So you want to be an urban ag star?
Are you interested in ‘bumping up’ your capacity to grow food as an urban Aggie? Are you feeling challenged by Florida’s ‘soils’, weather and lack of space? Well, there is a workshop for you! Yes,… Read More
Category: Agriculture
“Resource Conservation” partner applications open
Landowners interested in conserving natural habitat for gopher tortoises, Florida panthers and other endangered species are invited to apply for technical and financial assistance. The Natural Resources Conservation Service project aims to restore, maintain or… Read More
Veggies made in the shade
Shade for small scale Florida food producers (both backyard and market gardeners) can be both a blessing and a curse. For many situations, the optimum conditions most vegetables prefer — eight to 10 hours of full sun — just… Read More
Community orchards: A fun way to learn about backyard fruit trees
What is a community orchard? It is simply an orchard that is not being managed for private profi t and is cared for by some community of people. The community orchard movement seems to have… Read More
Your local food system wants you to grow
Today more and more consumers are looking for local, fresh, nutritious and organic foods to buy for their home cooking, eating at restaurants and at their school lunches. A 2014 UF/IFAS study reported over 20% of… Read More
Backyard Honey Beekeeping 101
Join the movement to protect pollinators to ensure healthy ecosystems and food security. Yes, become a backyard honey beekeeping! But first learn the basics from the experts and the requirements necessary to successfully do it in… Read More
Real Foods For Real People
Access to fresh, nutritious foods and local foodsheds is essential to society’s health, security, and prosperity. National initiatives such as the National Good Food Network of the Wallace Center are working to scale up the… Read More
Getting 4-Hers Ready for the Fair(s)
For Sarasota County 4-H members, this is a particularly exciting, bustling time of year, with the Florida State Fair opening February 4 and the Sarasota Agricultural Fair soon after, starting March 18. Now is the… Read More
Little beetle battles big problem
Call it a beetle to battle the bulbil. The tiny air potato beetle (Lilioceris cheni) might be the key to stemming the invasion of a “noxious weed” – the air potato plant – that can… Read More
Sarasota County joins Million Pollinator Garden Challenge, and so can you
Be a part of the Million Pollinator Garden Challenge and help save bees, butterflies, birds, bats and other pollinators responsible for one out of three bites of food we take. Pollinator populations have plummeted in… Read More