It all probably started with my mom. She loved to grow flowers, some quite difficult to grow in Colorado, but with science she could grow anything she wanted to. Later in life and living in one of the most diverse agricultural communities anywhere, we were surprised when we realized that almost everyone used potting soil that was trucked in from far away. With all the fine growers and ingredients on the western slope of Colorado, why weren’t we creating our own products? As we had been building and making our own gardening soil for ourselves starting over 17 years ago we knew that better results were more than possible. We took our concept to our commercial grower friends to see what they thought and were met with so much enthusiasm for a better Colorado specific product that three years ago the Paonia Soil Company was born.
Our mission became: To make the best soil and amendments in the world.
We use only premium organic ingredients and source our ingredients as locally as possible. All of our blends are lab tested for consistency and quality. Unlike traditional potting soils that were often completely sterilized, our soil is packed with a rich web of microorganisms from our compost, compost tea, and special inoculants for myccorhyze and other beneficial microbes. These organisms work with your plants for growth like you have never seen before. They also help crowd out and destroy potential pests.
In addition to creating and blending the best ingredients from a scientific and permaculture perspective, we also added the practice of bio-dynamics to our process to create products with balanced energy as well.
We believe strongly in our business being a solution to environmental problems. By choosing and returning our “Tote” bulk bags for refill over traditional small bags of soil, you are helping us keep thousands of pounds of plastic out of landfills. We also prefer to create our own machines from upcycled and re-purposed equipment. As 90% of the energy consumed by most of these machines is expended in their manufacture this is the most significant way to save energy from the start and is even much more efficient than using recycled materials. We try to buy new equipment as little as possible. It’s also more fun. 🙂 In addition, we also use energy-saving electric motors and variable frequency drives where ever possible. Our soil shipments happen on a truck that delivers food as it travels towards us and often would return home empty if it wasn’t bringing the best soil to your store.
Thanks for choosing Paonia Soil Company… we love growing your dirt!
Bart and crew
