This is my post for #freewriters Thursday prompt side hustle hosted by @mariannewest
Several years ago when the river was in very bad shape and we could not catch enough fish to pay the bills, we started growing plants and having yard sales. My husband called the yard sales chum. He said it drew the people in, then they would buy plants. You could say that it was a side hustle to fishing.
We did this for five years, we have a nursery license and also sold to local nurseries. People told us that they liked our plants because they lived when planted and we would explain to them that the big wholesale nurseries grow the plants from DNA, not seeds and the plants never see soil or sunlight until just before being sold. When you buy them and put them in the ground, it is a shock to their system.
We could not have the sales at our house because our driveway is only big enough for one car. We were having the sales at my mom's house and my sister-n-laws house It got to be too much on me, having to load the yard sale stuff, load plants, and set up the yard sale, then do it all in reverse when the sale was over. I told my husband that I did not want to do it anymore, also fishing was getting better.
We now only grow areca palms but I think this will be our last year of growing them. We are getting too old to fish and work on plants when we get home.
The flower I pictured is a carrion flower cactus, but is not really a cactus, it has a history that spans over 3,000 years ago in Mexico and Central America, where it was used for medicinal purposes and as a food source. The Mayans used it for ceremonial purposes and even wore them on their heads during ceremonies, while Aztecs used it as an essential part of their diet. from https://www.sidegardening.com/
All photos are mine
