Photos: Classic Cars And Pinewood Speedsters
September 23, 2012
Highland Baptist Church in Molino held an Open Car Show and a Pinewood Derby Saturday.
For a photo gallery, click here.
Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Photos: Northview NJROTC, Cheerleaders, Band And Dance Team
September 23, 2012
For a photo gallery with the Northview NJROTC, cheerleaders, band and dance team from Friday night, click here.
For a game summary and action photos, click here.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Photos: Tate Homecoming, Showband Of The South
September 23, 2012
Friday night was homecoming at Tate High School.
For a submitted photo gallery of homecoming events and the Tate High Showband of the South, click here.
For game photos, click here.
Submitted photos by Kristi Smith for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Fall Gardening Tips
September 23, 2012
As fall approaches, now is the time to start preparing your landscape for the upcoming cooler weather, according to the Santa Rosa extension service.
Flowers
- Cut back, and remove old flower stalks from flowering annuals and re-fertilize in order to obtain one more color before cool weather.
- Prepare beds for the planting of cool season annuals next month. Some plants to establish for fall, winter and early spring include: pansy, petunia, snapdragon, larkspur, stocks, statice, bachelor button, calendula, cleome, alyssum, marigolds, verbena, dianthus and candytuft.
- Divide perennials such as Shasta daisy, canna, amaryllis, daylily, coneflower, violets, and ornamental grasses like mondo grass and liriope.
- Cut strong stems of roses to encourage new growth for final flush of the year.
- Find a local source, or order wildflower seeds for fall planting. Be certain to choose a mixture that is specifically for the south. Prepare the area, but wait until November to seed them.
Trees and Shrubs
- Last month to fertilize woody ornamental shrubs in the landscape.
- No pruning unless it’s absolutely necessary. This is probably the worst time of year to do major pruning of shrubs. Late summer/fall pruning can stimulate tender growth that might be damaged by low winter temperatures.
- Plant woody ornamentals, including trees, shrubs, vines and ground covers during the fall and early winter. They respond well to planting late in the year because our relatively mild winters allow for root growth. Fall planted shrubs, for example, are well on their way toward having their roots established before hot weather arrives next spring.
- Select crape myrtles while in bloom.
- Examine the small twigs on the outer canopy of hardwood trees for black twig borer damage. Remove and destroy infested twigs.
- Pine needles fall during September and October. Rake and use them in the vegetable and flower garden as well as in shrub beds. Pine needles make excellent mulch. Apply generously to obtain a depth of 2 to 3 inches on the soil surface after they have settled.
- Mature palms should receive an application of granular fertilizer. Use a special palm fertilizer that has an 8-2-12 +4Mg (magnesium) with micronutrients formulation. Apply one pound of fertilizer per 100 sqft of canopy area or landscape area.
Vegetable Garden
- Prepare the soil now, allowing about 3 weeks between the incorporation of amendments and planting. In September sow seeds of beets, broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, collards, endive, escarole, kale, kohlrabi, leek, lettuce, mustard, onions, parsley, radishes and turnips.
- Last planting of beans (bush, lima and pole), cucumbers and summer squash
- Clean out the spring/summer vegetable garden once plants have stopped producing. Remove any that are known to have been diseased or heavily insect infested during the previous season.
Lawns
- Check the lawn weekly and watch for lawn pests. Check for chinch bugs and sod webworms in St. Augustine, spittlebugs and sod webworms in centipedegrass and mole cricket damage in all grasses
- Last month to fertilize bahiagrass, bermudagrass, St. Augustinegrass and Zoysiagrass using a complete fertilizer applied at 1.0 lb nitrogen per 1000 square feet containing 50% soluble and 50% slow-release nitrogen.
Taking Stock In Our Children
September 20, 2012
Three Ernest Ward Middle School students are setting clear goals for their futures, and thanks to a scholarship program they know college will be a reality.
Jason Fischer, Kayla Galvan and Sabra Stewart are among 17 students across the county accepted into the Take Stock in Children scholarship program. After the seventh graders graduate high school, they will be awarded a four year tuition scholarship as long as they maintain good grades, have a record of good attendance, display good citizenship, and remain crime and drug free.
“It means I will actually get to go to college without worrying how to pay for it,” Stewart said. “I will work hard because I can’t lose it.”
Donations from community businesses, organizations, individuals and foundations are used to purchase scholarships using matching funds from the Florida Prepaid College Foundation. The program includes weekly meetings at school with a community mentor.
“I won’t have to worry about getting to go to college,” Galvan said. “I will work hard to make sure I get it.”
“It feels good to know out of high school college will be open for me,” Fischer said.
The newest Take Stock in Children scholars in Escambia County are:
- Dezmond Booker, Workman Middle School
- Daizja Brazille, Warrington Middle School
- De’Shawn Brundidge, Brown Barge Middle School
- Armelle DeLouis, Brown Barge Middle School
- Jason Fischer, Ernest Ward Middle School
- Kayla Galvan, Ernest Ward Middle School
- Latavia Grace, Bellview Middle School
- Andrew Huyhn, Pensacola High School
- Charles Johnson, Woodham Middle School
- Savon Johnson, Bailey Middle School
- Markita Sapp, Workman Middle School
- Devin Searcy, Ransom Middle School
- Sabra Stewart, Ernest Ward Middle School
- Joshua Van Fleet, Workman Middle School
- Brianna Walker, Bellview Middle School
- Zachary Wallworth, Ferry Pass Middle School
- Jammie Yeldon, Pine Forest High School
Pictured: Ernest Ward Middle School’s newest Take Stock in Children scholarship and mentoring program recipients Jason Fischer (top), Sabra Stewart (above, inset), and Kayla Galvan (below). NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Molino Church Holding Open Car Show, Pinewood Derby On Saturday
September 20, 2012
Highland Baptist Church in Molino will host an Open Car Show and a Pinewood Derby Saturday.
The car show will take place from 8 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. Admission is free. Registration fee is $25 with all registered vehicles receiving an entry trophy. There are 38 possible trophy awards in several categories. For more details, click here.
A Pinewood Derby race will be held at 9 a.m.
Highland Baptist Church is located at 6240 Highway 95A in Molino. For more information, call (850) 587-5174 or email info@hbcmolino.com.
Pictured: This drag racer owned by Alan Lowery will be part of a car show this Saturday at Highland Baptist Church. Submitted photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
At The Library: See Dancing Dogs And A Blue Kazoo
September 19, 2012
Children of all ages can see dancing dogs and a blue Kazoo at the Century Branch Library.
Dogs can be trained to sit, stay and roll over….but square dance? The Five Flags Dog Training Club will present a boot-slappin’ good time as they put their pups to the challenge Thursday afternoon at the Century Branch Library at 4 p.m.
On Saturday from 11 a.m. until noon, the Blue Wahoo’s mascot Kazoo will be at the Century Branch Library. September is National Library Card Sign-up month, and to celebrate the West Florida Library has teamed up with the Blue Wahoos. There will be lots of fun and frivolity for children of all ages.
The Century Branch Library is located at 7991 North Century Boulevard. For more information, call (850) 256-6217.
Northview To Host Mini-Majorette Clinic
September 17, 2012
The Northview High School majorettes will host a mini-majorette clinic.
Practices will be held September 29 and October 1, with the mini-majorettes performing during the pregame and halftime festivities during the November 5 Northview game at home against Jay.
For complete details and a registration form, click here.
NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Photos: Molino Back To School Splash
September 17, 2012
Aldersgate United Methodist Church in Molino held a “Back to School Splash” Sunday afternoon with water and other activities for children of all ages.
Pictured: A “Back to School Splash” event Sunday afternoon at Aldersgate UMC in Molino Sunday. Courtesy photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Have news from your church? Email news@northescambia.com with the details.
Weekend Gardening: Irresistible Hummingbird Plants
September 16, 2012
This time of year, it’s nice to be able to sit outside on the cooler afternoons and enjoy the antics of the hummingbirds.
For many people, attracting hummers is as easy as hanging a feeder. But, that is not always successful because many hummingbirds are not accustomed to using feeders. I know from experience how frustrating it can be to put out a feeder and never see a hummingbird.
Numerous people have found that planting a garden full of hummingbird-attracting plants, in addition to maintaining feeders, is a more reliable method for successfully attracting hummingbirds.
One plant that is sure to attract the hummingbirds and the “oohs and ahhs” of fellow gardeners is the pagoda plant. The flowers grow in pyramid shaped clusters which are tiered, like a Japanese pagoda, thus its common name. This sizeable floral display sitting atop large leaves makes this such a visually-striking plant.
The red-orange flowers are funnel shaped and tubular, making it irresistible to the hummingbirds. Each slender, tubular flower is about a half-inch long with five small lobes, these usually being slightly paler than the tube.
Butterflies are the main pollinators. As they extend their long, thin proboscides into the flower tubes pollen adheres to their bodies from the long protruding stamens. Flowers of cultivated plants are usually sterile and typically do not produce fruits.
The pagoda flower is one of about 150 species of Clerodendrum, a large genus which is native to Africa and Asia. Known botanically as Clerodendrum paniculatum, it was first described in 1767 by the ‘father’ of modern biological nomenclature – the Swedish botanist, Carl Linnaeus. The species epithet refers to the large ‘paniculate’ clusters of flowers (inflorescences).
The leaves of the pagoda plant are bright green, rounded to heart-like in shape and can get very large. The shrub has an open branching habit and can grow up to eight feet tall. Their ability to produce root suckers allows pagoda flowers to spread vegetatively and they can form clonal stands of several plants together. Although an aggressive plant, it is not as invasive as other species of Clerodendrum.
It grows best in partial sun to light shade and prefers a moist, but well-drained soil. It does well with minimal fertilizer and requires little care. Insects may occasionally chew on the foliage, but this plant really has no major insect or disease problems. Plants grow rapidly and send up shoots that might need removal during the growing season.
The one shortcoming of this plant is that it is tender and will die back with a freeze. While it has returned reliably over several years in Northwest Florida, some years it takes a very long time to reappear the following summer. Be sure to remove the freeze-damaged foliage, or cut back to the ground entirely, only after you see new shoots begin to appear in the spring. This is one plant that I would suggest that you remove some rooted underground shoots and pot up to overwinter in a protected location.
Be patient if you don’t see hummingbirds the first year. Remember, a hummingbird garden is an invitation to these delightful creatures, not a command performance. The longer you stick with it the more likely they are to show up.
Theresa Friday is the Environmental Horticulture Extension Agent for Santa Rosa County.