Having problems with you lawn and garden? My Brevard Yard can help – Florida Today

My Brevard Yard(Photo: Submitted photo)

The end of winter is near, and the plants are still not actively growing. Therefore, this is a great time to learn how to care for your lawn, landscape or edible plants without harming the environment.

The health of the Indian River Lagoon is in bad shape, and improper fertilization and cultural practices can lead to nutrients leaching or being carried to the lagoon or the St. Johns Riverin stormwater runoff.

If you are new to Florida, having problems in your yard, or you would like to learn how to maintain your yard properly, a My Brevard Yard site visit could be just what you are looking for.

A trained UF/IFAS Extension Brevard County Master Gardener (or two) will come to your yard and help you with your lawn, ornamentalsand/or edibles, all for just $50.Prior to the site visit, a survey will need to be filled out to give us an idea of past fertilization and irrigation practices.

In addition to help with fertilization and irrigation, many homeowners are interested in receiving information on how to grow edible plants, set their irrigation timer, plant identification andsuggestions for problem areas.MBY site visit recipients can also choose which printed UF/IFAS material on the topics of:Helpful, Harmful, Harmless (insect bug guide); Disorders and Diseases of Palms; Landscaping for Floridas Wildlife or Propagating Fruit Plants in Florida.

All site visits include a soil test, which we collect and mail to the IFAS Soil Testing Laboratory in Gainesville.

For homeowners who have a lawn care company fertilizing their lawn, the soil test results will help the company apply the correct nutrients and avoidany that are already at a high level.

For homeowners who fertilizer their own lawns, we can teach you how to add the biology (in the form of the soil food web) back to the soil so it can supply your lawn, landscape and edible plants with the nutrients they require.If nutrients are needed at the beginning, until the soil food web is established, an organic fertilizer choice is provided.

Testing the soil is extremely important before fertilizing, for many reasons.Applying phosphorus to a soil that already has enough phosphorus can lead to the excess phosphorus leaching through the soilinto our groundwater.When phosphorus (and nitrogen) reach the groundwater, they become pollutants.

Soil tests that come back showing a low phosphorus level are perfect for inoculating the lawn with beneficial mycorrhizae.Mycorrhizae establish a symbiotic relationship with many plants, including grasses, and high levels of phosphorus inhibit this relationship from forming.

Research at the University of Florida has found that the mycorrhizae Glomus intraradices forms a symbiotic relationship with St. Augustinegrass.After the soil test results are received, a fertilizer recommendation is created for the resident.

In addition to soil testing, we also test irrigation water that comes from a well, pondor surface water.We test for conductivity to determine the salt content.The results of the water test are emailed as quickly as possible, as the test is done here in our office.

An irrigation zone is also calibrated to see if enough water is being applied. The catch-can method is used to check the irrigation output to see if the run time needs to be adjusted.

After the soil and water are collected for testing and an irrigation zone is calibrated, it is the homeowners turn to get answers to all their questions. The questions can range from plant identification, solutions for problem areas, what is wrong with this plant, etc.

Questions about trees and palms are also common during a site visit.

Now is a great time for a site visit, because there is plenty of time to get the soil test results back and provide a fertilizer recommendation in time for fertilizing in April or May, before the fertilizer ban goes into effect.

When the correct fertilizer is appliedat the right time, in the proper amountand watered in correctly, the soil and plants benefit, without harming the environment.If a plant is receiving the correct light conditions and water supply, and it is suffering from insects or disease, then nutritional deficiencies will be the most likely root cause of the pest problem. This is true for non-native and native plants.

There are two important components of a healthy soil that are lacking in most landscapes: organic matter and the presence of beneficial soil microbes that make up the soil food web.

If all the soils within the watershed of the IRL contained at least 5 percent organic matter and were supporting a thriving soil food web, the IRL would be much better off.

Organic matter increases both the nutrient and water-holding capacity of the soil.This would result in the nitrogen and phosphorus staying in the soil and not leaching into the groundwater.

Plus, with increased nutrient-holding capacity, less fertilizer is needed.

One of the many benefits of a healthy soil food web isnutrient cycling. This is how forests and natural areas grow without any help from humans. Organic matter also absorbs rainfall like a sponge, keeping it out of the groundwater and available for the plants to use later.

As it is now, the IRL must contend with both stormwater runoff from all the impervious surfaces throughout the county and the large amounts of rainfall that flows straight through our sandy soils.

If you are interested in a My Brevard Yard site visit, email me at sasc@ufl.edu.

Gardening is a fun and rewarding hobby, especially when the plants are growing well. Let us help you learn the gardening practices that can achieve the results you want.It is possible to grow healthy plants without harming the environment.

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

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Having problems with you lawn and garden? My Brevard Yard can help - Florida Today