Gardening is a popular pastime that allows you to grow your own food and spend more time outside, but this 60-year-old has turned his home's garden into a full-time job.
In a viral Instagram Reel, one man (@gardening_lovee) shows off his neighbor Jim's front lawn. Instead of a sea of grass, the plot has rows of emerald-green lettuce. Jim is a market farmer who has turned a simple lawn into a full-blown "victory garden."
Jim is 60 years old and manages his front-yard garden all by himself. The garden is only half an acre, but Jim is able to grow 50 different varieties of lettuce and 50 other annual vegetables. He sells these to his community, feeding 80 families with his produce.
His operation is quite successful. He makes $7,500 a month from his produce. The narrator of the video explains how Jim essentially runs a mini CSA, or Community-Supported Agriculture program. The 80 families consistently buy his produce, and Jim sells any excess to the local downtown market.
CSAs are a popular way to connect consumers directly to local farmers. A group of individuals makes a promise to local farmers to buy a certain total of produce from them each harvest. CSAs offer consumers fresh, local produce and support small farmers over large-scale agriculture.
Seeing Jim's garden may inspire you to grow a garden in your backyard. Jim works on his garden full-time, spending 50-60 hours a week tending to it. The best part? Jim can spend all day outside, and when he's done working, he's only steps away from his house.
The Reel ends with the narrator praising the act of growing food, not grass, saying, "Let's bring back the victory garden."
Viewers shared the praise of the mini-farm operation in the comments.
One user praised Jim, saying, "This is super inspiring."
Another remarked, "I wish I was better at gardening so I could do something even a fraction like this!"
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