Beating the credit crunch the organic way !

Are you feeling credit crunched this morning? All of those bills piling up & the wage cheque going down? Are you thinking of ditching the Waitrose Organic & going for the ASDA own brand instead to save a few pennies?

I was having a chat yesterday with a good friend and she asked me a very interesting question. What was the tastiest Tomato I'd ever eaten? Strangely enough that was a really easy question to answer. My Uncle George used to grow the best tomatoes in the world. His secret? If ever he went somewhere & had a really great tomato, he'd save a few seeds and grow them in his back garden. He'd then cross pollinate them with other tomatoes to produce even tastier ones, saving the seeds from the tastiest plant for next year. Over many decades he'd developed the finest tomatoes it is possible to eat. Sadly he passed away 20 odd years ago.

Thing is though, he'd grow most of his own veg in a little plot at the botom of his garden. George was a builder and a busy man, but he'd always spend half an hour a few times a week tending to his garden. I asked him once if he did it to save money. His response. "Well, sure it saves money, but I do it because it's the only way I can get decent fruit and veg". If George was having salad for supper, he'd go down the garden and choose the pefectly ripe items. Best quality guaranteed. He also told me that he found it very theraputic after a long day dealing with stroppy customers, to spend an hour away from it all tending his patch. He once said, "It's that or the pub and the garden is much better for you". Mind you he'd usually have a scotch when he'd finished.

I saw a very interesting article on Time about organic gardening in the USA. As we all have less money to spend, we maybe have a bit more time on our hands. Given that a bit of vegetable growing is both relaxing and a good way to save money, this is one sector where the credit crunch might be rather good for business.

I thought I'd google - "Organic Garden Centre" London - just to see how many specialist centres there are in London. Guess how many came up? None. There is a massive business opportunity for someone to fill a gaping gap in the market. I know that there are plenty of fine Garden Centres in London, but I've always believed the secret to success in business is to do things a bit different and find a niche. Given that people pay twice as much for organic veggies & drive miles out of their way to get them, I suspect a totally organic Garden Centre, run by experts would soon attract a massive following. There would also be a great opportunity for a bring & buy style exchange.

Any city boys out there sitting on a big payoff & wanting a change of lifestyle & ethics, give it a thought.