Grower Jim

Website: www.growerjim.blogspot.com

This grower has a photo album.

Hello! My name is Jim Ford, and I am a long-time producer of fresh, naturally-grown fruit, potted herbs, vegetable plants and edible landscape plants. Everything I sell is locally grown in Apopka, where I have been cultivating the same plot of land for 25 years.

I define naturally-grown as being grown without any artificial or manufactured products (Beyond Organic). “Certified Organic” growers are allowed to use bacteria, toxic alkaloids, and other man-made compounds on their crops as long as they are derived from plant or animal sources. I do not use these products. If a plant can’t be grown without the use of chemicals, I don’t grow it. For weed control I rely on labor-intensive hand pulling, mulch suppression and weed fabric/ground cloth.

My fruit grove is naturally watered only with rainfall, and the lack of irrigation concentrates and enhances the flavor of my fruit.
My fresh vegetables and herbs are all grown outdoors in the ground in natural sun, wind and rain. As a result, they may not always be picture-perfect, but the flavor and nutrition levels can’t be beat. Vegetable seedlings are grown in the same outdoor conditions, producing a sturdier transplant than commercial greenhouse-grown varieties that collapse when exposed to real-world conditions.
My potted plants are grown in a compost/soil blend made from materials composted on site, and watered with rainfall and ground water from a well. I don’t use any synthetic fertilizers, instead relying on the nutrients inherent in the compost/soil mix and bio-active pond water rich with fish waste and algae. All containerized plants are grown in 100% re-used post-consumer pots.
My farm is biologically diverse, home to a huge number of plant species that provide habitat for any and all wildlife escaping the encroaching urban hardscape.
Beside Homegrown Co-op, you can buy my products direct from me at the following locations:
Apopka Foliage & Fresh Market on the first and third Saturdays of the month (Oct-May) Both plants & some produce.
Sanford Farm Swap meet on the second and fourth Saturdays of each month. Mainly plants and some seasonal fruits.
Orlando VA Clinic Farmers Market on the first and third Wednesdays of the month (produce only).

Check out my blog/website to learn more about many of the plants I grow. I also invite you to “like” my business page on Facebook: www.facebook.com/GrowerJimsPlantsAndProduce

FL Nursery Registration #47220368