WPBF 25 News: growing your own food during the cyclospora outbreak

WPBF 25 News recently stopped by SmartyPlants to answer a question a lot of Palm Beach County families are asking right now: as a cyclospora outbreak spreads, is the safest produce the kind you grow yourself? Reporter Ari Hait talked with Ryan Boylston, owner of Urban Abundance — the edible-garden company now based at our nursery — about why so many people are suddenly digging in. You can read the full story on WPBF.com.

The short version: a cyclospora outbreak now linked to about 7,000 cases nationwide has been traced to certain lettuce and other produce — and more South Floridians are deciding the surest way to trust their greens is to walk out the back door and pick them.

Design, install, maintain — the whole garden

For three years, Urban Abundance has helped homeowners grow their own food. “We meet with homeowners. We design specific gardens for their yard. We install, and then we maintain those gardens for them,” Ryan told WPBF. The gardens can grow just about anything — peppers, pineapples, and several different kinds of lettuce among them.

The pitch is simple: food that goes straight from your yard to your table. “Your lettuce out of your garden wasn’t put on a truck, wasn’t put on a refrigerator, wasn’t moved across the country or across the world,” Ryan said.

Why the phones are ringing

Since the outbreak began, interest has surged — Ryan says calls and emails have tripled. Food safety is the spark, but it’s rarely the whole story. “There’s all these other great reasons to grow food,” he said. “But if that’s the thing that sparks your interest, then great — we’ll talk to you about all the other benefits.”

Those benefits: knowing exactly what goes into growing your food, and the confidence that comes from eating something you watched grow.

The safety case for a home garden

An outbreak linked to roughly 7,000 cases, traced back to store-bought lettuce and produce, is exactly the kind of headline that makes people rethink the salad bowl. A backyard garden shortens the supply chain to a few steps: no truck, no warehouse, no cross-country trip. You control what’s sprayed — or not — and you pick it the day you eat it.

It’s not a cure-all; safe growing and good washing still matter. But for a lot of families, a raised bed of lettuce is peace of mind they can see.

Grow yours with us

Urban Abundance is based right here at SmartyPlants, so the team WPBF featured is the same one you’ll find at the nursery. Whether you want a couple of raised beds of greens or a full edible landscape, we design it, install it, and help you keep it thriving. Come see us — or reach out and we’ll start with your yard.

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