Okay. There are only about three stores right now in which I could spend significant amounts of time and money. Oddly enough, they all revolve around food. My local Kroger Marketplace is basically my second home and the Ace Hardware down the street from Kroger is still small (which is a bonus that there is always close parking!), never busy and the employees are friendly and helpful. Ace is my go-to place for odds and ends for our home and garden (albeit an apartment-sized home and garden).
But the one store where I could truly get lost and come back out to face reality several hours later is Worm's Way. I stumbled upon this gem within a few months of moving to Kentucky. It was a great place to visit, but at the time I thought it was mostly hydroponics systems. I had no interest in hydroponics six years ago, so I just thought, "Wow! What a great place, if I'm ever interested in hydroponics."
Then two summers ago, my friend Lori told me she'd stopped by Worm's Way to pick up some organic pest control for her garden and my interest was definitely piqued. Since last fall, I've made a handful of purchases at Worm's Way, but after last week, I foresee this increasing exponentially.
I love to just wander around and look at everything they're growing hydroponically and aquaponically (using fish to fertilize and feed the plants). The staff has always been helpful and kind, but they completely won me over last week when my friend Kari and I went in...with soil analysis in hand...and Ron spent upwards of 15 minutes or more helping us decipher the numbers and sort through what would be best for her garden. And I knew he wasn't just trying to sell us stuff we didn't need. When I mentioned some home grown options like using coffee grounds for nitrogen and banana peels for potassium and making my own compost tea from worm castings, he was open to those ideas and acknowledged their efficacy as readily as any products they had to offer.
We still made a few purchases and I have no doubt I'll be back. I felt good putting in a word of praise for Ron with The Boss, but my experience has been that any of the employees would have taken the same amount of time. What's even more rare is that if you have a question to which they don't know the answer, they will quickly research it or call upon the knowledge of another member of the staff instead of pretending like they know what they're talking about.
Spring is coming and if you want to grow organically and wisely discern that you probably won't get the best tools for the job at Wal-Mart, Target or your local farm co-op, check out Worm's Way. And don't let the prices throw you for a loop. They use high quality materials and many of the items are concentrates that will be diluted. There are only six states with stores, but they have everything available online as well.
But the one store where I could truly get lost and come back out to face reality several hours later is Worm's Way. I stumbled upon this gem within a few months of moving to Kentucky. It was a great place to visit, but at the time I thought it was mostly hydroponics systems. I had no interest in hydroponics six years ago, so I just thought, "Wow! What a great place, if I'm ever interested in hydroponics."
Then two summers ago, my friend Lori told me she'd stopped by Worm's Way to pick up some organic pest control for her garden and my interest was definitely piqued. Since last fall, I've made a handful of purchases at Worm's Way, but after last week, I foresee this increasing exponentially.
I love to just wander around and look at everything they're growing hydroponically and aquaponically (using fish to fertilize and feed the plants). The staff has always been helpful and kind, but they completely won me over last week when my friend Kari and I went in...with soil analysis in hand...and Ron spent upwards of 15 minutes or more helping us decipher the numbers and sort through what would be best for her garden. And I knew he wasn't just trying to sell us stuff we didn't need. When I mentioned some home grown options like using coffee grounds for nitrogen and banana peels for potassium and making my own compost tea from worm castings, he was open to those ideas and acknowledged their efficacy as readily as any products they had to offer.
We still made a few purchases and I have no doubt I'll be back. I felt good putting in a word of praise for Ron with The Boss, but my experience has been that any of the employees would have taken the same amount of time. What's even more rare is that if you have a question to which they don't know the answer, they will quickly research it or call upon the knowledge of another member of the staff instead of pretending like they know what they're talking about.
Spring is coming and if you want to grow organically and wisely discern that you probably won't get the best tools for the job at Wal-Mart, Target or your local farm co-op, check out Worm's Way. And don't let the prices throw you for a loop. They use high quality materials and many of the items are concentrates that will be diluted. There are only six states with stores, but they have everything available online as well.
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