Ponce de Leon made a special appearance at Gulf Coast State College on Monday morning for his post as governor of the Ponce Plantation project.
The project coincides with the 500th anniversary of Florida’s discovery in 1513; acreage on the college’s property facing U.S. 98 will be planted according to how and what his farm would have looked like.
Dr. Jim Kerley, president of GCSC, made the appearance as Ponce de Leon for the announcement and said he believes this is the only project of its nature in the state.
“Agriculture is not promoted that much here,” Kerley said. “My understanding is we’ve fallen off the list as far as production goes. My understanding is we’re last in Florida, so this is our way of getting attention. Maybe more people will start growing gardens.”
The 10-month project’s estimated cost, $2,000, was presented by Bay County Soil and Water Conservation District’s vice chairman John McMurray. He said the money came from three districts: Bay County Soil and Water Conservation District, Orange Hill Soil and Water Conservation District in Chipley and the Three RiversResource Conservation and Development in Milton.
“For years, we’ve handled farming stuff; as you heard today, farming in Bay County is pretty much done,” McMurray said. “This is a great thing; maybe we can get a few gardeners started or plant some sugar cane. We want people to understand the farming.”
Waterfront Markets Inc. coordinator Ronnie Barnes, one of the project’s organizers, said they’re aiming to be as authentic with planting as they can. With such intense effort being put into the project, they want it as visible as possible so more people can see it.
“There will be segmenting of sugar cane next and of the cassava; we’ve got to get those into the ground quickly because they have the longest growing cycle,” Barnes said. “Dr. Linda Fitzhugh, biology professor, will be leading biology students and any other students that want to be involved, through planting and cultivating.”
She said there would be many more events on campus throughout the year.
Cassava, a woody shrub also known as yucca, is one of the cropsPonce cultivated on his farm and harvested for production in his bakery on the estate. Girls Inc. will be harvesting sunflowers and learning entrepreneurship by selling them to the public.
“We re-creating Ponce’s bakery … and we’re going to show people how to produce the bread from the cassava plant,” Barnes said.
The ground already has been tilled and sunflower seeds were planted after the announcement. Other plants on the schedule are all drought-resistant crops; sweet potatoes, maize, beans, and ornamental annual flowers. Other additions to the demo plantation will be information signs, kiosks and off the grid lighting for evening walks through the garden.
Original Article Here
No comments:
Post a Comment