CITRUS COUNTY, Fla. — In Citrus County, Nick Ager has transformed his property into Growing Back to Eden, a regenerative organic farm that teaches visitors how to create their own edible landscapes at home.
A year and a half ago, the property was nothing but grass. Now it's a thriving farm where the community can buy fresh, locally sourced food.
"Eating local and in season, that's the way to do it," Ager said.
Every Saturday, customers can visit Growing Back to Eden and place orders from a chalkboard listing what's ready that week. Ager then runs out to pick their produce fresh.
"Just like a restaurant. You come, place your order, and then I run to the back and prep it," Ager said.
The farm operates as both a business and a ministry, with Ager describing it as "a regenerative, organic, faith-based farm and ministry." He says everything grows just as it would in nature, but in an organized setting.
Ager's farming methods have also inspired local restaurants. At Stoke in Gainesville, a source-to-table restaurant, staff visited the farm to learn about seasonal cooking.
"It's been pretty incredible," said Vanessa Rapier from Stoke. "It's not unobtainable for anyone to do in their backyard."
Chef Clay Conley, a James Beard Foundation-nominated and Michelin-recognized chef, will be working with Stoke this growing season to educate people on cooking with seasonal ingredients.
"I love to cook... taking this stuff from the ground and trying to find a creative outlet for it is a fun challenge for me," Conley said. "How do you get people to enjoy a plate of turnips?"
Once the seasonal dinner series at Stoke ends, the farm plans to donate the rest of its crop to local charities.
"Everything that we are growing, we are growing to use for our dinners, but it's only once a month, "Rapier said. "So everything else that we're growing then gets donated to different nonprofits in town that help with food insecurity."
During a visit to Growing Back to Eden, Tampa Bay 28 Reporter Michael Paluska ate an edible flower called a Turk's cap, which grows wild throughout Florida and is often used in salads.
Ager believes there has been a growing trend toward living in harmony with nature, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Do you feel like there's a trend towards this, more living with nature, living with God?" Paluska asked.
"I would say so, yeah," Ager said. "Especially since COVID, like, people were on lockdown, they're realizing, Oh, I've got to start growing a garden. Because one, I'm not allowed to go to the grocery store, and two, food prices are going up. So yeah, like a lot of people really woke up, and it's really cool to see that progression. It'll be interesting to see how long it lasts, yeah, it's been cool."
The farm holds weekly farmers' markets every Saturday from now until around June.
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