Stack's Urban Harvest

08/30/2026

When dead grass has a silver lining… 🌱

The first day the painters showed up to paint our house, I met with the lead painter and mentioned that if they had anything toxic to dispose of, they could dump it in the grassy area over the septic tank.

He looked at me and said, “There’s no toxic stuff. We’ll just have brushes to wash.”

I held my tongue. Took a breath. And said, “Okay, when you’re washing brushes, that can be done there.”

Well… a few days later, I had my answer. 😂

There was a pretty obvious patch of completely dead grass right where the brush-rinsing was happening.

And then I noticed something that made me a whole lot less annoyed…

The sunshine mimosa. 🌸

My favorite Florida ground cover was thriving right alongside the dead grass, apparently only slightly phased by whatever was coming out of those paintbrushes.

In fact, I almost wish they *had* killed all the grass there, because if the sunshine mimosa wants to take over, I'm not exactly going to complain. 😏

Of course, there’s a lesson here, too: just because something is being washed down a drain or into soil doesn't mean it magically stops being a chemical. Paint residues, solvents, and other products can have very different effects on soil life and plants.

So I guess the painters accidentally conducted a little experiment for me:

👉🏼Grass: 0
👉🏼Sunshine mimosa: “Is that all you got?” 😂🌱

08/28/2026

🌱 What an incredible experience!

For 10 days, Amanda Pike brought together an amazing group of people for her Permaculture Design Course, and I was incredibly grateful when Amanda invited me to help film it.

What I experienced while I was there was truly transformational.

We learned, explored, got our hands dirty, visited farms and regenerative projects, and spent time in Amanda's incredible food forest. But one of the most memorable parts for me was getting to know the people who came together for this experience.

One of my favorite field trips was to Jupiter Creamery, a regenerative dairy farm with an incredible story of resilience. Seeing what Farmer Suzie is doing and hearing the story behind the farm was something I'll carry with me.

And then there was Amanda's food forest... 🌴🌱

There's so much I'm still processing, and I'm already looking at my own future food forest through a different lens.

I'm incredibly grateful to Amanda for inviting me to be part of this experience and to help document it. I have a LOT of video to edit, and eventually some of what we captured will become part of a digital version of the course.

But for now, I'm simply grateful for what I learned, the people I met, the places we visited, and the inspiration I'm bringing home with me.

Sometimes an experience doesn't just teach you something. It changes the way you see things.

Transforming Florida Yards

08/18/2026

Florida is NOT too hot to grow food. 🌱☀️

Maybe we're just trying to grow the wrong things.

At Cody Cove Farm, Josh Jamison is taking a different approach: instead of fighting Florida's heat and humidity to grow crops that prefer cooler climates, why not grow what actually thrives here?

Plants from tropical regions around the world can open up an entirely different menu of possibilities for Florida gardeners.

The question isn't “How do I grow what everyone else grows?”

It's “What actually wants to grow here?”

And that simple shift in perspective could change the way you garden.

👇 What tropical or heat-loving food plants have you had success with?

08/08/2026

🌱 It’s finally here!

I went to Cody Cove Farm & Nursery expecting to learn about plants.

I came home thinking differently about what a thriving food forest could become here.

Spending the morning with Josh Jamison was about much more than touring his farm or bringing home a few new plants. From his summer crop trials and unique cultivars to tropical root crops, fruit trees, and even the surprising role of red clay in Florida’s sandy soil, Josh helped me see new possibilities for building a diverse, productive food forest in our Central Florida climate.

And what Josh reinforced for me is something I’ve believed for years:

👉The best gardeners never stop learning. 🌿

I'd love to hear from you, too. What has changed the way you think about growing food where you live?

Think you cannot do Florida summer gardening? Join us at Cote Cove ...

08/02/2026

I'm excited to share that I'll be joining Anni Ellis tomorrow, Monday, August 3, on the Sustainable Living Show on WMNF Community Radio 88.5 FM!

We'll be talking about root-knot nematodes, soil solarization, and what I learned the hard way.
The show airs live from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. (ET), and you can listen in three ways:
🌱 88.5 FM in the Tampa area
🌱 Ask your smart speaker to "Play WMNF."
🌱 Listen live online at www.WMNF.org

Can't catch it live? No problem! The interview will be available afterward on the Sustainable Living page at WMNF 88.5 FM. Just scroll down and select the date of the broadcast.

08/01/2026

August in Florida may feel too hot and steamy to do anything outside, but it's time to start planting your fall garden. Even though it's hotter than ideal right now for fall crops, gardeners in North and Central Florida have to plant early enough so crops mature before frost.
With the intense heat this time of year, soil dries out quickly, so keep new plantings watered well until they get established.

For most of the state, here's what to put in the ground this month: beans, eggplant (transplants), okra, southern peas, peppers (transplants), squash, tomatoes (transplants) and watermelon. If you didn't get your tomatoes, peppers and eggplant seeds started by the end of July, you've still got time in the first few days of August, especially in the Central and Southern parts of the state.

Perennial vegetables that can be planted throughout the year include achira, aibika, cassava, chaya, katuk, longevity spinach, moringa, Okinawa spinach, sissoo spinach and tindora. In North Florida, all of these will require some winter protection.

In North Florida, in addition to the above items, you can also plant beets, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celery, Chinese cabbage, collards, cucumbers, kale, mustard and turnips this month, but skip the okra and southern peas. You can put in seeds or plants of any of the cool-season crops.

In Central Florida, get ready to start cool-season crops in small pots or seed flats. Broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, Chinese cabbage, collards, kale, mustard and turnips can be seeded near the end of the month for transplanting to the garden late next month.

In South Florida you can also still plant pumpkins early in the month, but wait another month to plant your beans. Sweet potatoes and Seminole pumpkins can be planted anytime this month.

Follow this page for regular updates on what to plant and harvest each month, as well as growing tips all month long!
https://www.facebook.com/GrowerJimsPlantsAndProduce/

07/31/2026

After the harsh winter, I honestly wasn't sure this old star fruit tree was going to make it.

It took much longer than expected to wake up, so I'll gladly give her a pass for missing this year's usual summer harvest. 🌿

Today, though, I looked up and found her covered in blossoms.

The very first fruit we ever tasted on this property, the day we closed on the house, came from this tree, and it was consistently sweeter than the star fruit from our old South Florida tree. So now we're excited to see what kind of fall fruit from the farm she has in store for us. ⭐

I'm grateful she's healthy and thriving again.

07/29/2026

A new chapter of the food forest has begun! 🌱🌳

After months of planning, saving cardboard, and waiting for the right opportunity, I finally started the next phase of transforming this area with sheet mulching.

The timing is actually because of another big mulch delivery is on the way. The arborist is bringing another load of fresh wood chips, so the mission was clearing space in the current mulch pile and putting those chips to work!

These photos show both sides of the process: the raw material that will help build the soil, and the first section where cardboard and a thick layer of wood chips are creating the foundation for the future food forest.

The pigeon peas, cowpeas, and sunn h**p already growing here are becoming part of the system, adding biomass, protecting the soil, and helping create the conditions for a thriving ecosystem.

Normally, I save labor-intensive projects like this for the cooler months. Moving this much mulch in the Florida summer heat is definitely a challenge! But sometimes the timing of nature’s gifts (like a fresh arborist chip delivery) determines when the work gets done.

These photos are the "before." Someday I'll look back at this moment and remember when this was just a pile of wood chips and a vision.

Follow along as this landscape transforms one layer at a time. 🌱

07/24/2026

Is this little fuzzy "mealybug" carrying off an aphid for lunch? 👀

That's what it may look like at first glance!

Thanks to a bug ID group, I learned it's actually a Scymninae lady beetle larva; one of the "mealybug destroyer" lady beetles that disguises itself with a waxy white coating while hunting soft-bodied insects.

Even more amazing, if you look closely at the third photo, you'll spot another lady beetle larva underneath the leaf, with the more familiar "mini alligator" appearance that many gardeners recognize. Two very different-looking lady beetle larvae... on the same plant!

Also, ants are farming the aphids for their honeydew, creating a fascinating little ecosystem on these cowpeas.
Just a couple of weeks ago, these plants were covered with aphids. Today, thanks to an army of predators, they're putting out beautiful new growth (see the last photo 😉).

This is exactly why I love regenerative gardening. Sometimes the best classroom isn't a book, it's a garden that's allowed to do what nature has been doing all along. 🌿

Every time I discover another beneficial insect, I'm reminded why biodiversity matters. With new invasive pests continuing to arrive in Florida, we need all the natural allies we can get.

Have you ever mistaken a beneficial insect for a pest?