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. Central Florida Farms
In this page of facts and opinions I hope to educate the general public just a little about the growing need for an urban forest and how to care for it more efficiently. There is a song written by the late great Ronnie Van Zant titled "All I Can Do is Write About it". Although it was never made popular on the radio, many fans of Lynyrd Skynyrd know this song and love it as much or more than most of the radio hits. The lyrics can certainly be identified with by anyone who grew up in any rural area and watched it be transformed into a concrete jungle. Even though I spent my first 10-11 years on the beachside of Daytona Beach, there still were areas on the beachside and the mainland side that were untouched forests. A few acres left now but not much. Going, going, gone? I watched that area get built up quickly over the last 25+ years. New roads where there was once a quiet forest to hike or ride trail bikes in that gave way to new medical centers and even a few convenience stores. It is a little shocking when you first see it happening. Then you get used to the idea of it and can even appreciate at least the new road through that area as a convenience. Convenience is almost always a costly price, especially when you see where it is all leading. Last year we went to Ft. Lauderdale to the TPIE Plant Trade show. I was in awe of the 100% concrete curbed, built city where any trees that are left are growing in the medians in a small box. It wasn't a good awe I was in, rather a disquieted one. There were no natural vacant lots (that we could find), and I'm sure that any parks that exist are the result of either some environmentalist's struggle to keep a small area natural with all the construction going on (most likely a local native) or a concerned city official with plans for a man made park. Either way, that would be the only natural areas we could see as we stayed for the week. I'm not counting the asphalt freeway/highway roadside areas that were left because there isn't anything else to do with that land besides string power lines along it. Even some of those areas are built up and had a concrete cap over the once bare wooded, topsoil rich layer. Ok, Please don't pin me down as a sold out, 100% tree hugger. I actually subscribe to the belief that Human Beings have dominion over the earth and the creatures that live in it. When it comes down to it, we have rights over the trees and wildlife as we see fit, but that right comes with a massive responsibility. We do have dominion over the earth and are the ones who decide what happens with what we have to play with and have been given. No matter if you are a creation believer or an evolutionist believer, we are at the top of the food chain and it is our responsibility to see that the earth be taken care of with diligence and the best of care. AND since it is a safe thing to say that we do need trees to survive, there must be some sort of compromise. Trees can exist without people, but could people exist without trees? Without trees, our earth's soil would become a thick, baked surface, unusable, being void of natural nutrients and needing a jackhammer to till it. I don't even think it would be worth tilling. I know that without trees, the heat index of an area soars and makes it extremely difficult to start new trees. They can be scorched no matter how they are watered. If you went as far as to add shade cloth over the new trees, that would greatly help out to establish new plantings in areas where the heat index is high. It will still take more water as it is consumed by drier air and a dry soil. While working in the Urban Forestry department for a rapidly growing municipality that was number 1 for the United States for about 2 years straight until the housing market crashed, I learned plenty about what happens and how rapidly an area can go from acres of ancient forests (some were even planted to never be harvested Pine Forests), to a parking lot, residential home or town center. I also learned the process and the supposed regulations for saving portions of the environment if possible via hands on training and taking a few courses in Storm Water Management. I have witnessed many home owners and home unit renters take down awesome, very old stable oak trees in the name of hurricane protection and being afraid. If they only knew a small amount of what I have learned over the last few years of my life, they would at least re-consider, I would hope. Many residents personally told me that their insurance company would not even issue a policy if there was any tree within striking distance of their home. I am not sure if this was just an excuse to rid themselves of the fear or if these were true statements. I do know of one person who removed his trees and still was turned down by the insurance company. Yes, a tree can cause damage, but when properly cared for, maintained and/or trimmed correctly, they can also add the needed filtration, beauty and small animal life to the urban environment and be safe at the same time to one's home/property. The University of Florida along with the ISA (International Society of Arboriculture) did a study and found that the more trees on an improved property, the more likely that property is to sell in a stable market and for a much higher value than those with little or no trees in the landscape. They call this the "29 Tree Rule". With that in mind and the fact that no one can predict the future of any oncoming destructive storms such as tornados, common high windy days or hurricanes, we need trees to survive on planet earth. And I am not talking about nursery size Florida #1 (basically a stick with a few leaves for the next 15+ years) baby trees that add little to our environment at this age. Some trees grow faster than others while some take a very long time to reach a mature stature. How many kids in these modern times have the privilege to actually climb a tree or build a tree house? If you look around, there are not many left. Many have been cut down or killed from construction and fear or homeowners who are too lazy to rake the yard or clean up after a 'messy' tree. There are ways to successfully protect trees throughout the building/construction process, but in my former line of work, I have seen very few and I mean less than 2% of home builders use that care without the code enforcement on their backs continually. The bottom line is money and when something gets in the way, it becomes a problem. Trees are usually the only thing that gets in the way of a new homesite. Many times a building company will just clear the lot to the desert, churning under the original layer of topsoil and build the house. Then they plant the required amount of baby trees. I can see their reason, and it is more difficult to work around a tree than to just remove it. But it is a costly convenience to the environment. If you think about it, the growing population is outweighing the number of trees. I do not know the exact ratio of mature tree per person to produce cleaner air (I will try and find out), but as it stands I am positive that at least in major cities, it's a wonder that we can even breathe the air we have. With fuel emissions, industrial emissions, human and wildlife exhalations, cigarette smoking & other air pollutants, we need filters to breathe and maintain our health. I say again, its no wonder that there are so many illnesses and air born/transmitted viruses and contagious diseases considering the amount of trees versus the number of people. Tree Benefits The benefits of trees usually go unknown, not thought about or just forgotten. They clean and filter the air we breathe of dust and silt sized particles, provide intake of carbon dioxide that every living creature that has lungs produces when exhaling. Trees also produce oxygen (from the carbon dioxide intake) that we need in order to live and breathe, act as a wind break, reduce soil erosion, retain soil moisture, add back organic nutrients to the soil below it, provide food for animals, and some of them for us too! Trees greatly reduce the earth's heat index, act as a filter for our drinkable water, and provide housing for small animals and birds. Aesthetically, trees are pleasant to look at, some have been used as actual landmarks and officially used in defining property boundaries. Most people get a sense of well-being while being surrounded by trees and the larger a tree is, the more shade it produces and the more beneficial it is to society. Ok, we have established a need for an urban forest. Now what? This is where you come in to do your part. You might think that things are being taken care of by other folks who are more into this than you might be, but reality is that people assume things that are not necessarily accurate. There are not very many residents thinking that when they remove a tree from their lawn because (the tree might be messy) that they are damaging their own and their neighbors health MORE so compared to second hand smoke. On the flip-side, absolutely, there are trees that do need to come down if they pose potential hazardous conditions, but that decision should be left up to a certified arborist or one that knows just as much about trees. Some who think a particular tree is a hazard, may be misjudging a hazard from a hassle or just uneducated about certain tree conditions. Ignorance is not be looked down on unless you decide to remain ignorant (IMO). For instance, if you see a tree that has a lean to it, you might consider it to be dangerous and ready to fall. When it could just be the result of years of phototropic growing as that tree fights to reach the sunlight it needs to grow and produce. This doesn't mean the tree is unstable or uprooting. It just means that it is leaning towards the light and the roots are most likely secure in the ground. It should however eventually try to correct itself and the trunk straighten more upright if other trees have been removed from around it or it has reached the light position it needs. It may not even be a hazard at all. I will go into more detail about hazard tree conditions as time permits because I know that this is a stress factor on many people's minds. Planting the correct tree for the correct area Trees should NOT be planted in the wrong areas. Before you ever purchase a tree, you need to consider the type of tree (will it grow in your climate), the mature size of it and where you will place it for its permanent home. A little too close to the power lines will result in over-trimming and poor pruning by the power company and ruining the look or stability of the tree or both. you've seen that. You might even be one of the victims of this sort of thing. It makes a tree unsightly (in my opinion) and actually if not done properly, could create a hazard in the future. Some power company crews only care about their paycheck and not the tree or your tree. A young tree should not be planted too close to your home's foundation although, it is RARE (if even possible) that the roots will even try to penetrate your home's foundation. the soil compaction, lack of water and aeration under a foundation, plus the depth of a home's footers should ward off root growth. ground settles and causes the foundation of a home to crack, not tree roots from a tree that is 12 or more feet away. The roots usually will hit the home's foundation wall and grow laterally along the side. Trees do grow in girth/caliper size and root flare and therefore large canopy shade trees should not be planted any closer than 8 feet from your home's roof edge if possible. A large canopy shade tree should not be planted within the same distance from your pool. Larger trees should not be planted within 4 feet of a sidewalk, air conditioning slab, shed, driveway or similar slab because of the lack of thickness of the layer of concrete. This will eventually cause cracking as the roots grow. You can plant them without fear of the root damage IF the roots of that tree are maintained and pruned or a root barrier is set up to protect the foundation of your sidewalk, driveway or patio, etc. A root barrier is simply a device placed in to deter the roots from going any further causing them to grow laterally along the side of the barrier. These can be useful for urban situations where you may not have a lot of ground space but want the luxury of a shade tree in years to come. The wildlife has to move out as we move in, (and I am not one to place animals or nature before human's quality of life) so don't get the wrong impression. I'm not trying to sound like a full fledged tree hugger, but I guess I've learned that about myself that I do lean towards that mentality just a bit. I just see something here that needs to be addressed and thought out before its all gone. The natural areas of Florida that is. We can't count on the everglades and other swamp lands to provide us with natural air cleaning trees and plants forever. There is no way. I mean, there are plenty of areas that were once pure standing water swamps and are now fully functioning, operating, fully built cities. They just fill those areas in with enough dirt to cover the water table and presto... instant foundation. Now, how stable that will be in the long run and what damage that does to our environment, I do not know. I'm sure someone has a clue to this. Probably the Storm Water Management personnel have clues to this mystery since they are regulated to engineer areas for water drainage on every private and commercial site in the State of Florida. When I think about it, I am wondering what will happen to the Florida or (insert your high growth rate area here) that I know and love? Already so much has been divided and conquered to make way for the multitude. Worldwide there are more people buying land in or moving to Florida on a record breaking daily basis. At least they were until this recent housing crash and still is has not completely stopped. A little too fast for me even if the economy was booming. Money isn't everything. Some of the areas that were once officially preserved for only forest regions are being sold by the government to private owners and to large corporations for the building of condos, even along the rivers. I remember growing up in this area and being able to drive from Ponce Inlet all the way down the beach (was about a 12 mile stretch), along the Atlantic Ocean water's edge past Ormond Beach before the sand got too soft for my 1966 Mustang. Since then, there are only a small few areas you can drive on the once "World's Most Famous Beach". Some of it is even blocked off to the general public by means of private homes or condos staggered with no Trespassing signs. Areas that are actually restricted or we are prohibited to even set foot on. So the path became segmented and some of it is gone forever. I really wish I would have taken some videos. Had I known it would turn out like that, I certainly would have. I should have anyway, but was young and of course when you're young, life is a LONG time and some (like me) are naive to the cold hard facts of a growing state or area. Ok, I got off the subject just a bit, that happens with me so if you're still with me, thank you. Why we need many trees and their Benefits to society Ultimately, we need our forests and the natural woodlands (what's left of them) and especially what ever trees we can save or replenish in the urban environment. That is a whole 'nother topic that I will attempt to tackle in the near future since it is an important concern. I hope in that writing to convince city dwellers of the extreme beneficiality of trees to override the fear that many people have about large (effective) trees near their homes. We all know that trees are beneficial and have been taught this from 1st grade how important trees are to our environment. They did at least when I went 30 something years ago, maybe they don't teach this anymore? Just to refresh your memory, without trees, we would all die or be forced to live in a gigantic bubble (don't really see how that will be possible). All tree's leaves filter our air by taking in the carbon dioxide we and other living creatures breathe out, ozone poisons and by collecting harmful dust and other pollutants. The more leaves on a tree and the larger the canopy, the more beneficial they are to us. This is for a healthy environment. We cannot forget the fact that some trees are here for food and nutrition as well as medical purposes. I know that most arborists don't count the edible trees in the same category as environmental trees but they are a benefit none the less. They shade us from the sun's harmful and direct hot rays during the summer months, thus drastically reducing the heat index of the area where large trees are standing. They provide shelter from the sun as one sits or stands in the shade of a tree and believe it or not can greatly reduce your electric bill by needing less use and wear and tear on your air conditioning unit. A deciduous tree sheds its leaves during the fall seasons and when growing on the south side of the home, allows for the helpful and warm sun rays to enter our homes during the winter months and truly reduces our electric bill for that reason. Any large canopy evergreen tree will protect the lower portion underneath it from colder weather, dew and frosts to help keep the plants beneath it more safe from cold damage. They can even create a microclimate and hold the heat from the earth inside this microclimate for even further protection from cold nights. This is mainly in more southern regions since the ground becomes colder sooner in zones higher than 8. Besides the benefit of a tree's root system holding our soils in place (reducing soil erosion), they also filter out soils from many toxicants before they are leached into our aquifers that we drink. They aid in keeping water holding capacity by keeping the moisture in place. Trees take the things that many people take for granted, (the invisible pollutants) and turn them into something good and useful, namely oxygen! One lady on the news the other night stated that our aquifers are said to be very low and she didn't see them lasting past the year 2023. How true this is, I have not researched yet. I did not get her name or affiliation. I apologize for that. As I have time to research this matter, I will try to add citations. The Need for Trees in the Urban Environment Having large canopy shade trees in the urban environment is especially important. They provide a safe haven for the smaller wild life that must go somewhere while cities are being built, provide us with cleaner air and reduce the heat index considerably. Yes, we need to focus on the importance of this matter and educate the public as much is possible. Believe it or not there is a little known fact called the '29 (Twenty Nine) tree rule'. I cant remember if it is the ISA or the University of Florida that did the study, but Norm Easey (of the Florida Chapter ISA) the fact that homes with up to 29 trees are more likely to sell at higher property values and more quickly when placed on the market. Now for some, especially those where the bottom line is money, this alone should be a good enough reason to place some trees in your landscape or better yet for building companies, to leave existing large trees where they are! I know it is a difficult process during construction. My brother in law is a super for a large custom home builder. I have talked to him about it and he tells me that the trees are just simply in the way of progress. What most people believe is this thought, "Well there are plenty of trees on someone else's land to make up for my removal of these trees". But this is thought by so many that there is a decrease in the amount of established trees in an urban environment. Without regulations to protect certain size trees, they are problems for many people. The complaints I hear from so many are that trees are messy, clog the rain gutter, pine needles in the screened pool area or patio, shedding leaves and acorns and cant forget the Liquidambar styraciflua or American Sweetgum, Redgum tree and its yearly dropping of quarter sized, spiked seed pods. No one wants to step on them with bare feet, but the solution is just to not be lazy and clean up. Its a small price to pay for all the benefits that come from trees. What I have seen in the last two year in a major growing city is the removal of very old and well established beneficial trees to be replaced with the standard Florida #1 / Florida Fancy. What that is basically is the best quality tree between 6-15' tall with a 2-8" caliper. Usually the larger trees above 4" in caliper size are much too expensive for the average home owner so many cities only regulate the minimum planting of a 2" caliper tree. That is not a fair trade to anyone. It does give the home owner a break on price but are deceived into believing that they are still helping the environment just as much. It goes back to what I said earlier about "the removal of my trees are not going to affect anything when there are so many on others' properties". But I reiterate that this is not the case. far too many think this and far too many beneficial trees are being removed daily. It takes a tree a good 15-25 years to be of any significant help to our environment and the studied stats on the lifespan of a tree in the urban areas is less than 12 years. The classic answer is, "we're going to replace them, with smaller ones". When I show a list of trees and their attributes of maturity, their reaction is clear that they want to have no part in placing a tree that will become as large as the one they are removing. This defeats the purpose and chances are, it will out live those middle aged folks anyway. Not picking on middle aged people here since I'm almost there myself. Did you know that in the bible, even God instructed one of the Kings to cut down every tree in a particular city as a form of punishment to the people of that city? That's saying a lot right there about trees. I was speaking with Certified Arborist; John Beaudet about this issue and he knows the fears as well as I do that many who live within the once natural Florida cities have about tall or large trees being near their home. He said, "Some people would probably live longer (stress free) if there were no tall or large trees near their house. Then again, who knows, one day we might actually need to buy oxygen to stay alive". He has a good point. In some Asian cities, they actually have little phone booth type things where people pay money to breathe oxygen. That's a sad situation. I hope it never comes to that in any part of America. We have both dealt with the public on the same issues and some people will not allow more educated people to teach them anything. They walk away with the knowledge, but retain the fear. I know of at least two families who personally told me that they actually lose sleep at night worrying about the pine trees that are over 60 feet away from their home falling onto their property. They see them bending and swaying in the ever normal summer, sometimes gusty days that have been standing year after year, yet they will lose sleep over the issue. Yes, sometimes the trees are abruptly uprooted and topple. Yes sometimes the trees die and then you KNOW that they will fall. Anytime a tree is green and healthy, not leaning and gives no signs of stress, damage etc, it is safe to say that no one can foretell the future. That tree or those trees might remain standing for 100 more years depending on species. They could also fall in the next 5 minutes if a tornado rips through and if that's the case, then I think the tree would be least of concerns. Palm trees are an entirely different subject and being a member of the grass family do not truly count nearly as much as hardwood and pine trees (pines being the most beneficial tree on the planet) as beneficial to our environment. Now, don't get me wrong, I am a full on palm enthusiast and believe there is room enough for all of God's creations. The landscape will certainly benefit from the understory and much loved tropical plants, ferns, vines and ground covers as well! They all aid us in some way or another whether it be aesthetically or for health, food or medicinal reasons. Please read the write-up about Pine Trees. We know that many consider pine trees a waste of a tree, flammable, tall, lighting rods, ugly, dangerous and un-useful, but they are actually the most beneficial tree on the planet for controlling air pollution and uses such as toilet paper, other papers, lumber and many other of life's needs. For some reason not too many people like them around their own home. If you click the link at the beginning of this paragraph, I hope to shed a little light through just a small amount of education about the benefits of Pine Trees.
Hardwood Trees and Woody Ornamentals
A New beginning, a new Central Florida Farms for 2008! Treat yourself to a bit of the Tropics!
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