Florida Gardening Calendars

A watering tin and gardening gloves at a home garden.
Not sure what to plant and when? Confused about how to care for your lawn differently during the winter or summer? Consult the Florida Gardening Calendar for your region (North, South, and Central). The calendars give instructions for planting ornamentals, fruits, and vegetables; lawn care and management; and irrigation and pest control for each month of the year. Split into sections about “What to Plant” and “What to Do,” these calendars are handy for any type of home garden. Written by Sydney Park Brown, and published by the Environmental Horticulture Department.
Central Florida Gardening Calendar: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ep450
North Florida Gardening Calendar: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ep451
South Florida Gardening Calendar: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ep452

Home Gardening Food Safety: Washing the Fruits (and Vegetables) of Your Labor Properly

Figure 3.  You can use a scrub brush or your hands to clean tomatoes while washing them under cool running water. You should rinse and rub them for five seconds and then re-rinse them..Having a home garden has become popular recently. It is a great way to enjoy fresh fruits and vegetables—foods that are an important part of a healthy diet. However, just because you have your own garden and control how it is treated does not make the fruits and vegetables you grow safer than those you buy in the store. To reduce the chance of getting sick from foodborne illnesses, you must wash the fruits and vegetables you grow before eating them raw or cooked. This publication helps you learn the proper way to clean your fruits and vegetables so you can enjoy them safely. This 4-page fact sheet was written by Eshani Persaud, Amy Simonne, and Karla P. Shelnutt, and published by the UF Department of Family Youth and Community Sciences, November 2013.
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/fy1401

HS1186 Solutions for Small Farmers and Home Gardens: Building a Low-Cost Vertical Soilless System for Production of Small Vegetable and Fruit Crops

HS1186, a 5-page illustrated fact sheet by Bielinski M. Santos, Teresa P. Salame-Donoso, and Shawn C. Arango, provides written and graphic instructions on how to build a homemade vertical soilless (hydroponic) growing system (also known as “bottle grow”) to produce vegetables and small fruit crops at a fraction of the cost of commercially available systems, without occupying premium agricultural land and by utilizing materials available in the home and local hardware store. Published by the UF Department of Horticultural Sciences, November 2010.
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/hs1186

SSAGR253/SC052 Backyard Sugarcane

Revised! SS-AGR-253, a 5-page fact sheet by L. Baucum, R.W. Rice, and L. Muralles, informs homeowners of the types and varieties of sugarcane, site selection, planting material, planting, early care, formation of the stool, pest management, harvesting, and overwintering. Published by the UF Department of Agronomy, October 2009.
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/SC052