This is where I will be most of today.

Vegetable Garden Expo

UF/IFAS Marion County Extension Service

2232 NE Jacksonville Road, Ocala

Saturday, September 6, 2014


9:00am to 1:00pm

Indoor Seminar Schedule – Auditorium

9:00 – 10:00 Growing Solanaceous Crops Jo Leyte-Vidal, Master Gardener

Learn how to grow tomato, eggplant, pepper and white potato

10:20 – 11:30 Growing Brassicas David Holmes, Commercial Horticulture Agent

Tips on how to grow cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower and collards

11:45 – 1:00 Growing Cucurbits Lesroy Samuel, Vegetable Expert

Tips on how to grow cucumber, squash, pumpkin and melons

In-Garden Talks

9:00 – 9:45 Composting Linda Krausnick, Master Gardener

Tips on making your own soil

10:00 – 10:45 Growing Herbs Lis Robson, Master Gardener

Learn how to successfully grow herbs in the landscape or kitchen gardens

11:00 – 11:45 Growing Tropical Crops Luis Camacho, Master Gardener

Learn how to grow yuca (cassava), melanga, papaya, sugarcane, sorrel and pigeon peas

12:00 – 12:45 Common Pests of Vegetables and Carol Ann Baldwin, Master Gardener

Fruit Trees

Tips to control pests frequently encountered in the garden

Please remember to bring this schedule with you on the day of the Expo

I plan to attend a few of these seminars in light of what happened to my garden this year I'm sure it could help. 
One day this is what I would like my garden to look like:

or maybe this:

this is what I had growing in one of my raised beds in late spring of 2013 I managed to harvest several servings of green beans and a few tomatoes, everything was lush and green vegetables 

tomato

squash

corn

were forming beautifully, bees were buzzing about and all was good, then the weather changed to a week of rain turned some plants to a soggy mess so out those went, then summer hit and everything went downhill from these. 
So I am hoping the seminars offered today will give me insight to what I may be doing wrong and perhaps I will return home with the tools I need for my battle with nature next spring.