Leah Brookswww.leahbrooks.towergarden.com

“Inspiring Healthy Living Around the World”

Gardening in Central Florida

If I can do it, you can do it!

What about YOU?

Children Eat More Fruits And Vegetables If They Are

HomegrownIf you are looking for a way to encourage your children eat their fruits and vegetables, search no further than your backyard, suggests new Saint Louis University research.

Teach a kid to grow a carrot, and she’ll probably eat more of them, according a new study published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association. The study found that kids who are involved in the process of growing their own food are more likely to have healthier diets.

Studies have shown that gardening increases children’s interest in eating fresh fruits and vegetables. Tower Garden is fun for the entire family. Get your kids involved in healthy eating today.

GARDENING in FLORIDAQuestions to ask yourself:

Am I a gardener? Do I want to be? Can I feed my family with what I produce? Are the bugs eating all my veggies? Is my garden sustainable?

And…in Florida…am I producing food all year round? Are I having far more failures than successes in the garden? Hmmm….

Two great ways to garden in Florida!Ground Gardening

Aeroponic Gardening

Five Considerations to SuccessSeason

LocationSoil

Water Variety

Wrong plant….

Wrong time….

Wrong store……

The Right Season

4 Short Seasons

Summer Garden

African – Tropical Seasonhttp://centralfloridagarden.blogspot.com/2011/01/garden-planning.html

Fall Garden

Start Seeds in AugustPlant in September

BroccoliCauliflowerCabbageKaleCollardBeetsChardYellow Squash

TurnipsTomatoesPeppersZucchiniWinter SquashOnionsCornPeasCarrots (direct seed in September)

http://centralfloridagarden.blogspot.com/2011/01/garden-planning.html

Winter Garden

Spring Garden

Plant typical “northern” garden type plants, like peas, green beans, cucumbers, tomatoes… continue harvesting cold weather plants until the weather warms up.

Large seedlings in the ground by March 1!

LocationLocation, Location, Location

Four different hardiness zones…Know your zone!

Bloggers are your friend!Google “

“Gardening is very, very local stuff. Thirty miles or so north of here (north of highway 40) is a completely different zone, and forty miles south of here (somewhere south of Melbourne) begins a much more tropical zone with many fewer freeze.” – Deland Blogger http://centralfloridagarden.blogspot.com

• Nemotodes are a problem in FL, so don’t till the soil.• Define the borders of your garden with concrete blocks or wood.• Place a weed barrier down first (like several layers of newspaper).• Place 50/50 mix of topsoil B (lots of peat) & mushroom compost

several inches think. West Volusia Shed• Make sure you replenish your compost at least twice a year in

Florida.• Start your compost pile! Google it• Make sure you WEED.

Soil

Water: Where the Rubber Meets the Road

“Especially during our peak growing months in spring (March and April), when rainfall is relatively rare, the air is clear, the moisture-robbing winds are brisk, and the sun is strong, you need to water daily, until the root zone is well saturated. “http://centralfloridagarden.blogspot.com/2011/04/watering-garden-in-central-florida.html

VarietyNon-GMO * Open Pollinated

Non-Hybrid Seeds?Grows Well in Southeast

Local Seeds / Small NurseriesSave Your Seeds! Adapted to YOU

Tropicals & Florida Varieties

Seed to Seed: Seed Saving and Growing Techniques for Vegetable Gardeners

By Suzanne Ashworth

How Do I Garden?AeroponicsHow do I garden?

I have 4 aeroponic gardens for all my tomatoes, lettuces, peppers, squashes, melons, broccoli, strawberries, kale, Swiss chard, greens, and herbs. I have 104 planting spots in my Tower Garden.

I have (2) 3’x6’ ground gardens for beets, large varieties of broccoli, Malanga, Malabar spinach, radishes, and carrots.

Tim Blank

A pioneer in the field of aeroponics is our very own Tim Blank, from Eustis, FL. Tim took this futuristic growing technique from the Epcot theme park to our back yards!

From 2000 - 2005, Tim Blank was Chief Horticulturist at Epcot Center. He managed a team of scientists and horticultural interns. Tim co-authored several academic papers pertaining to the extensive collaborative research at The Land.

Tim Blank also served as a research liaison for the Department of Energy and NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) partnership with Walt Disney World.

NASA’s Amazing

Research into Aeroponics

“…..growers choosing to employ the aeroponics method can reduce waterusage by 98 percent, fertilizer usage by 60 percent, and pesticide usage by 100 percent, all while maximizing their crop yields by 45 to 75 percent. By conserving water and eliminating harmful pesticides and fertilizers used in soil, growers are doing their part to protect the Earth.

-NASA’s Spinoff Magazine, 2006, “Progressive Plant Growing Has Business Growing”

These Tower Garden Kale plants contain more

vitamins and minerals than conventionally grown kale!

More than just vitamins and minerals…thousands of

phytonutrients to support my skin, heart, brain, and

immune system and protect me from cancer. This type of nutrition just simply cannot be found in a vitamin pill!

Tower Garden –vs- Conventionally Grown Vegetables

“Moreover, the NASA SBIR results demonstrated that this aeroponic technology delivers an 80-percent increase in dry weight biomass per square meter, when compared to hydroponic and soil-based growing techniques. (When a dry weight measurement is taken, all water is removed from roots, leaves, and stems—thereby, removing water from the biomass.) These results essentially proved that aeroponically grown plants uptake more minerals and vitamins compared to other growing techniques.” -NASA’s Spinoff Magazine, 2006, “Progressive Plant Growing Has Business Growing”

University of Mississippi National Center for Natural Products Research

In every crop, nutrients were the same or higher in the Tower Garden than in soil! “Over the years, research on antioxidants has gained enormous popularity and emerged as potential therapeutic agents to prevent free radical generated damage in the human body. Antioxidants as a natural product, compared to the synthetic antioxidants present in the market, have attracted considerable attention by consumers and by researchers since there is concern of synthetic antioxidants consumption due to their instability and possible activity as carcinogens”

30% faster

Up to 65% more

Season? Location? Soil? Water? Variety?

Watch the Tower Grow!

Two weeks later, January 30, 2012

Planted from seedlings grown in rock wool

January 17, 2012

Three weeks later, February 7, 2012

With Tomato Cage Added

Fully grown at 6 weeks of age!

5 weeks from plantingFebruary 19, 2012

4 weeks from plantingFebruary 13, 2012

6 weeks from plantingFebruary 26, 2012

Come to My Booth! Free Seedlings & Free Gardening Class

The Garden RebelListen to The Garden Rebel Live chat

with me about Tower Gardens!

Sunday, Sept. 1410:06amET to 12:00ET

Call in: 1-844-287-2876 Or click “LISTEN Live”:

http://www.americastalkradionetwork.com/

“The Garden Rebel has the answers to America's gardening

and landscaping questions.His Advice Works!”

Contact Leah

Tower Garden Website HERE

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Send me an email! gardensmarter@gmail.com

Call me!386-473-2638

I look forward to growing with you!

God's GardenTHE Lord God planted a gardenIn the first white days of the world,And He set there an angel wardenIn a garment of light unfurled.

So near to the peace of Heaven,That the hawk might nest with the wren,For there in the cool of the evenGod walked with the first of men.

And I dream that these garden-closesWith their shade and their sun-flecked sodAnd their lilies and bowers of roses,Were laid by the hand of God.

The kiss of the sun for pardon,The song of the birds for mirth,--One is nearer God's heart in a gardenThan anywhere else on earth.

For He broke it for us in a gardenUnder the olive-treesWhere the angel of strength was the wardenAnd the soul of the world found ease.

``Dorothy Frances Gurney