UF IFAS Extension Baker County Garden Spot

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Macclenny, FL
UF IFAS Extension Baker County Garden Spot

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Provided by the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Baker County Extension Horticulture Agent and Master Gardeners

This site provides educational information on home horticulture including plant selection, lawn and garden maintenance, fruit and vegetable gardening, pest management, wildlife and more. The University of Florida Baker County Extension Service intends to educate, inform and provide updated information on Baker County Extension activities and to support and promote the Baker County Horticulture Program’s objectives for these activities through its social media site. All Baker County Extension comments are made by Baker County Extension designees. This site is not a public forum. Social media users may share ideas through commentary that is consistent with and furthers the objectives of a Baker County Extension post and the University of Florida Baker County Extension Service reserves the right to remove any comments that do not fall within this purpose. By posting a comment on this social media site, users agree to follow the terms of use of the site, Florida and federal laws and University of Florida regulations and policies, including but not limited to the University’s Acceptable Use of Computing Resources Policy. The Baker County Extension Service reserves the right to remove from the site any comments that violate these requirements.

10/20/2026

Love Monarch Butterflies? Learn how the University of Florida is tracking their migration and download the Project Monarch Science app (free) to see for yourself!

Researchers at the University of Florida are following butterflies in a way that was impossible until recently — using tiny solar-powered radio transmitters light enough to ride on the backs of monarch butterflies.

09/25/2026

Starting October 1st, free seeds and information will be available every Thursday from 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm at the Emily Taber Public Library located at 14 West McIver Avenue in Macclenny. Just drop in, show your library card, and pick up a pack of seeds for your garden or landscape. Choose from a wide variety of vegetables, herbs, annuals/perennials, and of course – Florida native wildflowers! Visitors to the seed library may also enter a raffle for seed starting supplies - each week we will pick another winner!

08/18/2026

Happening soon! Join the count and become a citizen scientist! 🔎 🐝 🦋 🔍
All it takes is 15 minutes in the garden counting the number of pollinators you see, and then uploading your results to the website. Count sheets and resources available from the Baker County Extension Office - or visit the website for more info: https://gsepc.org/

07/31/2026

We hope you'll join us tonight at St. Mary's Shoals Park (ATV Entrance) for Park After Dark!

Explore the sounds of the night, see glowing insects, and explore the moths of the night with our lightsheeting activity!

Bring the family! Youth can paint a glowing mushroom or build a lego bug to display!

Additionally, weather permitting, we will have astronomers on site for you to see deep into the night sky!

06/06/2026

05/18/2026

Saw palmetto grows wild in Florida’s natural areas, but it’s also a useful plant for larger home landscapes provided it is kept away from structures in fire prone areas. For added interest, look for cultivars with more silvery foliage including ‘Sericea’, ‘Cinerea’, or ‘Glauca’.

Saw palmetto is great for wildlife! Small, fragrant flowers attract bees in spring and the berries are an important food source for many mammals and birds. Additionally, it is a host plant for the larvae of the palmetto skipper and monk butterflies.

Some people believe that extracts from the berries could be an alternative treatment for prostate cancer, despite statements from the American Cancer Society that say there is no evidence of this. Because of increasing interest in the berries, a harvesting permit is now required to protect and preserve these plants. Anyone harvesting the berries must acquire a “Native Plant Harvesting Permit” issued through the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) Division of Plant Industry (DPI).

05/14/2026

African blue basil is a sterile hybrid of an East African camphor basil and a standard garden variety called ‘Dark Opal’. The amount of pollinator activity on this selection makes it a benefit to any garden. African blue basil is alive with pollinators when in bloom. Although edible, African blue basil has a bit of camphor flavor from one of its parents that some may not care for. This plant is more heat tolerant than other basils. Because it does not produce seed, African blue basil does not need to be pinched back in order to keep the plant growing like other basils.

04/25/2026

The book fair is here…all are welcome! Stop by and stock up for summer reading 📖

Address

1025 W Macclenny Avenue
Macclenny, FL
32063

Telephone

(904) 259-3520

Website

http://baker.ifas.ufl.edu/

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