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Showing Off A 'Green Thumb'

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By Carl  Orth | The Suncoast News

Published: July 19, 2008

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 nonprofit food bank soon will grow some of its own produce to help feed the hungry.

A hydroponics garden is being set up on a small plot behind the Volunteer Way warehouse on Congress Street.

Cypher hopes to have the first seedlings growing by the end of August. More than 2,000 plants can be squeezed into a small space about 25 by 50 feet for the pilot project. Tomatoes, lettuce, beans and 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 down roots in water in pots, rather than growing in soil like a traditional garden. The plants can grow year round. They grow faster. And the garden requires far less labor.

The pots for the plants are being hung on the poles, O'Brien reported. A tarp covering must be installed to give the plants shade from the summer sun. Cypher said the irrigation system that has been installed can cover 10 times the amount of space in the pilot plot.

Within 6 months or so, the hydroponics garden should move to a new site on Congress Street north of Pine Hill Road, Cypher expects. The 6.8 acres of property recently was donated by the Parker family, O'Brien reports.

The pilot project will give Volunteer Way officials a chance to experiment to find the best methods, Cypher said.

The food bank leaders are getting lots of good advice from Steve Wood with the Sheriff's Office, Cypher pointed out. The Sheriff's Office already had run a successful hydroponics farm at the main jail in Land O' Lakes, although the hydroponics facility is being rebuilt after a tornado Dec. 19. Volunteer Way is using the same supplier for seeds, Vigoro, as the Sheriff's Office.

Also lending support is a master gardener from the University of Florida, Carolyn Kramer. "She is helping us to write a yearly plan which 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 hydroponics garden, O'Brien said. Youth groups from various churches have expressed interest in helping. The food bank phone number is 727-815-0433.

Carl Orth can be reached at 727-815-1068 or corth@suncoastnews.com.

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