Sally Scalera: Register now for an eight-week Florida-Friendly Gardening class series

I will begin teaching an eight-week Florida-Friendly Landscaping class series on Tuesday, April 7.

This series will teach you how to grow plants here in Florida and provide you with answers to all your burning questions. The classes will be from 9 am until noon Tuesdays at our office at 3695 Lake Drive, Cocoa.

The first class, which I believe is the most crucial for gardening success in Florida, will cover gardening with the soil food web, followed by composting and vermicomposting. 

I will explain how nature’s food web supports plants by providing them with nutrients and protecting them from diseases. In addition to their nutrient-cycling efforts, the soil food web creates organic matter, which increases both the soil’s water and nutrient holding capacity. 

This increased capacity not only benefits the plants, but also protects water quality, which benefits both the Indian River Lagoon and the St. Johns River. The soil food web also builds soil structure, which produces deeper, aerobic soils so tree roots can grow down further, resulting in more sturdy and stable trees during storms. 

The second portion of the class will cover thermal composting and vermicomposting. 

The goal of composting isn’t just to create organic matter, but to also produce the soil food web required for the plants being grown. The addition of organic matter to our sand is beneficial, but when the soil food web is absent, it will only be a matter of time before the organic matter is consumed, eventually disappearing. 

For those who can’t, or would rather not, compost, I will also provide information on products that can be used to add life to the soil and all plant surfaces also.

Class No. 2 will cover plant nutrition and growth, ending with the nine principles that make up Florida-Friendly Landscaping. Plants require many more nutrients than just nitrogent (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K). 

Calcium, magnesium and sulfur are also required for nutritious plant growth. And don’t forget about their requirement for the trace elements of manganese, iron, boron, zinc and copper. 

To be thorough, plants also require other trace elements, that are needed in the tiniest amounts, found in rock or volcanic powders. When plants can acquire all the necessary nutrients, they can live a healthy lives, free of insect and disease problems.

The third class will begin with hands-on gardening. 

In this class everyone will learn how to start their own plants from seed, step-up plants into larger pots, prune a plant, start new plants from cuttings and divide plants. The last topic covered that day will be an introduction to landscape design. 

Landscape design, like fashion and interior design, is subjective, and if you have thought about what you are looking for in your landscape (attract wildlife, grow food, provide fragrance, be colorful, etc.) and things you don’t want, like a high maintenance yard, why not draw up your own design? 

An important aspect when drawing the design is to use the mature spread of the plants. Doing so will prevent you from spending excess money and eventually having to remove plants as they become over-crowded. 

I will continue to help any class member with their design as the class progresses.

Class No. 4 will cover trees, followed by a native plant walk around our office. 

Trees provide many benefits, which include increasing property values. We will talk about the physiology of trees, tree structure, buying, establishing and maintaining trees. 

The second half of the class will be a walk around our office to check out the native plants that you may want to consider adding to you yard.

In the fifth class on, you will learn how to grow edible plants and attract wildlife.  Both are easy to do, once you learn the tips and tricks. 

For edible plants, there will be discussion on growing vegetables, herbs, citrus and other fruit crops. Information on how to attract pollinators (which includes bees and butterflies), hummingbirds and birds will be covered in the second part of the class.

The sixth class on will be all about the lawn and palms. 

Come learn how to maintain a healthy lawn that can benefit the Indian River Lagoon or the St. Johns River and not cause harm. If you are currently growing non-native palms and they don’t have a full canopy of solid green fronds, this class will provide the information that your palms need.

Class No. 7 will cover plant diseases and Integrated Pest Management. 

When we get the biology back into the soil and more than 70 percent of the plant, this information won’t be necessary. But until that time, you’ll learn how to diagnose and control disease and insect outbreaks, with the least amount of impact on the environment.

The last class will cover pesticide safety and a synthesis of all the information covered. 

When pesticides aren’t applied correctly, they can cause harm to non-target organisms, such as bees, fish, pets or the human applying them. This information is important for everyone who applies pesticides. 

The last portion of the class (and the class series as a whole) will be to review most of the common causes, both abiotic and biotic, that can harm or kill plants. This knowledge will help every gardener recognize the early warning signs when a plant is experiencing problems, while there is still time to save the plant.

Gardening is a great hobby that gets us outside and active, plus it’s a fun way to stay limber. Of course, it’s the most gratifying when our plants are doing well. 

If you want a healthier, more attractive (or delicious) landscape, consider taking this $75 class series.  Follow this link to register: fflclass8weekseries2020.eventbrite.com.

For those who can’t make the class, but still want to find out how to add the biology back to the soil, email me at sasc@ufl.edu and I’ll send you the information.

Sally Scalera is an urban horticulture agent and master gardener coordinator for the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agriculture Sciences. Email sasc@ufl.edu.

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