Save Money, Grow Food

Interested in moving to Maui but worried about the cost of living? Or do you live here already and want to reduce your overhead? Grow your food! Not only does our food need to be shipped from the mainland, but it can't come to us unless it goes through Oahu first. This makes our food even more expensive. You might find some affordable food that is locally grown, and its a good idea to buy from them in order to help support our island economy, but you may find it surprisingly easy and cheap to grow your own fruits and vegetables.

Most local hardware stores have a garden section where you can buy a wide variety of vegetable seeds cheaply. You can plant these in any small plot of land, or even in pots if necessary. Worried about care of the plants? The ten easiest vegetables to grow are: carrots, cucumber, green beans, lettuce, onion, peas, radish, summer squash, sweet pepper, and tomato. If you can't grow these, gardening may not be for you. Just a few of these plants can turn out an amazing amount of produce. Keep in mind that aside from cutting food costs, gardening is an activity that many children are drawn to, so if you have any little ones, the benefits will be both educational and nutritional. As far as helath is concerned, be aware that local growers often use pesticides as much as commercial growers, and if you want to avoid the residual traces on purchased produce, growing your food is a great alternative.

For many Maui residents, the island is a sanctuary. People come here from all over the world to get away from it all and live a more quiet, uncomplicated life. Gardening is a great activity for those seeking stress relief. The fact that the island also boasts a desirable climate is not just good for you, but good for your garden as well. In fact, Haiku properties are blessed with some of the most perfect orchid growing conditions in the world. Many vegetables thrive under similar conditions.

If you want to learn more about how plants can enrich your life, consider attending the upcoming Lawn & Garden Fair & Hawaiian Tree Give-Away  that is happening at Maui Nui Botanical Gardens in Wailuku on Saturday, November 8th between 9am and 2pm. The knowledgable Maui Association of Landscape Professionals is an integral part of this event. There will be educational speakers and booths, a tree planting and pruning demonstration, the landscape industry trade show, and of course, some wonderful Maui food vendors. There will also be plants for sale, including fruit trees, succulents and native plants. Get more information at the Maui Nui Botanical Gardens website.

Fortunately for us at Jim Sanders Inc. we specialize in north shore areas, many of which are ideal for growing plants. See our north shore homes, our various Haiku homes, and maybe even take a peek at what we have in Hana properties. Contact us at Jim Sanders Real Estate, Inc. if you have any questions at all.