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DAVID BERRY,
executive pastor of The Mission
FEATURE | agribiz
Growers
Experimenting
with Soil-less,
Protected Cultures,
and New Crops
by CHERYL ROGERS
SMALL FARMS ON A MISSION
Ato Grow Alternative
A WINTER HAVEN MINISTRY is growing food for the poor Others are growing or considering olives, using vertical plant towers. The hydroponic/aeroponic system produces blackberries, pomegranates or peaches as vegetables and fruits faster, without pesticides or synthetic fertilizers. secondary— or alternative crops. “There’s quite “Instead of cultivating the soil, we cultivate the water,” says David Berry, a bit of [olive] research going on,” says Michael executive pastor of The Mission. O’Hara Garcia, president of the Florida Olive
As a sideline to citrus, Anna Coco and her husband, Bruce Templeton, Council.
began growing test crops in greenhouses using cocopeat, also known as coir, While the tree itself usually will grow where as a growing medium. They ended up becoming distributors. “We’ve grown citrus grows, that doesn’t mean it will bear. “If they many different crops to learn the product,” says Coco, who plans to grow are not able to go dormant, they don’t bloom. If blueberries in the medium in November. they don’t bloom, there’s no olives,” Garcia says.
growing,” Pastor Berry explains. “The only two things we have to grow in cooler weather is spinach and strawberry. Everything else you can grow year round.” It doesn’t require that proverbial green thumb, either. “I’m not a farmer. I’m not a gardener. I literally kill air ferns,” he admits.
Those who use the soil-less approach to growing eliminate soil-borne diseases. Because the planting in protected by a greenhouse or
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A tower holds tunnel, the plants are shielded from freezes and outdoor pests as well.
Ministry workers call it the Daniel Project, based on the book of the Bible where Daniel and his friends ate vegetables as a test— rather than customary foods they believed were polluted. Daniel and his friends were healthier than the others. “That’s what we desire for our folks to be: Stronger and healthier,” Pastor Berry says.
At Doublethumb Growing Solutions in Lake Wales, Coco finds coir “does a better job of holding nutrients on the root.” She explains, “You can’t really overwater coir fiber, as long as you have the proper mix or blend.”
continued on PAGE 22 FloridaAgNews.com
20 plants, runs on $6 worth of electricity a year, and requires 10 minutes a week to maintain.
At The Mission, a nondenominational, com- munity-based outreach ministry, Pastor Berry finds his towers cut growing time on lettuce by 25 percent. It uses one-third of the traditional amount of water and one quarter of the nutrients.
The Mission, which serves 250-300 meals a day, is open four days a week. It has 28 towers and is growing a variety of produce including five types of lettuce, cucumbers, squash, zucchini, eggplant, bell peppers, and tomatoes. A tower holds 20 plants, runs on $6 worth of electricity a year, and requires 10 minutes a week to maintain.
For The Mission, the towers are a godsend. “For the most part you’re exempt from seasonal