Agricultural enterprises are still thriving here in Dade County! (Pictured: Swiss Chard, one of the unique vegetables Dean Richardson grows)From the gloom and doom of the agricultural interests, rising like a phoenix from the ruins of the development downturn, comes Dean Richardson. Richardson is not your usual South Dade grower.
Dean's Tropical Treescapes, a flowering tree and palm landscape nursery located a few miles south of Metro Zoo, is a perfect example of an agricultural interest morphing to accommodate changing markets. Taking what he knew about agriculture and turning part of his landscape business into a sustainable farm was Dean's personal experiment that could very well open the eyes of many growers in South Dade and one would hope, the Miami-Dade community.
In October 2008, after carefully thinking through the process, the nursery was housed in existing plastic "green" houses and outfitted with a computerized watering system. They used organic growing methods, but could not be certified "organic" due to the surrounding nursery. Because of wanting to be sustainable, the nursery uses OMRI approved chemicals (mostly soap and IPM), grow above ground, on benches or in grow bags on ground cloth in potting soil.
Dean needed the selection of vegetables to be unique to create excitement and a demand. He pondered the marketplace and came up with a selection of really cool veggies that were a sensation at a local winter farmers market in Coral Gables.
Now with their winter success under their belt, Tropical Treescapes is now on to the summer market. With strange veggies and herbs that we would never find at the local chain supermarket (or that we could even imagine!) the nursery is ready to hit the bazaar once again. Since it is not likely that you will be finding a farmers market in midsummer with locally grown produce, you can buy direct from Dean and meet the farmer! If you order in the morning, it is picked the same day! Pretty amazing, isn't it?
What's the lesson here?
The biggest story is that agricultural enterprises are still thriving here in Dade County. This creative man has taken his lemon and made lemonade. Instead of sitting there whining and waiting for the next building boom, he has taken his property and turned it into a business which is supporting the local economy along with keeping people employed.
This is small business ingenuity at its best. Dean Richardson offers a stunning response to those folks who are prematurely burying Dade County Agriculture.
You can contact Dean Richardson for availability at 786-325-3936 or via email: troptree@bellsouth.net
8 comments:
What a wonderful looking vegetable. However, unless it comes with a recipe, I don't know if my wife would be able to cook it. Assuming one is supposed to cook it.
Italians love swiss chard...grew up with it.
It is pretty stuff. So, do you cook it or not?
I think the photo is color enhanced. I always remember green stuff.
From the examiner.com:
While the leaves of Swiss chard are green, the stems come in a resplendent rainbow of hues. The denizens of the color spectrum well represented by the stems include white, red, orange, purple, magenta, pink and yellow. The colors do serve as a taste guide, with the white stem denoting a milder taste than the red. The white stems can even be eaten, but the red are of a nature genteelly described as tough as old boots.
So maybe it isn't color enhanced. Dragonfruit comes in bright colors, too
Swiss chard; colorful and good. I grow these colors in my garden. Sauted with olive oil and garlic, raw in a salad or added to any dish in place of traditional greens, it's mild flavored and wonderful. Stems are just as good as the leaves.
Swiss chard aside, it is good to see agriculture thriving in South Dade. If only the County would help farmers.
Dean says that he has the following veggies at the moment:
Candy Stripe Beets
Sorrell
Malabar Spinach
Red Noodle Long Beans
Purple Pod Long Beans
Gita Green Long Beans
Xera Green Bush Beans
Winter Density Leaf Lettuce
Magenta Leaf Lettuce
New Red Fire Leaf Lettuce
Lettuce Mix
Lila Onions
Blue Spice Basil
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