The idea of trying to become self-sustainable by growing your own food might be intimidating, and many may not know where to begin, but local residents Drs. Eric and Jennifer Gonyon have done very well with forming A Land of Delight Natural Farm & Nursery and want to help others become self-sustainable as well.
Although most might not have the kind of land the Gonyons have, Eric emphasized that people could still learn how to become self-sufficient even without much space.
“What I tell everybody is, every single person should grow some of their own food, even if they live in an apartment,” he said. “Maybe not all of their own food, but they can grow some of their own food. And that’s what I try to teach people.”
With just one seed and no experience in farming, Eric and Jennifer started A Land of Delight six years ago for their family, wanting to become self-sufficient as well as show their children where food comes from and help them discover a passion for growing fresh, healthy, all-natural food, such as produce, raw honey and pastured eggs. Then, when others expressed interest and inspiration, the Gonyons opened up their farm to the community.
Operating on its motto, “A Land of Delight—eat right, live right,” it offers a large variety of honey, eggs, produce, herbs, spices, coffees, vitamins and more, along with hundreds of different types of non-GMO, disease-free fruit trees so you can grow your own fruits, such as mangos, lemons, moringa, kumquats, avocados and many others. What’s more, the farm has free classes regarding self-sustainability through teaching aquaponics each Saturday at 10:30 a.m.
“We’ve been very successful; we’ve trained a lot of people on how to grow their own food, and we designed our own aquaponics systems, which people put in their backyard,” said Eric. “It’s an experience and a teaching ground for people.”
He added, “I think our greatest strength is we’re just learning as we go and try to teach what we know, and we encourage everybody to do their own research and find what works for them.”
A Land of Delight Natural Farm & Nursery, located at 2514 Leaning Pine Ln. in Plant City, is open from Thursday to Friday, 1:30-6:30 p.m., and on Saturday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Curbside service is also available from Tuesday to Saturday. For more information, visit https://alandofdelight.com/ or call 359-9120.
