Many thanks to Laurie, Linda, Nancy, Joanne, Emma, and Evelyn, the VegHeadz who greeted visitors to the VegHeadz portion of the Extension Demonstration Garden. Joanne, Emma, and other new Master Gardeners really enjoyed their first Open House. Other VegHeadz were busy elsewhere at the Open House.
Yen was assigned as a greeter this year, counting the record 1200+ visitors who came to buy plants and to see our gardens and to get information about growing plants in North Florida and all the other ideas provided by our many exhibitors . Thank you, Yen, and thank you to all the Extension and MG teams, visitors and exhibitors who made this year’s event such a success!
Congratulations to the VegHeadz on having the lushest and greenest gardens at the Open House according to Peggy! She may be a bit biased, but they did look spectacular. All the hard work showed off beautifully. Our visitors came away more informed as we shared what we have learned about vegetable gardening and permaculture.
In the garden besides tours we provided cookies along with handouts, Hibiscus (Roselle) tea and seeds. The QR codes to the VegHeadz blog and the North Florida Vegetable Gardening Guide got a lot of attention. The blog showed a major burst of hits during the day and in the days following.
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| Folks showed a lot of interest in the compost bins |
Some of the areas receiving attention were the Edible Forest Garden and our many vegetables, pollinator plants, and other companion plants. Digging potatoes and harvesting other vegetables and herbs were also hits.
As Becky roamed around and talked to folks, edibles were definitely a big interest. Some folks were looking for herbs. The dragonfruit went fast. She noticed the Roselle was the usual big hit, and the Peggy’s jam seemed to win over a lot of people - Lana was kept busy giving tastes! Becky said she noticed everyone seemed excited, impressed and happy to be there.
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| Lana, Michael, Dwight and Peggy soon sold out of Roselle. |
Peggy, Lana, and Dwight sold 234 Roselle seedlings while offering tastes of Roselle jam. Jeanne also sold out of her many milkweeds.
Many people asked how we grow our squash without them being attacked by squash vine borers. Cathi has shared her secret. It’s all about the timing! She started all the plants inside in January so we would get squash before the squash vine borers arrive — usually in May — and it worked.
Thanks to Peggy and Evelyn for photos and to all who reported on the happenings at the Open House. More photos follow.
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| The patio garden demonstrates you don’t need much space to grow a garden |
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| We love having kids in the garden and they love it too. |
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| Lots of happy faces |
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| Show and Tell |
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| Love those Zucchini |
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| Digging potatoes |
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