It all starts with cowpoop
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And a squash...
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The opening of a new world
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An idea germinates
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Happy customers
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Who We Are & Why We Are Here
The Seed Sprouts
I remember my first garden; at the age of six my father dug out the grass from a small area of our backyard. My grandparents on my mothers’ side had a small farm that supplied us with cow manure which was forked in for fertilizer. The first vegetable crop I can remember was the yellow crookneck squash. The seeds were big and white, easy for me to plant. I remember going out every day waiting for them to sprout…watching in amazement at how big the plants grew… and shouting out in excitement at the sign of the first little squash. My goal was to grow the biggest single squash anyone had ever seen; of course everyone told me the smaller ones tasted better. They forgot I was only six and there was no way I was going to actually EAT a squash…were they kidding??? The next memory was of planting the sunflowers. The amazement that something so big and beautiful could come from that one little seed that I had sown. Mother Nature is indeed remarkable.
Several years passed before I was to catch the garden bug again. I had just moved to Boerne when I took a job working for Ken Frobese at Hill Country African Violets & Nursery. It started as 'just a job' but I quickly caught on. Not a day went by that we didn't sell herb plants; not rain, snow, or hail could keep people away from fresh basil. The seed was planted to some day open a little nursery of my own, specializing in herbs and perennial flowers.
The Cibolo Nature Center’s ‘Mostly Native Plant Sale’ was my first solo experience. I had grown a few herbs and wildflowers from seed and set up a little booth. The people who attended were all friendly and very supportive, I was lucky to sell out quickly. After participating in the event for several years I earned the “Big Dog” booth, the first you see as you enter the fairgrounds. At this point I had sold my nursery and severed my ties to my most recent affiliation. I found myself approaching the Cibolo sale for the first time in many years without flying the flag of a retail nursery. This event had always been my ‘vacation money’ and I needed to do something special, something different, and something distinctive to set myself apart. I had always done well, selling out of tomatoes when I had brought them in the past so I figured “grow a thousand tomato plants”. I grew fifty plants +/- each of twenty varieties, mostly heirloom, for the sale. The response was fantastic, especially for the hard to find old fashioned “Heirlooms”.
One cold and cloudy December day oh so long ago I sat pondering... "How do I share my love of tomatoes with more people?" It seemed logical to me that a determined person could ship a plant, even as fragile as a young tomato, I just needed to figure out how. At this time only one company, among the dozens of seed catalogs I received offered live plants; surely if they could ship, so could I. My first two attempts, well, let us just say that this was a learning experience. Shane Dunford form Nature's Herb Farm explained a method he had used when the rare occasion came for him to mail out an order. I have refined this simple process over the years to the point where I almost never receive calls regarding plants damaged in shipping ( I also have learned not to use our U.S. postal system ). While I was earning my education regarding shipping I was also considering marketing... quite simple, even all those years ago = internet. I purchased a domain name in January, spent the spring and summer honing my craft, then in August I purchased my first computer. That fall I was blessed with the talents of a web-designer who believed in my mission and built a comprehensive site that other companies had bid several thousands to achieve. My cost was $500, a yard of compost and a dozen plants. That next spring I increased to almost a hundred varieties and over five thousand plants. All started and grown using the best organic soils and fertilizers at my disposal, because one should... especially with vegetables!
Each and every seed is planted by hand, by me. Each wheelbarrow full of potting soil is amended with only the best of natural/organic ingredients and mixed by hand, by me. Each and every plant is watched over, fed and watered every day, by me. These are my babies, all eight thousand; this is my nursery. How do I pick which one of my ‘offspring’ is the best?
Mother Nature is truly remarkable. I feel like a kid in a candy store when I’m surrounded by my tomato plants…Knowing what is to become; so many different sizes, colors, shapes and flavors; like ‘Willy Wonka’ in a tomato factory!
Nothing makes me happier today than when someone tells me that the tomatoes bought from me where the best they have ever tasted.
It has been a bumpy ride, I kid you not. We are talking farming here. A good friend once told me "the only way you get to be a millionaire farming is to start off a multimillionaire". There have been plenty of struggles and failures along the way - some HUGE - but I have rebuilt and am regrowing.
Good gardening - Keith
I remember my first garden; at the age of six my father dug out the grass from a small area of our backyard. My grandparents on my mothers’ side had a small farm that supplied us with cow manure which was forked in for fertilizer. The first vegetable crop I can remember was the yellow crookneck squash. The seeds were big and white, easy for me to plant. I remember going out every day waiting for them to sprout…watching in amazement at how big the plants grew… and shouting out in excitement at the sign of the first little squash. My goal was to grow the biggest single squash anyone had ever seen; of course everyone told me the smaller ones tasted better. They forgot I was only six and there was no way I was going to actually EAT a squash…were they kidding??? The next memory was of planting the sunflowers. The amazement that something so big and beautiful could come from that one little seed that I had sown. Mother Nature is indeed remarkable.
Several years passed before I was to catch the garden bug again. I had just moved to Boerne when I took a job working for Ken Frobese at Hill Country African Violets & Nursery. It started as 'just a job' but I quickly caught on. Not a day went by that we didn't sell herb plants; not rain, snow, or hail could keep people away from fresh basil. The seed was planted to some day open a little nursery of my own, specializing in herbs and perennial flowers.
The Cibolo Nature Center’s ‘Mostly Native Plant Sale’ was my first solo experience. I had grown a few herbs and wildflowers from seed and set up a little booth. The people who attended were all friendly and very supportive, I was lucky to sell out quickly. After participating in the event for several years I earned the “Big Dog” booth, the first you see as you enter the fairgrounds. At this point I had sold my nursery and severed my ties to my most recent affiliation. I found myself approaching the Cibolo sale for the first time in many years without flying the flag of a retail nursery. This event had always been my ‘vacation money’ and I needed to do something special, something different, and something distinctive to set myself apart. I had always done well, selling out of tomatoes when I had brought them in the past so I figured “grow a thousand tomato plants”. I grew fifty plants +/- each of twenty varieties, mostly heirloom, for the sale. The response was fantastic, especially for the hard to find old fashioned “Heirlooms”.
One cold and cloudy December day oh so long ago I sat pondering... "How do I share my love of tomatoes with more people?" It seemed logical to me that a determined person could ship a plant, even as fragile as a young tomato, I just needed to figure out how. At this time only one company, among the dozens of seed catalogs I received offered live plants; surely if they could ship, so could I. My first two attempts, well, let us just say that this was a learning experience. Shane Dunford form Nature's Herb Farm explained a method he had used when the rare occasion came for him to mail out an order. I have refined this simple process over the years to the point where I almost never receive calls regarding plants damaged in shipping ( I also have learned not to use our U.S. postal system ). While I was earning my education regarding shipping I was also considering marketing... quite simple, even all those years ago = internet. I purchased a domain name in January, spent the spring and summer honing my craft, then in August I purchased my first computer. That fall I was blessed with the talents of a web-designer who believed in my mission and built a comprehensive site that other companies had bid several thousands to achieve. My cost was $500, a yard of compost and a dozen plants. That next spring I increased to almost a hundred varieties and over five thousand plants. All started and grown using the best organic soils and fertilizers at my disposal, because one should... especially with vegetables!
Each and every seed is planted by hand, by me. Each wheelbarrow full of potting soil is amended with only the best of natural/organic ingredients and mixed by hand, by me. Each and every plant is watched over, fed and watered every day, by me. These are my babies, all eight thousand; this is my nursery. How do I pick which one of my ‘offspring’ is the best?
Mother Nature is truly remarkable. I feel like a kid in a candy store when I’m surrounded by my tomato plants…Knowing what is to become; so many different sizes, colors, shapes and flavors; like ‘Willy Wonka’ in a tomato factory!
Nothing makes me happier today than when someone tells me that the tomatoes bought from me where the best they have ever tasted.
It has been a bumpy ride, I kid you not. We are talking farming here. A good friend once told me "the only way you get to be a millionaire farming is to start off a multimillionaire". There have been plenty of struggles and failures along the way - some HUGE - but I have rebuilt and am regrowing.
Good gardening - Keith
