Category Archives: Sarasota Gardening Resources

Orange Blossom Community Garden

Posted by Lesley on September 18, 2009 4 comments

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     

Organic Gardening Class Update

Posted by Lesley on September 17, 2009 None comments

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)

80′s Revival

Posted by Lesley on September 17, 2009 None comments

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.   

Rain Barrels

Posted by Lesley on September 9, 2009 3 comments

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!