By attending the workshop you will receive a microirrigation kit.

Compost, Microirrigation and Rainwater Harvesting workshops at extension

By Lynn Barber

There are only three more triple workshops prior to 2021 year-end. If you have not previously attended these workshops on a Saturday at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Extension Hillsborough County, we hope you will attend….and you will be in for an educational feast. Make plans to register and spend an upcoming Saturday morning, Sept. 11, Oct. 2, or Nov. 6, at the Compost, Microirrigation and Rainwater Harvesting workshops at our office in Seffner. Workshops are for Hillsborough County residents, one time only, one set of items per household and pre-registration is required.

If you want to learn how to create your own compost, attend the Compost Happens workshop and learn how to turn trash into treasure. This workshop teaches attendees to recycle kitchen and yard waste, while creating a rich soil amendment. Compost adds nutrients to the soil and retains moisture in the root zone where it can be used by plants. Instead of hauling your yard waste to the curb, compost it on site. By attending, you will receive a compost bin, bucket and thermometer.

Compost adds nutrients to the soil.

Come to a Microirrigation workshop that teaches you how to have a healthy and attractive landscape while conserving water. Tips on installing and using microirrigation are presented. Using miroirrigation conserves water and is excluded from our current watering restrictions. By attending, you will receive a microirrigation kit.

Learn how to harvest rainwater with a rain barrel, made from a 45-55-gallon plastic food-grade drum. Recycling food grade barrels is useful in collecting rainwater for ornamental plant irrigation, while reducing erosion and stormwater runoff. One inch of rain on a 1,000 square foot of roof provides 623 gallons of water. In our area, we receive 50-52 inches of rain per year. This means all of us could harvest in excess of 31,000 gallons of water for landscape irrigation instead of using potable water. By attending, you will receive a drilled and spigoted rain barrel.

Rain barrels are made from 45-55-gallon plastic food-grade drums.

By attending one, two or all three workshops, you will expand your environmental conservation education and have fun while learning something new. Cost to attend is $5.00 per household, per workshop. For additional information and to register, go to: http://sfyl.ifas.ufl.edu/hillsborough/upcoming-events/. Workshops are sponsored by UF/IFAS Extension Hillsborough County, Tampa Bay Water, City of Tampa Water Department and Hillsborough County Public Utilities.

For more gardening information, please contact or visit the UF/IFAS Extension Hillsborough County, 744-5519, or visit us at 5339 County Road 579, Seffner, FL 33584, where you can walk through the Bette S. Walker Discovery Garden and see Florida-Friendly LandscapingTM in action! Contact me at barberL@ufl.edu.