PBC Extension Sponsoring MasterNaturalist Training
The Palm Beach County Cooperative Extension office is sponsoring The Florida Master Naturalist Training educational extension program on Florida's ecosystems. The 40-plus hour Freshwater Wetlands course is being offered in West Palm Beach, on Saturdays, January 10 – February 21, 2009. The goal of the training is to promote increased awareness and appreciation of Florida's environmental resources. The training will include classroom instruction, field trips and practical interpretive experience related to the general ecology, habitats, vegetation types, wildlife and conservation issues of wetland habitats in Florida. (Read more)
News and Events
Water Use Restrictions as of April 18, 2008:
South Florida Water Management District implements two day per week landscape watering. Please see the following links for a complete summary of the restrictions."
At-A-Glance Water Restrictions
https://my.sfwmd.gov/
Africanized Honey Bees are in South Florida
Africanized Honey Bees (AHB) are in South Florida, and are here to stay. With populations rapidly on the rise, AHB now represent a growing safety issue for all Floridians living and working in rural and urban communities, including agricultural and natural environment settings.
Read more
Weekly Gardening Tip
 Water in the landscape is essential for good growth and now that we’re firmly entrenched in our dry season many communities are not receiving regular showers like we did earlier in the year. Make sure if you have an irrigation system that it’s operating properly so you don’t get dry spots developing in turfgrass or have plants in the shrub island that don’t receive their proper irrigation and start to wilt or discolor.
Even though we should be getting several inches of rain this month, it may not come evenly and you may go for a while between showers. Most turfgrass areas should receive watering about every three days this time of year and if you’re watering more than that you’re simply wasting water and rinsing out fertilizer, too, which requires replacement.
Read more...
Simply Florida – A new innovative cookbook
Known as the Sunshine State, Florida offers unique flavors from the seashore to the panhandle.
Simply Florida a new cookbook offered by the Florida Extension Association of Family and Consumer Sciences and the University of Florida/IFAS, celebrates all that is Florida food – sun-ripened fruit, fabulous beef, the freshest seafood, and farm fresh vegetables. It is filled with wonderful recipes suitable for vegetarians and meat eaters alike and information that represents the unique flavors of the Sunshine State. In addition to delicious recipes, users will find safe food preparation tips; nutritional analysis of recipes; information on agriculture and food production in Florida; and the history of Family and Consumer Sciences and the Cooperative Extension in Florida.
Availability and cost:
Order through website; http://www.simplyflorida.org
$30.00, price includes shipping and handling.
Books are available for $25.00 at the Extension office; 559 N. Military Trail, West Palm Beach, Florida, (561) 233-1742.
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Weekly
Pruning Tip
Thinning Trees
Thinning reduces density of live
branches in a tree and increases light and air movement in the canopy. Thinning
toward the tips of a branch can reduce the wind-sail effect in the crown, and
relieve the weight of heavy limbs. Clearing out inner foliage can have adverse
effects on the tree and should be avoided. Watersprouts on interior limbs is
often a sign of over-thinning.
Canopy thinning in locations
where the root zone is restricted by urban structures such as curbs, streets,
sidewalks, and buildings. Roots are often deflected by these structures,
making the trees less stable compared to trees in an area where roots can grow
unimpeded. Trees in open, exposed, and windy situations are good
candidates for thinning. The size range of parts to be removed, the location in
the canopy, and the percentage of live foliage to be removed should be
specified by the arborist.
Thinning should result in an even
distribution of branches of long individual limbs, not a grouping toward the
ends. Do this by removing some of the branches from the edge of the canopy, not from the interior. Caution must
be taken not to create an effect known as lion tailing, which is caused by
removing an excessive number of interior laterals and foliage. First, clean the
canopy, then proceed with thinning as follows.
Do not remove more than 15 to 20%
of the live foliage on a mature tree or sprouting may result. Often 5 to
10% on mature trees. Up to 25% of the live foliage can be thinned from young
trees. Provided you did not remove more than this amount of live foliage while
cleaning the canopy, prune small branches from the edge of the canopy. Thinning
is a delicate process that removes small diameter (1-2 inch) branches. Remove
those growing parallel and close to nearby branches or those competing for the
same space in the canopy. Appropriately thinned trees may not look like they
were pruned.
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