Landscapes, Gardens & More in the Florida Panhandle

October 2019

Fall is here, or so the calendar says. It sure doesn’t feel like it with the continued heat and dry weather. Speaking of dry weather, many of you are noticing your plants and trees are turning brown, dropping leaves and look about as frazzled as we feel. Consider how much you are watering, the soil type you have and the time of day that you are watering. It is always best to water early in the morning. If you have sandy soil you will water much more than someone who has clay soil. A rule of thumb is to stick your index finger down into the soil and feel the moisture level. Your plants need on average an inch of rain per week. With no rain in site, this means most of you will need to water daily and 5 to 10 minutes is not near enough. They dry weather has caused the ground to harden so that when you water it runs off instead of soaking into the ground going to the roots. If you have any questions, you may contact us via phone (which is a mobile so you can text us and/or send pictures) Facebook or email.

Many of you have contacted us regarding your fall planting in raised beds and gardens. Keep in mind fall vegetables need cool temps. The current heat will cause vegetables like lettuce, broccoli, cauliflower, etc. to bolt (flower and seed). If you are starting vegetables from seed, you may go ahead and plant. If you want to skip this step and use plants, then you need to look at the harvest date to determine when it would be best to plant. The shorter the harvest time, the later you may want to plant. We are getting our beds ready by topping the newer ones off with fresh compost. If the bed is two years old or older, we are replacing half the soil with compost and potting soil. Don’t forget to see us to obtain your miner minerals to go back into your beds. We will be planting Brussel sprouts this week since they take 120 days to produce. The remainder of our vegetables will be planted mid-October when the forecast is showing cooler days and nights.

Don’t forget, we have mums for your fall decorations.

Don’t forget, if you need help with the garden or the orchard we are here. You can call or text at 850-638-8243 or come and see us at Maphis Nursery and Tree Farm 1534 Orange Hill Road here at Chipley, Fl.