Cold weather typically means that gardens are bare and the idea of fresh greens is a dream worthy of someone snug in a winter’s nap wearing a kerchief or cap.
But a biting outdoor chill shouldn’t dampen one’s desire to garden. Mike and Kristin Weeks, who last November became partners in Fifth Season Gardening, opening a store on Tunnel Road in Asheville, have plenty of ways to keep that thumb green, even if it’s covered in a wool glove.
With more than 15,000 square feet of space, their store has everything beginning and experienced growers need to produce plants during the coldest months. They also carry home-brew necessities, gift items, and urban DIY accessories — plus, if you’re in the mood, a bar to help warm you up while you shop.
The couple’s expansion of their business plan parallels the growth of indoor gardening beyond a niche hobby or esoteric notion.
How has the business been received since you opened the big new location?
Kristin: I think people are still finding out about us, despite having ads out there. People who have lived here for a while associated us with the downtown location, which is a teeny-tiny store on Banks Avenue. They walk into the new store, whether they stumble in by accident or hear about it, and they are blown away. As much as we’re working to get the word out, we’re still building, which is typical of a store just a year in.
So winter is actually a good time for people to begin planning their gardens?
Mike: It’s a great time. People will want to start putting together their [planting] calendars or mapping out what they want to grow.
Kristin: For a long time indoor gardening has been thought of as a specialty market and not for the everyday gardener. We’re trying to change that. There’s a lot of potential for doing micro indoor gardening where you can grow your basil and lettuce so you can have a fresh salad every day.
Give us a basic definition of hydroponics …
Mike: It’s growing plants without soil, using soluble mineral fertilizer … you’re growing in a water solution instead of dirt.
How easy is this to do compared to, say, going outside and putting a seed in the ground and waiting?
Mike: Once you get past the initial learning curve, which isn’t rocket science, it’s very easy. You have two things that you test for: ph and electrical conductivity, which is nutrient strength. Once you get a handle on that, it’s really fairly easy. It’s just keeping the reservoir, which houses the nutrients and water, replenished, and then the system takes care of itself.
How did you get into this?
Mike: I’ve always had an interest in indoor gardening, but I’ve always been into soil plants, too. I love soil planting. It’s fascinating to me. Just by my exposure of being the manager at the first Fifth Season Gardening store in Asheville sparked my interest.
Does hydroponics need a lot of space in your home, or can you do it on a small scale?
Mike: Small or big.
Kristin: We sell this zip-up closet, made of fabric, that you could put in the corner of your dining room.
Mike: There’s even window units where you could grow four lettuce plants or a couple of arugula or a single rosemary and basil plant. You could do a fish bowl with a single plant on top of it. That’s getting into aquaponics, which is similar to hydroponics, but you’re using fish as your food source.
Have you seen the popularity of hydroponics grow in the past several years?
Mike: Absolutely. I think with [the idea of] food security being more mainstream, people want to have the ability to grow their own food. With more urban infill, you have to think creatively. We have to figure out how to grow food on our porches or balconies or rooftops. Hydroponics can provide that.
For someone who doesn’t have any equipment in his home, what would it cost to start up to grow lettuce for the winter?
Mike: A hundred bucks or so, and that could produce nine heads of lettuce every 35 to 40 days. If you’re organized enough to start food every couple of weeks, then you could have something to harvest every couple of weeks.
Fifth Season Gardening is located at 4 South Tunnel Road (in the Whole Foods plaza). For more information, see fifthseasongardening.com.