June 24, 2009
When I started this blog over 5 years ago there we’re not many garden bloggers out there. People would ask why I was taking the time to post about my nursery, when the only people who we’re reading it often lived hundreds or thousands of miles away. I knew that over time, more and more people that lived closer to my nursery would be on the internet, and reading blogs. So it’s with great joy that I see all the years of patiently typing away starting to really pay off. Having been on the Internet, with my own blog over these years, I have carved out a niche for myself. Now local people who Google garden center in El Dorado County, or northern California, or even California, see my blog pop up on the first page. The point is that even on the internet, things do take time. Sometimes years for results to bear fruit.
We have a local garden expert, Farmer Fred Hoffman, who is a lifetime Master Gardener, and host of the KFBK Garden Show on NewsTalk 1530 KFBK in Sacramento, California each Sunday morning from 8:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. He also hosts “Get Growing” on Talk 650 KSTE in Sacramento, 10 a.m. to Noon. Fred recently started his own blog, The Farmer Fred Rant. His latest post is titled, “A nursery’s biggest competitor my be a warehouse in Nevada.“It is based on my post titled, “What a Spring”, where I casual mention that our price for Sluggo Plus (an organic snail and earwig bait) is the same as Amazon.com. Our price is 11.99, and there’s was $11.99 (I see they have lowred to $11.11 as of today).
Like Fred say’s, when you factor in the freight and time it takes to get the product, we are still less expensive or real close, even with our 8.25% sales tax! Everyone assumes that Amazon has the lowest prices for everything, and it’s just not true. Fred and another commenter at my blog both say I should post the fact that we are the same price right by the product. Why not show folks that even our little rural garden center just down the road is on top of what the mega competition is doing. The timing is right for local owned business to point out these areas where we compete with the big boys, on price, or convenience, or even just “feel good” atmosphere.
What I have seen over time is garden blogging growing to the point that it’s impossible to keep up with what’s going on. So many blogs from all parts of the world. This is of course fun, but for the smaller locally owned garden center it’s the local garden bloggers like Fred, who will be the champions of their favorite stores, and make the biggest impact for those stores. Make no doubt about it, social media is the wave of the future when it comes to “advertising”. Fred is respected all around the Sacramento region, and is most likely the most widely listened to gardening expert on the radio in the Sacramento region. So for Fred to mention our little garden center, 40 miles east of Sacramento makes an impact. “Gee honey, why not take a trip to Gold Country and visit that little nursery Fred talks about”.
What I like most about social media is how a business with a great reputation can enhance that reputation. We don’t have to come up with expensive ad campaigns that more and more just don’t pay off. Social media puts like minded people together, where the word of good business or bad, can spread throughout the group that most benefits by this information. Fred, as well as all the the people who have participated in my blog over the years, are now our best form of advertising. People love it when friends recommend a place to shop. You are more likely to trust a friends recommendation. Farmer Fred, and most all of the people who participate in my blog are friends. Some I have never met in person, but they know me and I know them, and I trust their advice.
June 18, 2009
This has been one of the longest periods between posts for me. We have been busy. It’s starting to slow down now that school is out and vacations are here. We think that business will be better this summer than in past summers since most people are staying close to home this year. Fertilizers, pest control, and 4″ color should continue to sell well thorough the summer.
Where was the growth this year for us? Vegetables, fruit trees, organic fertilizers, premium potting soils, 4″ perennials at $3.99 and $4.99. The 4″ size has gone over really well as it’s a few dollars less than a one gallon can and you don’t have to dig as big a hole. Really the most excitment comes from the premium potting soils and organic fertilizers. They have been flying out of here this spring. We carry Foxfarm Ocean Forest, E.B. Stone “Ednas Best”, and Natural and Organic Black Gold.
The availability lists at the wholesale level have never been so full. Rising sales are not lifing all boats. I beleive the wholesale growers of one gallon size plants, and larger, are suffering this year. It has been edibles, 4″ size plants, and organics, that have carried the day. Now we have to help people keep those plants growing and healthy. We love people who bring us samples in plastic bags of insect problems or other concerns. It allows us to show case organic controls that may have not existed before. Sluggo plus is a boon for us as earwigs are a much bigger problem here than snails and slugs. It’s our first organic, pet safe, earwig control and it’s selling very well (our price is the same as Amazon, $11.99).
One other big reason we have had a great year so far has been our beautiful spring, where we dodged the drought and have had temperatures in the 70’s and 80’s F. The weather is always the most important variable in our sales. That’s the price of working with nature. So this year we hit the weather jackpot. Other nurseries in other parts of the country may not be so weather lucky. When one thinks of all the variables at play in our business, it’s a wonder we continue to do it. That’s the life of farming and the farmer. We in the garden center business are farmers like those that grow alfalfa, or any other crop.
And when all is said and done this year, I hope we have opened the gardening door for some new gardeners. They will find out that not all Springs are as nice to our crops as this one. Bugs and disease will take their toll. Gardening can be hard work, but if you keep it up the rewards will unfold over time. A nation of new gardeners is exactly what the independent garden center has been wishing for.
June 9, 2009
Sarah poses an interesting question at Open Register, “How badly does ‘upscale’ suffer in a tight economy?” She asks, “I wonder…in this economic environment, does the low-key, mom-and-pop garden center have an edge over more polished, upscale garden centers? Do low-cost perceptions influence where consumers buy plants? What are you seeing in your part of the world?”
I think it depends on the operation. A poorly run Mom and Pop operation will suffer despite being a small Mom and Pop. A Mom and Pop operation that responds to the community, and is run properly does have a foot up in this economic climate. That’s why I couldn’t for the life of me understand why Smith and Hawken would be pushing outdoor televisions at this time. A huge disconnect.
I have been promoting the small garden center for years. My goal is to stay small, and become indispensable to my customer base. If you want a great selection of organics fertilizers and pesticides, as well as the knowledge to help you do it right the first time, we are it. Sure you can drive over twenty five minutes away for an equivelent selection, but why when we are right here? Plant prices are competitive, and gas prices are rising. Shop local.
Yes, I believe that a small, well run garden center has a foot up in this new world. The buy local, going organic, grow it ourselves, safe food movement is just what the smaller garden center has been waiting for.
June 6, 2009
One of my favorite subjects, Smith and Hawken ( A Scotts-Miracle Gro Company) has announced that they are now the exclusive dealers for, “the Pantel weather-resistant outdoor television and the Lynx Professional Grilling Collection. Smith & Hawken has partnered with these two brands known for their unparalleled performance and superior craftsmanship. Now, the sky is the limit in creating the ultimate outdoor entertaining space.”
I guess they didn’t take my advice and, “Bring back the Hippies”. At that post we learned through Garden Chic Magazine that Smith and Hawken was, “now in the midst of a major shift to return to its ‘roots’, its horticultural beginnings.” We heard that, “the previous management and various owners lost track of their core focus.” In the article “Gordy (Erickson, CEO)proudly points to the original catalogue from the early days of the company, when the hippies-turned-visionary businessmen were still at the helm.”
So the visionaries at Smith and Hawken want to return to the day’s when hippies ran the show? I wonder how Paul Hawken (one of the founders) feels about this. Is this the direction he would have taken this company? I find it weird to say the least that in these days of victory gardens and the such, that Smith and Hawken would peddle televisions through their stores.
I wrote a post about Smith and Hawkens down hill spiral here. I would venture to say that this just about compleats the spiral. How much longer can this company go on and call itself a garden store? Now I could be wrong, and these new TV’s and outdoor kitchens will lead the compnay to a brighter future. I doubt it though as it seems an odd thing to be releasing at this day and age. Right when people are looking for a connection with the garden, and trying to save a buck or two, they come out with a new outdoor television? This seems odd, but maybe you have a different take on this?
June 2, 2009
This year along with ev
everyone else we decided to expand our garden. Our vegetable garden has been in used on and off for the last 25 years. We let it go fallow over the last few years, as we we’re gardening at the nursery. Not only have we started using it again but I have doubled the size. The new ground, which is the dry area at the bottom, is full of rocks so it’s going to take some conditioning. The rest of the garden has soil that is easy to work 
with. Right now we have an onion bed with white, red, and yellow onions, that are just starting to flower.
We love peppers so we planted 45 plants, including “Poblano”, “Habanero”, Yellow, Red and Green Bell Peppers. Tomato wise we have 12 plants with 6 hybrids and 6 heirlooms. My “Celebrity” tomato has small fruit on it, which makes it earlier that the “Early Girl.”
We also have 3 types of melons, 3 types of cucumbers, one zucchini, some pole beans, and in the new area some corn. I want to create a sitting space in amongst the corn where we can hide. Not from anybody, but just for the fun. I will also plant a pumpkin down there.
These are the peppers, with a space reserved for my Tepin peppers, which are suppose to be the hottest pepper on earth. They are still in the seed tray. They take almost 200 days to maturity.
The tree blooming in the background is the native Horsechestnut, which will soon turn brwon and drop it’s leaves with the summer drought. The ground is already starting to dry up around here, and soon the green grass in the field will be golden brown.
We water every day as we get little or no rain for the next four months! We will hook up drip irrigation in the next week, but for now we hand water.
I am glad we have the garden at the house up and running again. So are the gophers! Yikes. I am using the GopherIt which emits a small vibration every 20 seconds or so, which is suppose to drive the gophers away. It’s worked in the past, and I hope it will now as there is a gopher hole by virtually every plant. I think they are waiting till the plants get bigger, since they haven’t eaten one plant yet.
