K & M Farm

03/11/2025

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🌿 Herbs for Spring* 🌿 Florida
🌿Basil - annual, use leaves
Sweet, pungent, and slightly spicy flavor

🌿Chives - perennial use leaves
Onion-y taste, yet much milder than regular red or yellow onions

🌿Coriander - annual, use seeds
Intense bright citrus flavor with more developed undertones of fragrant pepperiness (Cilantro are just the leaves of the plant. Dried seeds hol )

🌿Dill - annual, use seedheads
Fresh, citrus-like taste, with a slightly grassy undertone

🌿Lavender - perennial, use leaves
Mild, peppery floral flavor

🌿Lemon Balm - perennial, use leaves
Bright, citrusy taste that brings together the acidity of lemon with subtle hints of mint

🌿Marjoram - perennial, use leaves
Milder flavor than oregano and tastes similar to thyme, piney-tasting but sweeter and with a stronger scent.

🌿Oregano - perennial, use leaves
Strong savory flavor with woodsy notes

🌿Parsley - biennial, use leaves
Mildly bitter, refreshing and grassy green taste

🌿Sage - perennial, use leaves
Earthy, slightly peppery taste with hints of mint and citrus.

🌿Tarragon - perennial, use leaves
Pungent, bittersweet flavor of tarragon that is often compared to licorice, anise, and fennel.

🌿Thyme - perennial, use leaves and flowers
Pungent and sweeter than rosemary which is savory and has a slightly bitter piney-taste.

Plant Life Cycle
Annuals complete their life cycle in one season.

Biennials take two seasons to complete their life cycle.

Perennials flower and produce seeds throughout their life cycle and live for longer than two seasons.

Herbs resources links
https://gardeningsolutions.ifas.ufl.edu/plants/plant-of-the-month/what-to-plant/herbs-for-spring.html

Growing Herbs at Home: Spring Herbs
https://sfyl.ifas.ufl.edu/lawn-and-garden/spring-herbs/

* Meteorologists recognize the start of spring as March 1. Spring officially arrives with the spring equinox on March 19 at 11:06 pm. Because of Earth's current tilt towards the sun, the days become longer and the nights become shorter.

03/05/2025

Started my day with a hot cup of coffee on the front porch and some peaceful birdwatching. 🌿📸 It’s amazing how nature has a way of slowing things down and reminding us to appreciate the little things. Here are some of my beautiful little feathered friends I Watched this morning! 🐦✨ A couple of them were watching (and posing) me photograph them. 🌞

**The Hawk was last week on a very rainy morning.

Marie Cetin Photography

03/04/2025

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The difference between native 🐝 , nonnative, nuisance, and 🚫invasive🚫 plants. It’s important to know the terminology before diving into how to deal with invasive plants.

For example, many gardeners consider wild grape vines to be a nuisance since they can take over your yard. However, grape vines are not invasive since they are native to Florida.

Learn more about these terms on UF/IFAS Gardening Solutions: https://gardeningsolutions.ifas.ufl.edu/care/weeds-and-invasive-plants/invasives-awareness.html

Native 🐝
A species that occurs naturally in a specified geographic area

Nonnative
A species that does not occur naturally in a specified geographic area

Nuisance
An individual or group of individuals of a species that causes management issues or property damage, presents a threat to public safety, or is an annoyance. Can apply to both native and nonnative species.

🚫Invasive 🚫
A species that (1) is nonnative to a specified geographic area, (2) was introduced by humans (intentionally or unintentionally), and (3) does or can cause environmental or economic harm or harm to humans.

03/04/2025

There is an increasingly popular movement with gardeners in the United States called “No Mow May.” This is when homeowners don’t mow their yard during the month of May to support biodiversity and promote wildflowers for pollinators.

In Florida, if we waited until May to do this, we would need a machete and a bush hog to get through our yards. So UF/IFAS Extension agents in North Florida have been promoting the concept of "No Mow March" to be compatible with the timing of growing season here in the sunshine state.

Like any environmental practice, No Mow March has pros and cons, all of which are essential to consider, depending on the goals for your yard.

The Top Four "pros" of No Mow March
Three of the "cons" of No Mow March
Need help with a Homeowners Association?
and other resources at Wendy's Wanderings https://web.archive.org/web/20240530001839/https://gardeningsolutions.ifas.ufl.edu/mastergardener/newsletter/2024/more/wendy-march.html