West Ashley hydroponics shop transforms home gardening
by Joan Perry | Contributing Writer
A benefit of writing the West Ashley Wanderer column is that I feel justified in poking my nose into anything that piques my curiosity in our neighborhood, and I happen to be curious about a lot of things.
That happened recently when I was walking along Savannah Highway after enjoying an iced coffee and mini frittata at WildFlour Bakery. It isn’t the prettiest walking route, but you notice things on foot that you miss when battling our highway traffic. I passed a shop with a healthy green Cuban Oregano plant trying to grab all the sunshine it could get through the front window.
We have an indoor plant specialty store in West Ashley. Did y’all know that? I didn’t, yet here it was, bursting at the seams with everything needed to grow plants indoors.
Owner Melissa Norwood shared that the shop moved from James Island to its current location at 1734 Savannah Hwy., six years ago. Skyes The Limit is named for son Skyler, now a sixteen year old junior at James Island High School. Skye did a 4th grade science project at Nativity, comparing plants grown in soil vs hydroponics and made his mother proud with results proving the plants grown in water grew faster and had a bigger yield.
Melissa is a native of Greenville, SC and has a background in elementary education and hospitality. You can find her on Sunday mornings as the Face Painter at the Pour House’s Sunday Brunch Farmers Market. Melissa has a vivid childhood memory of picking tomatoes inside her home. Her mother Jacquelyn, practiced Seed to Harvest, growing, canning, and preserving. She was the inspiration and encouraging force behind the Charleston shop.
“People are concerned about food sources, and interested in growing and controlling the quality of their food. Even more so during the pandemic.”
The pandemic brought concerns about food chain supplies and spiked fresh interest. Melissa cautiously reopened the shop, meeting customers by appointment and helping them with their needs. It ended up revitalizing the business and 2020 was their strongest year.
“Start with something you know you will be successful at. Keep it simple.” The shop stocks and sells everything to support the hobby – from books, climate control equipment, food storage, growing media, seed starting, plant care, nutrients, to garden accessories, and they offer troubleshooting advice. Herbs are an easy beginning project and can be started on a countertop. Lettuce, spinach, kale, oregano, basil and even tomatoes, strawberries and peppers are popular and successful.
Melissa met Glenn Hollis in the shop ten years ago, when he was growing ginseng. Now the couple is engaged and she proudly describes her fiancé as the real plant expert. “He can look at a picture of a plant and tell you what’s wrong with it.”
Glenn is a Master Gardener and worked on the Clemson University hydroponics system. He builds greenhouses for hydroponics or regular crops, and has an impressive vertical garden system, primarily growing Sea Beans in the back of the shop. I looked at pictures of the lush growing system, but didn’t disturbed them because it was the middle of a hot day and the plants were “napping.” The sea beans, also known as sea asparagus, grow in salt water, are particularly suited to indoor saltwater agriculture, and are surprisingly tasty. The sea beans are already being sold to area restaurants.
Gretchen Hertel popped in for supplies and a hug during my visit. She described Melissa as, “Friendly, knowledgeable, on-point, and filled with passion for the field.”
Melissa invites you to stop by to talk about plants, learn about hydroponics and indoor gardening and leave, as I did, with a sprig of Cuban Oregano. For more information visit: http://www.skyesthelimitsc.com/
Stay healthy, my friends. Wave at me as I wander through West Ashley. Send suggestions for upcoming columns to: westashleywanderer@gmail.com.
