Organic Gardeners in St. Louis?

One of our first weekends in St. Louis, I went to MOBOT to see if they knew of any organic garden clubs in the area. They looked at me as though I were from another planet (pretty sure Texas isn't another planet, although sometimes it seemed like it!). There were clubs for people who love African violets, hostas, orchids, ferns, and any number of other plants, but nothing for people who just don't want to dump poison on their lawn.

In the year+ that I've been here, it's been a constant challenge to find natural soil amendments. I know of several places where you can get packaged organic amendments, but they are pretty expensive and are shipped in from the far corners of the country. But at least they're available. Surprisingly, the Dallas-Ft. Worth area, where I moved from, had several organic nurseries (yes! entire nurseries!), stocked with bags and bags of locally-produced (well, maybe as far away as the Hill Country) soil amendments by great little brands like Rabbit Hill Farm and Lady Bug Brands. That's one thing I really miss.

My Texas yard was shady and, of course, it was Texas. That was at least a full hardiness zone warmer than here, and the summers could be so dry that you wouldn't see rain for months. So I'm learning to garden all over again. I hope to post as I learn so hopefully others will get interested in tending their yard organically (and of course, so I don't forget what I learned!).