BEAVER TOWNSHIP, Ohio – Entrepreneurs Frank Augustine and Bob Neapolitan are preparing to open their new greenhouse, but the plants they'll be selling can't be considered garden-variety by any measure.
Nature's Wonders Greenhouse, preparing to open on West Western Reserve Road about a mile west of Market Street, will sell rare heirloom and organic plants from around the world, its owners say.
"Most of our seeds are over 100 years old and older, brought to this country by immigrants from all over the world that came to this country," said Neapolitan, of Boardman, a self-described "backyard" gardener. Two of the seeds in stock were believed to be extinct as recently as three years ago, he said.
Neapolitan's interest in ethnic varieties of vegetables began about a decade or so ago. Staying with his in-laws in Newark, when attending a strawberry festival he purchased Slovakian and Italian tomatoes from a man in the parking it. "Looking into it I came to find out that these are all heirloom seeds," he said.
Unsuccessful in convincing a friend who at the time had a greenhouse to market heirlooms as opposed to more common hybrid plants, Neapolitan and Augustine, who lives adjacent to Nature's Wonders, more recently discussed their mutual interest in gardening at football and basketball games for Boardman Center Middle School, where their daughters cheered.
Augustine, who says he began gardening as a child with his grandmother, said he has grown giant pumpkins and is a member of the Pumpkin Club in Canfield with his daughter.
"One thing led to the next," he recalled of his conversations with Neapolitan. "He was interested and I was already doing it on a small scale and we just took it to the next level." He and Neapolitan built a greenhouse using largely recycled materials Augustine had on hand – only the wood was purchased new -- and tracked down seeds.
"That was probably some of the hardest stuff," Neapolitan said. "People, they' re not that giving on some of the varieties." This spring's variations in the weather also caused them delays.
"We got a late start this year but we're getting our feet wet and hopefully the mistakes we made this year, we can correct next year," Augustine said.
Nature's Wonders stock includes 33 varieties of tomatoes from around the world – including Russia, Belgium and the Ukraine and 22 varieties of peppers, including the penguin pepper from Mexico, rated the world's second-hottest pepper. Neapolitan predicts the plants will be attractive to Mahoning Valley residents interested in using vegetables from their home country. "If you were going to plant some tomatoes, wouldn't you like it if you were Polish to have some from Poland?" he asked.
The heirloom tomatoes are no more difficult to grow than a regular tomato. "The great thing abut this is most of this is disease-free," he added. "They're not going to get a disease or whatever because it's been bred out of it." They also offer different flavors that he believes customers will find appealing.
Other plants to be available include eggplant, cucumbers, herbs, beans, broccoli, zucchini, squash and peas.
The seedlings, which are all being grown organically at the greenhouse, hopefully will be ready for sale by Mother's Day weekend, he said. In addition, area restaurants have expressed interest in purchasing vegetables for us in their offerings.
The entrepreneurs also are looking to potential online sales of the plants. A Cherokee purple tomato, the last grown by American Indians, can sell online for $5 plus shipping, they say.
Copyright 2012 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.