UF/IFAS Extension Indian River County — Sebastian, Florida

UF/IFAS Extension Indian River County is the University of Florida's county office that answers farm, garden and landscape questions for Sebastian and the rest of Indian River County, with a weekly plant clinic in Sebastian.

The office describes itself as an off-campus branch of the University of Florida's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences that provides scientific and problem solving information to Indian River County residents (UF/IFAS Extension Indian River County profile). It offers educational programs in agriculture, horticulture, 4-H youth development, natural resources, and pesticide and fertilizer licensing.

The funding is shared. The Indian River County office is supported by the Indian River County Board of County Commissioners, the University of Florida and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Every county in the country has a Cooperative Extension Service, created by the Smith-Lever Act of 1914, and in Florida the service is managed by the University of Florida (UF/IFAS Extension Indian River County). Indian River County Master Gardener volunteers teach county residents about Florida lawn and garden care based on University of Florida research (IRC Master Gardener Program).

The office's own home page sums up the county it serves: Indian River County has a history rich in agriculture, notably in cattle and citrus (UF/IFAS Indian River home page). The staff list carries an agriculture agent and a multicounty fruit and field crops agent alongside the environmental horticulture agent (office profile page).

The Indian River County Extension office has moved to 7961 58th Avenue, Vero Beach, FL 32967, and serves Sebastian from there with Monday to Friday hours of 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM.

The office profile page announces the move above the new Indian River County address, 7961 58th Avenue Vero Beach, FL 32967. It lists hours of Monday to Friday 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM, closed for national holidays, the phone number (772) 226-4330 and the general email indian@ifas.ufl.edu. The site footer on Indian River County Extension pages, and the contact block on the fertilizer and pesticide licensing pages, still print 1800 27th Street, Vero Beach; the home page, the staff page and the horticulture and agriculture pages use 58th Avenue.

Sebastian residents rarely need to drive to Vero Beach for a garden question. The home page notes that agents are available by phone or email (UF/IFAS Extension Indian River County), and the Master Gardener Plant Help Desk is reached at 772-226-4330 x 1. Staff on the office profile page include Andrea Lazzari, Extension Director and Agriculture and Natural Resources Agent (x 3); Leslie Nicole Munroe, Environmental Horticulture Agent (x 4); and Sheri Trent, Agriculture and 4-H Youth Development Agent (x 2).

Sebastian gardeners get a Wednesday plant clinic at the North Indian River County Library on Sebastian Boulevard, free soil pH testing, and a phone help desk staffed by Master Gardener volunteers.

The IRC Master Gardener Program page lists two plant clinic locations. The Vero Beach IRC Extension clinic runs Monday to Friday from 9:00am to 12:00pm and 1:00pm to 4:00pm. The Sebastian clinic is at the North IRC Library on Wednesday from 10:00am to 12:00pm, at 1001 Sebastian Blvd. (CR512), Sebastian, FL 32958. The library itself is open Monday to Wednesday from 10am to 8pm, and its phone is (772) 400-6360 (Indian River County Library System).

Soil testing costs a Sebastian household nothing for pH. The Environmental Horticulture program offers free residential soil pH testing for Indian River County residents, and residential nutrient testing goes to the UF/IFAS SoilsLab for a fee (Environmental Horticulture). The program's stated goal is to educate Indian River County residents to foster a love of Florida's unique natural environment, and it teaches proper landscape plant selection and maintenance.

Master Gardener volunteers do more than test soil for Indian River County homeowners. They identify plants and most common insects, diagnose plant problems and give solutions, and identify wildlife causing problems in the yard (IRC Master Gardener Program). The IRC Pest Corner adds that volunteers periodically host gardening lectures at local library branches, the Master Gardeners' Growing Series, so the North Indian River County Library in Sebastian is also the place to look for a lecture schedule.

A Sebastian resident becomes an Indian River County Master Gardener by applying, passing an interview and background check, paying a training fee and completing a course held two mornings a week for ten to twelve weeks from April to June.

The Indian River County Master Gardener page sets the terms. Florida Master Gardeners are trained volunteers through the University of Florida. There are mandatory minimum yearly volunteer hours required in order to remain a Florida Master Gardener Volunteer, and continuing education hours are required annually. The page is explicit that it is an educational program, not a work program.

Volunteer work for Indian River County Master Gardeners covers the plant help desk, soil pH tests in the lab, public gardening lectures, booths at local festivals, pruning demonstrations and teaching school children how to plant and grow in a school garden. Monthly meetings, continuing education lectures and field trips round out the year, and after the first year a volunteer chooses where to serve with a minimum of hours required.

The training calendar is fixed for Sebastian applicants: classes run from April to June, and the Indian River County page asks prospective volunteers to see the Master Gardener website for the application. The page does not publish the current fee amount, so this guide does not state one.

Indian River County growers get an agriculture agent, a fruit and field crops agent shared with St. Lucie County, and fertilizer applicator training, while pesticide license exams moved to the state's online system on October 1, 2025.

The Extension Director doubles as the Agriculture and Natural Resources Agent and assists farmers, ranchers, and growers as these agricultural clients work to produce fresh fruits, vegetables, meat and dairy products for market (Agriculture and Natural Resources). The Indian River County program links cover beef cattle, an industrial hemp program, forage and pasture management, and small farms, and the same agent serves growers around Sebastian, Fellsmere and the rest of Indian River County.

Commercial fruit is handled jointly. The Indian River and St. Lucie County Fruit and Field Crops Program provides commercial fruit crops producers with current, research-based information, and its agent works directly with Indian River county and St. Lucie county commercial fruit crops growers.

Licensing changed recently for Sebastian lawn and pest companies. Florida statute 482.1562 states that all commercial fertilizer applicators must have a license from FDACS as of January 1, 2014, issued after a certificate of training from UF/IFAS Extension programs (Green Industry licensing). As of October 1, 2025, all fertilizer and pesticide applicator license testing will no longer be proctored by UF/IFAS Extension offices. Exams now run on the FDACS online testing platform Everblue; remote testing costs $32, in-person test site exams cost $59, and the fee is paid each time the exam is taken (License Testing).

Farm policy has a county channel too. Indian River County's Agriculture Advisory Committee shall be comprised of nine voting members appointed by the Board of County Commissioners, with one non-voting liaison (Indian River County). Children's programs run through Indian River County 4-H, a separate program of the same office covered in its own guide.

Last verified: October 11, 2026, on the UF/IFAS Extension Indian River County website.