Category: Home Landscapes

herbs in a community garden plot, mostly rosemary and curly leaf parsley with a sign that says all things grow with love

A scent-sational invitation to you!


November 14, 2025

Join me for an herb-alicious good time at your local Sarasota County library. Our “Breaking the Rules – herb trio” One Seed classes are scheduled November 2025 through January 2026. These classes are a bit social so whether you are a novice ... READ MORE

Category: Fruits & Vegetables, Health & Nutrition, Home Landscapes, Horticulture, UF/IFAS Extension, Work & Life
Tags: Companion Planting, Container Gardening, Cooking With Kids, Edible Gardening, EdibleGardeningSeries, Event, Food, Garden, Growing Food In Florida, Healthy Eating, Herbs, Horticulture, Kids Gardening, Memory, Nutrition, Pgm_Gardens, Recipe, Tiny.cc/ufsaraext_oneseed, Ways To Save
Image of several adults standing in a wooded setting, watching an instructor point to something in the distance

ex•plore: Your Adventure Guide to Sarasota County


October 30, 2025

Are you looking to find more ways for you and your family to ex•plore all Sarasota County has to offer? From award-winning beaches to natural areas and trails, from mangrove tunnels to fishing holes, birding sites, gardens and more, Sarasota ... READ MORE

Category: 4-H & Youth, Events, Home Landscapes, Horticulture, Natural Resources, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Extension, Water, Work & Life
Tags: Events, Explore, Family, Family Friendly, Hiking, Outdoors, Pgm_Water
raised garden beds with food and flowers growing, a garden sign, a garden arch trellis with cattle paneling and a succulent garden at the other end.

ex•plore: Edible Gardening with Extension


October 30, 2025

Let’s Ex.plore what we’ve been up to! We’ve been busy at our UF/IFAS Sarasota County extension campus located in Twin Lakes Park off Clark Rd. We’ve added an edible garden demo area featuring different garden beds of varied heights ... READ MORE

Category: Events, Fruits & Vegetables, Health & Nutrition, Horticulture, UF/IFAS Extension, Work & Life
Tags: Edible Garden, Explore, Garden, Grow, Pgm_Gardens, Produce, Vegetable Gardening
photo of seeds featured in the one seed breaking the rules edition - cilantro, flat leaf parsley, and dill

Breaking the Rules! ‘One Seed’ at a Time


October 10, 2025

Breaking the Rules- why just one when you can have three? Herbs, that is! Okay- maybe we aren’t breaking a ‘rule’, but instead of just sharing one type of crop to grow - we are busting out a trio of herbs in our ‘One Seed’ packets ... READ MORE

Category: Fruits & Vegetables, Health & Nutrition, Home Landscapes, Horticulture, Work & Life
Tags: Edible Gardening, Food, Growing Food In Florida, Health, Herbs, Horticulture, Nutrition, One Seed, Pgm_Gardens, Pgm_HortRes, Seed Library
Insectary room at the Mosquito Management Services Facility, with the Sarasota County Extension "ex•plore" program icon overlaying the image

ex•plore: Sarasota County Mosquito Management Services Facility Tour

Avatar photo
September 29, 2025

For over 80 years, Sarasota County Mosquito Management Services (MMS) has managed the surveillance and reduction of mosquito populations here in Sarasota County. To share more about their process, MMS generously offered a public tour of their ... READ MORE

Category: Farm Management, Home Landscapes, Invasive Species, Natural Resources, Pests & Disease, Pests & Disease, UF/IFAS Extension, Water, Wildlife
Tags: County, Explore, Integrated Pest Management, IPM, Management, Mms, Mosquito, Pgm_Chemicals, Sarasota, Services, Tour
Crumb cleaner device on brown counter with blue wall in background (a crumb cleaner is a mini vacuum that cleans surfaces like counters)

Don’t Be Crummy: Prevent Pest Infestations (Get a FREE Crumb Cleaner!)


September 19, 2025

Ants afoot in your kitchen? Perhaps a cockroach or two crawling across your garage? Or...egad, a rat rifling around your pantry? Well, while these experiences may happen to the best of us on occasion, they are certainly less than welcome. The ... READ MORE

Category: Home Landscapes, Home Management, Invasive Species, Pests & Disease, UF/IFAS Extension, Wildlife
Tags: Clean, Home, House, Integrated Pest Management, IPM, Pests, Pgm_Chemicals

Pesticide Safety Awareness: Protecting Yourself and the Environment


September 5, 2025

Be safe and reduce your pesticide exposure. Whether you are a backyard gardener using pesticides or a professional pesticide applicator, precautions are necessary before and during the use of pesticides. The use of pesticides comes with significant ... READ MORE

Category: Agriculture, Crops, Home Landscapes, Horticulture
Tags: Awareness, Pest Control, Pesticide Awareness, Pesticides, Pgm_Admin, Safety, Weed Control
Forest Hecker with Jackfruit tree in Sarasota loaded with 25lb fruit!

Suncoast Grown and Gathered: July’s Heavyweight Jackfruit!


August 14, 2025

At UF/IFAS Extension Sarasota County, we've been cultivating a "Food Forest" to showcase the most productive, unique, and often-underutilized fruits suited to our distinctive, Southwest Florida climate. Through this project, we aim to inspire ... READ MORE

Category: Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Fruits & Vegetables, Home Landscapes, Work & Life
Tags: Ag, Agriculture, FFL, Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Food, Garden, Horticulture, Landscape, Landscaping, Pgm_Gardens, Pgm_HortRes, Suncoast Grown And Gathered, SuncoastGrownAndGathered
Bee hive comb with baby bees.

Suncoast Grown and Gathered: Beekeeping for Sweet Summer Honey!

Forest Hecker, Florida-Friendly Landscaping™ Community Educator for Sarasota County's UF/IFAS Extension and Sustainability Department.
August 14, 2025

One of the most rewarding ways to get Suncoast Grown & Gathered honey? Starting your own backyard beehive! Whether you’re interested in harvesting your own honey or boosting pollination for your foodscape, beekeeping in Florida can ... READ MORE

Category: Agriculture, Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Fruits & Vegetables, Home Landscapes
Tags: Agriculture, FFL, Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Food, Garden, Horticulture, Landscape, Landscaping, Pgm_Chemicals, Pgm_HortRes, Suncoast Grown And Gathered, SuncoastGrownAndGathered

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