01x04 - Inspiration

[bunniefuu]

[dramatic music playing]

[Jamila] I love
the farmer's market

It's my favorite day of the week

This is how to pick an eggplant

I mean, looking back
when I started with farming,

I was just growing for my family

and I grew so much
that I got inspired

to sell my veggies
at my local market

And now I really love it

I look forward to it every week

We're gonna get you some okra

[woman] Can I get
some carrots too?

[Jamila] You want carrots?
Absolutely

You want the rainbow collection?

- [woman] Yes
- [Jamila] All right

When I go to market,
I'm engaging with people

and I'm sharing the harvest

and I'm sharing the vegetables

- Thank you
- [woman] Thank you

All right. Bye, ladies

And that's the beauty
of trying something new

Definitely opens the doors
to new experiences

My name is Jamila Norman,

and I'm an urban farmer
in the city of Atlanta

I farm on 1.2 acres
in the middle of the city

where I grow and harvest
organic fruits,

vegetables, and herbs

I love potatoes
They're like jewels

under the earth for me

I started farming to grow
fresh food for my sons

but saw a greater need
in my community as well

After 10 years as an engineer,

I left the corporate world
to farm full-time

Connecting with the land

and sharing it with my community

is my greatest passion

Yeah. Whoa

All the good stuff this week

We got red okra and green okra

[woman] Oh, yum

- [woman2] Appreciate you
- Thank you

- [woman 2] Bye
- Bye

Hearing the stories from my mom

growing up in Jamaica on my
great grandparents farm,

really planted a seed
deep inside of me

I started this journey
for my family

and I love to help others
discover the joys of farming

and start their own gardens
for their family

[woman] It's everything
that I've ever dreamed of

[Jamila] After all,
everything tastes

a little better
when it's homegrown

I'm heading to the Fleming's
house this morning

to meet up with Ryan and Annie

Their backyard is a really
beautiful blank canvas

and they've got
a pretty awesome creek

that comes in from
the Chattahoochee River

Their property is two acres

And across the street,

there's a seven acre
horse pasture

There's so much green space,
and you still feel like

you're living in the country
in the city

- [Annie] Good luck
- Thanks

[Annie] I'm Annie,
that's my husband Ryan

We have two boys,
Tyson and Trent

- [Ryan] Come on Trent
- [Annie] You got it

We have a dog Heidi
and nine pineapple plants

With more to come

Hopefully

So I've been growing
pineapples in pots

for 12 years now
and we'll have nine of them,

that have to come in and out
of our house seasonally

because North Georgia
has extreme highs

and lows in temperature

and so I'm ready for them

to have a permanent home outside

[Annie] Oh my goodness

Thanks, babe,
you're doing such a good job

This is why the pineapples

has taken over

[Ryan] My hobby
of growing pineapples

has definitely outgrown my house

- Yes
- I would say

[Annie] We have moles
and the moles

are making lumps in the yard

They dig tunnels under the grass

and eat the grassroots,
which I would imagine

they'll do to fruits
and vegetables in the garden

and I would really hate to go
through the work of planting

just to get them all
something to eat

And also, I wish
I had some blueberries

- and lemon tree
- Tree

[Ryan] We would like to grow
as much citrus as we can

to really create a healthy
lifestyle with juicing

And we felt like as much
as we have back here for us

and for the boys
that we needed a garden

and we feel like we have
a really good plot of land

for a garden by the soil,

the sun it gets,

um, it's nice and flat

So I feel like a garden

is kind of what we've needed

the whole time we've lived here

Kind of taking it
from back porch to backyard

It's timely though,
I feel like we're ready

to do that and we've always
wanted to and so maybe

everything I've done
to this point was just

a stepping stone
to taking this step, um...

And we know we don't need any
more pineapples in the house

Maybe not in the house

But with Jamila's help,
I'm pretty confident

that I can take my hobby
to the next level

[Jamila] Hey guys,
how you doing?

- Wow
- [Annie] Oh, yeah

- Here's the pineapples
- Here they are

[Ryan] Here they are, we
were just displaying 'em for you

- Are these the babies?
- [Ryan] They are

Yeah. This was...
So they were fruit last year

And I took the tops

- off the pineapples
- Uh-huh

And now they're
in their own pots

[Jamila] Which one
was the first plant?

[Ryan] So the first plant
is long gone

It was about 12 years ago

- I guess
- Wow. Okay

[Ryan] I found one of the store

that was already fruiting

and I think they're
a beautiful plant...

- [Jamila] Yeah
- ...that's, um,

it's almost like the fruit
is just extra

- Yeah
- [Ryan] And that plant

has led to all of these

[Jamila] When I first learned

that, like, you get
one pineapple...

- Yeah
- ...from one plant

- Shocking
- It just made you

appreciate pineapple
so much more, just one

Yeah. Every two
or three years

- Mmm-hmm
- So those over there

are the suckers
that are growing off

the mothers that produce
these fruit

[Jamila] Pineapples
are really cool

Once the plant produces
one pineapple,

it's done producing fruit,
and instead grow suckers,

which you have to break off
and replant

to get new plants
and new pineapples

[Ryan] So this is a sucker
here growing off

of a mother plant
that I cut back

So you can see here
where this sucker

is growing off of the plant
root just above the soil

Right. You've done
an awesome job

- with these pineapples
- [Ryan] Thank you. Thanks

[Jamila] I can see it's taking
over the house a little bit

So look, this is why I'm here

We've got a new plan

- Let's go to the backyard
- [Ryan] Let's go. Let's go

Let's go check it out

With all this sunshine,
this backyard

is a perfect place for a farm

Let me show you
what I'm thinking

- Oh, Look at this
- There she is

Oh, wow

[Jamila]
We'll start by building

a 20-foot by 10-foot solarium

and giving your pineapples,
the plants

that inspired it all,
their own home

So we're gonna do
the solarium right here,

which again, you know,
is hybrid of the sunroom

and greenhouse, so the plants
can be out there

It'll be an outdoor
living space for you too

And because you're interested
in growing citrus as well,

we'll plant citrus trees
like lemons and oranges

in big pots that you can roll
in and out of the solarium,

depending on the weather

Then we'll build
eight raised garden boxes

that will fill with vegetables,

herbs, and even flowers

And designate the space
for berry bushes

And I have a solution
for keeping moles

out of your garden boxes,

will line the walkways with
crushed rock and pea gravel

so they can't come
into this area

- [Ryan] Okay
- [Jamila] And of course,

gotta have a fence

- for all the critters
- Right

That's right

[Jamila] Lastly, we'll surround

the entire garden with a fence

to keep out deer
and other animals

that roam your yard
on their way to the creek

And we'll leave room inside
for places to relax

and dine alfresco

- [Annie] I love it
- I'm so pumped

- Yeah
- Fantastic

- So pumped
- Absolutely

That's gonna be great

[Jamila] So next step
is gonna be

getting the footings down
for the solarium

We're digging a trench
and using cinder blocks

for this foundation
because this structure

is 20-feet by 10-feet,

so it needs a level
and sturdy base

[dramatic music playing]

- [Ryan] Hey, Jamila
- [Jamila] Oh, hey, Ryan

[Ryan] What do you think?

[Jamila] It's starting
to take shape, you excited?

[Ryan] I like it

I do think it's a good spot

[Jamila] You know, we wanna
maximize the Southern exposure

- because that's where you're gonna get the most sun...
- True

...especially in the
wintertime - Right

[Jamila] Sunlight
enters the solarium

through all of the windows

The solarium traps the heat
from the sunlight

and warms up the interior

Then the plants absorb that heat

But too much heat can be
a bad thing too,

so I'll make sure
to have good ventilation

[Ryan]
So as far as ventilation

[Jamila] Yeah I think, you know,

because we have the doors

not necessarily
opposite each other...

- Right
- ...we'll put in some windows

so we can get
that cross ventilation

- Okay
- And then, of course,

you know, as we continue
building out...

- Right
- ...your solarium,

we've decided to go
with some acrylic

It's a great alternative
for glass. Okay

And you see
how it's got some give,

so if a tree does fall on it,
it won't break

So it's thick enough
that it will really trap in

- some good heat in here
- [Ryan] Good deal

[Jamila] So because of that,
we can now grow pineapples

and citrus trees year round
in Georgia

The project at the Flemings
is underway

The framing is going
up on the solarium,

it's going to be
approximately 13-feet tall,

so the warm air has room to rise

which will keep the
temperature balanced inside

Plus, it'll give them
plenty of headroom,

since it's doubling
as living space

for the Flemings
and their citrus plants

So today,
we're at Phoenix Gardens

and I've invited Ryan
and Annie out

and we're gonna learn
all about citrus today

[Gwen]
This is our first greenhouse

and we grow and raise beds
in here

- [Jamila] Yeah
- [Ryan] All right

- [Gwen] This is a arugula
- [Ryan] That is good

[Jamila] Yum

Here in Phoenix Gardens,
they've really been growing

a lot of citruses, which I know

Annie and Ryan
are really excited about

And this is all the citrus

And it also just so happened
to be the day

that their citrus expert
who helps them maintain

their trees, Lindy,
she's gonna be here as well

So they're really gonna be
able to learn

and hopefully Ryan
will be really inspired

by what he takes in

[Linday] There's hundreds
of varieties of citrus,

and we know which ones will
grow here in Georgia the best

So there's different
variants of cold hardiness

- Right
- [Ryan] Okay

What makes it cold hardy?

[Lindy] A cold hardy fruit
will endure cold better

than other varieties

- Okay
- Got it

[Jamila] So cold hardy means
that the plants

can endure temperatures
as low as 40 degrees

- [Ryan] Huh
- [Jamila] Yeah

So Ryan, we'll make sure
to pick cold hardy plants

- like the kumquat
- [Ryan] Okay. All right

[Jamila] And use the solarium
to regulate the temperature

in order to keep
the citrus plants alive

- This...
- [Jamila] Ooh

This is a Nagami kumquat

So in the realm of cold
hardiness in Georgia

- at the very top are kumquats
- [Jamila] Okay

[Wendy] They're very
cold hardy -Very cold hardy

[Wendy]
Cold hardy. Mmm-hmm

[Lindy] So yeah, just grab one,

- try it
- [Jamila] Grab one

- [Lindy] It's sour
- Okay

- Let's do it together
- You eat

You eat the skin and all

[laughs]

That's really good
That's really good

Okay. I need a few
kumquats please

- I love it
- [Jamila] Mmm-hmm

- [Annie] So good
- [Ryan] It's amazing

[Annie] You got sold
on the kumquat

Now we're having a kumquat tree

- I don't think...
- Let's get 'em

...that was in the plans

I'm ready

Annie and I would like to grow
as much citrus as we can,

but based on the cold hardiness,

what can we grow where we are?

So you can have a mandarin,
you can have a kumquat

- [Jamila] Okay
- A grapefruit, lemons, lime?

[Jamila] Well, we're
building them on a solarium...

Right - [Jamila] ...so
that we can protect it

from the cold in the winter time

[Lindy] That's key,
put 'em in a pot...

- Mmm-hmm
- ...you can bring 'em in

and out during the winter
to protect them

- from the cold
- [Jamila] Okay

This is, kind of, an
interesting fact about citrus

But heat will shut down
the growth of a citrus tree

- just like cold will
- [Ryan] Okay

- So you can get it too hot...
- [Ryan] Too hot

...just like you can get it
too cold

[Jamila] Which is why
those windows are so important

for cross ventilation

[Ryan] I'm inspired by what we
learned today about citrus

And I would really like
to implement a lot of this

into what we're doing
in our house

[Jamila] That's the whole
point of the field trip

You know, it's just like
really getting hands on

and just being excited
and inspired

for what's gonna happen
in their own backyard

[upbeat music playing]

[Jamila] The crew is making
a lot of progress

at the Flemings

The garden area is currently
being cut out

and they're laying
in crushed gravel

It's not quite ready
for the garden boxes yet,

and we definitely wanna work
on prepping the garden boxes

to protect them
from the moles and voles

- [Ryan] Yeah
- [Jamila] We are using

six-by-six pressure treated
timbers...

- Okay
- ...that we've stacked

to give you twelve inches
of depth

- [Ryan] All right
- [Jamila] It's sturdy,

and it won't break down
over time

I also set-up
a motion sensor cam,

so that we can see
how many animals

are really coming
through their yard

to get to the creek

You have a sanctuary back here

- Oh, my God, look at this
- [Ryan] Oh, a possum

- [Jamila] You see their eyes?
- [Ryan] Nice

You can see all his whiskers
He's so close,

- he's sniffing the camera - [Jamila]
I know he's sniffing the camera

Look at him

- [Ryan] Is that a coyote?
- [Jamila] Yes

Isn't that crazy?
I had a coyote

on my farm too,
it freaked me out

I know we've had a mole
and vole problem

Did you see that?
Caught in the act

[Ryan] I caught him
in the act. Okay

- [Jamila] I know. I know
- I see tunnels, but...

- Okay
- We're gonna protect it

Okay. All right

[Jamila] And one of those
protections is gonna be

putting this hardware cloth
at the bottom of your beds

Yeah. We've got the boxes
lined with heavy duty plastic

to keep any of the chemicals
and the pressure treated wood

from getting into your soil

This is a quarter-inch mesh
hardware cloth

And we're using this
because the moles and voles

will not be able to dig
their way through this, right?

- And they do not climb
- [Ryan] They don't climb

Okay - [Jamila] Water
can still drain through

- [Ryan] Roots can go through
- [Jamila] Roots can still go through

because this will be
right on top of the soil

[Ryan] Okay This is the bottom

[Jamila] Yup, that's right

They will flip it into place
once they're done

- preparing the site
- Got it

Which they're getting it done
right now

And then in between the beds
for the pathways,

we're gonna start
with a layer of gravel

- that we're gonna compact
- [Ryan] Okay

[Jamila] Then we're gonna
top that off

with the pea gravel

Yeah. That'll keep
the moles and voles

from coming up
from their tunnels underground

into your garden
'cause they can't burrow

through gravel and rock

- Ha, there you go, thank you
- [Ryan] Okay

- All right
- [Jamila] You got that corner

- So they can't dig...
- [Ryan] So it's double protection

[Jamila] It's double
protection -[Ryan] Okay

[Jamila] These are looking
really good

That looks very protected,
it's Fort Knox

- Okay
- [Ryan] Okay

[Jamila]
So the other great thing

is the fence is going up

so the garden is well protected

from all the deer and critters

that we saw on the night cam

[upbeat music playing]

[Jamila] The solarium
is almost finished

We're painting the doors

and since cinder blocks
are porous,

we're putting up siding
on the interior foundation,

to trap in heat

On the outside, we're lining
the foundation with bricks

to tie it into the look
of their house

The next time I'm here,
it'll be ready for planting

- [dramatic music playing]
- [birds chirping]

[Jamila]
The solarium is done

It is absolutely gorgeous

They got the last panels up
and the doors on last night

And in one corner,
we left a nice big space open

to put the pineapples
in the ground

and then the rest of
the space around the edges,

we can put a lot of other
plants in there as well

The other great thing
is the fence is up

So between the hardware cloth,

pressed gravel, and the fence,

the garden is well protected
from all the critters

we saw on the night cam

Today is the day

We're putting them out

It's gonna be a nice day too

It is gonna be a beautiful day

Ryan started this whole project

because of these pineapples

And we are going to
transition the pineapples

from inside the house
and into their permanent home

in the solarium

The pineapples
are gonna be so happy

And then we've got the doors
opposite the windows,

- some good cross ventilation
- [Ryan] Okay

So let me show you
I think this is really cool

that you just pull up right here

[Ryan] Okay

And you can just slide...

- this on like that
- [Ryan] It'll warm up

Look at that Okay, great

- And it was just full...
- Yeah. So when it gets like in the summertime...

- [Ryan] Right? All right
- When it gets really hot,

kind of, open the door

[Ryan] Fan too that will
just push air - [Jamila] Fan too

- Okay. Great
- [Jamila] That's right

So probably when you start
getting upper 80s, 90s,

you know, because
that's what happens

the greenhouse effect -
[Ryan] It could turn into an oven

[Jamila] So, the other thing
that we made sure to have is,

like, we got outlets in here

- Okay
- So if you need to,

you can bring in a heater,
plug it up,

and that way you can keep
the temperatures

- above freezing - [Ryan]
At least above freezing

- Okay
- [Jamila] Yeah. Yeah

Oh, you're trying to get
like 40 and above

- So nice and comfortable
- [Ryan] So positioning-wise

you think that
this corner is, um...

[Jamila] Yeah
This is a great corner

- Okay
- So you got a nice big corner,

thinking about the pineapples

Trying to get
the sides straight,

so we can line that hole
with the hardware cloth,

because we're planting
the pineapples in the ground,

and we still do have a mole
and vole problem,

we're gonna dig the hole,
line the inside of the hole

with the hardware cloth,
put some good soil in there

and then get the pineapples
in there,

so their roots are protected

Golly, this plant would be
actually happy

- to get out of here probably
- [Ryan] I know. I know

[Jamila] A little bit more
space for the roots in the ground

We see how long these roots are

All right. Yeah, yeah, yeah
They're really...

[Jamila] So it just started
wrapping around

Yeah. They're gonna be
so much happier in the ground

- [Ryan] Well, I think...
- [Jamila] A lot more space

And you'll probably get
bigger pineapples

[Ryan] Right Yeah, yeah, yeah

And we'll bury the next,
it'll stabilize it a lot more

[Ryan] Okay - [Jamila] It
wouldn't be hanging out the pot

[Ryan] She's in, the first one

Look, how nice that looks,
Jamila

Yeah. Absolutely

- Look at that
- [Ryan] I know

[Jamila]
Look at all these roots

[Ryan] That's a lot

- [Jamila] That's the big one
- [Ryan] Okay

[Jamila] That is amazing

[Ryan] Kind of,
how I pictured it

[Jamila] Yay!

Hey, Lindy It's good to
see you again -Hey Lindy

- [Lindy] Hi
- Thanks for coming

[Lindy]
Great to see you, too

[Jamila] You brought
the citrus tree

I did

[Jamila] Ryan and Annie
ordered six different types

of citrus trees

And Lindy's got
a really cool way

that she plants
these citrus trees

And it's called mucking

So I'm really excited
for her to show the family

and also to show me

There's a certain way
to plant a citrus tree

You don't just dig a hole
and stick it in there

You have to take care
of its root systems

What we're gonna do
is add some water to this...

- to this pot here
- [Jamila] Yeah. Okay

[Lindy] And we're using these
30 gallon barrels

to give the trees room
to spread out their roots

So the first thing you do
when you plant a tree,

obviously is you're gonna
dig a hole, right?

- [Jamila] Yeah
- [Ryan] Right

[Lindy] So what we have here
in this pot is 80% pine bark

- [Jamila] Mmm-hmm
- [Ryan] Mmm-hmm

- Ten percent sand...
- [Jamila] Okay

...and ten percent peat moss

- [Jamila] Okay
- [Lindy] Okay

So the sand gives it some weight

- [Jamila] Mmm-hmm
- [Lindy] And the peat moss

helps it hold some moisture,
but not too much moisture

Oh, they like their room to dry

[Lindy] So I'm gonna let you
fill this hole up with water

- [Jamila] All right
- It'll start holding...

- holding water for it, okay
- [Jamila] Okay

All right

So what we've done
is we've taken this soil

that's in here and moistened it

- [Ryan] Right
- [Lindy] Dug a hole

And now because this is moist,
it's holding this water

- [Jamila] Mmm-hmm
- [Ryan] Okay

[Lindy] And we're just
going to fluff

- these roots
- [Ryan] Really rough it up

[Jamila] Mmm-hmm
Oh, now they're longer

[Lindy]
You're gonna grab this tree

We're gonna push
all the way down in here

- [Jamila] Mmm-hmm
- Push it down

Keep the water coming

We're gonna bring in
a little bit of soil at first

We're gonna pull it up,
and we're just slowly,

slowly adding this soil in here

[Jamila] Okay You're, kind
of, pushing it underneath?

Pushing it underneath
Look at that

[Jamila] Yeah

- It feels like...
- Yeah

[Lindy] He's in there
He's mucked in

It's basically
cemented the tree in there

- It's suctioned in there
- [Jamila] Okay

- [Ryan] All right
- [Lindy] Okay

- All right
- The roots are nice and long

- and happy under there
- Yeah

[Lindy] You guys ready
to plant your trees?

- [Annie] Yes
- Yeah, I'm excited

- [Lindy] All right
- Okay

You wanted the Cara Cara navel

[Jamila] Oh, the Cara Cara
orange, it's delicious

[Lindy] This is the seedless
Kishu mandarin

- Big tree for the big guy
- For me?

- All right
- [Lindy] It's perfect

- Look at that
- Oh, yeah

Right

And mom, you get the baby
dwarf key lime

[Trent] Can you make
key lime pie out of that?

- You sure can
- [Jamila] I love key lime pie

[Annie] You got it

[Lindy] And then we have
the Meiwa kumquat

Ooh, kumquat. Yup

- Look at that
- Yeah

And then last but not least

is the famous Shiranui mandarin

- Muck it in
- The name goes well

- with the job
- [Lindy laughs]

You get awfully mucky,
don't you?

- Yes
- [Jamila] Yeah

- There we go
- [Jamila] Okay. All right

All the citrus is planted

[birds chirping]

[upbeat music playing]

[Jamila] So it's planting day,
I'm really excited

Now that the pineapple plants
are happily planted

in their new home
and the citrus trees

are on casters ready to roll
in and out of the solarium

It's time to get the veggies
in the ground

We're gonna be planting
some lettuces,

a bunch of herbs, and then
we're doing some things

from seed as well

So we've got cauliflower,

- that's some spinach
- [Ryan] All right

And then on the backside here,
we've got some beets

- [Ryan] Beets
- So we'll do those

- from seed as well
- Okay

[Jamila]
So let's get started, bud

[Ryan] So do seeds
and transplants

take about the same amount
of water?

[Jamila] Uh, yes - [Ryan] You
can put 'em all in the same bed?

Yeah. You can put 'em all
in the same bed, of course,

transplants buys you six weeks
of growth already

Just dig a hole

And when I plant,
I like to plant up to,

kind of, where the leaves
start separated

- and just makes it...
- [Ryan] Okay

[Jamila]
...a little bit sturdier

- and pulls it in there
- [Ryan] Right

[Jamila] And we're used to
just seeing cauliflower white

but there are other color
cauliflowers

There are yellow cauliflowers,
this one is called cheddar

- That's the name of...
- Okay

[Jamila] ...this variety
because it's yellow like

cheddar cheese

And there's purple cauliflower,

and even just green cauliflower

[Trent]
With the green cauliflower

wouldn't that just be broccoli?

I was gonna ask the same thing

[Jamila] It's not but
they are in the same family

Because broccoli
is actually flowers

- [Ryan] Okay
- That haven't quite

opened up yet

So now I'm gonna show you guys

- how we're gonna do this beet
- Okay

[Jamila] So I'll just take
like my two fingers

Okay

Form like a little trench

Okay. You're just gonna
sprinkle it

Oh, just sprinkle?

[Jamila]
And you can pull beets

in about 60 days

That's like two months, right?

So that's right That's right

Yeah, yeah, yeah - You
keep on garden journaling

In the next couple of weeks,

you can start harvesting
the spinach leaves

[Ryan] All right

[Jamila] Ryan and Annie
were really excited

about having a big garden
but they didn't wanna bite off

more than they could chew,
so we've got

eight raised boxes out there,
and we're gonna plant

six with veggies
and two with cut flowers

And next year,
if the family wants to expand,

they can definitely
expand their vegetables

into the two other beds

[Annie] It's just amazing
because this started

as Ryan's pineapple hobby
in our house

Yeah. Mmm-hmm

That's the thing about growing

it's, like, you start off
with one thing

and it just snowballs
into like, well,

if I can grow a pineapple,
and this does well,

you know what about
growing food for my family?

Ryan's hobby of like
cultivating these pineapples

just really inspired him
to start a whole garden

and just like look
how beautiful this is

It's amazing

[Ryan] I felt like
now that we have this space,

it really filled a void
like our property,

our lot, our home feels like
it's complete

[dramatic music playing]

[Annie] It feels like
it should have been here

all the time

We had this big space out here
that really was just

- getting beaten by the sun
- [Ryan] Yeah

[Annie] So now it's usable

[Ryan] I am so excited
to get out here tomorrow

and water everything

And just watch it grow

and see the seeds pop-up

and to check on my pineapples,

make sure they're doing well

[Jamila] The smallest thing
in nature

can inspire so much
and you never know

what new passion or new hobbies

that you'll discover