Pesticide Mangement - Soils & Fertilizers

Tim Hurner is the multi-county Citrus Agent for our area.  He is also an expert on pesticide management and soils.  Tim retired as the Highlands County Extension Agent in 1995, but has returned to assist  citrus growers with the Citrus Greening issue.  Tim grew up in Tampa helping his family manage a citrus grove.  He gave us a lot of information about pesticides, herbicides and fungicides, but the  most important was: READ THE LABEL.  Make sure you know what you are using, if it's the right product for your needs, how to apply it, safety precautions and the symptoms of accidental poisoning it might cause. Above all, keep all chemicals away from children.  Here is an excellent publication that Tim shared with us: 50 Ways to Treat Your Pesticide

Store your chemicals in a cool, well-ventilated cabinet with a lock if you have children.  When it's time to get rid of empty containers, wash them out with water and render them unusable by poking holes in them.  If you have many, call the recycling center and ask them what to do.  "Poison is a substance that when introduced into or absorbed by a living organism, causes death or injury."  Let's all make sure we kill only the pests.

Tim then introduced us to soils, their composition and how to amend them to make our plants grow better.  He said that there are only 12 soil orders in the world, and Florida has five.  Most of our gardens on the Ridge are in sandy Entisols.  Probably the most important soil question for gardeners is the PH of their soil. Most plants do best in the 5-7 range.  If the PH is too high or low, plants cannot take nutrients from the soil.  It's much easier to raise the PH of soil than to lower it.  Addition of one of the various formulations of garden lime will do it. Five lbs. of lime to each 100 sq. ft. will raise PH one unit. Most soils in Highlands County are in the 4.5 to 5.5 range.  Over-liming is usually not an issue unless your plants prefer acid soil.  If you are trying to lower the PH of your soil, a yearly application of elemental sulfur will help.  Increasing organic material is the best way, but takes time.

When selecting fertilizers, Tim again recommends a close inspection of the label.  If you want to make the soil more acid around your azaleas and camellias should you be adding fertilizer with a high lime content?  Using a balanced fertilizer is such as 10-10-10 is best.  Beware of too high nitrogen as it will promote a quick flush of growth and bloom, but not sustain plants over the long run.  Slow release fertilizers are really good for Florida gardens, but be sure to scratch them into the soil.  That way, when the summer torrential rains hit, they won't be washed away and can keep feeding your plants and not the algae bloom in the nearby lake.  Here is a good source for fertilizer questions: A Gardeners Guide to Fertilizers