Is it true that you can eat purslane? I keep ripping it out of cracks and crannies and throwing it away.

Don’t pull it and throw it. Eat it. Purslane, Portulaca oleracea, is packed with all kinds of nutrients. Think about making it a star at your dinner table. Those fleshy little stems not only make a great addition to your salad, they are filled with omega 3 fatty acid and antioxidants, and are rich in potassium, magnesium and calcium. Pop some of those fleshy stems and leaves in your salad or decorate a dish with its beautiful blossoms. Purslane tastes a bit like watercress, and it is pretty much free. Just look around. This hardy plant/weed grows in cracks and crevices in every state except Alaska and has been around since the Roman Empire. It is really considered a weed, but persists in the most difficult growing conditions, like the deserts of the Middle East and Asia. For more on the benefits of this charming weed go to: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3934766/. There are several different kinds of purslane, many marketed for their decorative flowers, and valued so much that French seed companies feature them in their seed catalogs. Like your homemade bread nutty? Pop in some purslane seeds and get healthy. https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/mv118.

I have a strange plant in my yard that I did not plant. After a storm I noticed a tiny plant and now it is a lovely shrub of some kind. What is it and how do things like that happen?

After a large storm or hurricane many plants quite literally get tossed around and find new homes. There are a number of plant travelers that are designed to be carried on a breeze, others have deeper roots. A crepe Myrtle comes down on a fence and the seeds from the tree take root and grow in the neighbor’s yard.

Hurricane winds can carry seeds far away from the parent plant. When they are dropped, if they find water and soil, they can grow at this new home. Some seeds get washed downstream and land far from where they grew a month earlier. And there is always the magic of animal dispersal. A crow picks up some seeds from a backyard, sails off to meet up with a few friends, makes a bathroom break and — voila! — I have a Florida native Stokes aster in my backyard.

One of the biggest influence to plant movement is climate change. According to a study by National Geographic, “A tally of more than 4,000 species from around the world shows that roughly half are on the move.” It seems that some mountain plants, such as hemlock, are chasing warmer temperatures and more water to once dry valleys. For more information on our rapidly changing environment go to: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2017/04/climate-change-species-migration-disease/.

How much water does my St. Augustine grass really need?

Many people think their lawns need more water than they really do. In this time when water conservation has become important, it is worth considering how much water your lawn needs and how to tell if you are giving it just enough or too much. Whether you have an irrigation system, or you use a sprinkler on a hose, it is simple to determine how much water you are using.

Take several short cans such as used for tuna or chicken and put them around the perimeter of the area you are irrigating. Check your clock. When the cans have ½ to ¾ of an inch of water in them, you have watered enough. That is all the water your St. Augustine turf needs in one watering. Check your clock again. That is how much time one watering will take. How many times each week you water depends on the weather. If it will rain, then do not water. If it will not, then water once a week. For more information, see https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/lh025.

University of Florida guidelines for watering lawns are on an “as needed” basis. How do you know when your lawn needs water? Signs to look for are:

• Leaf blades are folded in half lengthwise in an attempt to conserve water.



Another important note for people who have irrigations systems is to reset the timer depending on the season. Leaving the setting the same throughout the year will result in wasted water (think dollar signs) and poor plant health.

One final water note: If you or your lawn care service happens to mow the grass too short, give that portion extra water for a few days to help it recover. Please try not to make your lawn suffer from scalping.
