How we are sustainable

  • No chemical pesticides or fertilizers.
  • Plants protected from pests with beneficial insects and microbes.
  • Natural and locally sourced potting mix ingredients and fertilizers.
  • Bio-diesel farm truck/tractor (Monitoring electric technology for viable replacements)
  • Water conserving irrigation practices
  • Restoring wildlife habitat on land behind our nursery

Certified Naturally Grown Nursery

Certified Naturally Grown (CNG) is a certification model for small farms that use only natural methods and ingredients. The peer-review inspection process encourages continual sustainability improvements and enables farmers to share knowledge to facilitate those changes. We are proud to offer a wide variety of ornamental perennials and shrubs all grown without synthetic pesticides and fertilizers


Why does it matter that the plants in my yard are CNG?

Except for our herbs you probably won't be eating our plants so why does it matter that our plants are certified naturally grown? The main reason is to help protect our ecosystems.

Many pesticides used in large nurseries are toxic to our endangered and threatened pollinator species. Here at The Green Seed Nursery we have implemented an all natural Integrated Pest Management (IPM) program that uses beneficial insects, microbes and natural soaps and oils to control insect pests without harming pollinators.

We are reducing our carbon footprint by using 100% local and natural potting mix ingredients. Synthetic fertilizers which are produced from fossil fuels are responsible for up to 400 million tons of Co2 emissions annually. Our natural fertilizer blend is from local sources such as a local egg farm here in Canby.

All potting mix ingredients, fertilizers and natural pest control sprays are OMRI approved.

Locally sourced
potting mix

Our potting mix uses the following ingredients which are locally sourced and naturally derived:

  • Douglas fir bark is a natural byproduct from the NW forest products industry and is a great substrate for growing plant roots.
  • Pumice is a local Oregon product that provides additional drainage and air porosity in the mix to keep roots healthy. It is a more sustainable alternative to perlite. (we are experimenting with reducing or eliminating this non-renewable resource in future recipes).
  • Compost has great water holding capacity and helps keep the mix moist while also providing some nutrients and inoculating the mix with beneficial microbes.
  • Manure based fertilizerfrom a local Canby producer and Oregon grown alfalfa meal are added to our mix to feed our plants. Both of these natural fertilizers are OMRI certified and are also used in our compost teas which are used to keep our plants healthy and fed.
  • Our mix has always been peat reduced and we are reformulating our mix in 2023 to be peat free. This change will make our mix 100% locally sourced!

Natural pest control

We never use any chemical pesticides and instead use a variety of natural methods for pest control:

  • Predatory insects and microbes to control insect pests.
  • Natural oils and soaps for insect control
  • Reduce foliar and soil diseases through water management, ventilation and dehumidification.
  • Microbes in compost tea further reduce foliar and soil diseases.
  • Weeds in containers are hand pulled and mulched.
  • Grounds are weeded by hand, with vinegar or a flame torch on gravel surfaces.