At the January meeting of the Suncoast Tropical Fruit and Vegetable Club, the speaker will be Alex Salazar of Tropical Acres Farms.  The topic of his presentation will be "The Challenge of Growing Mangos in Florida in 2018." This is a great opportunity to hear a top grower speaking about one of our very favorite fruits. Don't …

The Tropical Fruit Society of Sarasota January speaker will be Dell Dechant, expert loquat grower and organizer of the The Florida Loquat Festival in New Port Richey. This outstanding edible landscaping fruit tree is an excellent but underutilized Florida winter fruit. Sample tropical fruits and recipes at the tasting table, and try your luck in …

I will speak at SUAC, the Sustainable Urban Agriculture Coalition, in St. Petersburg on February 5. As usual, I'll try to provide something for everyone--- philosophy, technique, and ideas for making the world better. And lots of photos.

I will speak at the Treasure Coast Rare Fruit Club in Port St. Lucie on February 15. As usual, I'll try to provide something for everyone--- philosophy, technique, and ideas for making the world better. And lots of photos.

I will speak at the Central Florida Fruit Society in Orlando on March 19. As usual, I'll try to provide something for everyone--- philosophy, technique, and ideas for making the world better. And lots of photos.

The Tropical Fruit Society of Sarasota April speaker will be ecologist and edible landscaping expert Erica Klopf.  The Florida Gulf Coast University graduate double majored in art and environmental studies. She holds a permaculture design certificate and has completed multiple trainings and internships including the Fruit and Spice Park and the Naples Botanical Garden. As owner …

Sarasota non-profit Sunshine Community Compost has organized its first CompostAThon, to take place during Compost Awareness Week May 6-12. Participants can register, watch a short video, and collect their table scraps and other compostables for deposit at their local community compost site during the "weigh-in" from 9:30 to 11:30 a. m. on Saturday, May 12. …

The semiannual fruit tree sale of the Suncoast Tropical Fruit and Vegetable Club will be October 13 in Nokomis. See this flyer for more information.

A special tour of the rare fruit tree collection at Palma Sola Botanical Park in west Bradenton. Sponsored by the Manatee Rare Fruit Council, this free tour of about 75 fruiting trees and shrubs is a family event. Council members will answer questions about the park, the rare fruit tree collection, and about fruit tree …

The Tropical Fruit Society of Sarasota's October monthly meeting will be an Eat Local Week event, at which I will give a presentation on Fruit Tree Horticulture 101. This will be a very special presentation aimed at new or wanna-be growers in our area. It will start from the basics to try to get these …