PINE ISLAND, Fla. (WINK)—A local business owner says the solution to Southwest Florida’s intense heat could be growing in your own backyard.
Jerrad Jordan, owner of Jerrad’s Ediganic Landscapes, specializes in planting edible landscapes that help cool the surrounding air. When the heat index pushes into the triple digits, most people are looking for any way to cool off.
On Pine Island, Jordan says the answer might be as simple as planting a tree.
“The process of evaporation. When plants are growing, they’re always evaporating water out of their leaves, and just through that process, it cools the surrounding air,” Jordan said.
Jordan isn’t your typical landscaper. He specializes in planting edible landscapes, filling yards with fruit trees that do more than just look good.
They provide shade, help lower the temperature around them and eventually produce fresh fruit.
“I don’t mow grass. I don’t do any of that. I deliver and plant fruit trees for people who want to grow fruit in their own yards,” Jordan said. “It started as a hobby, but I really loved what I did. I left my old career to start this business.”
WINK News reporter Lauren Halpern visited Jordan at Mangomania on Pine Island, where the plants around her were actively helping to cool the air while also being edible.