Florida, salt air and pests

Debbie
Debbie Posts: 1
edited March 2018 in The Homestead: DIY
Think of it this way..often the salty air will dehydrate plants..causing them to be prime for pest infection. so a raised bed or bed that is dug down a foot or so and mixed with healthy organic compost..keeping the roots of the plant healthy and the soil healthy and of the right pH  is the easiest way to keep pests away or more accurately the health of the plant is directly tied to its ability to provide itself natural pest control (not unlike our own health and the ability to fight off disease in a healthy terrain vs a compromised terrain which allows the illness to set in.) .  just a thought..-Heather

Comments

  • griesjoe
    griesjoe Posts: 5
    edited March 2018
    As you and your neighbors (I assume) stated it  is the salt.  Also Heather has a point, only instead of saying  "<span style="display: inline !important; float: none; background-color: transparent; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87); font-family: BwGlennSansRegular; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 29.06px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">ability to provide itself natural pest control"  I would say ability to deal with the issues.   But undoubtedly, Salt is an issue.  You do have plants in the area so something grows.</span>

    The rolly pollys are caused by as heather put it.  Stressed plants.

     

    I would contact the Florida Extension Service for a list of salt tolerant plants to begin with.

    Here is a list of general plants:

    https://www.thespruce.com/salt-tolerant-plants-for-beach-landscaping-2132423

    Here is one on vegetables:

    <span style="display: inline !important; float: none; background-color: transparent; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87); font-family: BwGlennSansRegular; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 29.06px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> http://blogs.ifas.ufl.edu/pinellasco/2014/03/28/salt-tolerant-vegetable-gardening/</span&gt;

    Also, I know asparagus is salt tolerant.

    But here is what I really know, not a thing.  I have not had to deal with is issue.

    Again I would contact the Extension service.
  • princessalilock
    princessalilock Posts: 3
    edited March 2018
    I have lived in Florida for all but 9 months of my life :)  I live about 30 minutes or so from the Gulf of Mexico :)  I've actually had good luck with almost everything I've tried to grow.  For things like tomatoes, bell peppers, cucumbers, etc I would highly recommend that you start the seeds in doors or in a green house.  Once you have plants, then transplant them to a prepared area.  With tomatoes, you can actually make them grow more roots, stronger stems, and thus get more water by simply laying over the bottom of the stalk a bit and burying it.  A great fertilizer for tomatoes and roses is....BEER :)  I do not specifically buy beer for this purpose, but I do drain out any that is left over when my husband drinks some to flush his kidneys, but it wouldn't hurt to buy a cheap beer for this purpose.  When you prepare your soil, you need to figure out if you have sand, clay, or a mix.  Where I live now, I seem to have a mix.  When I remove dirt to plant something,  I put that dirt into a bucket and then mix it with equal parts of: garden soil and compost so I end up with about a 1/3 mix of each.  I use this soil for setting my plants, and any "left over" soil I use for potted plants.  Your next step is to go to your local place that sells fishing supplies, but you're not looking for tackle, get some Red Worms and or Wigglers.  Put some of these fellows (2-4) in your little holes with your plants if planting in the ground.  If you are doing a raised bed, then put several in each bed :)  Also, in some places we need mulch!  Now you can either purchase mulch, or make your own.  I tend to make my own a lot of times and I use...cardboard!  Shipping boxes, etc are a good source for this and I just sit down with some scissors and a plastic bag and chop it up into "mulch size" pieces.  I then mix this with some leaves and pine straw from my yard.  Eventually, I will likely have enough plants that I will need to purchase mulch, but for now I don't.  Familiarize yourself with how much water, etc some plants need.  Often, especially during summer, I have to water my plants a lot more often because things just dry out in our heat.  I do hope that some of this advice can help you.  You can also mix gypsum into your soil, as this is a natural method of dealing with salt that can end up in your soil from either compost or the soil itself...we all know that salt and plants are not a good combination!