Have you ever tried your hand at growing your own food, or doing the landscaping around your home?
It can be tough, especially in Florida's climate.
- West Pasco Plant Clinic offers advice to gardeners
- Master Gardner Kathy Lavin says Florida gardening offers different challenge
- Clinic open each Tuesday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
But one Bay area county is offering free services to help get your garden growing.
Kathy Lavin runs a free weekly clinic to share her knowledge with frustrated gardeners. She is a master gardener, certified to know all things plants.
It's called the West Pasco Plant Clinic and is an expansion of services run by the Pasco extension office to help folks grow plants and food.
"A lot of people here are from the north and they think we can garden here the same," Lavin said. "Especially vegetables. It's not the same."
The common issues in Florida involve lawns, citrus and palm trees. Residents can actually take a sample of any of those, bring it to one of the clinics and get some answers.
"They might bring in a plant to have you look at it. They may bring you in something that is dying, to see what's wrong with it. That kind of thing," Lavin said.
It's also a chance to get some advice on soil and what to plant, outside of the big box stores.
"People tend to go to pesticide companies and sometimes they just put more stuff on the lawn," Lavin said. "Maybe it really needs some other kind of treatment."
The clinic is every Tuesday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Marchman Technical College.
The program just started and may expand to other days. If you can’t make it on Tuesdays, you can stop at the Dade City Extension Office every day that it's open for free gardening tips.