UPDATE: Well, that was fast. I received a very nice phone call from the owner of Jungle Growth. He’s arranged for me to pick up the soil directly from him - any time I want, any amount I need, at a mutually convenient location.
I love small businesses, like Jungle Growth!
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10-17-2012:  I’d like you to meet my favorite soil:  Jungle Growth. It is made in Statham (Barrow County), Georgia, not too far from where I do business. I used to be able to purchase it at Lowe’s in Suwanee, Georgia, until last spring, when for reasons unknown to me, it became unavailable.

Like many consumers, I try to use as many locally made and/or grown materials as possible. Jungle Growth is a superior product, I am able to produce amazing results with it, and have been an avid user for years. No other product can compete. I use several hundred bags of this soil every year….and now it takes an Act of Congress to get my hands on a pallet, even though it is made right here in my own state. It’s very frustrating.  

Yes, Wal-Mart carries this product. No, I don’t do business with Wal-Mart (but I won’t go into detail). Lowe’s has been a great place for me to do business as far as “big box” supply stores go. However, the other products Lowe’s offers as a replacement soil are inferior and I don’t use them - because that would compromise the quality of my work. 

Remember the pictures of container gardens that I post here on tumblr, on facebook, on twitter, on pinterest, on scoop.it - and all those flowering trees and shrubs? They’ve all been planted in Jungle Growth. No, Jungle Growth isn’t paying me to write this. They don’t even answer their phone. They just make good dirt. It’s that simple. 

Another really great thing about Jungle Growth?  They’ll tell you why: 

Every time you buy a bag of Jungle Growth you are helping us as we help to “Rescue the Jungle” by donating a portion of our profits to various conservation groups and their worthy efforts to help save the rainforests and endangered species animals, and also help the people who live in the rainforest regions.

Come on, Lowe’s. Give me back my dirt! Please? 

‘Keep farming laws local’ »

gardenup:

This just in from Michigan where urban farmers are trying to tell the state they want more control over agricultural ordinances because urban farms should not be regulated in the same manner as rural (larger) farms. 

This is a BIG DEAL in local food production and distribution. Right now, people cannot readily grow vegetables and resell them to neighbors because the insurance cost is insanely high. 

There are developing systems, like Ed Dowding’s SUSTAINATION.UK which is now up and running in London to connect all the dots in local food production and distribution. 

I am dealing with this issue with Garden Up—I want to help people monetize what they grow with our units! 

More to come…