Local Articles

Farmers’ Market Phonies Raise Ire of Some Customers – But Not All, UF Researchers Say

Tuesday, October 2nd, 2012
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Shoppers often assume farmers’ markets sell only the freshest crops from small, local operations, but big-volume produce dealers sometimes use them to sell items shipped from other states or countries.

For Sarasota Fruit and Nut Society, Every Day Is Exotic

Tuesday, October 2nd, 2012
Elizabetta Braithwaite and Michael Seegert share a Southgate home where fruit-bearing trees, vines and edible plants flourish throughout their garden. The local growers are among more than 100 members of the Sarasota Fruit and Nut Society.

The Sarasota Fruit and Nut Society, a group of more than 100 members, is gearing up for their annual Rare Fruit Tree Sale on Sunday.

Collier, Lee Bee Removal Experts Feel Sting of New State Rule Requiring Licensing

Tuesday, October 2nd, 2012
David Johnson, of Johnson Honey Farms and Bee Removal Service, prepares to transfer honey combs from a bee hive established in a water meter box into a bee box at a home on Antigua Court on Marco Island on Thursday, Sept. 13, 2012. PHOTO BY DAVID ALBERS, NAPLES DAILY NEWS

This summer, the agency’s Bureau of Entomology and Pest Control Chief Michael Page issued a new interpretation of Florida’s pest control law that meant bee removal now must be regulated as pest control.

Egg and Poultry Sales to Consumers to Expand

Tuesday, October 2nd, 2012
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Buying farm-fresh eggs and poultry should get a lot easier next year. And legal to sell for small farmers.

Formerly Homeless Enjoy The Fruits Of Their Labor

Tuesday, September 11th, 2012
A special recognition dinner was held for a group of formerly homeless people turned farmers at Verde Gardens in Homestead. (Source: CBS4)

Tough economic times have left many families without homes and jobs but a sweet recipe for turning lives around is being served up in one of the best restaurants in town.

Why Can’t a Chicken Live in the Suburbs?

Monday, September 10th, 2012
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Sarasotans are now living in an unlikely chicken sandwich – a curious situation wherein chickens are allowed in both our most rural areas and the most urban area, but sandwiched in between is a no-hens land consisting of the suburban unincorporated county.

“Manic Organic” Rolling into Town

Friday, August 31st, 2012
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Lee said her focus will be on providing locally grown organic produce to the community. She will operate out of a reconverted solar-powered school bus, which she will drive from location to location and invite customers inside the bus to shop.

Javier’s: The Key to Peru

Thursday, August 23rd, 2012
PHOTO BY CHAD SPENCER

At their 1¼-acre south Sarasota property, Javier and Mary Allen Arana nurture 75 fruit trees, harvest berries, and make organic compost. Their bounty enriches the menu at Javier’s Restaurant and Wine Bar on Siesta Key, where local, organic ingredients are integral to the Peruvian-American fare.

Florida Raising Its Peanut Profile

Thursday, August 23rd, 2012
There are four types of peanuts — Virginia, runner, Spanish and Valencia — but the type most common in Florida is the runner. Photo by Katy Kuehner/Tampa Tribune

Florida is now second in line for U.S. peanut production growth, right behind Georgia and ahead of Alabama, according to Ken Barton, president of the Marianna-based Florida Peanut Producers Association.

Scalloping: An Easy, Edible Adventure

Thursday, August 23rd, 2012
Annie Farrell 13, shows a scallop she caught in Crystal Bay with Captain Rick LeFiles' boat in the background. PATRICK FARRELL / MIAMI HERALD STAFF

To get to those fan-shaped shells hiding their mild, sweet meat inside, you don’t have to drive all the way to Steinhatchee, the remote, panhandle-meets-peninsula village synonymous with scalloping. The coastal communities of Crystal River and Homosassa are better known as winter havens for manatees, but they’re enjoying a bountiful scallop season this summer.