Site Contents

About Three Rivers:

- Get to know your candidates for
Columbia County Sherif
f
- Meet Wayne Keen - candidate for
Columbia County Sheriff
- TREPO Board Meeting
-Healthy trees enhance the value of a
home.


About Ft. White & County:

- Tiger Spotted at several local
springs.
- Angel Food Ministries New
On-Line Ordering.
- More from Save Our Santa Fe
- Visit from Sen. Bill Nelson


About The Ichetucknee


- Otter Springs
- Springs in Distress
- Big Part of Ichetucknee River
Free of Invasive Species

About The Busy Bees:

- The Busy Bees do Rainbow
Springs
-In the Beginning, Suzanne
Johnson
- A Poem from Amanda Cartwright

Public Forum:

-
Message from a Three Rivers
resident.
- Information for Columbia
County Voters regarding Sheriff
Candidate Mark Hunter
- Message from a Lawyer
- Posting from Disgruntled
constituent

For Sale - I Want:

-
 Cars for Sale
- Welcome Country Rivers Realty, Inc.
-- Welcome - Vacation Rental on the
Santa Fe
- Accounting/Tax Services
Email Us
Purpose of the
Ichetucknee Views Website

This website is the brainchild of
several people residing in Three
Rivers Estates who want to give
voice to matters pertaining to our
community and our precious
responsibility -- the Ichetucknee
River.
Greg Munson's Happy Turtle
Family
Welcome to the Three Rivers' ICHETUCKNEE VIEWS
Three Rivers'
 
Creator:  Karen Faunce

Contributors:  Whomever wishes
to participate.   
ICHETUCKNEE VIEWS
North Florida gardens are in transition in August, a time
to plant herbs and butterfly flowers

By Don Goode
Lake City Journal

Sunday, August 03, 2008


A Gulf Fritillary butterfly enjoys Tithonia (Mexican Sunflower) as an
afternoon snack. For the summer garden, consider adding flowers
and larval host plants for our butterfly friends. (Don Goode photo)


Many herbs, such as this basil, grow well into the summer months.
For the best quality, harvest and use or dry your herbs before they
bloom. (Don Goode photo)
August is a transition month, signifying the ending of Summer and
the beginning of Fall for our area. August can be used as a
planning and preparation month to get ready for the Fall garden,
landscape planting and other cooler season activities.

Herbs If you don't already have a herb garden, consider planting
some basil, oregano, chives and other heat tolerant herbs. A
location with a little shade in the afternoon will benefit your herb
garden. Consider harvesting the tender leaves and dry them for
later use. Remove the leaves from the cut stems and spread the
leaves on a paper towel to dry indoors or in the garage. When they
feel crispy, place them in an airtight container for storage. Some
herbs will begin blooming and going to seed this time of year. Their
quality decreases at this blooming stage so you might want to plant
some fresh plants at this point.

For the Wildlife Butterflies are very active now and are looking for
nectar plants. If you want to attract local butterflies, provide them
with plants such as zinnias, Tithonia (Mexican Sunflower), and the
native coral honeysuckle. Japanese honeysuckle and bottlebrush
plants also attract humming birds. Provide water and set out a plate
of old fruit for these small visitors. Plant larval host plants such as
parsley, passion vines, milkweed and the native pawpaw will ensure
a local population of butterflies through the summer.

Lawn Care August is the latest time recommended in the Florida
Lawn Handbook for applying a complete fertilizer to centipede
grass. If you fertilize centipede later than August, it may not harden
off completely and will tend to be more cold-sensitive when frosts
come. Saint Augustine grass, bahiagrass and bermudagrass lawns
can be fertilized into September. Avoid over fertilizing your lawn by
using a slow-release fertilizer at the rate (or less) directed on the
fertilizer bag. Many lawn problems (insects and diseases) are
associated with too much nitrogen fertilizer and excess moisture
(from rain or irrigation). If you fertilized your lawn in the spring but
now need to improve the color of the lawn grass, consider using an
iron product such as an iron chelate spray or a granular product
such as Ironite to help green up the grass without stimulating tender
growth.

Flower Beds and Shrubs Watch for white fly, lacewing bugs and
scale insects on your shrubbery and trees. They can cause
discoloration of the leaves such as bronzing or a black sooty mold.
A mild insecticide or soapy water spray should take care of these
pests. If you see ladybugs present, let them do their job and do not
use any sprays.

Vegetable Garden In August you can plant heat-tolerant crops such
as southern peas and start cool season plants for the Fall garden in
seed flats. If you still have living tomato plants, you can start more
plants for the Fall by making cuttings. Cut off several inches of new
growth from healthy branches and stick them in pots with compost
or potting soil. Keep the cuttings moist and in the shade until they
start to grow. After they have a few inches of new growth, they can
be transplanted to the garden for a Fall crop. If you cover the plants
when there is a threat of frost, you may be picking tomatoes for
Thanksgiving. Some gardeners grow tomatoes in five gallon
buckets so they can be brought indoors for frost protection.

Fruit Trees Fertilize your citrus in August and again in September
with a fertilizer labeled for citrus to ensure they receive the needed
micronutrients. Citrus should be watched for spider mites and other
pests. Horticultural oil or a mild insecticide will help with these
problems. Watch your citrus leaves for leaf miners - a small
burrowing larvae that make tunnels in the leaves. Spray with
Orthene if you see the miner's tunnels or pull the leaves and
dispose of them if you only see a few miners. You may see partially
eaten leaves and what appears to be a pile of bird droppings on
your citrus tree. If you touch the droppings and they move, you
have the citrus dog caterpillar which will mature into the giant
swallowtail butterfly. If they are defoliating your tree you can spray
with Dipel or some other insecticide containing Bt. This product will
only kill caterpillar larvae. If you only have a few caterpillars,
consider leaving them to become these beautiful butterflies. Other
fruiting trees or bushes can be fertilized in August or early
September but let them harden off for the Winter after that.

Personal Protection Usually there is more than one option when
treating a problem in the landscape. Sometimes you need a strong
herbicide while other situations may be fine with a few layers of
newspaper covered with mulch. Insect problems may require strong
routine sprays while other pests could be controlled with oil or soap
sprays. Diseases may require fungicides or it may suffice to turn the
watering system to a less frequent setting or add mulch to keep the
leaves clean and less likely to rot. Anytime you can make a choice
to use less toxic measures is one more point in favor of a safer
garden for your family and the living things around you.
Spring is upon us -- With the
beauty comes the sneezing.
ANNOUNCEMENT

NEW CHAPTER OF TOPS
(TAKE OFF POUNDS SENSIBLY)
FORMED IN BRANFORD

   A new chapter of TOPS has formed in Branford.  The chapter
will begin their first meeting on September 8.  The chapter will
meet each Monday at 4:30 at Diva's, 408 SW Highway 27 in
Branford (between Hardee's and Sub City).  You do NOT have to
be a member of Diva's to participate.  Dues are $24.00 per year.  
More information is available from Vickie Myers at 935-4135 or
their website at
www.tops.org.  The area coordinator, Chuckie
Nerrill can be reached at (904) 264-0728.

   TOPS, a nonprofit organization providing legendary
weight-loss support since 1948, has over 200,000 members
worldwide.  They meet weekly in local chapters, giving each other
moral support and encouragement as they use good nutrition
and exercise to take off and keep off pounds sensibly.  
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