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How Does Your Garden Grow?

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By LENORA LAKE Tribune correspondent

The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 8, 2008

TEMPLE TERRACE - The owners of Grace's Hydro-Organic Garden Center bring the farm to the city.

"The neat thing is we grew up on a farm, and we were doing organic gardening back before it was cool," said Steve Grace, 55, who owns the store at 8877 N. 56th St. with his wife, Jean, 49.

"If you grow organically, your vegetables will be bigger, better-tasting, and it will be healthier for you," he said.

The Graces, who moved to Florida in 1989 from Indiana, worked for another garden center until they opened their 10,000-square-foot store in November 2004. The owners, who participate in a number of area plant festivals, will be among 60 vendors in this weekend's University of South Florida Botanical Gardens' 18th annual Fall Plant Festival.

For the sale, the Graces will have vegetable and fruit plants including tomatoes and peppers, EarthBoxes for planting, fertilizers, organic pest control products, wind chimes, plant stakes, stacking self-watering containers and other items.

Those are a few of the 2,500 products the Temple Terrace couple sells in the store, where their 24-year-old son, Zach, also works. The store is stocked with rain barrels, grow lights, water containers and other accessories for gardening.

A 3-year-old parsley plant that is more than 2 feet wide is used to demonstrate hydroponic growing.

"We probably have had a million pounds of parsley off it," Steve Grace said, with a laugh. "And it keeps growing."

The Graces said more people are becoming aware of benefits of growing with natural fertilizers and avoiding chemicals to control pests.

"We are geared to the home hobbyist. If you are growing six tomato plants in your back yard, why would you need chemicals to do it?" he said. "We are about building life into soil."

The store attracts a variety of customers from across the Tampa Bay area, including Donald Cain of Seminole Heights who shopped at the store recently.

"They are so knowledgeable, and they are just so helpful about everything," said Cain who has been growing vegetables for about eight years.

The family operation is popular with customers because any of them can answer questions. Son Zach takes care of the plants, which he starts from seeds, and handles customers if his parents are busy stocking.

A daughter, 20-year-old Stephanie, an Eckerd College student, works the weekend shows with her mother and in the store when school is not in session.

Jean Grace said, "A lot of the joy is how many people come back in and tell us their successes."

One customer grew 110 pounds of eggplant in one EarthBox one season and some customers grow 40 to 60 pounds of tomatoes in an EarthBox, the Graces said.

"One EarthBox is the way of bringing the country farm to the city," Steve Grace said.

In addition to the Graces, this weekend's festival will feature other commercial exhibitors as well as representatives from many plant clubs and societies, said Kim Hutton, special events coordinator at the gardens.

The groups will offer information and sell plants including crotons, African violets, orchids, bromeliads, begonias, cactus, native plants and palms. About 3,000 visitors are expected to attend.

The gardens' Plant Shop "is overflowing with ferns and interesting tropical plants," Hutton said.

The show also will feature a lecture at noon Saturday on growing fruit trees and another at noon Sunday by author and extension agent emeritus Tom MacCubbin."His expertise runs the gamut from horticulture to vegetable gardens. Both appeal to our festival visitors," Hutton said.

The Tampa Tribune is a sponsor of the festival.

IF YOU GO

WHAT: 18th annual USF Botanical Fall Plant Festival with plants for sale and lectures

WHEN: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday

WHERE: USF Campus at Pine and Alumni drives

ADMISSION: $4 for the public; free for children 11 and younger and USF Botanical Gardens members

INFORMATION: Call (813) 974-2329 or see www.cas.usf.edu/garden

Correspondent Lenora Lake can be reached at llake@tamptrib.com or (813) 865-4851

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