A lady came in looking for organic fertilizer for her vegetable garden. We sell organics so I walked her over to some bone meal and blood meal to work into the soil. These wouldn’t do as she is a vegan! This was the first time this had happened to me. She not only ate vegan but didn’t want to use any animal bi-products in her soil. I just saw a celebrity mention that she only wears vegan clothes!
The eco-movement which gains steam every day is fragmenting. People refuse to be lumped into the general picture of the organic gardener. As a business to just call your self eco-friendly is not going to do for long. Everyone is going to be “eco-friendly” soon as they try to tap into this lucrative market. In the garden center business this means being able to address the needs of the vegan gardener as well as the non-vegan gardener and everyone else who shows an interest in any aspect of organic gardening.
This is a great opportunity for the small garden center. While the larger chains and box stores will wrap themselves in the “eco” banner will they be able to help the vegan gardener? How about the organic gardener that requires “certified” organic seed? Open pollinated seed varieties? The gardener interested in cover crop rotation? What about native plants and excellent substitutes that are drought tolerant?
The opportunities for attracting this type of consumer to the garden center are great! This person is generally willing to spend more to meet their goals and is quite loyal to the business that has earned their trust. They will spread the word to their like minded friends. While most of our organic customers are not quite as particular as some, the market for the various sub-categories of organic gardening is one that might be worth addressing. I know we will.
Trey:
I as still chuckling at your reference to the “nefarious cause of peace.” This is the same story.
I read about a group that was feeding urea to pigs, so they could raise the analysis on the manure and still sell it as “organic.” I also have had readers ask if the chicken waste and cow manure comes from animals that are fed steroids, hormones, and anti-biotics, then what’s the point?
I have had readers protest certain Bat Guano’s because it disturbs the bats.
Now that “organic” has worked it’s way into everyones vocabulary there will be people pulling and stretching at it to define what it really means.
I feel like Bill Clinton is going to be on TV tonight saying “It depends what definition of organic you’re talking about.”
Thanks for another great entry
Comment by Phil Adikes — March 29, 2007 @ 7:35 pm
Interesting… great post as always, Trey. What did you end up selling her, by the way? A compost bin–or isn’t she a DIY vegan?
By the way, I love your last post on passion making the garden center, too. I’m working part-time at a garden center (a different one this time) for the next two months, and will try to remember that.
Comment by Blackswamp_Girl — March 30, 2007 @ 1:28 am
Funny how one term can be interpreted so many ways. I can understand questions about animal diets with reference to manure, as this can affect beneficial insects as well as worms.(Especially if you are vermicomposting!) But good luck finding manure from animals without any medication in it-that’s just a part of raising livestock, organically or not. I sure wouldn’t want someone’s horses to be infested with parasites just to keep their manure “organic”. I still use manure from a local guy who raises horses and cows, but not in my worm bin. As for your customer’s request-I would be reluctant to use blood meal or fish emulsion, but only because of the varmints it would attract in my yard. I’m curious too…what DID you sell her?
Comment by lisa — March 30, 2007 @ 1:06 pm
Hey Trey,
We carry “Vegan Mix” an all purpose fertilizer (5-2-2) containing no animal products or animal by-products, from Down to Earth. You might want to look in to their products, good quality and they give great service to independent nurseries.
If the press about a vegan rose grower in England that caught Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (the human form of Mad Cow) from using blood and bone meal on her roses… and the evidence shows that the prions most likely infected her by getting in through a scratch from a rose thorn, we should all be thinking twice about blood and bone meal. According to today’s SF Chonicle, onlt about one percent of American Beef is tested for the disease at the time of slaughter….
Since we are cactus nursery, we decided to drop most of the animal based organics from our growing routine, it is just too scary to think about mutant prions that could be in blood and bone meal when you are scratched up all the time from handling spiny plants. We do use steam pasteurized fish bone meal and oyster shell but stay from anything coming from mammals.
Comment by Hap — March 30, 2007 @ 3:52 pm
Hi there, I’m new to your blog, and love it! I’m a garden designer in Los Angeles, and have been so upset becaause of the disappearance of small specialty nurseries in my area. Your point about the specialty markets that are opening up is well taken, but it seems that fewer and fewer people are willing to take the plunge to own an independent nursery in this economy that is so unfavorable to the small businessperson.
It was a small nursery that nurtured my love for plants, and ultimately gave me the courage to make garden design my profession. That nursery no longer exists.
I have a tremendous amount of respect for what you do. Thank you for your passion!
Comment by germi — March 31, 2007 @ 12:44 am
Conversely, two books I’ve read (”Ten Acres Enough” and a more modern one on homesteading on 5 acres) both mention the importance of raising livestock, not primarily to eat but for their manure. These authors felt that without such fertilization, intensive gardening in a small area would not be successful.
What will your customer do? Another book I have mentions using your own urine…at least on the roses. Does anyone think that’s preferable to fish emulsion?
Comment by M Sinclair Stevens (Texas) — April 1, 2007 @ 2:16 am
After I posted my last comment I remembered I frequently use two fertilizers not from animals (depending on your definition of animal); coffee grounds (free from Starbucks) and Dillo Dirt (composted sewage sludge/garden clippings from the City of Austin).
The underlying issue is why is the person a vegan. If they don’t want to use blood and bone meal for compassionate reasons (they don’t believe in the slaughterhouse), then sewage sludge would probably work for them. However, if they are afraid of chemicals and biohazards such as hormones and antibiotics, then the human animal is probably just as unsafe as other domesticated species.
They might be interested in a high tech composter.
Comment by M Sinclair Stevens (Texas) — April 1, 2007 @ 1:55 pm
Manure as a fertilizer? Uncomposted cattle manure is very high in salts and low in nitrogen. Horse manure is allegedly lower in salts; but only slightly better regarding nitrogen.
Ruminants are very efficient at grabbing on to nitrogen and turning it into more ruminant. Cecum animals, such as horses, are a little less efficient with nitrogen.
I used to dilute turkey bedding with grass clippings and let it all ferment together. Poultry manure alone can cause fertilizer burn.
Comment by Anonymous — August 2, 2007 @ 9:41 am