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NASA

Create your own indoor garden, using houseplants

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A popular trend from Victorian times is making a comeback: Growing houseplants.

If you look online at image-sharing websites, apps, and boards and you’ll find that indoor plants are very popular.

In fact, a new term called “jungalow style” incorporates the use of plants inside homes and offices. Jungalow style brings the beauty and life of plants indoors by integrating them in living areas.

An easy-to-care for “ZZ plant” growing in Nicole Pinson’s office. 

Plants may be grown indoors — both for their beauty and their air quality benefits.

A study by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) conducted regarding air quality and houseplants concluded that a plant is “very important in removing indoor air pollution either directly through its leaves or indirectly through the root/soil pathway” (Wolverton, Douglas, and Bounds, 1989, pg. 10).

Plants tested by NASA include bamboo palm, English ivy, peace lily, Sansevieria laurentii, spider plant, golden pothos, and philodendron.

As with any plant, be sure to follow the first principle of Florida Friendly LandscapingTM: Right Plant, Right Place. This means selecting plants suited to your landscape (or home) based on light, water, temperature, and soil conditions.

My grandmother grew about 20 different African violets. She placed them in the perfect spot in her living room – a north-facing windowsill.

African violets grow well in bright, indirect light. A south-facing window would generally be too sunny for African violets.

You don’t need many plants to create an indoor garden.

Choose easy-to-grow plants such as spider plants, Aglaonema spp., and hoya.

One of my favorite indoor plants is called a “ZZ plant” or Zamioculcas zamiifolia. ZZ plants have shiny, dark green leaves. They thrive in low-light environments and are drought-tolerant. ZZ plants have no significant pest or disease problems. The main concern is proper watering. ZZ plants need soil that drains well. Water your ZZ plant and let it dry out between waterings to reduce the chance of root rot, which can be caused by too much water.

Generally, you should have few pests with indoor plants, but you may occasionally encounter mealybugs and whiteflies. If this happens, remove the pot from your house or office and place it outside in a similar environment. Often, natural predators will eat the pest insects. You may also use least toxic pest control methods, such as horticultural oils and insecticidal soaps. Some pests, such as mealybugs or aphids, may be treated by wetting or removing the insects with a cotton swab dipped in a solution of one-half water and one-half rubbing alcohol.

To avoid disease problems, water appropriately. This requires some care and monitoring of your plants. Plants grown indoors don’t dry out as quickly as plants grown outside.

Monitoring your plants to provide sufficient – but not too much – water can be tricky at first. But, over time you’ll know your plants’ watering needs. For example, I have an English ivy in a windowsill. It requires more water during the summer months than it does during the winter months. Additionally, some months I water it every two weeks because that is all the water it needs!

A word of caution: Some houseplants may be considered invasive when planted in the landscape. Be considerate of the growing characteristics of houseplants and check their status prior to planting them in the ground.

You can look up plant names and view pictures of invasive plants on the UF/IFAS Assessment website found at https://assessment.ifas.ufl.edu/. For example, searching for the plant Sansevieria will yield results for three plants included in the Assessment. You will see that Sansevieria cylindrica is not considered a problem species at this time. However, Sansevieria trifasciata is listed as invasive in Central Florida and throughout the rest of the state.

Get creative with your indoor garden by choosing flower pots that match your décor, or try growing plants in a terrarium.

I enjoy searching for vintage or antique pots in thrift stores, yard sales, and antique shops.

Keep an eye out for unique finds when traveling. I spotted the geometric flower vase — now hanging in my office — at a garden center in Nashville, Tennessee. You may find other creative containers such as pottery, vases, jars, concrete planters, baskets, wall pockets, and galvanized buckets.

The UF/IFAS Extension Hillsborough County office can help answer your gardening questions. We are open Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Our office and gardens are located at 5339 County Road 579, Seffner, Florida 33584.

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

Nicole Pinson is the Urban Horticulture Agent in Hillsborough County. The author gratefully acknowledges Master Gardener Nancy Ham for contributing to this article.

Published Oct. 18, 2017

 

Building the community, one check at a time

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After the race for the Lutz Guv’na wraps up every year, the money raised is doled out to local groups and causes.

Kori Rankin is the 2017 winner of the Lutz Guv’na’s race and she has the plaque to prove it. She’s shown here with Paul Vahue, emcee of a celebration held to pass out checks from the annual race’s proceeds. (B.C. Manion)

This year the race drew candidates Greg Gilbert of Beef O’ Brady’s Lutz, Jessica Sherman with Pinch A Penny, and Kori Rankin, of Kori Rankin Photography. Ultimately, Rankin won the Guv’na’s sash. Her stepmother, Jennifer Rankin, won the sash in 2015.

The 2017 campaign for the honorary title generated more than $7,000 in contributions and the checks to local groups were handed out in a ceremony on Oct. 3 at the Old Lutz School.

This year’s recipients included the Old Lutz School, the Lutz Chiefs, the Lutz Cemetery, Girl Scout Troop 2717, Boy Scout Troop 12, Books for Troops, the Lutz Patriots, the Little Woman of Lutz, The Lutz/Land O Lakes Women’s Club, Steinbrenner High School Student Ambassadors, and Martinez Middle School, Learning Gate Community School, and the North Tampa/Lutz Squadron of the Civil Air Patrol.

Suzin Carr, a two-time Lutz Guv’na, said the good that the funds help to generate goes beyond sheer dollars.

“All of these little nonprofits, we’re keeping them healthy and whole,” Carr said.

“A candidate gets to decide where 10 percent of their money goes,” she said.

“The Girl Scout Troop, for instance, this year they were recipients of Jessica Sherman’s 10

Paul Vahue hands a check to representative of the North Tampa/Lutz Squadron of the Civil Air Patrol. The group received a portion of this year’s proceeds from the Lutz Guv’na’s race. (B.C. Manion)

percent,” she said.

“That group can also apply for more money,” Carr noted.

“That scout group is going to go for an overnight at NASA. That’s something they could not afford, if this had not happened,” she said.

“You don’t know the impact that that will have, even if it’s just on one of those girls, what their future could be as a result of that trip,” Carr added.

The Civil Air Patrol cadets were there and they talked about their mission, she said. When a disaster hits, they’re among the first people on the ground to analyze what’s needed in an area, she said.

“It’s a tremendous feeling to be able to watch the money come in one hand, and immediately within a matter of a month or two go right back to the community,” Carr said.

The night the funds were being distributed a group from Learning Gate Community School arrived early, Carr said. “They helped set it up.

“This is a night to celebrate them, and here they are setting up tables and chairs, bringing stuff in from the cars to get it ready for everyone else,” she said.

Published Oct. 11, 2017

Escape life’s upheaval at familiar county fair

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You don’t need a consumer confidence report to know that the economy is on a rebound trajectory. Instead, just open your eyes to what’s going on in Pasco County, where change, once more, is afoot.

You can scarcely swing a surveyor’s plumb bob without whacking evidence of our resurgence. Earth movers are moving earth. Grimy guys with signs are redirecting traffic. New construction is erupting like mushrooms after a summer thunderstorm.

Entire parts of the county are hardhat zones, and it’s all pretty much good, this investment in things that bring new jobs and opportunity.

Amid the flying dust, the big machines belching smoke and the sense of anticipation that attends it all, humans are naturally grateful for what is reliable and unchanging. It’s why we celebrate efforts to preserve vast swatches of virgin land and lovely old buildings. It’s also among the reasons to cheer the return this week of the Pasco County Fair.

Mckenna, left, and Brianna Childs, of Dade City, wait in the stall area at the 2016 Pasco County Fair, until they are called for their part in the Possom Trot club 4-H events.
(File)

The county fair is our annual Brigadoon, a touchstone that remains virtually the same one year to the next, despite all the change that swirls around it. And, we not only count on its constancy, we are reassured by it.

There may be a connected city — whatever that is — surrounding jaw-dropping manmade lagoons back up the road. Traffic engineers might be spellbound by the prospect of a “divergent diamond” interchange at State Road 56 and Interstate 75. Riders can access Wi-Fi on all county buses now. In short, we’re so cutting edge you could lose a finger.

But, just beyond the ticket-takers at the county fair, it might as well be … well, frankly, you can pick your year. Because, with the exception of a detail here or there, it never changes.

Pasco’s fair week — always the third week in February, always nestled between the Florida State Fair and the Plant City Strawberry Festival — is a comforting little slice of yesteryear, where the familiar abounds: Pig race, poultry preens, cities, towns and communities boast, young pageant princesses seek their first crowns, and performers with unusual talents bring fresh meaning to the term “side show.”

Where, besides a county fair, after all, are you likely to run across the self-proclaimed “only traveling ‘Lumber Jill’ show in North America?” Or, a psychologist who promises to “explore the hilarious side of hypnosis” in a “wacky show that rivals reality television”?

This year’s opening day event is history, of course, but as a past participant, I would be remiss if I did not throw some love in the direction of the goofy opening-day “Celebrity Milk-Off.”

Nevermind that the annual descent into bovine mayhem is that variety of celebrity events in which, as humorist Dave Barry observed, all the celebrities require name tags.

In truth, almost nobody comes to see Pasco hotshots ineptly yanking on poor heifers’ delicate faucets. They come, instead, to see which cow will relieve herself smack dab in the middle of a squeeze duel.

In this way, the milk-off is a lot like the Daytona 500.

What else? With the possible exception of a rickety rollercoaster, the county fair’s midway offers all the rough-and-tumble kinetic experiences sufficient to eliminate weak-stomached NASA astronaut applicants.

Speaking of stomachs, fairs are pretty much the originators of food trucks, although you aren’t likely to be able to find a barbecue sundae, corndogs or fried, well, everything at the Taste of New Tampa or those downtown Tampa food-on-wheels roundups Mayor Bob Buckhorn fancies.

And, a bellyful of fried-everything is exactly what is needed when you board a ride in which you will spend substantial moments suspended upside down.

Then again, you don’t have to eat fair fare. Up at the Madill Building, they’re grilling juicy hamburgers that will transport you to 1957. And, at the next window, you’ll find strawberry shortcake that’ll save you the trip to Plant City.

There’s also this to like: At 30-odd windswept acres atop a hill overlooking State Road 52, the Pasco County fairgrounds is contained. Compare that to the Florida State Fair, which sprawls across a daunting 330 acres.

The county fair is relentlessly doable, then, and that, also, is to its credit.

Its midway, resembling a droopy barbell, is as organized as such things can be: big-kid rides in a big grassy plaza on the north end, little-kid rides on the south, and connecting them an avenue of games of — *cough-cough* — skill.

Just the way it’s always been. And, that’s just the way county fair-goers like it. Familiar. Comfortable. Traditional.

Something reliable to hang onto in this time of hurry-up upheaval. This is the week to lose yourself in yesteryear. Our changing world will be waiting when you get back.

Tom Jackson, a resident of New Tampa, is interested in your ideas. To reach him, email .

Published February 22, 2017

A chance to see stars, and moon craters

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Kevin Manning knows a thing or two about astronomy.

And, the former NASA consultant and college instructor shared his knowledge in a 90-minute presentation about the solar system at the Hugh Embry Library in Dade City on Jan. 20.

Manning’s “Look Up to the Stars” presentation provided a virtual journey through the sun, the planets and their moons, and debris left over from the earliest times of the solar system’s formation.

Manning, who’s given workshops at the Hugh Embry Library on four other occasions, gave viewers of all ages an in-depth, yet understandable, history lesson on outer space and the eight planets.

People who attended the presentation were able to use Manning’s homemade telescope to gaze at stars and look at craters on the moon. (Kevin Weiss/Staff Photo)
People who attended the presentation were able to use Manning’s homemade telescope to gaze at stars and look at craters on the moon.
(Kevin Weiss/Staff Photo)

“I like how he was able to condense everything into an hour-and-a-half presentation,” said Karyn Moses, who teaches science at R.B. Stewart Middle School in Zephyrhills. “It’s something that would take months to try to teach.”

Moses, who also operates an astronomy club at the school, plans on passing along a few of Manning’s factoids to her class.

“I’ve never been able to figure out the difference between a meteoroid and an asteroid,” she remarked. “I’m very thankful that he cleared that up, because I’ve searched and searched for that.

“Also, the exoplanets that we’re looking for around red dwarf stars is interesting to me — about how we’re finding them and why they’re easiest to find,” she said.

Jennifer Croteau of Dade City particularly enjoyed the visual aspect of Manning’s interactive presentation.

“I really enjoyed the photographs; just making it real,” Croteau said. “The actual 3-D and 360-degree views — I just found it awe-inspiring.

“It was just incredible how much has been going on for so long. It was a really neat opportunity to have someone at his level speak to where everyone could understand,” Croteau said.

With news of the possibility of a ninth planet existing, Manning was firm in in his assertion that Pluto never should have lost its planetary status in 2006. He believes Pluto should currently be the ninth planet.

“It’s really a captivating world because it has five moons; that’s four more than we have (on Earth),” Manning explained.

“There was concern about (Pluto) not sweeping out the area around it of the loose debris — that is one of the things that defines planets today. It was found that if Earth was where Pluto is, it wouldn’t have successfully sweeped the area around it either, so does that mean we should can Earth as a planet?

“I wish people would reconsider putting it back as a planet, and grandfather it in,” he said.

Furthermore, he noted that “Planet Nine” is located in the Kuiper Belt, which was another case made dismissing Pluto as a planet.

“The irony of the thing is that the guy who pushed originally for Pluto’s demotion as a planet,  (Caltech professor) Mike Brown, is also the same guy who is purporting the presence of “Planet Nine” which is way out in the Kuiper Belt,” Manning said. “For this very distant object…to be even provisional called “Planet Nine” puzzles me, because of the argument against Pluto.”

Manning said that it’s “way too soon” to determine whether or not the so-called “Planet Nine” should be deserving of planetary status.

“We’re always being surprised, we’re always finding differences, so that’s why we need to keep an open mind about what is and what is not a planet,” he said.

Manning, who presents workshops at libraries, schools, universities and conventions throughout the United States, became interested in astronomy as a youth, when he used a childhood friend’s telescope to see the craters on the moon and Saturn’s plane of rings.

“I love the universe, and I love exploring the universe,” said Manning, who lives in New York, but refers to Tampa as his second home.

“There’s so much more out there that we don’t know. …Four percent of the entire universe is what we really know. Ninety-six percent is yet unknown…comprised of dark matter and dark energy.”

Despite the vast majority of the universe being unknown, Manning believes that may change over the next few decades, due to recent technological advances.

“There’s detectors aboard the ISS (International Space Station) that are getting a lot of data about dark matter and dark energy,” Manning said. “There’s different probes that are acquiring data, but it’s still a little nebulous.”

Published January 27, 2016 

Library is all-in for robotics

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Edgar is a show-off.

He flips a large exercise ball into the air with a thumping, quick-action lever.

But the roving robot – a compact collection of digitized metal, plastic and wires – would be nothing without his human creators – the Edgar Allan Ohms Robotics Team.

The little guy- all 15 pounds or so – couldn’t even whir and zip across the floor without a human programming a computer and toggling a joystick.

Edgar the robot rests quietly after demonstrating his throwing skills to Regan Kubus, left, Lego club mother Audrey Pease, Bryce Kubus, Felix Nguyen, Maaz Khan, Danny Urbonas, Dylan Pease, Corey Drexler and library administrator Sean McGarvey. (Kathy Steele/Staff Photo)
Edgar the robot rests quietly after demonstrating his throwing skills to Regan Kubus, left, Lego club mother Audrey Pease, Bryce Kubus, Felix Nguyen, Maaz Khan, Danny Urbonas, Dylan Pease, Corey Drexler and library administrator Sean McGarvey.
(Kathy Steele/Staff Photo)

The human operators are impressed at what robots can do at their commands.

“They can do whatever you want them to,” said 15-year-old Logan Boudreau. “The way each component works with other components to complete a task is fascinating.”

Boudreau is among about 25 members of Edgar Allan Ohms, a nearly two-year-old robotics team that is sponsored by the Land O’ Lakes Branch Library.

The library’s sponsorship is unique and possibly the only one of its kind in the nation, the robotics team’s website says. So far no one has found a similar team at any state or regional competitions where most teams are based at area middle and high schools.

Library officials are taking another step forward in their commitment to robotics by creating FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Lego League teams for youngsters who could be the next generation of engineers for the robotics team.

With help from NASA grants, the goal is to have seven teams that can compete in FIRST Lego League competitions.

Grants from NASA and the county, each for $5,000, helped seed the Edgar Allan Ohms team in 2014. Business sponsorships and about $3,000 from fundraising also paid initial costs.

“The one thing you know is there are a lot of very nice people in the community,” said Joel Croteau, an AmeriCorps VISTA volunteer and lead mentor for the robotics team.

Library officials kicked off the Lego efforts last month at area libraries.

“We’re trying to get a feel for how we can get this to work for us and for them,” said Alicia Haney, youth services librarian at the Land O’ Lakes branch. “We want kids to have an opportunity to get interested.”

The Danish-invented brand – Lego – is a titan among children’s games, almost a rite of passage for youngsters who love piecing together its interlocking building blocks.

Their creations can be as basic as a house or as complex as a movie-themed action figure.

Lego’s “Mindstorms” game takes imagination to the next level with creations that are programmable and mobile.

Haney said children learn the importance of precision, math and step-by-step logic.

“It’s the first step before you get to the robotics team,” she said. “It’s an eye-opening thing. They find out: This is how my game works. We’re also trying to keep it fun,” Haney said.

Lego fun piqued the interest of many on the robotics team. Miller Bacon, 15, and Boudreau remember Lego games from seventh grade.

“We’ve all had an interest in robots somewhat since we were little,” Bacon said.

Phoebe Mitchell, 15, didn’t have robotics on her radar when she went to a library-sponsored Rockus Maximus battle of the bands. But a robot got her attention. “I was allowed to drive it a couple of minutes,” she said. “I decided to try it. It’s fun.”

In 2014, the rookie team placed 43rd among 62 competitors at the FIRST Robotics Competition Orlando Regional. The theme was “Aerial Assist.” The Pasco County Commission honored the team with a resolution.

FIRST was founded by Dean Kamen, the inventor of the Segway.

The Edgar Allan Ohms team built a second, larger robot, dubbed 2chainz, for the 2015 competition with the theme of “Recycle Rush.”

Team robots picked up and stacked recyclable containers and totes to earn points for accomplished tasks. The Land O’ Lakes team landed in 45th spot against 66 regional and international competitors including teams from Florida, Georgia, Germany and Turkey.

“That was a good showing for a second-year team in a very competitive event,” said Croteau.

Team members attend Land O’ Lakes, Sunlake and Wiregrass Ranch high schools. Some members are home-schooled.

In April, the Land O’ Lakes library set up the county’s first “makerspace” in a former computer lab, providing 3-D printers, an auto-CAD (computer-assisted design) computer and 3-D virtual reality gaming glasses.

The robotics team is in keeping with the goal of encouraging technology and creative arts.

With the regional FIRST challenges under its belt, the team isn’t idle. After school, they tinker with Edgar and 2chainz to make them better.

Other competitions, including clashes between “battle bots,” are on the horizon. These robots are smaller, speedier and designed to flip and disable competitors.

“The thing about battle bots is to build the most destructive robot within the guidelines,” said Boudreau. “That’s the hope. The more destructive the better.”

On a recent afternoon the robotics team and the Land O’ Lakes Lego club shared space to work on their own projects.

Edgar got a brief work out, tossing the giant ball.

Lego club members took turns programming a “Mindstorms” Lego robot they had built from scratch.

“The program is real simple and easy,” said Sean McGarvey, library administrator. “If you have any experience on a computer, you can start right away. You can get really intricate.”

Dylan Pease, 11, sat at the computer tapping in instructions for the robot that would be “a little, little more complicated.”

His brother Matthew Pease is on the robotics team, and that is Dylan’s goal when he gets to the ninth grade.

Their mother Audrey Pease supports her sons’ passion for robotics.

“I hope they learn a bit about program management, time management, team work and gain leadership skills,” she said. “I watch and support, but I don’t mess with it.”

The focus was on getting the Lego robot to either pick up and stack an object, or roam across a game board in search of a brown dot.

“It’s kind of complicated, and I like it,” said 10-year-old Regan Kubus who is home-schooled with her 11-year-old brother Bryce Kubus. “Sometimes you get to build them, and that’s really cool.”

Bryce Kubus busied himself drawing a banner for the team and waiting a turn at driving the robot. “I like putting it together,” he said.

Team member Corey Drexler, 11, said he really liked programming the robots. “Basically it’s controlling the robot, like mind control.”

McGarvey said robotics is one more way libraries are expanding their knowledge base and keeping children interested in learning.

The library helps kids develop talents they didn’t know they had, McGarvey said.

“It’s a very good program. Kids learn a lot,” he said.

Published May 6, 2015