Showing off a \'Green thumb\'

Tag : green food

By Carl Orth | The Suncoast News
Published: July 19, 2008
Updated:
NEW PORT RICHEY - With skyrocketing food prices and shipping costs,Lester Cypher is about ready to test his green thumb.
The chief executive officer of Volunteer Way said the nonprofitfood bank soon will grow some of its own produce to help feed thehungry.
A hydroponics garden is being set up on a small plot behind theVolunteer Way warehouse on Congress Street.
Cypher hopes to have the first seedlings growing by the end ofAugust. More than 2,000 plants can be squeezed into a small spaceabout 25 by 50 feet for the pilot project. Tomatoes, lettuce, beansand peppers will be among the first crops.
Hydroponics methods vastly simplify gardening, Martha O'Brien,assistant CEO for the food bank, explained. The plants put downroots in water in pots, rather than growing in soil like atraditional garden. The plants can grow year round. They growfaster. And the garden requires far less labor.
The pots for the plants are being hung on the poles, O'Brienreported. A tarp covering must be installed to give the plantsshade from the summer sun. Cypher said the irrigation system thathas been installed can cover 10 times the amount of space in thepilot plot.
Within 6 months or so, the hydroponics garden should move to a newsite on Congress Street north of Pine Hill Road, Cypher expects.The 6.8 acres of property recently was donated by the Parkerfamily, O'Brien reports.
The pilot project will give Volunteer Way officials a chance toexperiment to find the best methods, Cypher said.
The food bank leaders are getting lots of good advice from SteveWood with the Sheriff's Office, Cypher pointed out. The Sheriff'sOffice already had run a successful hydroponics farm at the mainjail in Land O' Lakes, although the hydroponics facility is beingrebuilt after a tornado Dec. 19. Volunteer Way is using the samesupplier for seeds, Vigoro, as the Sheriff's Office.
Also lending support is a master gardener from the University ofFlorida, Carolyn Kramer. "She is helping us to write a yearly planwhich will have times to plant, what to plant, days of harvesting,fertilizers" and other tips, O'Brien commented.
Volunteer Way is looking for volunteers to tend the hydroponicsgarden, O'Brien said. Youth groups from various churches haveexpressed interest in helping. The food bank phone number is727-815-0433.
Carl Orth can be reached at 727-815-1068 or corth@suncoastnews.com.