Shell’s Feed & Garden Supply, Inc., located in Tampa, is celebrating their 59th year in business with their 2020 Annual Spring Sale! Family owned & operated since 1961, Shell’s is a lasting legacy in the Tampa community offering pet, farm, and garden supplies and expertise.
“Anyone can sell you products,” Greg Shell, Owner, has often said, “but what Shell’s really sells is Service.” He goes on to say, “My friendly staff are knowledgeable about the products that are in the store, and can help with pet, pest, farm, and garden questions to give you answers and help you find the best products. Sometimes the best solution is NOT the most expensive one. And if you’d like us to carry your order to the car, we’ll do it, just say so. We’ll do the heavy lifting! Try getting that kind of help at a big box store!”
Outside the store is their plant racks with veggies, herbs and annuals, looking fresh, and strong. Browse the racks for everything from tomatoes to marigolds to collard greens and peppers. As you walk around inside the store, you definitely get the vintage farm store vibe. Antique signs hang on the walls, and old farm tools too. They have very reasonably priced bulk garden seeds of many varieties, and racks of packaged seeds as well. If you’re into hard-to-find peppers, Shell’s has a large display of various mild to REALLY hot pepper seeds for you to purchase.
There is an entire section just for bird seed – for wild or caged birds – where you can have the staff make custom mixes, or you can buy wonderful-quality already-bagged seed mixes that carry the Shell’s name. You can hear the distinct “peep peep peep” of the live chickens in their brooder, and kids love to go visit them and watch them peck at their food. In the back, when they’re available, live rabbits lounge, waiting to go home with someone.
“Our store is a farm store, but with so much more,” says Marissa Byrum, the store’s Director of Communications. “We are a part of the fabric of this community. Our location is nestled right in the middle of many neighborhoods: North Tampa, University of South Florida, Busch Gardens, Temple Terrace, Sulphur Springs, Seminole Heights, Egypt Lake, and Forest Hills areas. We have people who travel from really far away to seek us out because of our service, our classes and events, and our product selection. We want to teach current and future generations the importance and the joy of gardening and farming, so that people know where their food comes from. We’re also very dedicated to pet care, so you’ll find that we carry tried and true best products for them, too. It’s truly a privilege to serve the Tampa Bay area, and we’re so grateful for our nearly 60 years doing so.”
“You know,” Marissa continues, “when this store first opened in 1961 at the corner of what was then Temple Terrace Highway (now Busch Blvd) and Nebraska, we were surrounded mostly by farms. The City of Tampa literally grew up around us, including taking our building in the mid-60s to widen the road (that’s when we moved to our current location). The big farms have mostly disappeared – sold out to developers over the years – so we have had to evolve with the changing landscape. We’ve added many more pet supplies, and a whole gardening department was added into the mix too.
Our aim is to become a ‘Mecca’ for urban farmers and backyard food growers (both plants and livestock animals like chickens and rabbits) to get what they need to feed themselves the healthy and vibrantly nutritious food that only growing your own can give you. And to provide all you need to take care of the animals you love.”
Shell’s is Tampa’s EarthBOX Authority, and carries a wide selection of products from that line. They also formulate their own Shell’s branded fertilizers, including the very popular Organic 3-3-3 Garden Fertilizer that can be used everywhere in your garden and landscape. It helps build the soil, the foundation of any great-performing plant, lawn, tree, or shrub.
If you’ve never been to Shell’s, March is a great time to check them out! Come see what all the buzz is about, and discover one of Tampa’s Best Kept Secrets.
For more information including address and store hours, see their website at https://www.shellsfeed.com.
You can also check out their calendar of events at https://www.shellsfeed.com/calendar.