Alternative Community Farmer/WPB.FL

Welcome to the growing season in S.Florida.Now , we will experience a flood of now birds looking for organic vegetables to buy LOCALLY so they head to the green market or farmer market in hopes of getting some.Guess what?No local farmers are found ?Why? Because the farms were gone long time ago as the developers took over .Now the trend is to grow organic veggies in the  home backyards,community gardens ,school and church yards .Most people have no clue about Organic gardening here because there are not many  programs available to the public in general.

I give workshops and classes upon request  to groups who live close by.The first thing to know is HOW MUCH OF:

1)Time you have to spend gardening?

2)Budget to spend on the garden?

3)Space you intend to use for gardening?

Profesional help is important to know before you grow.

HERE,The fall season is the BEGINING of the growing season...not the END!

We in  S.Florida,are at odds with most of the other US regions ,with respect to our planting and harvesting timetable! While you guys UP NORTH prepare to harvest the pumpkin , we here DOWN SOUTH get ready to plant the pumpkin seeds!WE have no HARVEST YET, except for the summer crops like OKRA,CALALOO,WATERMELON...

So , what is required first ?

1-Setting our awareness compass to the SOUTH front .Get some education on GROWING YOUR OWN FROM A LOCAL FARMER.Books confuse you because they are written for general purpose.You need information abiout your AGRICULTURAL  REGION 9-10.

2-Adjusting our gardening skills to the way of the TROPICS.

Look for what grows best and not what you like and want.Attend classes and workshops in your area.Buy or exchange seeds from local growers .

3-Patince.Patience.Patience.It takes TIME!

4-Gardening is a process.So let there be a starting date .You learn as you go, but the best thing is to get a professional help at hand while you garden.

5-Join a Community Garden in your area.Learn the process first and then apply it to your own backyard.

6-Set a budget and make it feasable and workable, without the need to  file for bankruptcy or exploit  your Garden Counsultant !

I have met a lot of people who have a wish list to start a garden and it takes them years before they do it.They fail to ask for local prodfessional help.They rush to buy stuff from the garden center and expect that this will be it.They buy gardening books that were writen to accomodate colder regions.They are confused ,angry and still WANT TO GET THE GARDEN STARTED RIGHT NOW!So,they  go shopping for the convenient ready plants,bagged soil,chemical fertilizers ,pesticides ...and the bill : You will be AMAZED!!!!SOOOOOOOO expensive! So , what is the alternative?GROW AND MAKE YOUR OWN !WE CAN HELP!

Wait a minute.I know out side is soooooooo   HOT!There are zilions of mosquitos, and "NOTHING GROWS IN THE SAND...MAY BE BEACH CASTLES!"kind of attitude.Well , let us start small.Choose an area that is not prone to flooding .Raised beds is a safe way to garden in S.Florida just in case .

We need to work on ourselves first before we start digging.Awareness is important.Application of what we learn is important as well.Our attitude and our dedication to the GARDENING PROCESS will determine whether we fail or succeed.

HAPPY  GROWING SEASON!

Organic Community Gardens are now sprouting like crazy in South Florida.The economic crunch is now compelling churches,schools,municipalities ,homeowners etc..to transform lands -that are either neglected or used to grow lawns -to productive vegetable gardens.

As a Master Gardener who worked for the last 10 years in establishing and maintaining Organic Community Gardens in South Florida I came up with a summery of RECOMMENDATIONS to help out new comers chart a feasable way into starting their own ORGANIC COMMUNITY GARDENS:

1-LOCATION:START SMALL,choose a location that is immune to FLOODING,is not a slope and is topograghically sound.Check out and clear the soil of  debris and other toxic substances.

2-Solarise and aerate the area you plan to use for a vegetable garden.

3-Appoint a care taker who has knowledge and experience to manage an organic  garden. Form a committee from your group and name a CO_ORDINATOR to follow up,to handle and decide on the garden  issues and solutions:financial,social,organizational,community events,gardening process and other matters pertainig to the garden.

4-Declare a mission and a vision.Prepare a garden budget.Set up rules and regultaions.Fill applications and paperwork to observe ,preserve and protect all parties from litigations on subjects pertaining to safety,accidents,insurance liability,obligations and responsibilities,time limits for using the plots etc..

5-Fascilitate educational classes and workshops to promote organic gardening awareness ,garden ergonomics,safety,gardening know how etc..

6-Publish a news letter,design a web site for the garden .

7-Involve members who are dedicated and able to carry out the garden tasks.Specialize gardening areas for different groups: SENIORS,ADULTS,CHILDREN,DISABLED etc..

8-Have specialized areas for: composting,a mini nursery,workshops and classes,shed for storing tools and garden accessories,events,bulletin board etc..

9-Prepare your own organic top soil,compost,organic fertilizers,organic pesticides.Weed and maintain the garden.Irrigate and mulch as necessary,harvest and use companion herbs .

10-Market your produce in green and farmers market especially to people who can not afford the EXPENSIVE HEALTH FOOD STORES.Donate to soup kitchens and charity organizations that cater for the needy.Do potucks and spread the good word of LOCALLY GROWN ORGANIC FRUIT AND VEGETABLES!

Most people tell me they find it intimidating to grow fruits and vegetables in Florida. . Personally , I went through the same experience.   Gardening in South Florida is different ,but not difficult,because the region falls under the TROPICAL and SUB-TROPICAL zones 9-10-11.

I found it helpful to graduate from the  -  Florida  Master Gardener Certification program . Florida Horticultural EDUCATION helped me a lot to acquire the KNOW-HOW skills .BUT the Most important factor was my 10 years of  HANDS-ON  local community NATURAL farming and gardening EXPERIENCE.As they say,practice makes perfect! There is no shortage of out of state gardening books  collecting dust on the shelves nor for out of state gardeners who moved to retire in Florida.But there are shortages in finding Florida EDUCATED and FLORIDA EXPERIENCED  Organic "LOCALLY GROWN " gardeners and farmers.Best bet  is to start networking and checking internet sites like the popular:localharvest.org

We have been experiencing DRAUGHT and major Hurricanes during the last five years.This led me to experiment on Container gardening as a safegaurd flexible  horticultural process  that adapts and addresses to such kind of hardship inclement weather.

Florida Vegetable Container Gardening  TIPS.

Benefits and TIPS on Florida fruits and Vegies Container gardening :

1-It is easy and instant.If you have no back/front yard and live in an apartment with a patio or private entrance ,then you can do it.With the economy in a grinding crunch , saving on the grocery bills by growing your own organic food is not a bad idea.

2-You will by-pass the problematic disease and nematodes infested Florida sandy soil .Pesticides and fertilizers free container gardening is even easier to do in containers than otherwise.To discourage unwanted bad bugs , experiment with  vegies companion herbs like Cuban oregano .

3-Container gardening is resistant to Hurricanes(you can shelter indoors) and Water restrictions/Draught drills and dilemmas(you will save onwater bill, fines and tickets) .

4-Container gardening is almost a weed free gardening if you use your own home made soil mix.

5-Most of the following can be grown in containers : a)Vegies-Tomato,peppers,eggplant,beans,lettuce,green onion,squash,sweat potatos,yams,cucumber and more...

b)Herbs- Basil,rosemary,Cuban oregano,aloe vera,parsley,mint,cilantro and more.

c)Fruit trees- Mango,papaya,pineapple,pommgranate,fig,citrus etc

d) Edible flowers-Sunflower,nasturtium,marygold etc

For a start up kit what you need are the following:

1-Containers: 5 gallon  and 6-10 inch .

2-seeds and growers flats and  pots.Start seeds inside away from sizzling outdoors heat.

3-Home made Organic soil:  A mix of  saw dust, sphagnum peat moss,vermiculites,perlites,compost.Experiment!

4-Hook up with a local organic local farmer network.Visit localharvest web page , network and check events calender for  local  workshops and classes .

5- JUST DO IT!