Kewl Beans!! I thought that things were charging down there when I saw the guys directing traffic in the parking lot.

That is so cool. I am one of those gen x people who just suddenly got the gardening bug. I swear, if my school hadn't eliminated the horticulture program, I'd be getting a degree in it right now.

WOW!!!You work there? I saw the video yesterday or the day before and wished there was a nursery like that close to me. What an awesome line of work to be in! I'm so jealous :)

Road trip! Totally awesome nursery.
Tally HO!

Waaaay cool! And great to see confirmation that more and more people are beginning to grow their own food again!

Do you know what the article will be about? I'll keep an eye out for it.
Thanks for the heads up and congrats to you and all the Natural Gardener folks! Never a more deserving nursery and owner.

It's amazing how busy we are, Wantonamara! Yep, they had to hire a guy just to direct traffic on Saturdays. Sheesh. I can't tell you how many flats of basil I've sold ~ literally thousands I'd bet. And parsley, chives, thyme, and the other culinaries. Medicinal herbs, too, but mostly it's culinary. It's exciting!

Well, come on up and see us, Lieslmcq, if you can. Be sure to find me ~ I'm the only Linda there and am usually in the herb section Tues., Wed. and Thurs. And keep in mind this extremely-handy-for-new-gardeners thing ~ we have a botanist and horticulturist on staff and you can pick their brains for free. You don't even have to buy anything ~ just bring them your bug or diseased leaf (in a ziploc) and they'll help you find out what it is and what to do about it. That's priceless info for anyone. Even though I've been gardening for a long time now (going on twenty years not counting when I was a kid), I ask their advice regularly.

Yep, Vwtx, I work there! LOVELOVELOVE it. The people I work with and for are all great, and the customers are having so much fun petting the donkeys, touring the butterfly garden and watching the chickens that they're always in a great mood. The herb section I work in is right next to the donkey pen, so I get to watch them all day as they play tag around the pond, greet kids and generally be donkeys.

You GOTTA' come down to see it, Beachplant. People do road trips a lot ~ had a group of sixty that took a bus from Bell County just to come (John D. did a nice lecture for them in the veggie garden). Get ahold of me if you do come and I can give you a tour. And if you can, make it on a Friday ~ that's the best shopping since by then all our plant deliveries are in and put up, but the weekend mobs haven't picked them over yet.

DW, it came out in the last issue and the entire article was really a series of short articles on how to be frugal. What was printed online was all that was in the mag, under a pic of John D. I'd thought it was going to be an article on the resurgence of gardening as a hobby, but I was mistaken. I don't like how they chopped up what the boss said in the print article, but I do like the video. So, when you gonna' come see me up there? I know you're not that far away (here's your excuse to come shop ~ you have to come see me ;).

I'll be comin' around the mountain when I come....
soon. You recommended Fridays, but do you work on that day?
I'd also like to catch John in as I have a very specific question for him based on something he shared with me once...has to do with water witching. Also want to get a load of the pine needle mulch. So I feel a road trip coming soon if you'll recommend a good day.
Oh...and I'll be riding six white horses when I come!

Ha! How you gonna' ride all them at one time? You got a big butt like me? *snicker*

I never know when John will be there. His schedule varies so much that the only person who does know is his assistant, Lyda. Maybe you can call before you come up?

Nope, don't work on Friday. I work Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, but if you come up Thurs. afternoon about four, most deliveries will have come by then. Maybe one or two won't have, but nine times out of ten all will have. But if you want to come Friday to be sure, then do. I'll get to meet you some other time I'm sure (GOTTA' get my butt to a swap!).

What's your question about water witching? I'm curious. And I know a couple witches, so maybe I'd know an answer...

Yep, I love thursday afternoons there.

Yep...SIX. I would swear they're making saddles smaller these days. haha! Besides, I like to make an entrance.
So you'll all come out to meet me when I come?....

Okay, I'll try to do a Thursday afternoon, maybe this coming week...or the next...and take my chances on John being there. I can always call him for that info. I've got to put in a well on my property and I remembered John had mentioned some folks to me who did the witchy thing, but I didn't write it down. Mainly I was just curious about the craft at the time.
Do you know someone in my area? If so will you email me with the info? I'd still like to talk to him about it, but am open to suggestions. Looking forward to meeting you knittlin, and will look for you near the herbs and donkeys.

How neat! It's so great that y'all are in Time Magazine. Isn't it just amazing how many people are veggie gardening now? I've been reading about it but not really believing it. I hope that the newbies have great success and don't become discouraged. I also hope they all keep doing it.

Wouldn't it be great if we could get back to local produce? Instead of having supermarkets full of stuff from Argentina and Chile and wherever? I've been shocked since they started putting the country of origin on everything. Prior to that I thought most of our produce came from California!!

This was so inspiring to me! I'm going to have to jump in the car and drive up soon. The plant store is my "happy place". What I would do to go back in time and get some advice on my raised veggie bed from you guys.
I'm also one of the gen x'ers that has made their way back to growing food. I remember my grandfather grew all kinds of stuff...again, what I would do to be able to pick his brain. Instead it's a lot of trial and error. It's fun none the less. Thanks for a great post!

Wantonamara, you come up on Thursdays? Next time you're in there, find me! I love meeting internet friends in real life.

Speaking of that, it was great to see you, DFW! I enjoyed the heck out of that, though wish I would have had more time to visit. I'll see you at a swap sometime, maybe this fall when things calm down a bit for me. I couldn't get ahold of one of my waterwitch friends, but did the other one and they said they don't really do it anymore. But I'm glad John gave you the info for the water witch assoc. If I do find my other friend and they would be willing to talk to you, I'll let you know.

"So you'll all come out to meet me when I come?.... " If you would have made an entrance like that, I can guarantee you that everyone in the entire place would have come out to meet you. *snicker*

"Isn't it just amazing how many people are veggie gardening now? " Man, is it ever, Tammy. So exciting, too! I love helping all of them at work. Some of them come back and tell me how their gardens are doing. Just last Thursday, a couple of ladies named Willemina and Gloria came in, all smiles, to let me know how well their garden was doing. They were just so excited about it all. They'd been in a month or so ago to ask questions and buy plants. I just love getting feedback like that.

I, too, hope all the new gardeners don't get discouraged. I try to tell them all that they will have setbacks, but to not look at them as failures but learning experiences. I'm also careful to tell all of them about the info desk at work. Be sure to let any new gardeners you come in contact with know about that, would you, Tammy? For anyone reading along who doesn't know about the info desk at the Natural Gardener, it's in the back room of the store where the fertilizers and tools are ~ there's always someone knowledgeable there, usually either the horticulturist or botanist on staff. Anybody can go in there and ask anything and get help. If you or someone you know has a problem, bring a leaf or bug or whatever is the problem and/or pictures if you can and they'll help you figure out what it is and what to do about it. You can also bring in some of your soil and they'll help you figure out what, if anything, you need to ammend it ~ that's a big money-saver since you won't be buying things you really don't need, and can zero in on what you do need. They don't do a chemical analysis type soil test, but they can look and see if you have clay or sand or etc.

"Wouldn't it be great if we could get back to local produce?" Lord, yes, Tammy. I'm so glad about the new things coming out of Congress that will make all imported food have to conform to the same rules and regs that US-produced food has to. At the moment, they don't have to (unless that bill passed recently regarding this ~ I haven't heard). Seriously, someone can make pickles in their toilet in Mexico, slap on a nutrition label, ship them across the border and sell them here. The laws are so outdated, passed years ago when it cost too much to ship something to the US, so they didn't address imported foods. I'm so glad to see that's changing. And it'll be really good for local farmers ~ they won't have to compete with cheap vegetables from Mexico et al where they can be produced for much less money. Not to mention we'll have a much bigger chance of knowing what is and what isn't in and on the imported food. I'd better stop now before I go on even longer...

Please do come up, TexJan! And again, find me in the herb section if you're there Tues. through Thursday. Look for me anyway as sometimes I fill in for others. I'll be doing that this Friday.

I'd better go ~ got horses to feed and more tomatoes to plant. I'll see y'all more often soon I hope, once I get internet at the house again.

knittlin, it was so much fun to meet you in your own environment (or at least your work environment). I can see why you love working there. I spent a couple of hours there and learned SO much. Everyone seems so knowledgable on a broad range of subjects. For instance I learned how to prepare and install decomposed granite pathways, how to care for olive trees, inquired about the new 4" durable turf grass called Turffalo (so soft on my bare feet), learned who to contact for dowsing a property, etc. Etc. ETC.! And there is just so much to see and discover that I could easily have spent the whole day there and not seen it all. I returned home inspired!

Thank you for checking with your friends re: the water witching. I've been watching some youtube clips by a couple of the people John mentioned who are big names in that field. I'm enthused and am considering taking a class!

Hope to get to know you better in the future and will look for you at the next swap or the next time I visit The Natural Gardener. If you are ever heading this direction, email me, and maybe we can get together.

Seriously, someone can make pickles in their toilet in Mexico, slap on a nutrition label, ship them across the border and sell them here.

EWWWW! That's a mental picture I won't soon be able to get out of my head :)

I sure wish I lived closer to Austin. We do have an organic nursery in the next city, but not quite like what was on that video. You all have a wonderful selection of vegetables! I don't think it is just those 20-30 year olds who are out there vegetable gardening. Even us 40-somethings and older grow our own vegetables. Although, I've been vegetable gardening since I was in my 20's! hee-hee! I really think the poor economy has everything to do with more people growing vegetables in their own backyards and even more people interested in community gardens. I can't begin to tell you how much I've read/answered e-mail questions or talked to people about community gardens. There are plans of starting two in our city here in Allen and there are community gardens in Dallas that have been in operation for many, many years. I think it is just now catching on in the suburbs. I am glad to see that more people are interested in gardening and getting back to a more natural way of living.