 tbsp. lemon juice

Combine berries, sugar, and cornstarch in saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat and cook, stirring, 5 minutes. Stir in lemon juice and cool completely.

Crust:

1 c. graham cracker crumbs

2 tbsp. sugar

2 tbsp. butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine crumbs, sugar, and butter in a bowl. Press evenly into a 10” springform pan. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Watch to be sure the crust doesn’t get over-brown (i.e., burned). Cool on a rack. (NOTE: This crust bakes in 5 minutes in my oven on the middle rack.)

Filling:

1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, room temperature.

1 c. sugar

1 c. sour cream

2 tsp. vanilla extract

4 large eggs, room temperature

2 tbsp. flour

Beat cream cheese in mixer bowl till light and fluffy. Gradually add sugar and beat until completely smooth. Beat in sour cream and vanilla. At low speed, add eggs one at a time, then add flour and mix just until blended pour batter over prepared crust.

Drizzle the blueberry puree over batter then swirl a knife through the batter to make it pretty. Bake for 45-50 minutes, just until the cheesecake is set. Don’t overbake.

Cool on a rack for about 15 minutes, then run a knife around the edge and then carefully remove the springform pan.

When the cheesecake is cool, cover and refrigerate it, if there’s any left.

Optional Blueberry Glaze:

1 c. sugar

2 tbsp. cornstarch

1 c. water

2 c. fresh blueberries. Divided

Crush ½ c. blueberries in a separate bowl. In a saucepan. Combine sugar and cornstarch. Stir in water. Add the crushed blueberries to the mixture. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until the mixture is thickened and begins to bubble. Continue to boil gently for 2 minutes or until the glaze mixture is clear. Cool completely. Arrange the remaining blueberries over the top of the cheesecake. Pour the cooled blueberry glaze over the berries. Enjoy.

GARDENS IN THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES

There are a number of garden related properties found in the Records of the National Register of Historic Places. And did you know that you can search those records to your heart’s content, free of charge? You don’t even have to go to Washington, D.C., or College Park, MD in order to do this. Check out John LeGloahec’s blog post at Spring has Sprung! Records relating to Gardens in the National Register of Historic Places – The Text Message (archives.gov) .

You’ll find several records that you can hop to immediately from the blog.

There’s a big push to get as much material as possible digitized and available for viewing on-line. Check out this invaluable resource of our Nation’s history.

MAKING OF A POPLAR by

I can’t think of anyone who has not heard of a genetically modified organism. Most of us can name most of the GMOs that are currently out in the market. But I will bet you dollars to doughnuts you would name a poplar tree nor have you even heard of a modified one.

A San Francisco biotech company, Living Carbon, has created a genetically modified poplar tree. Before we get into the why’s let’s look at what they’ve actually done. First, they used a hybrid of two European poplars. They then used a bacterium to insert genes from pumpkin and green algae. This enables the trees to have lower photorespiration rates and recycle carbon faster in other words they grow faster.

So what’s the big deal? Carbon, or rather the sequestering of carbon. A tree that grows faster will theoretically sequester larger amounts of carbon. According to Living Carbon, these engineered poplars will sequester 27% more CO2 than regular trees.

You would think there would be testing and studies. Well, there is, one. Living Carbon did a 4 month trial, in a greenhouse, under controlled conditions and reported that the poplars put on 53% more weight. This study was only posted on the preprint service Bio Rxiv which does not require formal peer review.

The idea of genetic engineering to get greater growth is nothing new. Biologist Donald Ort of the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, actually led a tobacco enhancement project and is now currently growing some of Living Carbon’ s poplars in a field in Oregon to see if their claims hold up.

So again, other than sequestering carbon, why bother? Land owners would be able to harvest timber quicker while at the same time actually

sell the carbon credits from these stands of trees. With the current rate of $40 to $80 per metric ton, that could add up to a nice paycheck for the land owner.

Hence the reason that over 6,000 of these poplars have been planted on private land in Tattnall County, Georgia. It’s on private land and, hold onto your hat, there is no government oversight. Company leaders are saying that this poplar was engineered using a different method than that of the Chestnut tree and does not need federal regulatory approval. When the initial permit was applied for it didn’t flag for regulation because it occurred 2 months before the requirements were made more stringent.

Let’s go back to the parent plants used. One of the parent trees is the European white poplar and has already escaped its original status as an ornamental and is considered an invasive species in South Caroline and other states.

Living Carbon claims there will be no problem because all of their trees are female and do not produce seeds. Hmmmm, where have I heard something like that before? I mean seriously, what could possibly go wrong? If you think that just having females will ensure that you don’t have any ‘ young,’ look no further than honeybees. A worker can lay an egg and it will be unfertilized, therefore a drone.

I personally don’t have an issue with GMOs. I think a lot of the population has been fed a steady diet of scare tactics about genetically modified or

Marg Stewart

POPLAR cont’d.

engineered food stuffs and the science has been kicked out the window. In this case, I think we’ re opening the door needlessly to a potential biohazard. The trees are being planted without any peer reviewed studies. There are no controlled studies that have been completed and there’s pretty much no oversight on the poplar’ s since they are unregulated and being sold to private landowners.

As with the push for electric vehicles, we’ re so stuck on the environmental savings that we’re ignoring the environmental cost. With electric vehicles it’s the batteries and what’s involved to create them as well as charging up the cars using normal electric grids. These trees could revert back and then we have even more environmental areas overrun by another invader.

Let’s do the science right before we unleash something into the environment that we might not be able to contain.

HOLIDAYS

May is:

America’s Wetlands Month

Gardening for Wildlife Month

Gifts from the Garden Month

National Wildflower Week 1st 7th

National Public Gardens Week 12th 21st

Dandelion Day 5th –6th

Herb Day 6th

National Public Gardens Day 12th

World Bee Day 20th

Learn About Composting Day 29th

You can read about these trees at the following: Fighting Climate Change With Genetically Modified Trees (sciencefriday.com)

Genetically modified trees arrive in U.S. forestsMarketplace

To fight climate change, a biotech firm has genetically engineered a very peppy poplar | Science | AAAS

1e768b0849a88eb8e1a4784b664ccaf91942.pdf (semanticscholar.org)

Genetically Modified Trees Are Taking Root to Capture Carbon | Smart News| Smithsonian Magazine

Start-up Hopes 'Super' Poplar Trees Will Suck Up More CO2 - Scientific American

June is:

Perennial Gardening Month

National Papaya Month

National Pollinator Month

National Rose Month

Sorghum Month

National Pollinator Week 19th 25th

National Olive Day 1st

International Rose Day 23rd

National Onion Day 27th

Luna(tic) was a bit upset to discover that my lunch was not in the lunch box when she decided to sit in it. I’ll give her an ‘E’ for effort. She’s also decided that voices coming out of the handheld device (i.e.: telephone) are an indication that someone is in peril and needs to be rescued out of said device. Makes for interesting telephone conversations.

Now this all got me to thinking. How often do we parrot the phrase, “Right plant, right place.” Many, many times right? Well, here’s a cat in a lunchbox. Not the right place. But, as far as she was concerned it was very much the place she wanted to be at the time.

We deal with clients that are the same way. This recent freeze that took out so many tropical trees...clients are calling and asking how to save them. Or they are calling and asking what tropicals will survive a freeze. As far as they are concerned, they want those citrus trees and there are times when nothing you say is going to change their mind.

It’s sort of easy to remove a cat from a lunchbox

by Marg Stewart

but not so easy to convince someone that Queen Palms are not a good idea to grow in Crestview. And what about Luna(tic)’s idea that a human must be in peril because they are trapped in a box? How often do we hear something and believe it to be true when it isn’t. Hopefully, we ’re secure enough to admit the error of our thinking. But sometimes those beliefs don’t get set aside so easily. Things are done a certain way because that’s how they’ve always been done and you’re going to be hard pressed to change their minds just because you say so.

In these situations, it’s best to approach with caution lest the claws come out. Be gentle but firm and utilize bribery when necessary. A handful of treats goes a long way to convince a cat to vacate the lunchbox.

You’re always going to have cats that sit in lunchboxes and folks who think that they can grow tropical plants in where we’re likely to get freezing temperatures. The best you can do is gently explain the science, avoid the claws, and suggest a different box they might like instead. Doesn’t mean it will always work out but at least you know you tried.

So now I’m off to remove a cat from a crockpot. I have a bag of treats and I’ m not afraid to use them.

Plentiful Plantings

The Foundation for the Gator Nation..... An equal opportunity institution.

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.

The Compost Pile is a quarterly publication created by the Okaloosa County Master Gardener Volunteers.

Marg Stewart Editor

Karen Harper, Debbie Sewell, Katy McMackin Co-Editors