The Laker/Lutz News

Serving Pasco since 1981/Serving Lutz since 1964

Nature Notes

Turn your yard trash into landscape treasure

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Composting is a wonderful way to turn yard trash into a landscaping treasure. Composting doesn’t need to be difficult. It can be as simple as taking fallen leaves and using them in the landscape beds, instead of purchasing mulch. Over time, the leaves will decompose resulting in organic matter that is full of nutrients and beneficial in maintaining healthy plants.

Compost offers many benefits for your lawn and garden.

There are different ways to create compost to help your landscape thrive. This is one example of a composting bin. (Courtesy of Jim Moll)
There are different ways to create compost to help your landscape thrive. This is one example of a composting bin.
(Courtesy of Jim Moll)

Compost helps condition sandy soils, helping them retain moisture and plant nutrients, and compost helps improve drainage in clay soils.

Compost supports beneficial living soil organisms, like worms.

And, a lesser-known benefit may be the reduction of a soil-borne fungal infection, called take-all root rot in turf grass.

Composting systems can be divided into three categories: stationary bin, tumbling bin, and the no bin or heap-method.

The heap method has no cost, as no equipment is needed. Compostable materials are simply placed into a heap with material added, as it accumulates.

Stationary bins can be as simple as recycled wooden pallets wired together to create a bin, or they can be heavy gauge wire mesh, plastic, or even made from cement blocks. With some stationary bin systems, you can add a second or even a third bin next to the first bin to transform the single bin into a multi-bin system which makes turning the decomposing organic matter easier. Some offer lids and/or fine wire mesh to keep out animals.

A food-grade 55-gallon barrel with air holes made along the sides of the drum and a stand with a pipe that fits into the center of the barrel makes a great tumbling bin. The barrel can be tipped end-over-end easily, which aerates the material, speeding up the decomposition process.

There are many ready-made tumbling bins.

Which type is better? Each type has pros and cons. Some tumbling bins are costly, many stationary bins have a fairly limited capacity, and other bins, such as those made from cement block, are permanent fixtures in your landscape.

What can be composted?

It may be easier to say what cannot be composted: no meat, grease, bones, diseased plants or weedy plants that have seeds/fruits, pet or human waste.

Most anything that is plant-based can be composted. For example leaves, grass clippings, vegetable scraps, coffee grounds (including the paper filter), sawdust from nontreated wood, and even newspapers can be composted.

Particle size plays a role in how quickly something will decompose, so some items will decompose more quickly than others.

Very small particles, like sawdust, will break down more slowly, due to packing, which slows oxygen moving between particles.

Oxygen is essential for the microbes to survive and decompose organic matter. If the particle size is large, like a tree branch, corn stalks, etc., it will take the microbes a long time to break down the material.

Also, there is something called the carbon-to-nitrogen ratio, known as the C to N ratio. This might sound technical, but it’s really not.

Carbon materials are also called “browns” and are usually woody by nature and take more time to decompose.

“Browns” include fallen leaves, woodchips, straw, sawdust from nontreated wood, and newspapers. Items high in nitrogen, also known as “greens,” help speed the decomposition of high carbon “brown” items.

“Greens” include untreated grass clippings, animal manure (i.e. horse, rabbit), vegetable scrapes, egg shells, citrus and coffee grounds.

Mixing “brown” items and “green” items will speed the decomposition process.

While mixing, add water if the items are dry; decomposition occurs more quickly if the items are just barely moist, but not wet. You may need to add water to your pile from time to time to keep it moist. During heavy rains, you might want to cover the bin/pile so your compost doesn’t become soggy.

How often should you turn the pile?

The more frequently you turn it and the hotter you keep the composting materials, the faster the breakdown of the material.

“Hot-composting” methods require frequent attention to the compost pile. The microbes in the compost will naturally cause the temperature to rise. The pile should be turned when the temperature reaches 140 degrees. Special compost thermometers can be purchased at garden centers and on the Internet.

Should the pile cool down to 100 degrees, it should be turned to encourage reheating or new compostable materials added to restart the heating of the compost pile.

Hot-composting methods can destroy most disease causing organisms and weed seeds. Some people will take a “less is more” approach to composting. This is a method where the items to be composted are placed into a bin or in a heap and left to decompose on their own without turning or paying much attention to the pile.

This “cold-composting” method takes time, typically requiring two or three years for the compost to fully decompose. While cold composting is easier, you are more likely to get insects and pests in your compost.

A couple of final tips: Place your bin in a location that is easy to access, and consider the shade for your comfort when you turn the compost or need to load it into a wheelbarrow for use in your landscape.

Also, you should check your homeowner’s association (HOA) rules. As long as you follow the rules of your HOA, most will allow a compost unit in the backyard.

Jim Moll is with the University of Florida/IFAS Pasco County Extension Office and is the Florida Friendly LandscapingTM Program coordinator, funded by Tampa Bay Water. For more information, call (352) 518-0470, and check for upcoming classes and workshops at http://pasco.ifas.ufl.edu/events_calendar.shtml. To learn more about composting go to http://sarasota.ifas.ufl.edu/compost-info/.

Published May 13, 2015

 

What are those patches on my trees?

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They’re likely lichens, and they’re not harmful

It’s spring, and you’re out in your garden enjoying the flowers and making plans — and then you begin noticing problems.

When you glance at a nearby tree, you may see patches all over the trunk, bark and stems. These patches, or spots, are commonly white or green, but sometimes they are gray, pink, red, yellow or lime green. They may appear crusty, shrubby or leafy.

These lichens are sometimes called British soldiers, because they resemble the red uniforms worn by soldiers during the Revolutionary War. (Courtesy of Nicole Pinson)
These lichens are sometimes called British soldiers, because they resemble the red uniforms worn by soldiers during the Revolutionary War.
(Courtesy of Nicole Pinson)

Although they look like some type of harmful organism, they are, in reality, harmless lichens, pronounced lī-kens.

Lichens are not plants. They do not have a vascular or circulatory system that moves water and nutrients. They do not have roots, stems or flowers, either.

Actually, lichens are made up of two organisms that live together: an alga and a fungus. The lichen relationship is unique. The alga makes food for the lichen through photosynthesis, but it cannot live on its own.

The fungus provides protection and helps anchor the alga. The fungus also prevents the alga from being damaged by too much light.

Lichens are able to live in diverse, even difficult, places. You can find lichens attached to rocks, cliffs, tree bark, bare soil, fence posts, concrete walls and gravestones.

Since they lack a vascular system, lichens get their nourishment from rain, fog, dew and moisture released by plants and debris.

Lichens do not parasitize or harm the structures or plants they are living on. The common “deer moss” found on bare soil in natural areas, such as in state and county parks, is actually a lichen.

Lichens grow slowly, only a few millimeters per year, and they can live for thousands of years. Because of their long life spans, scientists measure lichens and use this information to date rocks and events.

Lichens provide many benefits. They are a food source for animals. They provide protective camouflage. They are useful in tanning and dyeing cloth. In some parts of the world, they feed large herds of caribou. Lichens supply nesting material for birds and mammals. In some cultures, lichens are used for medicine and as a minor food source.

As they grow over bare rock, they help collect organic matter, which builds and replenishes the soil over time. Lichens are also associated with good air quality. Lichens reproduce asexually, most often when pieces break off and start new lichens. Or, they reproduce sexually through spores. Because pollution can affect their growth and reproduction, lichens may not grow in highly polluted environments. For this reason, they are at the center of worldwide research studying the relationship between lichens and air pollution.

Although lichens are often mistaken as disease or fungus, they are harmless.

As we always say in Florida Friendly LandscapingTM and pest management, identify the “pest” first before selecting controls.

If your tree appears stressed or unhealthy, consider other factors such as planting depth, drought, disease, insects or water. And if you see a lichen, remember you don’t need to do anything to “treat” it.

For additional information, contact or (813) 744-5519, Ext. 54145.

Nicole Pinson is an Urban Horticulture Agent in Hillsborough County.

This column used information from “Lichens” by Gary H. Brinen of Alachua County Extension, http://alachua.ifas.ufl.edu/lawn_and_garden/fact_sheets/lichens.shtml.

Published April 22, 2015

Keys to having a healthy lawn

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Our Florida lawns are becoming active once again, now that the weather is warmer and days are longer than 12 hours. This also means lots of calls and walk-ins to the UF/IFAS Pasco County Extension Office with questions about lawn care.

Some of the more popular questions this year have been the use of pet and family-friendly alternatives to chemicals for control of lawn diseases. The best “alternative” to chemicals would be to prevent the disease from happening in the first place. The best way to prevent or reduce disease in your lawn is to use a lawn grass that’s less susceptible to disease combined with Florida-Friendly Landscaping™ Principles to manage the lawn properly.

You can have a lush like lawn like this, if you give it the proper care. (Courtesy of Whitney C. Elmore)
You can have a lush like lawn like this, if you give it the proper care.
(Courtesy of Whitney C. Elmore)

The first Florida-Friendly Landscaping Principle is to put the right plant in the right place. Selecting the right lawn grass suited to your specific site can greatly reduce the need for fertilizer, irrigation and pesticide usage.

Watering your lawn only when needed not only helps to conserve this valuable resource, but also helps to reduce disease, since excessive moisture often encourages disease development.

Mowing your lawn to the proper height, which for most of our common Florida lawn grasses is 3 inches to 4 inches high, all year round, is a must for a happier, healthier lawn. Fertilizing with the right fertilizer at the right time and in the right amount also greatly reduces the incidence of disease in your lawn. To make your lawn more pet and family-friendly and lower the risk of disease, you can use compost on your lawn a source for nutrients, instead of fertilizer.

Compost is organic matter made up of any number of manures, bone meal, dried blood, or plant and animal waste. Kitchen scraps are an excellent example of items around your house you can compost. There are compost bins and barrels that speed the microbial breakdown of these substances into nutrient rich, soil-like matter that can be spread among your plants and across your lawn. Lawn clippings left in place, instead of being raked up and thrown away, will compost in-place, and return nutrients back to the soil. Since these materials act as slow-release fertilizers, the nutrients don’t leach easily from the soil, or as quickly as fertilizer, and don’t contribute as much to water contamination making them much more environmentally and wallet-friendly. An added benefit of using compost on the lawn may be disease suppression.

While there’s no definitive research to prove that adding compost helps reduce disease problems in the lawn, anecdotal evidence suggests there may be a benefit. Microbes that occur naturally within the soil can out compete those disease-causing microbes, especially when the lawn is healthy. Good microbes can produce inhibitory chemicals that can kill disease-causing microbes. Those good microbes come from compost. So, by adding compost to your lawn, you are not only adding plant nutrients, but potentially limiting the ability of disease-causing microbes to cause damage to your lawn. Because of the need for microbial activity, compost is more dependent on soil temperature and pH to help release the beneficial plant nutrients and produce the disease inhibiting chemicals, which benefits the lawn.

If you choose to add compost to your lawn, here are some helpful hints:

  • Only use compost that has undergone significant decay. Finished compost will smell “earthy” or “mushroom-like.” You should not be able to recognize what it was previously.
  • Get your soil tested for pH. Soil test kits are available at the Pasco County Extension Office.
  • Only apply the compost to the lawn when the temperature is above 80 degrees Fahrenheit to ensure the microbes are actively breaking it down and releasing the nutrients to the lawn.
  • You can apply a thin layer of compost in a process called “topdressing” over the existing lawn. If you’re topdressing, apply ½-inch to 1-inch of material to the lawn. A lawn fertilizer spreader can make this job much easier. You may need to screen out larger pieces in the compost that won’t go through the holes of the spreader.
  • If you don’t have compost, you can purchase peat moss from most big box retailers and nurseries. Topdressing with peat moss has been shown to lower disease problems specifically in St. Augustinegrass, like ‘Floratam.’
  • Plan to topdress your lawn once in the spring, when daily temperatures are staying constant between 75 degrees to 80 degrees Fahrenheit, and once in late summer when daily temperatures are holding steady at 80 degrees Fahrenheit or higher.
  • Run a rake over the lawn to work the compost down to the soil.

For more information about producing your own compost, selecting the proper turfgrass for your lawn, fertilization, irrigation, proper mowing height, or to get a soil test kit, stop by or call the University of Florida/IFAS Pasco County Extension Office (http://pasco.ifas.ufl.edu/).

Whitney C. Elmore is the Pasco County Extension director and Urban Horticulture agent III, and Jim Moll is the Pasco County coordinator of the Florida-Friendly Landscaping Program™.

By Whitney C. Elmore and Jim Moll

This column was adapted from UF/IFAS Extension publications: “Turfgrass Disease Management” EDIS Publication #SSPLP14 by M.L. Elliot and P.E. Harmon. “St. Augustinegrass for Florida Lawns” EDIS Publication #ENH5 by L.E. Trenholm, J.L. Cisar, and J.B. Unruh, and “Peatmoss Topdressing Control of Take-All Root Rot on St. Augustinegrass” by P.F. Colbaugh, X. Wei, and J.A. McAfee, of the Texas A&M Research Center.

Published April 1, 2015