Kim Duffy, St. Cloud’s beautification manager, is excited about the plans to move the Urban Agriculture program forward.

“Jacquie has taken this program and is blazing new trails with it,” Duffy said. “She’s just got a grand scheme of things. Her biggest challenge is Florida growing (conditions).”

Starting with the community garden behind St. Cloud City Hall, the department remodeled by adding a 4-by-12 plot, which offers three bed sizes to the public.

“That will give people options and give them more room to grow if they really get into it,” Dombovy said.

She expanded the planting opportunities to include plots available for rent at Peghorn Park. The 15 5-by-5 beds are all irrigated.

Both community gardens have vacancies for interested parties.

Additionally, Dombovy began a video series called “Urban Gardenista” where she worked with the city’s Information Technology department to offer educational and information instruction on topics such as organic vegetable production and urban agriculture.

The videos are available on the city’s website www.stcloud.org and via the city’s YouTube channel.

“We want to see the Urban Agriculture program become more than just a community garden,” Dombovy said. “We’re in it to provide a service to the community.”

The Urban Agriculture program is hosting its fall kickoff event Sept. 15 at Peghorn Park in partnership with the University of Florida/Osceola County Extension Services. The event will include a plant and seed sale, with the organic seeds having been cultivated locally.

“I’m very excited about that, to provide a seed that’s local and organic. And it’s economical,” Dombovy said, adding suggested prices will range from 50 cents to $2 as part of a fundraiser for the Urban Agriculture department. “It’s just a way for people to feel empowered to start their own gardens and learn.”

In addition to the sale, tours of Peghorn Park’s facility will be offered as well as classes on composting and starting a fall vegetable garden. The classes are $8 and interested parties can register at the St. Cloud Civic Center, 3001 17th Street.

The program also will also include new monthly classes beginning in October with a new concept, at least for the city’s expansion: canning and preserving. The class, which will be held at the St. Cloud Senior Center, will feature both water bath and pressure canning methods. The class will be a pilot to gauge the public’s interest.

“I think it will be really popular. A lot of people are really into canning now. They’re getting into becoming more and more self-sustainable,” Dombovy said. “It’s really easy to do once you know how.”

November’s class will feature how to start a winter vegetable garden and December’s class will include a continuation of the city’s popular Gifts from the Garden series, which last year featured a make-it-take-it approach to soap making and salad dressing or marinade making using herbs from the city’s gardens.

The class schedule is located under the Parks and Recreation tab on St. Cloud’s website.

In addition to the community gardens, Duffy said with the approval of the St. Cloud City Council, she hopes to expand the Urban Agriculture program further with a nursery and orchards planted and cultivated in the city-owned land behind the soccer fields at Stephanie Rothstein Memorial Park.

The land will also be used for seed production, she added.

“Instead of putting a basketball court in the parks, we’re putting in more of other recreation,” Duffy said, adding more fruit trees have been planted in three city parks, which are available for harvesting by the public.

“We’ll see if this is something we can get into,” she said.