Here’s What To Do

If grocery store prices are kicking your butt, especially the price of produce, read on.

The Boss works hard at keeping our budget balanced. I admire her for it. It’s beyond me.

She knows down to the dollar what our grocery bill totals are each week. I have even watched her guestimate the prices of produce while shopping at Publix. She is invariably within ten bucks of her total for the whole grocery bill when we clear the checkout counter. That includes the produce part. It’s pretty amazing. Still, the prices are kicking our butts.

All This Got Me Thinking.

I am a gardener, always have been. Helping things grow is what I do. I have been growing plants since boyhood. The last few decades it’s been ornamentals, you know, flowers, bushes, and trees. Produce was always cheap enough to buy, especially when it was in season.

It was not worth the extra care it took to grow it. Now though, with Bidenomics, and tomatoes costing $2 each, it has become a game changer. This got me thinking. This may be a great time to grow your own again.

On Being Practical

I want to chat with you a bit about being practical and raising some veggies in containers and maybe a small corner of your yard. Even if you have never tried this before, you will be surprised at its simplicity.

I’m only talking about supplementing what you are already over-paying for at the store with a thing or two, grown on your porch. That’s practical.

I’m not trying to turn anybody into a farmer, especially not me. That’s a kid’s game, not for someone well into their seventies. That being said, it’s not a bad idea. It’s not hard either, I promise. Get the kids or grandkids involved.

Here’s An Idea!

How about growing a bunch of tomatoes that cost $2 each at the store?

How is that for an idea? You can do this in a medium size flower pot on your porch. How about sticking a broccoli plant or two between the azaleas? You can do this.

Now, I believe in going as natural as is practical, but I’m not a fanatic. Nothing is truly organic anyway. We have jets flying overhead and cars driving by, spewing burned hydrocarbons into our air and ground. The paragraph after this one will tell you what I think about the natural way versus the organic way. Not everybody will agree with me on this, I don’t care!

Since we are part of nature, everything we do is part of nature and natural. It can be good, or bad, the choice is yours. Don’t flood my email box with your irate opinions, please!

This Will Be Easy, I Promise

I promise you, this will be easier than you think. Even if you have never grown anything, or fear you will kill anything green, we can change that. Your part is to pay attention and follow simple directions. You don’t even have to deal with it every day. You can do this!

Did you know, during WWII everybody planted a Victory Garden in their backyard? We can too. Let’s call it our Patriot Garden, and save a couple of bucks at the grocery store. We’ll keep grocery prices from kicking our butts a little bit. Every little bit helps!

Here’s The Plan

I will write an article a week on exactly what I am doing. I’ll supplement that with short vids. For me, that’s the hardest part so you can be sure they will be short!

I live in Tampa. My growing seasons are backward from most other parts of the country. It matters not. All the principles are the same, water, fertilize, and kill bugs. That’s about it. It may not be free food, but right now, a little elbow grease will save greasing the palm of your grocer. Well worth it in my book. Stay tuned!