Florida Hemp, Spiders Ambush Pest Insects

Spiders love flowers in our pollinator section of #hemp cultivation area. So many lying in wait to surprise unsuspecting bugs. Spiders are great #IPM team members! #arendellhillnursery #permaculture #spiders #bugs #integratedpestmanagement #floridahemp #cbd #850hemp https://t.co/YVDAUd1NMi

Florida Hemp, Catnip Companion for IPM & Entourage Effect

Catnip growing in w our #hemp for #Entourage effect & #IPM. #terpenes #floridahemp #arendellhillnursery #cbd #cbg #catnip #permaculture #freshfromflorida #fiber https://t.co/FFtC0tKAXW

Florida Hemp BMPs, Black Soldier Flies

Happy to see Black Soldier Flies! Hermetia illucens, #stratiomyidae These insects work the soil as larvae as good as earthworms do & help decompose organic matter, making our soils even more productive. They make great chicken feed too!  #freshfromflorida #floridahemp #ipm https://t.co/VYa3mSl5wX

Florida Hemp and Spittle Bugs, How Bird Feeders Help IPM

Florida Hemp & Spittle Bug Damage

We love bugs but manage Two-lined Spittle bugs, Prosapia bicincta, as they can devastate #hemp plants by injecting toxins into leaves & stems, producing white spittle looking bubbles across leaves, turning plants brown, eventually killing them. We use Neem oil spray & sticky cards at first sign of spittle bugs. Bird feeders in cultivation area are an excellent #IPM approach as birds usually eat Spittle bugs.

Assassin & minute pirate bugs &spiders devour SB nymphs too, so plant beneficial insect friendly native plants for an optimum Integrated Pest Management approach.

#FloridaHemp #850hemp #freshfromflorida #CBD #CBG #fiber #arendellhillnursery #bugs

Florida Hemp, Attracting Pollinators

We spread FDOT type wildflower seeds along roadside here last fall. Despite drought they are blooming beautifully. The yellow Coreopsis is a Florida native species (and the state wildflower). Phlox (Phlox drummondii) are naturalized here. Wildflowers attract pollinators, increase biodiversity and add to our hemp's entourage effect. This wildflower mix is the same type FDOT used along highway rights of ways and is low maintenance & drought tolerant.  #pollinator #arendellhillnursery #tallahassee #fdotwildflowers #wildflowers https://t.co/GdsdysHetk

Florida Hemp, Seedlings Planted with Zucchini & Squash

This weekend planted zucchini, yellow squash & #fdacs approved pilot xHepius #hemp seedlings #floridahemp #850hemp #organic #permaculture #arendellhillnursery #cbd #cbg #freshfromflorida https://t.co/pgLu4Fouij

Florida Hemp, Pilot Seedlings Ready for Transplanting

#hemp seedlings, pilot varieties just over 30 days since planting (a couple sages too). Will transplant to field soon. #freshfromflorida #floridahemp #850hemp #cbd #fiber #arendellhillnursery #famu #ipm #organic #permaculture https://t.co/E2lChbvy0y

Florida Hemp, Leaf-footed Bugs & IPM

Giant leaf-footed bug, Acanthocephala terminalis, a plant eater (loves devouring #hemp plants in our garden) A few are good for biodiversity but too many & yikes. Sunflowers are a great lure plant for distracting these bugs. #floridahemp #organic #pests #bugs #ipm https://t.co/ka2rgX6NiJ

Florida Hemp, Genetic Diversity in Seed Supply

Genetic diversity is so interesting. #Hemp seedlings can be short, tall, skinny, fat, darker colored, pale and exhibit so much more variation- all from the same seed source. #FAMU pilot genetics, Early Abacus planted 3-22-22. #Floridahemp #cbd #850hemp #freshfromflorida #organic https://t.co/AAaxhhew3z

Florida Hemp, Assassin Bugs IPM Team Members

Good luck!!! Assassin Bug, Arilus sp., in the laundry room means there are plenty in the #hemp garden working on Integrated Pest Management #IPM. #arendellhillnursery #bugs #floridahemp #850hemp #teamIPM #matrix #freshfromflorida https://t.co/AjcOCVgr68

Florida Hemp, Planting FAMU Early Abacus sprouts.

x Early Abacus #hemp seedlings ready to pot up into 4” pots. #FAMU pilot genetics. We are finding 4” starts produce high in-ground success rate. Direct field seeding can be iffy. #floridahemp #850hemp #cbd #freshfromflorida #organic #arendellhillnursery #permaculture https://t.co/5xPp4UVrE6

Florida Hemp, Spider Houses in the Grow Area, IPM at Work

Our solar spider houses. The banana spiders are back! At night, plant damaging moths fly to solar light where they become food for Phoneutria spp. #permaculture #permaculturedesign #organic #floridahemp #hemp #cbd #arendellhillnursery #ipm #850ipm #spiders https://t.co/QUawG024W3

xHepius Florida Hemp Genetics, IPM & UV Light

Florida Hemp pilot genetics x Hepius, 28 days, in 4” pot with chlorophyll fluorescing red under low wavelength UV light. I use different light spectrums to check growth efficiency & for presence of pests. Often times plant diseases or injuries will be readily visible under UV light, much more so than under normal daylight  #IPM #FloridaHemp #hemp #freshfromflorida #permaculture #organic https://t.co/CgA0

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Florida Hemp, Soil Temperature for Hemp Seed Germination

8:00pm EST 66.6F/19.2C air temp, but soil is absorbing radiant sunlight & is a perfect #hemp seed sprouting temperature of 75.6F/24.2C. Time to direct sow x Early Abacus, #FAMU pilot genetics #floridahemp #hemp #cbd #fiber #freshfromflorida #organic #permaculture https://t.co/PIp7pd83Vt

Florida Hemp, Ginko biloba & Entourage Effect

We have a mature Ginkgo biloba tree, one of the few non-native trees here. Ginkgo contributes unique qualities to our plot’s #entourage effect, not to mention amazing beauty. Ginkgo is a prehistoric species. #floridahemp #cbd #arendellhillnursery #organic #matrix #biodiversity https://t.co/f6RSAUcLW1

Florida Hemp, Morus rubra, Red Mulberry makes excellent fertilizer & provides so much fruit!

Our #nativeplants red mulberry is leafing out! Morus rubra important #IPM team member & fruit source. Composted & burned pruned mulberry limbs are a great fertilizer for our #hemp plants! #floridahemp #freshfromflorida #organic #permaculture #arendellhillnursery https://t.co/nLMVn7zvgw

Florida Hemp, Native Wildflowers & Integrated Pest Management, Asclepias Seedlings

The Asclepias x unknown seedlings are growing. Not sure what #native plants species of A. they are but will plant them out in #hemp cultivation area where they will become an #IPM team member #asclepias #floridahemp #freshfromflorida #permaculture #arendellhillnursery https://t.co/QfAvulZUq6

Florida Hemp, Bigleaf Magnolia an Important IPM Team Member

#nativeplants Bigleaf magnolia is planted throughout #arendellhillnursery & serves as important #IPM team member. With amazing, huge tender leaves caterpillars choose Magnolia macrophylla v. ashei for forage rather than food & #hemp plants. #teamipm #freshfromflorida #floridahemp https://t.co/U75yQsHeQ9

Florida Hemp, Direct Sow for High Germination Rates

Just like “a watched pot never boils, an eyed seed never sprouts”; how many times daily do I go check to see if direct sown #hemp seeds have sprouted? It seems like forever but we have higher germination rates from direct sown seed than from tray sprouted https://t.co/ppq8fcPKOL

DIY Worm Bins, Two Bins for Permaculture Efficiency

 Two red wiggler worm bins are much more useful to the urban permaculture operation than just one solitary bin.

Two Red Wiggler Worm Bins Increase Compost Production

Any number of worm bins, including just one, are better than no worm composting bins.  Worms can quickly turn kitchen scraps into black castings rich in nutrients, forming the basis for an inexpensive yet excellent organic fertilizer.

Here on the Pensacola Permaculture Urban Farm we used one worm bin for a year or so with good success.  The downside to one worm bin was the daily addition of fresh kitchen scraps.  Adding food scraps daily prevented the red wigglers from completely digesting the bin food and converting the waste to compost.

We tried segregating fresh food to one side but as we periodically turned the bin contents with the shovel, the fresh food would inevitably mix with the finished compost.

Now, with two worm bins we can allow one bin to fully compost once the worms are well on their way to digesting the scraps while using bin number two for fresh kitchen waste.  Rotating the two bins allows for efficient worm composting functioning.

Our red wiggler bins are approximately three feet by four and a half feet in length by one foot deep.

DIY Worm Bin base materials include screen, ground cloth, block & concrete

DIY Worm Bin sill ready for top construction

DIY Worm Bin top is constructed from reused lumber and roofing

We constructed our bins by clearing a level area of space and laying heavy duty poly screen and groundcloth on top of the ground.  A layer of concrete mortar was placed in the form of a rectangle and concrete blocks were then placed atop the mortar layer.  Additional concrete mortar was mixed with water and placed into and in between the concrete blocks.  The concrete mix was then allowed to harden.

Worm Bin lids are constructed with reclaimed aluminum roofing panels

Once the concrete cured a 2 x 4 sill was constructed and attached to the cured concrete with anchor screws.  Hinges were installed and a top built from scrap wood was topped with recycled aluminum roofing.

Worm castings mixed with perlite ready for potting up plant starts

The DIY worm bins are inexpensive to build and provide an efficient and sustainable way of recycling food scraps all the while producing organic worm casting fertilizer.

Every Urban Farm needs two worm bins!