JACKSONVILLE BEACH, Fla. – Monday morning, we began a new series on The Morning Show called “Home Grown. ”
Why? We recognize buying fresh produce is not only expensive, but it’s also difficult if you live in a neighborhood that doesn’t have easy access to a grocery store.
There are far too many neighborhoods that have this problem. Often referred to as food deserts, the USDA has a map showing these communities across the country (marked in green).
Zooming into Jacksonville, we know there are as many as 40 food deserts in our city, according to 2022 data.
Other counties in Northeast Florida have the same problem, including neighborhoods in St. Johns, Clay and Nassau counties.
This is why we are showing our viewers how to grow their own vegetables at home.
Mary Ellen Waugh, who happens to also be my mother, created and manages a large garden located at Beaches Emergency Assistance Ministry, BEAM, in Jacksonville Beach.
BEAM provides food and financial assistance to families who live or work at or near the beaches.
She has spent a decade growing vegetables and fruit for BEAM’s food pantry. In fact, this year alone Waugh and BEAM’s volunteers have grown and harvested 8,000 pounds of food. BEAM follows the University of Florida’s plant guide.
Starting your vegetable garden
A vegetable garden needs three things:
- Rich soil
- Water
- 8 hours of sunlight a day
Where to build your garden
How much time you have to spend on your garden should dictate its size and location.
If you have limited time, you might want to consider using pots to grow a few vegetables.
Be sure they have holes in the bottom to allow water to drain and that they are big enough to support your vegetable plants.
If you have more time, you can create a garden box or a raised bed. The more vegetables you plant, the more time it will take to be successful.
How to build a garden box
Your box should be lined with something that prevents weeds from growing. BEAM uses 6 mil black plastic as the liner in its 60 vegetable boxes. It’s thick and blocks sunlight.
“You have to cut slits, maybe 3 or 4 for water to drain,” explained Waugh, who helped us lay out a large rectangle of the liner as a demonstration. “You put the soil on top of it.”
It needs to be black, a clear liner will still allow sunlight and weeds will grow.
If you have trouble finding the liner, you can use a black plastic garbage bag instead.
Waugh recommends building something around it to hold your soil. It should be at least 12 inches deep to give your vegetable plants room to root.
Waugh created the garden at Atlantic Beach Elementary School more than a decade ago and recently helped revitalize a vegetable garden at Mayport Coastal Sciences Middle School.
The boxes at the middle school are made of cinder blocks designed in the shape of large rectangles.
She said she does not recommend using pressure-treated wood to build your box, since the chemicals in the wood can leach into your soil and your vegetables.
If you do not have another option, be sure to extend the 6 mil black plastic liner to cover the pressure-treated wood to prevent leaching.
BEAM used composite recyclable plastic to build its boxes, which will last for decades and does not contain harmful chemicals.
Soil
Waugh uses Organic 3 Compost as the soil to grow BEAM’s vegetables.
“Look at how rich it is, and how flaky it is,” she showed me as we prepared the box BEAM is providing to News4JAX for our food-growing segments.
You need more than just soil; you need to add fertilizer, too.
“We use organic fertilizer. It’s called Garden Tone,” she said.
You can sprinkle it by hand, wearing a glove, across the top of the soil in your box before planting.
“It should be added once a month to your vegetable garden,” Waugh added.
It can be purchased at any nursery. If there is not a nursery near you, you can buy compost made specifically for vegetable gardens in the plant section of most hardware stores.
We used a hand rake to mix in the fertilizer.
We’re ready to plant
There are several vegetables that grow very well this time of year. Among them are lettuce, carrots and broccoli.
These are the three vegetables we will plant in our garden at BEAM. Keep in mind, not all vegetables can be planted together in a box.
Planting tips
Be sure to join us next Monday, Nov. 4, when we will show you the best way to plant; the depth is important.
We will also explain why pruning your vegetable plant may be required before you put it in the soil and what you should know about how much to water.
Don’t miss our Home Grown segments during the 8 a.m. hour of The Morning Show on Mondays.