At a time when the average vegetable travels 1500 miles from plant to plate, Organix-South employees are harvesting bountiful crops from the company’s community garden nestled next to their parking lot in a growing industrial park.

“Right now, the corn is tassling and we’re picking green beans, okra, peppers and black-eyed peas,” says Dave Haight, the resident electrician and now-gardener. “We’ve got ginger, basil, rosemary and pineapples growing in the front courtyard and the bananas are taking off now that it’s started raining.”

Nearly every employee at the company headquarters is participating in the project, working as a team in the garden once a week after work and taking home fresh vegetables they’ve helped to grow.

Besides tasty, safe and affordable food, the organic garden demonstrates two key points, notes Autumn Blum, CEO of Organix-South. “First of all, we’re showing people that growing organic vegetables is possible – even in Florida where hot, humid summers encourage enormous bugs as well as viral and fungal infestations,” she said.

As the world’s largest manufacturer of certified-organic Neem products, Organix-South is a major part of the international trend toward environmentally friendly products. “No one in the US has EPA approval to market all-natural Neem oil as a pesticide but we are working with other companies to demonstrate its safety and efficacy so we can earn that approval,” Blum said. “In the meantime, we wanted to show people how well Neem works in one of the most challenging ecosystems in the country.”

Additionally, Blum hopes that other corporations take note of the garden’s success and plant their own community vegetable gardens. “The benefits of community vegetable gardens have been proven in urban neighborhoods across the country and we think that impact can be even more significant in a corporate setting,” she said. “It builds a corporate culture that focuses on teamwork, healthy eating and exercise – plus it helps our employees save money and minimize their carbon footprints.”

Organix-South®, Inc. specializes in organic Neem body care products and organic supercritical herbal dietary supplements. The company offers the most complete line of Neem products available, including Neem Leaf capsules and extracts, oral care, hair care, organic bar soaps, skin care, pet products, organic gardening and more. Products are available at health food stores, pharmacies, yoga studios and other fine outlets. For more information, see www.organixsouth.com or call 888.989.NEEM.

Autumn Blum is available for comment at 888.989.NEEM.