Planting a seed: Valley nursery starts program for the hungry

Since opening to the public last year, Plant It Nursery in Gardnerville has tried to make the high desert bloom.

On the outskirts of the nursery, adjacent to Centerville Lane, stand hundreds of lilac bushes, rooted sturdily in the dark soil. Closer to the green house, next to a pond with fluorescent gold fish, one finds the knobby red buds of tiger eyes sumac. Inside the green house, in the hot heavy air, the orange blossoms of starsister dahlias.

"The climate can be challenging, knowing what to plant at what times," said owner Heather Kahabka. "The dahlias are perennials, but around here, you still have to dig them up in the fall. You have to be dedicated to digging up the bulbs and taking care of them. It can be challenging."

Heather, her husband and business partner Kris, and their three-month-old daughter Hadleigh were in the green house on April 28, talking about their company. They said they moved to the Valley from Southern California in 2005.

"We stayed at Carson Valley Inn, and loved the feel of the town," Heather Kahabka said. "It's a wonderful place to raise children."

Plant It Nursery specializes in unique flowers and shrubs, but offers a variety of trees and garden plants.

"We'll bring in anything if it will do well here," Kahabka said. "We're just trying to bring back that old-fashioned warm feeling where people are always welcome."

But the nursery is doing more than drawing people in " it's also reaching out. This year, the Kahabkas and some devoted teammates introduced Nevada to the national Plant A Row for the Hungry program.

"We've finally been able to get it going here, and the response has been crazy," Kahabka said. "We already have 40 or so people signed up, and a group has started in Dayton."

Created in 1995 by the Garden Writers Association, the program gives the phrase "grass roots" a new meaning. Participants simply plant an extra row in their garden to grow food for the hungry.

Plant It Nursery, teaming up with Bonnie Plants, is providing each participant with a garden marker and a free produce plant of their choice. But the participants must pledge to make at least three donations throughout the growing season. Produce is dropped off at the nursery on the weekends, then delivered fresh to the Carson Valley Community Food Closet during the week.

"Gardeners always have an abundance, and this is an outlet where they can take that abundance rather than waste it," Kahabka said.

Kahabka acknowledged the tumultuous economy, and the increased demand on local food banks.

"Fresh produce it usually the first thing to go when people are struggling financially," she said.

But Kahabka hopes that for every resident or family down on their luck, there will be another resident or family willing to create a little more room in their garden. Squash, bell peppers and cucumbers are just a few of the plants picked out by participants.

"They're pretty much running the gamut," she said. "And they can bring back whatever they have, whether an overabundance of apples from their apple tree, or even herbs."

Kahabka said most garden crops, with the exception of some lettuces, have a good shelf life. She said if the food closet becomes overwhelmed with produce, they'll find other agencies to serve.

"We're hoping to have so much that we'll need other outlets," said Gardnerville resident Melissa Kerley.

Kerley and her husband Tom run a small bookkeeping service called Businesses Essentials, which is sponsoring the Plant A Row program.

"We're helping to get the word out," Kerley said. "For the average person, it's a good feeling knowing they can help, not by coming up with extra money, but by planting a garden."

Kerley is also willing to help participants with potential tax deductions.

"We'll weigh all the produce that comes in," she said. "It could be tax deductible, but that's not even a factor why people are doing it."

The Kahabkas and the Kerleys are hoping that other businesses will be interested in sponsoring rows. They said for $100, a business will get about 10 plants for its own row at Plant It Nursery, with a sign bearing its name. Donations to the food closet will also be made in the business' name.

Plant It Nursery itself already has about five of their own rows planted for the program, including lettuce, onion, cabbage, Swiss chard, broccoli and cauliflower crops.

"We're planning to take the garden out much further," said Kahabka.

Plant It Nursery is located at 1346 Centerville Lane. A Plant A Row kick off will be 4 to 8 p.m. May 30 at the nursery. The event will feature music, wine and food from several local restaurants. For more information, call 781-1918 or visit www.plantitnursery.com or www.plantarownv.org.