By Julie McConnell, UF/IFAS Extension Bay County
Hello PCB Life Readers! I am excited to write a monthly column for this publication and wanted to use this first one to introduce myself.
I am a graduate of Auburn University (B.S. Horticulture, 2001) and University of Florida (M.S. Entomology, 2016). After graduating from Auburn, I took a position as a wholesale sales rep at a family owned nursery in the metro-Atlanta market. I spent 10 years assisting landscape companies, garden designers, colleges, and government agencies with their plant and hardscape purchases. In 2012, I accepted a position with the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Extension Bay County office as the Horticulture Agent.
The University of Florida has Extension offices in all 67 counties in Florida. Our mission is to provide scientific knowledge and expertise about agriculture and life sciences to the public. Each Extension office has agents assigned based on local need. In Bay County we have Horticulture, Sea Grant/Marine Science, 4-H Youth Development, and Family and Consumer Sciences agents. We offer outreach programs for the public through classes, workshops, field days, social media, blogs, print and digital media, and individual consultations.
Volunteers are a critical component of a successful Extension program. My horticulture program has Master Gardener Volunteers who I recruit, train, and supervise. Florida Master Gardener Volunteers must pass a background screening, attend over 50 hours of training, pass an exam, then donate 75 volunteer hours in their first year of service to become certified. In Bay County, our 40 Master Gardener Volunteers donate about 3,000 hours a year supporting Extension in our community!
So, how are we reaching the community during the Covid-19 crisis? Like most of you, we’ve had to expand our use of technology to continue our outreach efforts while social distancing. I’ve teamed up with UF/IFAS Horticulture Agents from across the region to offer Gardening in the Panhandle LIVE! twice a month focusing on current horticulture topics. Attendees can join live using Zoom or Facebook or watch archived videos on YouTube. For details about this program visit www.nwdistrict.ifas.ufl.edu/hort/
I have also started a Facebook Group called the UF IFAS Extension Bay County Gardening Group where you can share your gardening triumphs and tribulations. It is open to the public, but members are required to answer a few simple questions to ensure everyone understands the group rules.
By now you may be wondering if I’ll ever talk about plants in this gardening column! Before I run out of space let me leave you with a few gardening tips for September.
Start planting your fall vegetable garden. Edibles you can plant in September are cabbage, carrots, broccoli, collards, lettuce, mustard, onions, and radish.
September is the last month to fertilize your warm season turfgrass (Bermudagrass, Bahiagrass, Centipedegrass, St. Augustinegrass, or Zoysia). Avoid applying nitrogen fertilization to lawns from October-April since this is a period of reduced physiologic activity. Fertilizing at this time can increase the chance of cold damage and promote certain fungal pathogen growth.
Divide and replant overgrown clumping perennials such as daylilies, canna, agapanthus (Lily of the Nile), and peacock ginger.
If you have specific questions about gardening, please contact our office at 850-248-8091 or email me directly at juliebmcconnell@ufl.edu.
An Equal Opportunity Institution. UF/IFAS Extension, University of Florida, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, Nick T. Place, dean for UF/IFAS Extension. Single copies of UF/IFAS Extension publications (excluding 4-H and youth publications) are available free to Florida residents from county UF/IFAS Extension offices.
