Lettuce Share

Sarasota County Extension sent out their summer schedule of classes this morning:

summer-schedule

If you want on their mailing list, email pporchey@scgov.net.  My picks for this summer are Partnering with Pollinators, Creating Your Florida Yard and the Rain Barrel Workshop, which is also a freebie because you don’t have to buy a rain barrel.  It’s a demonstration on how to construct and use them.  If you want to make your own you can, or you can buy one from the county for $37 after class. 

I’ve been talking up the Venice farmers market lately, so I need to cover my bases and let everyone know that it’s not running tomorrow.  If you venture to downtown Venice in the morning, you’ll find the Venice Art Classic instead.  The festival is in its ninth year; expect a variety of paintings, sculptures, jewelry, and photography.  It runs Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and is free!   

It may still be a little chilly, but the sun will be shining all weekend.  Get out and enjoy it!  There’s been a long, loud statewide groan over this cold weather lately, but the news is reporting that this could be the end of it.  Before we know it, we’ll be shoving our faces in front of AC vents again, panting from the humidity.  Enjoy the cool weather while you still can!   

Here are some garden-related activities going on around town:

Environmental Art Workshop at Clair M. Mitchell Gallery in Towles Court ~ Free ~ Saturday from 1 to 3 p.m. ~ (941) 706-1308

Rainforest Masks 2010: Meet the Artists at Work at Marie Selby Botanical Gardens ~ Adults $17, $15 with this coupon & Kids under 11 are free ~ Saturday and Sunday from 1 to 3 p.m. ~ (941) 366-5731

Organic Vegetable Gardening Class at Orange Blossom Community Garden ~ free ~ Saturday from 1 to 2:30 p.m. ~ (941) 861-9900

We picked up our free compost today.  It looks nice and woody - exactly what I was looking for to lower the pH.   

Here’s the tip: When picking up compost in an open-air vehicle, bring some sort of cover.  This is what the front seat looked like when we got home.

We looked far worse.  I couldn’t turn my head to either side or compost would fly in my eyes! 

I’ve never tested my soil before, but it never really seemed like soil before.  When we dug up the side yard to convert it into a garden, it was nothing but sand.  When we planted, we always added Black Kow; it’s a brand of composted cow manure.  It helps sandy soil hold moisture.  John’s dad is a long-time Floridian home gardener; it’s what he uses.   Over the past two years, we’ve continuously rotated squares always using one as a compost area to bury kitchen scraps and yard waste.  We’re finally seeing a real difference.  The earthworms haven’t made a home here yet, but the soil is much darker and a lot less sandy.   

The results of the pH test are in; the soil gets an 8.0 for alkaline.  It was so easy - just add soil, the contents of the capsule, and water.  Shake it all up and match up your color.  In our case, we need to start burying more yard waste to lower the pH.  Pine needles, leaves and sawdust will all add acid to soil.  For now, I’m going to grab some free compost from Longwood Park.  Sarasota County compost is made from their yard waste collection, so it should help.  Butler, Laurel, Nokomis, and Shamrock parks also offer free compost and mulch. 

Great class on Saturday!  It was the first in a series of free classes on organic gardening offered through the Sarasota County Extension.   They’re held on the third Saturday of the month at Laurel Park and the first Saturday of the month at Orange Blossom Park.  This is the series line-up for October through February:

• Soil Management
• Crop Management
• Pest Management
• Water Management
• Cover Crop & Compost Management

After the organic gardening overview, I walked around the Laurel Park Community Garden.  It’s smaller and sunnier than the Orange Blossom garden, but it has everything you need.  The hoses are conveniently located in a line down the center aisle. 

Here’s a peek inside the shed…

and at the compost pile.

Preparing for the fall garden has me searching for inspiration.  Don’t look at the weather widget, it’s back in the nineties again.  I started to sweat a little carrying my groceries in from the car this morning.  Instead of doing any planting of my own, I headed over to the Orange Blossom Community Garden to see what other people were doing.  I’m already feeling better about my late-September start.  I didn’t find any seedlings, but there were a few leftover crops from summer. 

Watermelon

Peppers

Pineapples

There aren’t any pineapples left, but I love the way this person designed their plot.  Someone else has a miniature white picket fence around theirs.  It’s fun to walk around and see the different garden personalities.  No one was out today, no doubtedly because of the heat, but it seems like a nice place to gather.  There are benches in the shade and a couple of tables and chairs.  Compost and mulch are ready and waiting.

There are four community gardens in Sarasota County - two are in the city and two are in South County.  The plot sizes vary, but an average size is about 12′ x 12′.  They’re priced right.  It only costs $20 a year plus a fully-refundable deposit of $30 up front.  All four gardens are full right now, but there’s a waiting list that apparently moves pretty quickly.  People make other arrangements in the meantime and it’s right on down the list.

http://sarasota.extension.ufl.edu/Hort/commgarden.shtml     

9:30 was a misprint; the class is at 10:30.  Call 861-9900 to register - it’s free!  This is the class description from the Extension’s schedule: 

“Third Saturdays” Class on Organic Vegetable Gardening

September 19, 2009 10:30am - Sat

Robert Kluson, Ph.D.

Extension Agent

Agriculture/Natural Resources

Laurel Community Garden, Laurel Park

509 Collins Rd., Laurel

This is part of a series of monthly classes about organic vegetable gardening for growing your own food. Today’s topic is “Overview of Organic Vegetable Gardening.” (1.5 hours)

Check out the weather widget, people - 85 degrees at noon!  My plants are no longer drooped into the dirt and I took a walk yesterday without sweating!  These are good signs for my motivation and future fall garden.  I just signed up for an organic gardening overview through the Sarasota County Extension.   That should get me geared up and ready to go.  The class is at Laurel Park on Saturday at either 9:30 or 10:30am.  Sheila will let me know, and I’ll let you know.   

Sarasota County is going to start selling rain barrels!  At first I thought the $37 per barrel was a little steep.  I heard the county was giving them away at one point, and I saw a pair of them for $20 at the Lakewood Ranch garage sale.  But as John would say, “That’s the garage sale in cuckoo town.”  Nothing short of a car costs more than a dollar.  Under normal shopping conditions, $37 now seems to be a good price.  The kits Manatee County Utilities sell cost $39, and they’re kits…requiring assembly.  You know how I feel about unnecessary steps.  If I had the money, I’d scrap both plain Jane options and go for one that doubles as a planter.  Like anything else, you can spend as little or as much as you want.  Craig’s List has them starting at $10.  On the high-end, I saw one absolutely hideous option that cost $942.50.  It holds 300 gallons but looks like a gigantic, over-toasted, misshapen marshmallow.  No thanks, I’ll keep my imaginary thousand dollars. 

This is the set up outside City Hall.  I don’t know the square footage, but it’s a large roof.  Only three could fit in the collage, but they actually have five hooked together.  This must save them a ton on their water bill.  A one inch rainfall can yield 1,000 gallons of water from a 2,000 square-foot roof!