Category: Sponsors

This is post that I was debating about writing or just letting it pass. I decided to write it because I have been so vocal about having sponsorships. I thought it was only fair.

Last week, I wrote the post about Miracle-Gro being organic and how I didn’t care. In the comments of the Facebook thread, someone mentioned that one of my sponsors was selling Round-Up.

If you’ve been following along the discussions, you would know that this is a product of chemical gardening that I speak out against (some might say too often). When I checked out the link provided for me, sure enough MasterGardening is selling Round-Up.

As I bring new sponsors on, I usually do my due diligence to look into them and what they are offering. Their offering of Round-Up is something that I completely missed. It was a mistake on my end. I don’t fault or blame MasterGardening. They were not trying to trick me. I accept full responsibility.

As soon as I found this out, I cut off ties with MasterGardening and have refunded them. I have nothing against them and appreciate them wanting to be a sponsor. If I would have realized from the beginning that they were selling Round-Up, I wouldn’t have started the relationship.

The reason that I am writing this is because I want to be upfront and honest with you about what’s going on. I don’t want to just sweep it under the table and act like nothing happened. By doing that I think it would be a disservice and disrespectful to you.

What do you think about the situation?

I’d like to introduce MasterGardening.com as a sponsor of Urban Organic Gardener. I spoke with their Social Media Coordinator, Jessica, to learn more about the company. Here’s the Q&A.

What does your company specialize in?
MasterGardening.com specializes in products to help you get better results in the garden. As a leading supplier of garden tools, composters, supplements and other garden essentials, we are committed to making your garden grow bigger and better than ever.

Which of your products do you think is a must have and why
Smart Pots are a great new way to grow your favorite plants. These unique planters air prune the roots of the plants as they grow eliminating root circling and creating larger, better root systems. They are perfect for growing almost anything, but we recommend trying to grow some above ground potatoes or strawberries.

What do sustainable and organic gardening mean to you?
For me sustainable and organic gardening just means being more aware of how your actions impact the earth. Taking a moment to think of a better more earth friendly way of getting the same results. I think people are finally realizing that doing the right thing doesn’t have to be harder or more expensive, just different from what they are used to. Compost is one of the simplest ways to grow more organically. You are saving waste from ending up in a landfill and in return the waste is giving your soil a great nutrient boost allowing you to skip the harsh chemicals.

What herb or veggie do you recommend for first-timers?
Tomatoes are always a popular choice for first-time growers but mine has to be peppers, especially jalapenos. They look great and grow excellent in containers. If you’re not a fan of the heat, try Carnival sweet peppers, they are mild and grow in a range of bright colors.

What is your funniest gardening story?
Sadly I have no funny tales of gardening, but I did hear a good gardening joke the other day:

Two older ladies were sitting on a park bench outside the local town hall where a flower show was in progress.
One leaned over and said, “Life is so boring. We never have any fun anymore. For $5.00 I’d take my clothes off right now and streak through that stupid flower show!”

“You’re on!” said the other old lady, holding up a $5.00 bill.

As fast as she could, the first little old lady fumbled her way out of her clothes and, completely naked, streaked through the front door of the flower show.

Waiting outside, her friend soon heard a huge commotion inside the hall, followed by loud applause. The naked lady burst out through the door surrounded by a cheering crowd.

“What happened?” asked her waiting friend.

“Why, I won first prize for Best Dried Arrangement.”

What’s the one piece of advice that you wish someone gave you when you first started to grow your own?
Don’t get discouraged, stick with it. You will have failures, the birds will eat all your berries, a storm will knock over your tomato plants, and that neighbor who was going to water while you were on vacation will forget. But the delight and sense of accomplishment you get from serving a meal made with herbs and vegetables that you grew is worth it ten times over.

Also, to utilize intercropping or companion planting, which is planting two plants close together that will assist each other. This is a natural method of pest prevention and a way to get more yield from a smaller space. For example, plant catnip with your potatoes to ward off potato beetles or with squash to keep the aphids away. Marigolds are a great addition to just about any planter or bed warding off a variety of insects.

Be sure to check out MasterGardening.com on Facebook and Twitter and their blog.

Find out more about becoming an Urban Organic Gardener sponsor.

I’d like to introduce BlueStone Garden as a sponsor of Urban Organic Gardener. I spoke with one of their E-Commerce Marketing Manager, Kelly Van Eschen to learn more about the company. Here’s the Q&A.

What does your company specialize in?
Everything but the plants! We offer great garden tools from Wolf-Garten, planters, greenhouses, water and irrigation solutions, composters and more!

What is your best selling product?
We do really well with the Ooze Tube, which comes in different sizes and people also love the Crumbler tool by Wolf Garten.

Which of your products do you think is a must have and why
Our Cold Frame greenhouses are a great option for any gardener. They are useful for starting seeds, protecting seedlings and tender plants, and extending the growing season into spring and fall.

What do sustainable and organic gardening mean to you?
At the heart of sustainable and organic gardening is staying true to the environment you live in. Choose plants that will thrive in your climate without unnecessary water waste, reduce your lawn size and avoid chemical treatments whenever possible.

Be sure to check out Blue Stone Garden on their blog, Facebook and Twitter.

Find out more about becoming an Urban Organic Gardener sponsor.

I’d like to introduce BevoWorks as a sponsor of Urban Organic Gardener. I spoke with one of their operating managers and co-owners, Taylor Hill to learn more about the company. Here’s the Q&A.

What does your company specialize in?
We hand-select beautiful, durable products for the home, specifically outdoor products like raised beds, greenhouses, garden decor and architectural items, such as post caps and finials.

What is your best selling product?
Right now, our best selling products are T5 High Output Fluorescent Lighting Fixtures that are used for starting seeds and getting a jump on the growing season.

Which of your products do you think is a must have and why
The Urban Garden Raised Bed is by far one of the most attractive, functional gardening systems we have found for urban gardeners. It’s certified organic cedar, and allows gardeners to really get a lot of production from a very small space. Plus, the folks that make it provide excellent customer care, so we feel really good about selling these.

What do sustainable and organic gardening mean to you?
For me, it’s about being able to control part or all of my food supply in a way that doesn’t rob the earth or my neighbors that live on it with me. It’s about doing things that connect me to the source of my food, and getting really great benefits in return, such as exercise, and healthier, more delicious food so that I can feed my family and friends.

What is your funniest gardening story?
I had a neighbor who went out and bought a huge tiller and tilled half his yard, about a 24 ft x 24 ft area, to plant a huge garden after he watched me put in a large raised garden bed that took an area of about 16 ft x 14 ft. With a shovel and a hoe, I removed the grass and put down newspaper and brought in a large load of organic dirt.

This neighbor laughed at my prep work and told me his garden would out preform mine in the end. However, as spring turned into summer, my wife and I were sharing our yield with this neighbor because their garden did not produce and yield half of what our garden was producing. Needless to say, the next spring this neighbor was asking me at every turn what he should do; dirt, planting combinations, etc. For us, half the fun of urban organic gardening is being able to share the produce with others, and get them excited about trying it, too!

Be sure to check out BevoWorks on Facebook and Twitter.

Find out more about becoming an Urban Organic Gardener sponsor.

I’d like to introduce Home Harvest Garden Supply as a new sponsor of Urban Organic Gardener. I spoke with their Director of Internet Marketing, Jeff Edwards to learn more about the company. Here’s the Q&A.

What does your company specialize in?
Hard-to-find gardening supplies including organic fertilizers and soil amendments; natural pest controls and beneficial insects; pots, containers, & potting mixes; nursery and greenhouse supplies; hydroponic equipment and supplies; hobby greenhouses & accessories; seed starting and plant propagation supplies; high output propagation and growing lights; and much more.

What is your best selling product?
Right now, our best selling products are T5 High Output Fluorescent Lighting Fixtures that are used for starting seeds and getting a jump on the growing season.

What’s the one piece of advice that you wish someone gave you when you first started to grow your own?
When starting seeds indoors under artificial light, be sure to place a small oscillating fan near the seedlings once they have sprouted, so as to provide a gentle breeze for at least a couple of hours each day. You don’t need a hurricane, just enough to make the seedlings sway a bit.

This will encourage your seedlings to develop a compact plant habit with a much sturdier stalk that will help lessen the shock of transplant into the garden and give them a stronger start.

What herb or veggie do you recommend for first-timers?
Basil, super easy to grow anywhere… super easy to use in the kitchen.

Be sure to check out Home Harvest Garden Supply on Facebook and Twitter.

Find out more about becoming an Urban Organic Gardener sponsor.

I’d like to introduce Urban Gardening Solutions as a new sponsor of Urban Organic Gardener. I spoke with one of the founders and co-owners Rachael Ross to learn more about her company. Here’s the Q&A.

What does your company specialize in?
Innovative and earth-friendly products for the small-space edibles gardener.

What are your best selling products?
It really depends on time of year. Right now they are raised garden beds and grow lights and plant stands.

What does organic gardening mean to you?
We feel that organic gardening and sustainability really go hand in hand. Let’s face it. At this point, our planet is no longer pure. We have pollutants in our air, soil and water supply. There are some things we can do to mitigate how those pollutants affect life on Earth and some things we have no control over.

However, moving forward we can make choices in how we live, including how we grow our food, that doesn’t perpetuate the damage.

Instead of applying that chemical pesticide, how about creating a habitat for beneficial insects to rid your plants of the harmful ones?

Instead of dousing your veggie plants with a synthetic fertilizer, opt for pouring compost tea on them.

What organic gardening really means to us is understanding our natural world and the delicate balance of all living things and then working within that structure. By making these types of choices, we achieve a certain level of sustainability as well.

Which of your products do you think is a must have and why.
Any composter a household can accommodate. There are a 101 ways to grow food, but the one thing you always need is organic nutrients. Composting is one of the best ways to participate in living a more sustainable lifestyle. If everyone would recycle their organic waste into nutrients to grow their own food plants, not only does it keep this methane-producing waste out of the landfills, but also makes much better use of our available resources.

What’s the one piece of advice that you wish someone gave you when you first started to grow your own?
I wish I’d known that gardening doesn’t just consist of robotically following steps in your gardening book, but also possesses an element of art. There are a lot of variables in the mix when growing a plant – location, amount of light, soil quality, water quality, temperature, etc. There’s no one data repository that can tell everyone, everywhere how to successfully garden.

So start small and pay attention. Learn how best to garden in your specific environment and grow the size and number of varieties over time. Don’t get discouraged – Successful gardening is a learning process.

Be sure to follow Urban Garden Solutions on their blog, Facebook and Twitter.

Find out more about becoming an Urban Organic Gardener sponsor.