Vegetables are big business in southwest Florida.  Graced with an abundance of land, water, and sunshine and favored with mild winters - southwest Florida - along with other areas in south Florida  - is the nation's winter garden  providing most of the fresh vegetables enjoyed by Americans during the winter months from November through April.

Vegetable production is a major contributor to the economy of southwest Florida generating revenues in excess of $300 million per annum, while creating thousands of jobs for rural communities.

The University of Florida/IFAS and the Hendry County Cooperative Extension Service actively supports the SW Florida Vegetable Industry with up to date research based information, educational programs, modern technology and innovative solutions to problems.

The Vegetable Production Guide for Florida is the most comprehensive reference tool for growing vegetables in the Sunshine State.  First published in 1994, it is kept current with regular up dates and has provided valuable production advice to hundreds of Florida growers, farm managers and consultants.

The Hendry County Extension Office, in conjunction with the faculty and staff at the SW Florida Research and Education Center, conducts regular monthly vegetable meetings to keep vegetable growers, managers, technical representatives, scouts, and consultants abreast of the latest research and industry information of note, as well as regulatory issues impacting on the industry.  Check our schedule for upcoming meetings.

The SW Florida Research and Education Center - SWFREC, located in Immokalee is another very important resource available to vegetable growers in SW Florida.  The research center and extension service are integral partners in the University of Florida/IFAS - land-grant university system of information outreach to the vegetable producers of SW Florida.

Programs of special interest to the vegetable industry at SWFREC include:

Economics, Entomology, Plant Pathology, Soil and Water Science, and Vegetable Horticulture.

FAWN (Florida Automated Weather Network) - where you will find real-time agricultural weather information collected from automated weather stations distributed though out Florida.   The local FAWN weather station is located at SWFREC in Immokalee provides growers with up to the minute weather information as well as archived data of past weather records.

The SW Florida Vegetable Newsletter is produced bimonthly by the Hendry County Extension Office.  The newsletter provides producers and other with need to know information pertinent to local conditions.  Both current and past issues are on the web.

The SW Florida Pest and Disease Hotline is published biweekly during the growing season and keeps growers and others up to date on the status and occurrence of insect and disease problems through out SW Florida as well as providing timely tips on control measures.

To subscribe to either publication or to request to be put on our mailing list to be notified of meetings, simply contact us and provide us with your particulars - name, address, phone, fax and e-mail, etc.

The Florida Tomato Scouting Guide  - the Guide will greatly assist scouts and growers in identifying insects and diseases commonly encountered in monitoring tomato fields in Florida. This guide should also benefit scouts, consultants, and growers in the southeast, southwest, and far west regions of the United States.  Great photos of tomato pests and diseases.

The UF/IFAS Pest Management Guides are another source of invaluable up to date pest and disease control information available to agricultural producers.

The following Pest Management Guides with sections pertaining to vegetable production can be found on the  web

Aquatic Weed Management Guide
Beneficial Insects
Florida Weeds
Insect Management Guide
Nematode Management Guide
Plant Disease Management Guide
Weed Management Guide

More great information on Commercial Vegetable Production can be found on the UF/IFAS - EDIS website.

EDIS is the one, official reference source for all current UF/IFAS reviewed and approved publications.  This electronic repository contains over 4,000 publications related to agriculture, natural resources, the environment, and human and rural development. The database is updated twice a week, so check it frequently for the latest information!

MORE GREAT RESOURCES FOR GROWERS................

Keep on top of prices and market trends with the USDA - AMS website

The USDA Agricultural Marketing Service provides current, unbiased price and sales information to assist in the orderly marketing  and distribution of farm commodities. Reports include information on prices, volume, quality, condition, and other market data on farm products in specific markets and marketing areas.  The reports cover both domestic and international markets. The data is disseminated within hours of collection via the Internet through electronic means, in printed reports, by telephone recordings and through the news media.

The UC Vegetable Research and Information Center maintains a neat site that provides cross referenced information on a variety of vegetable crops  and related topics.

The UC IPM website is another good link for disease and pest indexed by crop.
Very in depth with good photos.

Sustainable Practices for Vegetable Production in The South is Dr Mary Peet's website and gives a good overview of sustainable production techniques,
integrated pest management, and offers a number of selected crop profiles.

This good site for vegetable growers seeking a middle path between pre- chemical, often low-yield agriculture and the hard chemical-intensive, usually high-yield agriculture adopted after World War II.

Cover Crops for SustainableVegetable Production is a well done site that takes an intensive look at the use of cover crops in vegetable production.  The site discusses the benefits and challenges of cover crops in general, the effects of cover crops on soil, insects, weeds, disease, and nematodes and offers links to
Internet resources about particular cover crops.  It will help you design an appropriate cover crop management program to meet your production needs.

South Florida Extension Leadership in Vegetables - Links to all sorts of useful information for growers and other in the vegetable industry in South Florida.

HORT 410 - Vegetable Crops - David Rhodes at Purdue has posted web site for his veg crops course.  He has a wealth of information and a tremendous number of useful links posted here.  Check out the course outline and individual crops - it is a good starting place in the quest for veg crop knowledge - but only 1 credit ? - sure am glad I got through school in the good old days!
 

.....Watch this site for more good stuff......