From mouse to greenhouse

Tom Carey is a one-man gardening machine.

Carey spends at least six hours a day sowing his garden, Sundew Gardens, in the backyard of his Oviedo home, a house he built with his own hands nearly 20 years ago, before the area near the University of Central Florida had paved roads.

"People thought we were crazy moving this far out in the middle of nowhere back then," he said.

Although Carey's garden is just as old as his house, he abandoned his crops 13 years ago to work the night shift as an electrician for Walt Disney World. He was laid off earlier this year, and is now turning to his garden to make a living.

"Sure enough the layoffs came a few weeks ago, and I kept saying I'm going to get the gardens up and going again," said Carey, a former Voice columnist. "You've got to press the reset button and go forward, and that's what I'm trying to do with this."

The "this" Carey refers to is the reinstatement of his you-pick program, called Harvest Gardening, after a 15-year hiatus. He'll also be picking up his "From my garden to yours" column in the Voice on April 30 after a similar hiatus from writing.

The you-pick program allows as many as 20 families to "subscribe" to Sundew Gardens' produce. Families pay an upfront seasonal subscription fee and are invited to come to the garden once a week to stock up on more than 50 seasonal varieties of herbs, fruits and vegetables, and eggs laid by his nearly two dozen chickens.

Customers can expect produce such as blueberries, lettuces and carrots during the springtime and sturdier veggies such as okra, asparagus and peppers during the summer.

"I'm trying to match the business of the garden to the natural production of the garden," said Carey. "The crops produce on an ongoing basis and so we need to harvest on an ongoing basis."

Alaina Bernard, UCF's Department of Landscape & Natural Resources assistant director of land management, said that small-scale farming initiatives such as Carey's garden can help remind Central Floridians of the area's agricultural roots.

"Getting connected to the people that grow your food is important for the culture, especially for this region, which has been developing so quickly," said Bernard. "It makes you feel more connected with your community, the land and where your food is coming from."

Carey, who grew up on an old family farm near Chicago and moved to Marco Island, Fla., later on, has had a life-long interest in nature.

"I just always had plants growing," he said.

He relocated to Central Florida to attend Rollins College. He and his wife, a teacher, settled in Oviedo, where he expanded his garden into a source of income by selling his produce at the Winter Park Farmers Market and to local health stores. However, following the birth of his three children, he thought it wise to find a career with a more steady income, so he traded the greenhouse for the computer mouse.

Michelle Tallman of Casselberry met Carey more than 15 years ago at a healthy cooking class in Winter Park. Already invested in organic food and a macrobiotic diet, Tallman decided she wanted to learn more about where her food came from. She took on an apprenticeship at Sundew Gardens.

"It was a great experience," she said. "I know it takes a lot of work, and I was just helping the process."

She recently brought her son, Jared, to the garden to experience you-pick for the first time.

"He's a very bad eater, and I thought it would help him to pick food and see where it comes from. It's like a little science project for a 4-year-old," said Tallman. "It's a wonderful bonding activity. [Carey] and his garden are pretty timeless."

Carey hopes that sentiment will draw customers in. Before he began his you-pick garden in the early '90s, he spent nearly seven years perfecting his business plan. Now he's trying to recreate the magic in seven weeks.

Despite the challenges of bringing his garden up to public-picking speed, he is happy with the lifestyle change and eager to reinvigorate his business.

"I spent the last 13 years commuting to Disney everyday, so that's two hours a day of just sitting in the car driving. … I'm more than willing to invest that time doing mundane things like lugging bricks around my garden," he said.

"It's a nice change; you control your own destiny."

Column's Back!

Tom Carey will be resuming his "From my garden to yours" column in the Observer after a 15-year hiatus. Look for it in the next print edition, May 6, or online at wpmobserver.com.

E-mail [email protected] or visit the Sundew Gardens Facebook page to learn more about Carey and the Harvest Gardening program.