University of Florida/IFAS Collier County Extension

Freezer Beef Boot Camp 2026 - UF/IFAS Extension Holmes County Email 0 Facebook 0 Twitter 0 Reddit 0 X Linkedin 0 Stumbleupon 0 UF/IFAS Extension will host the 2026 Beef Bootcamp Virtual Webinar on August 6, 2026, at 9:00 a.m. EST, offering practical strategies to improve profitability and meet the growing demand for locally produced beef for cattle producers,....

🗓️ Even if saw palmetto berry (Serenoa repens) season is still weeks away, we're encouraging harvesters to apply for their permits early to avoid the rush before peak harvest season!

To prevent the commercial exploitation of these native plants, harvesters are required to apply for a Native Plant Harvesting Permit and provide signed permission from the collection site's property owner or land manager.

🔗 For more information on our permitting process and how to start your permit application, visit fdacs.gov/sawpalmettoberry.

Looking for a flowering yet hardy plant that pollinators will love?

Buttonsage Lantana (Lantana involucrata) is a native perennial shrub that attracts bees and 🦋🐝 butterflies. It needs very little water after established – and even tolerates some salt. This compact evergreen shrub only gets about 5’ tall and has a round form that requires little pruning. Just don’t confuse it with the invasive lantanas like Lantana camara.

Read more at, https://gardeningsolutions.ifas.ufl.edu/plants/ornamentals/lantana/

To learn more about pollinators at our upcoming lectures, go to this blog, https://blogs.ifas.ufl.edu/sarasotaco/2024/07/19/the-great-southeast-pollinator-census/, to register.



🚗Come visit our Lantana at 14700 Immokalee Rd.

Take a virtual farm tour and learn about the 2026 Collier County Agriculture Tour!

https://blogs.ifas.ufl.edu/collierco/2026/06/12/2026-collier-county-agriculture-tour-highlights-local-agriculture/

UF Elite Herdsman Academy is a series of programs covering a wide range of topics, including Winter supplementation, nutrition, pasture management, herd health, and an intensive 3-day reproductive management course held in Southeast and Southwest Florida. The registration is $625 and includes programs on the topics mentioned above, 5 soil analyses, the Cattlemen's Institute and trade show, a ranch visit from a UF faculty member, and a companion pass (excluding the reproductive management course). The first program in this series is the Winter Supplementation Program (includes a steak supper with all the fixings) held at Dunwody Lodge (Clewiston, FL) on August 20, 2026, from 5pm - 8pm.

Deadline to register is 6/30/2026. For more information, contact the UF/IFAS Hendry County Extension at 863/674-4092.

Caladium Time! 🌿✨ Our garden is bursting with these beauties right now.

Did you know caladiums — members of the arum family — are grown almost exclusively in Florida? Highlands County is the global hub for caladium bulb production, and it’s only about an hour and a half north of Collier.

These plants thrive outdoors here and come in cultivars that can handle full sun or full shade. They’re incredibly easy to grow, and their leaves are so striking they often rival the beauty of flowers. Even their quirky little blooms are fun to look at.

Caladiums come in a huge range of colors, patterns, and sizes, but they all share one thing: they love moist soil with good drainage.
They put on a show for about six months before retreating back into their tuber form. Unlike northern gardeners who must dig up bulbs to protect them from freezing, we can simply let them rest in the ground until they return in late spring.

If you haven’t admired caladiums lately, add it to your to do list. They’re at their peak right now. To read more about Caladiums, https://gardeningsolutions.ifas.ufl.edu/plants/ornamentals/caladiums/.

📍 To visit our collection of caladium’s 🚗drive to 14700 Immokalee Rd.