ONWARD | Planting hope in the dirt - What's What New Port Richey

rsz_ww_butterfly_2 — PHOTO | MICHELE MILLER

BY MICHELE MILLER
Editor, What’s What New Port Richey

It’s mid-June and that means it is NOT time for growing tomatoes in Florida. Unless, of course, you’re waiting on the unwieldy and invincible Everglades variety that pretty much live forever by reseeding themselves here, there, and everywhere.

That’s something I learned from experience some years ago after attempting to plant a northerner’s veggie garden right around Memorial Day, as is the Farmers’ Almanac tradition in my home state.

Does. Not. Work. Here.

I thought I had it down. I come from a family of Victory Gardeners, after all. People of sturdy stock who learned to till rocky, backyard soil as a way to feed themselves and others during the dire times of The Great Depression.

My grandfather grew the best tomatoes. So did my dad. As a kid I spent many a summer day catching a quick snack between games of Capture the Flag, plucking a beefsteak to bite into, washing the juice and seed pulp that drizzled down my arm with the warm water of the garden hose.

We picked our supper salads by the day back then, a chore I didn’t relish after encountering more than one garter snake mid-harvest.

Our Florida vegetable plot is still a work in progress. It’s a little sparse and brown right now, aside from the sweet potato vines, a couple of ripening green peppers, basil, some sad-looking but hopeful eggplant, and a patch of brown, wilted green beans I’ve let go to seed in anticipation of planting anew in the fall.

There still comes the chill of startle with the appearance of one of Florida’s black racers, but I don’t mind them so much anymore. I understand their purpose in tending to garden pests and scavenging fruit rats that can do real damage.

That we have gotten this far with our southern plot is not due to inherited, green-thumbed wisdom. The learning curve has been flattened in large part, with help from others in the local gardening community.

Volunteer Master Gardeners from the UF/IFAS Pasco Extension, who have a lot to do with the success of gardens at local schools, offer a wealth of knowledge through free seminars held at various sites and online.

Assistance comes from grassroots gardening and urban farmers groups who coordinate the annual Okra Occasion and Florida Loquat Festival, and are more than happy to pass on what they know at the Tasty Tuesdays Community Market at the New Port Richey Public Library.

Through this community of gardeners, I’ve learned how to make rain barrels and worm bins and discovered the environmental value of using melaleuca tree mulch, planting milkweed for the Monarchs, and feeding that compost bin.

And I came to understand that okra, rather than tomatoes, can be a hardy summer crop – if that’s something you fancy.

Turns out my thirty-something son, does. He’s planting them for the first time in his family’s backyard garden, along with some sweet potatoes that he rooted in a jar of water.

Spurred in part by boredom, the frightful thought of food shortages, and perhaps the realization we could be taking care of some of this ourselves, yesterday’s Victory Gardens have become today’s Pandemic Gardens. As in the past, a new generation is learning the value of planting hope in the dirt.

In recent weeks I’ve been treated to some rather tasty “Lila Beans” planted by my 6-year-old granddaughter in her new family garden. Come fall, I’ll be sowing a handful of seeds she and her family harvested there in preparation for the next planting.

As with life, so goes the cyclical process of the garden.

If you’re thinking about it, now’s a good time to plan for the fall. There’s soil to prepare, seeds to purchase, compost to turn, advice to get.

If you need help, be sure to check out what the UF/IFAS Pasco Extension has to offer. Word is they’ve expanded their virtual programs.

And maybe take a stroll down to the Tasty Tuesday Community Market at the New Port Richey Public Library where you’re sure to pick up some tips. While you are there check out their Seed Share Program, where you can find a packet of something that’s bound to take root in our local climate.