“...I am on my third season as an avid home gardener and going the GYO route is extremely difficult....”
Yes Sir!!! You are correct. It is no easy task and once you have it grown, you’ve got to put it up to preserve it which is also a lot of work. I’ve not done a garden in a couple of years now, but before that, I’ve done one every year for about 5 years. I found as I gained experience, some tasks became little easier, but it’s still a lot of work. And it does give you a deeper appreciation for the stuff you can just “pick up at the grocery store”. However, my homegrown stuff tasted soooo much better, especially when it’s freshly harvested.
***However, my homegrown stuff tasted soooo much better,***
Agreed! Unfortunately a garden product does not get ripe when YOU want it, and often too much gets ripe at once.
Maintaining a garden does take quite a lot of time especially with weeding and watering during a drought.
Last year I let half of my garden die as it was so dry here. I kept the tomatoes going, a couple of hills of squash. The squash soon died and finally the tomatoes.