What is your pleasure, one stop shopping, curbside pickup, same day delivery? In today’s market we have options that simply didn’t exist 20 years ago, and many of these options make life ‘easier’. We are happy to trade money for time because isn’t time our most precious commodity? It seems the use of that purchased time is what we squander, shouldn’t we all be happier and more carefree with all of these time saving services? There is a big difference between free time, and time well spent.
There is no question that time is the most valuable thing we can give, and therefor only logical that time saving hacks like curbside pickup or one stop shopping at Sam’s club should allow for more of our own free time. So, what are you doing with your time? “Watching TV was the leisure and sport activity that occupied the most time ( 2.9 hrs/ day), accounting for over half of all leisure time on average” (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics)
Wow, 2.9 hours per day on average! I cannot argue with that, by the time I catch the weather and news in the morning and just one program in the evening I am easily approaching 2 hours of tv time. 2.9 hours per day times 7 days a week comes up to over 20 hours a week we waste watching TV, we lose almost an entire day a week to the television! Now think about all the additional money you’re spending to gain that time via direct delivery, memberships, and curbside pickup. I doubt anyone can say they are gaining a day a week using any time hacks that involve delivery services. According to A Motley Fool Service, “ The average American spends more than $37 on weekly food delivery expenses.” That adds up to over $1,800 annually!
How can we keep our $1,800 and spend that extra day a week with our family? It’s time to start that garden! Gardening not only is great exercise, reduces your heart rate, lowers cholesterol, and improves our ability to focus, but it can save you money.
“ …A 600-square-foot garden, the American average on which households spend $70 per year, could churn out 300 pounds of fresh produce worth about $600 annually…” ( Money.com)
Rather than spend another afternoon watching reruns, we could be using our most precious resource to connect with our kids. Our daughter is not interested in planting for more than about 5 minutes, then she is off building sand castles and playing with the dogs. This is fine by me and much healthier for her than spending time in front of a screen, but here is the amazing part. In 3 weeks when her 5 minutes of planting has grown and tripled in size, she is ready to spend 10 minutes working in the garden. Then comes the first veggies showing in the garden and she wants to spend 20 minutes gardening, and by the time harvest day comes she is checking the garden daily to see if the food she grew is ready to eat. Now do you need to start with a 600 sq ft garden? Absolutely not, a 6 ft by 3 foot space is plenty big to test out gardening and give the ‘bug’ a chance to bite your family and get everyone hooked. It’s actually better to start with a small garden so you can experiment, not become overwhelmed and have success.
What did we gain from gardening, well #1… you closed your exercise ring so great job, cancel that gym membership. You grew some food that you ate, and saved money on your grocery bill. You have unknowingly been exposed to microorganisms that help your health, focus, and overall wellbeing. Most importantly, rather than sitting in silence in front of the TV, you spent time with you family outside connecting to each other. Finding out how each-others day was, checking in on one another intentionally communicating, and rather than spending $1,800 on take out over the course of a year you had time to plan a family vacation with the extra money in your bank account.
Once you have started to garden and decide to buy more seeds and expand your garden you will find there is a whole community of gardeners. Neighbors you have never spoken to before will suddenly stop you while taking out the garbage or walking the dog to ask about your garden. It’s truly amazing how fast a community can come to know one another over something as simple as growing some tomatoes. It’s practically a guarantee that someone has an amazing recipe and if you give them some of your veggies, they will share some of grandmas’ secret dish with you. Other neighbors will want to know your secret, ‘is it difficult to grow your own food?’, ‘it’s so cool! ‘. You don’t have to tell them you killed 65% of what you planted, they will only see your successes and who doesn’t love being acknowledged for their successes.
Probably the most important foundation piece of your home-grown garden will be your local feed store and seed vendor. This is that trusted business that has been selling feed and seeds to your community for generations. Many members of your HOA community will have no idea where these community pillars are located. The Veranda View has seed vendors we have tried and recommend but there is only one shop that we visit. So here is the secret, if you’re from Manatee County you have surely heard of Come See Come Sav. For the average gardener, they know what to grow when, what variety grows best in our area, and they have THE best onion bulbs! The best part is, you can buy in bulk, and it is affordable! No need to spend $3 on a pack of seeds that has probably been sitting on the box store garden center shelf since 2021. The older a seed is, the less likely it is going to germinate (sprout into a plant).
Your best bet is to get to know the folks at your local feed store, their knowledge is unfathomable and the support system they will provide you will be second to none. It’s always nice walking in hearing the sweet voices of the ladies at the counter say, “oh hey baby, what are you looking for today!” Build a relationship, learn from them, and grow! It’s that simple! If you’re wanting to walk in a little more experienced, you can always read our blog on the UF Gardening Guide to help you figure out what seeds you might be looking for, but if all else fails, ask the local feed store. They are here to help and deserve to be supported after being a staple in the community since 1974. Get out in your garden, and make the connection with peace, family, neighbors, where your food comes from, and of course your local feed store.
-Written by Janyel Taylor
The Veranda View 