You’ll remember that cold spell in January. It caused lots of problems, especially out in eastern Hillsborough County. Farmers used over ten billion gallons of water to save their crops. This led to residents’ wells running dry and some serious sinkhole activity. Nearly 750 people reported dry or damaged wells after the cold snap. And as [...]
So, I got this crazy gig with the Florida State Fair. In an attempt to get involved with social media, some folks at the fair thought it might be neat for a local blogger to come in and show everyone what goes on behind the scenes. But I get the impression that they think bloggers are [...]
Hillsborough and Polk County farmers used TEN BILLION GALLONS of water to protect their crops during the recent freeze, and in addition to the 85 SINKHOLES caused by using all that water, nearby residents found their wells had run dry. The Southwest Florida Water Management District (Swiftmud) met Tuesday to figure out how to [...]
Since the second day of 2010, your thermometer has not seen 60 degrees. Between January 2 and January 12, the overnight low temperature reached 40 degrees only twice. Five of those nights were at or below freezing. Anytime the temperature drops below 32 degrees, crops can be lost to freeze. Luckily, it hasn’t [...]
In my last post, I urged responsible Florida gardeners to avoid cypress mulch, and promised to provide some better alternatives in my following post. Many readers seemed anxious to hear about them, so let’s dive right in. The Good: Eucalyptus Mulch – This mulch is fairly long-lasting and has a smell many find pleasant. It supposedly repels [...]
Any gardener knows the value of mulch in a garden. Mulch helps retain valuable moisture in the soil and prevents weed growth, among other benefits. New gardeners might be amazed at the variety of mulch types available, and in my next post, I’ll take a look at some of the best options for a Florida-Friendly [...]
The Hillsborough County Agriculture Economic Development Council maintains a directory of farmers and companies or individuals who sell locally grown agricultural products direct to the public. If you want to buy locally grown goods, you can use the directory to find just about anything, including Mangoes, Melons, Mules, and Mustard Greens. We encourage you to buy [...]
Despite a last-ditch effort by developer interests to weaken wetland protections last Thursday, interested citizens prevailed and your county commissioners adopted the final batch of wetland rule changes without any modifications. Having failed to persuade EPC staff to agree to any weakening of the rules in this last part of the Hybrid, developers frantically lobbied [...]
Because of money restraints, universities in the State of Florida are losing nationally known and respected professors such as Robin Murphy. So how can the State of Florida afford to buy land from US Sugar for $1.75 billion? Hey, I’m all for protecting the environment so our natural lands can be enjoyed by future generations. But if [...]
