John from http://www.growingyourgreens.com visits The Urban Harvest in Tampa, Florida, a local homestead dedicated to helping people in Southwest Florida grow their own food through gardening education, seed sharing, and edible landscape design.
In this episode, you’ll discover how to transform your Florida front yard into a thriving edible garden using native plants, fruit trees, perennial vegetables, and smart composting techniques. John takes you on an in-depth tour of Elise Pickett’s incredible food forest, where she grows year-round without synthetic inputs and shares seeds with her local community.
You’ll learn how to grow vegetables in Florida’s hot and humid climate, including Florida-friendly crops like Seminole pumpkin, sissoo spinach, chijimisai tatsoi, and Puerto Rico black beans—plus how to garden successfully through the Florida summer.
See how Elise uses raised beds, vertical gardening, worm bins made from cast iron bathtubs, and DIY compost systems to produce an abundance of food right in her suburban yard. You’ll also learn how she preserves food scraps, saves seeds, and keeps a well-organized seed shed to support her seasonal gardening efforts.
John also highlights her free seed library in St. Petersburg, FL, her quarterly seed club subscription, and her top medicinal and native Florida plants that are ideal for growing in subtropical zones like USDA Zone 9b-10a.
Finally, John interviews Elise Pickett, founder of The Urban Harvest, to learn how she got featured on HGTV and Martha Stewart, how she supports tropical gardeners around the world, and her top tips for growing food in Florida successfully—even in small spaces.
⏱️ Jump to the Best Moments in This Episode:
00:00 🌱 Episode Starts – Welcome to Florida’s Urban Food Forest!
00:20 🏡 What is The Urban Harvest in Tampa, FL?
01:34 🚫 “You Can’t Eat Your Lawn!” – Let’s Change That
02:09 🌼 Why Her Food Forest Starts AFTER the Sidewalk
02:45 🌺 Natives, Flowers, Herbs & Fruit – Layered Like Nature
03:42 🌱 Free SEEDS?! Inside Her Community Seed Library
05:49 🥬 Grow These Florida Champions: Seminole Pumpkin & Sisso Spinach
08:34 📦 How to Pick Up Local Seed Orders in St. Pete
09:30 🌿 Front Yard Raised Bed Garden – Yes, it’s LEGIT!
11:10 🌼 Let Your Plants GO TO SEED – Here’s Why
12:20 🧱 Small Space? GROW VERTICALLY Like This!
13:40 🥬 The Ultimate Florida Green: Chijimisai Tatsoi – 9-Month Harvest!
16:23 🔁 DIY Planters Made from Reused Materials – So Smart
17:08 🌵 Prickly Pear & Jicama Growing in Florida
18:08 ♻️ WORM BINS in an Old Bathtub?! Genius Composting Hack
20:12 🪱 How This Worm Bin Actually Works (Step-by-Step)
22:20 🥶 Keep Food Scraps Longer (No Smell!)
23:08 🌴 Backyard Tour – Fruit Trees, Perennials & Surprises
24:29 🗼 Tower Garden IN SOIL?! Vertical Growing Galore
25:25 🍑 Fruit Tree Hedge = Edible Fence Goals
25:50 🍠 Sweet Potato Patch Power!
26:04 🪵 Free Mulch Hack – Wood Chips for Days!
26:30 🥕 Free Food Scraps from Neighbors – She’ll Show You How
27:37 🧺 Her Custom Compost Bins = Airflow Magic
29:50 🔍 Compost Bin Breakdown – The Anatomy of Success
31:10 🔥 She Makes Her Own Biochar – Here’s Why
31:42 🧊 Inside Her SEED SHED – A Gardener’s Dream Store
33:00 🌡️ Store Seeds Right – Temp & Humidity Tips
33:33 📦 Seed Club – Get Hand-Picked Seeds Every Quarter
33:59 🌴 Best Varieties for Southwest Florida – She’s Got You
36:30 🌱 Puerto Rico Black Bean – Grows All Year Long
38:14 🎤 Meet Elise Pickett from The Urban Harvest
38:30 🔗 Visit Her Channel ➜ @TheUrbanHarvest
39:05 🧑🍳 How She Ended Up on Martha Stewart & HGTV!
40:10 🌎 Helping Gardeners in the Tropics – Her Mission
41:36 ☀️ Florida’s Off-Season? Not What You Think
43:05 🛑 Don’t Stop Gardening in Summer! (Really!)
43:45 🥵 The BEST Crops for Florida’s Hot Season
46:12 ✅ How to Take the Guesswork Out of Florida Gardening
50:35 🏠 Growing Tons of Food in TINY Spaces (Even Tract Homes)
53:49 🪴 Her Top Native Florida Crops That Actually Thrive
59:05 🌿 Her 2 Favorite Medicinal Plants – Must-Grows
1:00:45 🥕 Her Top 3 Annual Veggies You Should Grow
1:01:45 💌 How to Order Her Tropical Seed Collection
1:03:08 💚 Final Words of Wisdom for Gardeners Everywhere
Related Episodes
Heart Village in Florida
Underrated Central Florida Gardener that Grows Rare Crops
Amazing Example of Growing Food at Home in South Florida
How I make dinner from a South Florida Urban Homestead
Echo Ft Myers Florida
Help me get to 1M Subscribers (I am so close!)
https://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=growingyourgreens
YouTube demonitized me, help me keep making videos and show your support
https://www.patreon.com/growingyourgreens/
Connect with Elise and Urban Harvest
Web https://theurbanharvest.com/
Youtube https://www.youtube.com/theurbanharvest
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/theurbanharvest/
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/theurbanharvestllc
27 Comments
⏱ Jump to the Best Moments in This Episode:
00:00 🌱 Episode Starts – Welcome to Florida’s Urban Food Forest!
00:20 🏡 What is The Urban Harvest in Tampa, FL?
01:34 🚫 “You Can’t Eat Your Lawn!” – Let’s Change That
02:09 🌼 Why Her Food Forest Starts AFTER the Sidewalk
02:45 🌺 Natives, Flowers, Herbs & Fruit – Layered Like Nature
03:42 🌱 Free SEEDS?! Inside Her Community Seed Library
05:49 🥬 Grow These Florida Champions: Seminole Pumpkin & Sisso Spinach
08:34 📦 How to Pick Up Local Seed Orders in St. Pete
09:30 🌿 Front Yard Raised Bed Garden – Yes, it’s LEGIT!
11:10 🌼 Let Your Plants GO TO SEED – Here’s Why
12:20 🧱 Small Space? GROW VERTICALLY Like This!
13:40 🥬 The Ultimate Florida Green: Chijimisai Tatsoi – 9-Month Harvest!
16:23 🔁 DIY Planters Made from Reused Materials – So Smart
17:08 🌵 Prickly Pear & Jicama Growing in Florida
18:08 ♻ WORM BINS in an Old Bathtub?! Genius Composting Hack
20:12 🪱 How This Worm Bin Actually Works (Step-by-Step)
22:20 🥶 Keep Food Scraps Longer (No Smell!)
23:08 🌴 Backyard Tour – Fruit Trees, Perennials & Surprises
24:29 🗼 Tower Garden IN SOIL?! Vertical Growing Galore
25:25 🍑 Fruit Tree Hedge = Edible Fence Goals
25:50 🍠 Sweet Potato Patch Power!
26:04 🪵 Free Mulch Hack – Wood Chips for Days!
26:30 🥕 Free Food Scraps from Neighbors – She’ll Show You How
27:37 🧺 Her Custom Compost Bins = Airflow Magic
29:50 🔍 Compost Bin Breakdown – The Anatomy of Success
31:10 🔥 She Makes Her Own Biochar – Here’s Why
31:42 🧊 Inside Her SEED SHED – A Gardener’s Dream Store
33:00 🌡 Store Seeds Right – Temp & Humidity Tips
33:33 📦 Seed Club – Get Hand-Picked Seeds Every Quarter
33:59 🌴 Best Varieties for Southwest Florida – She’s Got You
36:30 🌱 Puerto Rico Black Bean – Grows All Year Long
38:14 🎤 Meet Elise Pickett from The Urban Harvest
38:30 🔗 Visit Her Channel ➜ @TheUrbanHarvest
39:05 🧑🍳 How She Ended Up on Martha Stewart & HGTV!
40:10 🌎 Helping Gardeners in the Tropics – Her Mission
41:36 ☀ Florida’s Off-Season? Not What You Think
43:05 🛑 Don’t Stop Gardening in Summer! (Really!)
43:45 🥵 The BEST Crops for Florida’s Hot Season
46:12 ✅ How to Take the Guesswork Out of Florida Gardening
50:35 🏠 Growing Tons of Food in TINY Spaces (Even Tract Homes)
53:49 🪴 Her Top Native Florida Crops That Actually Thrive
59:05 🌿 Her 2 Favorite Medicinal Plants – Must-Grows
1:00:45 🥕 Her Top 3 Annual Veggies You Should Grow
1:01:45 💌 How to Order Her Tropical Seed Collection
1:03:08 💚 Final Words of Wisdom for Gardeners Everywhere
Help me get to 1M Subscribers (I am so close!) https://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=growingyourgreens
YouTube demonitized me, help me keep making videos and show your support https://www.patreon.com/growingyourgreens/
Related Episodes
Heart Village in Florida https://youtu.be/SS52v267Oig
Underrated Central Florida Gardener that Grows Rare Crops https://youtu.be/I1I6YZHyvlI
Amazing Example of Growing Food at Home in South Florida https://youtu.be/Uf2vwpycYSo
How I make dinner from a South Florida Urban Homestead https://youtu.be/9qoZnk1qQsQ
Echo Ft Myers Florida https://youtu.be/OcNNH_IPq50
Connect with Elise at The Urban Harvest
Web https://theurbanharvest.com/
Youtube https://www.youtube.com/theurbanharvest
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/theurbanharvest/
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/theurbanharvestllc
They are making it illegal to harvest rain water. wtf? I live in a desert. And carry a gun . My rain is mine
Good morning 🌄
Watching from Mississauga Ontario Canada
Hey John look up Gamble Creek Farms in Parrish Fl.. may visit next time you are in Fl.. Zack, the farm manager and his wife are awesome, and have a heart to share their knowledge. He learned alot in India..
Learn more about my worm bins! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xDhl-Ol8deU
Lovely to see you back dude! Love from UK ..
I've been following for years. First time catching one of these "live" ones. 👍
Always Great Content 👨🌾
Elise is so pretty ! She is Beautiful !
Her t shirt, Girls grow gardens!
Hi, I’m watching this video and I actually seed share or exchange from someone in Florida as well. I’m in Texas. I’m in Houston Texas so we kinda I’m in zone 9B and I think the lady I share with is a 9B or nine a but there’s a lot of stuff that we share with each other and I found this and I found your YouTube page and I’ve already placed an order for some eggplant so I grow the Santa Rosa eggplant and this year it was so prolific now we just had that winter storm here in Houston, Texas or in Texas so I did propagate a cutting from the tree and it’s in my heated garage, but the plant is from seed gave me so many eggplants are probably in one harvest. I was I cut back 25 fruit from the big plant which is like a tree it is 4 foot tall and very wide so I think it’s pretty much died off and unless it’s just the vegetation leaves part so I’m not gonna cut it down until I see for sure if it died but if it did, I’ll regrow it, but I did order the Rosita eggplant from you🍆🌱
i am sorry but spanish needles is bullshit, dont listen to that one xD…..tastes super bad raw, cooked, young or old leaves doesnt matter, i tried it all, it makes these shitty needles that destroy your cloths or you need 1h to pick them out of them depending on fabric type and they can grow up to 2m high, they root if you do chop and drop on every node that touches the ground and they are invasive on top. Trust me pull them out with the root complety, they are perennial if you cut it just comes back… but i will try that cough medicine thing next time i have one, they grow everywhere on madeira like crazy, I pulled 4m3 out of my 3000sqm plot
Awesome place ! Thank you so much for sharing! Love this Elise , thanks John
I'm glad you found her. She really knows about gardening, which is wonderful to see because so many Florida gardening channels do something successfully once and pretend to be experts.
I bet the Indians had a better natural way to control pests than our modern-day "natural insecticides", that we will never know about.
Wild how everyone just goes to a store to get food… when we can grow it… it takes time. But everyone can plant SOMETHING
Great video….thank you
13:45 Chijimisai is tatsoi x komatsuna. It’s been my favorite new crop for the past few years. It’s both heat and cold tolerant. I live in Colorado. It’s the last of the spring greens to bolt, and it’s very frost tolerant, one of the last fall crops to die as we go into winter. Tastes just like an oversized tatsoi. Baker creek has been selling the seeds for the last few years. My family calls it chijim. We love it
Amazing video!
Thank you!
What's the name of the perennial pumpkin – latin preferably. Thanks!
Unfortunately most of those urban lawns are full of chemicals and no good for organic gardening. God bless.
Thanks for doing this ma'am. I too love a Baker Creek catalog. I have over an acre of east coast blue zone jungle to plant. I have been successful with Cherokee Purple, Chocolate Pear and Great White from B C. You're right, there's nothing like the taste of Everglades Tomato.
I'll look at your catalogue, can't wait to try some of your specialities.
She is a walking library. Amazing.
This year I am growing Brown Sugar tomato by Baker’s Creek.
The whole use of the white man term is ignorant. Spain had control of Florida. Spanish people aren’t white. Heavy North African genetics in Spain. Let’s stop the bs
Awesome to see you after 10 years.