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Seeds Of Change

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By B.C. MANION | The Tampa Tribune,

Published: November 9, 2007

CLEARWATER - CLEARWATER - Hank and Pamela Sindlinger never expected to trade in their Harleys for a tractor or to start an organic farm where they raise fruits and vegetables.

But life doesn't always go according to plan.

And now, instead of riding off into the sunset, they're out in the field next to their house from dawn to dusk tending the crops on their community farm. It's the first satellite of Sweetwater Community Organic Farm in Town 'N County, a hugely popular urban farm that started a dozen years ago.

"We sell out here incredibly fast," says Rick Martinez, founder of the original Sweetwater. "We open our membership in May and we sell out by July. There's many, many people wanting to join, and we can't accommodate them."

Like the farm in Hillsborough, people who join the new Sweetwater Pinellas pay a membership fee for a share of the harvest. Full members get a share each week; half-members, every other week. Volunteers, including members, help dig, plant, weed and hoe.

Today is a special day at Sweetwater Pinellas: It's their first harvest.

The Sindlingers began clearing the field around March, started growing seeds a few months later and planted their first crops at the end of August.

They came to farming in a roundabout way.

Three years ago, they bought a narrow strip of property next door to their home and leased it back to the lawn maintenance and landscaping business that had been operating there. When the business closed about six months later, the couple found themselves with a weed-choked swath of land about 100 feet wide and slightly more than a quarter-mile long.

They had no idea what to do with it.

Then, last spring, Pamela raised her hand at an organic farming conference.

"I said, 'If you had 31/2 acres, four shade houses and a deep well in the middle of Pinellas County, what would you do?'"

Hank picks up the story: "And Rick Martinez, whom we [had] never met, was on the panel. He jumped up and vaulted across, grabbed the microphone from the person who was the moderator and said, 'Stay right there. I'll be there in five minutes.'"

Martinez needed another place for the people whom his farm can't accommodate.

Family Goes To Work

Hank, who used to be a national sales manager in the printed circuit board industry, and Pamela, who had a service that linked tutors with students, agreed to try the farm life. Along for the ride are the grandchildren they're raising, Steven and Stephanie Hickman, ages 11 and 9.

"We had weeds as tall as we were," Pamela says. "The children and Hank and I — we spent weeks and weeks and weeks clearing that.

"And then we had to take the ground cloth off because this ground has been covered with ground cloth for decades."

They ripped off the cloth — put there to inhibit weeds — and began tilling the ground for the plants they had been growing from seed.

Hank and Pamela, both 55, grew up with family farms and had been hobby gardeners for years. Pamela, president of the Florida Herb Society, has been growing herbs her whole life.

But they had never tackled farming on this scale.

"We work as a team," Hank says.

"We're either home or here," Pamela adds.

After school, Steven and Stephanie help prepare the seeds for planting by soaking them in a mixture of fish emulsion, seaweed and humic acid, an organic fertilizer.

Children Do Their Part

Steven traded in Nintendo GameBoy and Saturday cartoons to work on the farm.

"I think it's great to grow up on a farm," says the boy, who loves to cook and enjoys picking the basil he has planted.

"We make pesto," he says. "We use basil and olive oil and feta cheese."

He's not so fond of weeding.

"It's really hot work, plus when you pull the weeds, some of them, they're so slippery they slip out of your hands, and after a while it hurts your hands."

Stephanie likes walking the rows, looking for problems.

"She scouts any little worms, any caterpillars. That's her job," Pamela says. "She's kind of the bug queen."

With the help of volunteers — some who are members and some who are not — the family has planted purple and white kohlrabi, cabbage, kale, carrots and eggplants. They have varieties of lettuce, different kinds of peppers, an assortment of radishes.

The list goes on and on.

Visitors Pleased With Farm

The volunteers have been a godsend, Pamela says.

They include radiologist Rhonda McDowell, who stopped by recently to plant shallots and transplant lettuce. The rhythmic motions of the work are calming, she says. Spending time here reminds her of times spent with her grandmother shucking corn, shelling peas and cleaning cucumbers for canning.

And although she's not certain that organics are healthier foods, McDowell knows the methods used for growing them are less harmful to the environment.

She's also pleased to be able to buy locally grown produce, instead of vegetables shipped from halfway around the world.

Having organic foods nearby also appeals to Cheryl Pacheco, who switched from the Sweetwater farm in Hillsborough to the new one in Pinellas.

She won't burn as much gas getting there, and it will be easier to partake in the farm's community life, she says.

Andrea Harms, another member, thinks the experience will be good for her kids.

"I have a 2-year-old and a 4-year-old, and I wanted them to get their fingers in the dirt and realize where the fruits and vegetables come from," she says.

The Hillsborough farm has 70 full and 130 half-members. The Pinellas farm has 17 full members and 50 half-members.

"It's a start-up operation, so we wanted to go small," Martinez says.

A Seed To Grow On

Right now, the Sindlingers just want to be sure they're producing enough foods to satisfy current members. They aren't even taking much home for dinner yet.

While growing wholesome veggies is a big part of Sweetwater's mission, growing community is important as well, Martinez says. The original Sweetwater offers educational programs, plans annual gatherings and holds a Sunday market, where people get together to listen to music and buy fresh foods.

"The more we build a track record of building community … the more the farms will spread," Martinez predicts.

The Sindlingers plan to follow suit. Perhaps they'll create an artists' row, where artists can display their works along the fence, says Pamela. Or maybe they'll offer visitors herbal coffees and teas.

Who knows? As with everything on a community farm, whatever is reaped will have been sown by many hands. And that includes ideas.

Reporter B.C. Manion can be reached at (813) 259-7150 or bmanion@tampatrib.com.

GET DOWN ON THE FARM

WHAT: Sweetwater Pinellas, an organic community farm affiliated with Sweetwater Organic Community Farm in Town 'N Country

WHERE: 6000 150th Ave. N., Clearwater

HOW MUCH: Full members pay $615 to $999 a year to pick up a share of the harvest each week from November to May; half-members pay $355 to $614 to pick up a share every other week.

INFORMATION: Call (727) 244-0724, e-mail pmsnursery@aol.com, or go to www.sweetwater-organic.com.

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