O'Toole Herb Farm:
Creating an Inviting Space to Grow and Market Organic Herbs
by Keith Richards 
(This article was originally printed in Southern Sustainable Farming, issue no. 27, Summer 2000, published by Southern SAWG.). 

MADISON, FLORIDA--A visit to O'Toole Herb Farm is like stepping onto an oasis of serenity and fragrance. From the main herb garden ringed by large native trees to the rocking chairs on the front porch of their airy retail shop, visitors are invited to slow down their pace a bit, sort through the unique selection of plants and gifts, and enjoy the fanciful flight of butterflies.

By choosing to base their farm on organic herb production, Jim and Betty O'Toole know they are catering to a small niche market. Yet they have found ways to maximize this niche by educating local people about the uses of herbs and offering their customers an experience -- an outing -- as much as a product.

The O'Tooles constantly reach out to their community and bring them onto their farm by hosting workshops, weddings, fundraisers and other events; by giving free tours to youth groups; and by offering one-day apprenticeships throughout the year.

Betty says, “People come here because they are interested in herbs, but even more, they come because it makes them feel good!” 

From Retailing Dry Goods to Raising Herbs to Retailing Herbs 

Betty and Jim met and married in the mid-1980s while they were both working for Sears in Tallahassee. Although they had worked in retail sales most of their adult lives, Betty especially had an interest in gardening. She was on the Board of Directors of the Birdsong Nature Center near Thomasville, GA where she had been "turned on to organics."

In 1989 they decided to move to Betty's family farm on the edge of Madison, a county seat community with a population of 3,500. Though the farmland was in a mixture of tobacco, pasture and pines when they returned, Betty and Jim wanted to grow higher dollar crops with organic methods. After they researched several enterprises including kiwis and pecans, they settled on herbs -- partly because start-up costs are relatively low and space requirements are minimal, but even more so because they had identified a ready market.

Choosing an old tobacco seed bed for their garden site, Jim says they added lots of compost, lime, and other organic amendments; subsoiled the ground; and grew two cover crops of rye before planting their first herbs.

Their plan was to sell fresh-cut herbs wholesale to restaurants and grocers in the surrounding cities of Tallahassee, Valdosta and Thomasville. But they soon found out that long delivery trips and wholesale prices were not a recipe for financial success.

While hosting a fundraiser for Birdsong Nature Center in 1991, they were surprised by how many people wanted to buy plants. So the O'Tooles shifted their focus to potted plant production and on-site sales. Jim says it took them awhile, but "we finally figured out the place to be was in plants.”

Over the next nine years they slowly shaped the herb portion of their farm into a retail showcase. With large mowed lawns, beautiful garden niches, shaded and sunny sitting areas, artistically created signage, and a large pond in the background, they have created the ambiance of a public botanical garden. They moved two old houses onto the site to serve as side-by-side retail stores, an office and a kitchen. And they transformed their original one-acre herb garden into a combination demonstration garden and production plot. 

Potted Production in Greenhouses 

Now Betty and Jim produce a huge variety of potted herbs both for retail sales on the farm and for wholesaling to plant nurseries. They raise everything from basil, rosemary, fennel and thyme, to valerian, feverfew, rue and catnip. Plants are promoted for their culinary aspects, medicinal aspects, and as attractants for butterflies.

The bulk of their production takes place in two 22' x 96' greenhouses at the center of their farm. Both structures have propane heaters and fans for cold weather, and swamp-type coolers for lowering temperatures in the heat. They also have a shade-cloth-covered area in between the greenhouses for outdoor potting.

They propagate plants in flats, then pot them up and perpetually prep the plants for sales. They create their own potting soil with a mixture of composted pine bark, pearlite, vermiculite, granulated chicken manure, and peat moss.

Aphids are their biggest greenhouse pests, although spider mites can also build up at times. Betty says they started buying ladybugs as predators for the aphids, and had such success that they now buy six different varieties of beneficial insects to use in the greenhouses.  

Outdoor Production 

Outdoor production consists mostly of perennial herbs, basils in the summer, lettuce and greens in the winter, and shiitake mushrooms seasonally. Pests haven't been a problem in the outdoor garden due to the encouragement of beneficial insects. Instead, they have two particularly stubborn weed species -- nutgrass and Florida betony. The O'Tooles periodically cover weedy areas with a dark woven plastic to solarize the nutgrass, but mostly they and their six part-time workers hand weed.

Like all growers in the Deep South, their biggest challenge is building organic matter in sandy loam soil under the intense heat. They apply a heavy layer of straw mulch on all the beds, then let it break down into the soil. The straw suppresses weeds and holds in moisture, as well as encourages microbial activity in the soil. They also add mushroom compost to the annual beds regularly and soy meal to the perennial beds on occasion. 

Drawing Customers onto the Farm  

Once Betty and Jim decided to offer retail sales on their farm, they drew upon their years of marketing experience to build a shopping atmosphere. It was natural for them to draw customers onto the farm with a wide variety of events and then entice their visitors to purchase other interesting items to go along with the herb plants.

Approximately once a month they host an all-day workshop on topics such as aromatherapy, cooking with herbs, landscaping with herbs, soap making, or basket making. Guest speakers who are experts in their field teach most classes. Each class is limited to 28 people with a fee of around $40 per person.

The O'Tooles also provide special programs for educational groups, garden clubs, dietary groups, women’s clubs, and other organizations. Betty gives participants a 30-minute talk with an overview of organic growing, general tips for better gardening, and some specific information about herbs. They are encouraged to observe, touch and smell various herb plants on a walk through the garden. Then they are treated to a light, free lunch.

One of the most favored events at O'Toole Herb Farm is the “Lunch & Learn.” Several times per year, five to six people apprentice for a day with Betty and Jim from about 9:00 am until noon, eat a simple bag lunch, then work another hour. After they are done weeding, planting and pruning, the apprentices can buy anything in the O'Tooles' store for a 25 percent discount. Betty says it is a good deal for everyone: “We get a lot of work done and the apprentices always love it. All this sharing goes on – not just one way, either. I learn something from them every time.”

Although they charge for most of these events, the fees barely cover their costs. The events are designed to bring more people onto the farm, to teach them about herb growing and herb usage, and ultimately to expand their niche of customers. Most of their advertising is by word of mouth. But they also gather names and addresses of customers, and send a short newsletter a couple times per year. 

More Ways to Make Sales 

Besides offering potted herb plants for sale, Betty and Jim have stocked their small store with quality products from other farms. Herbal and organic items are their specialty; items like organic orange marmalade, herbal teas and herbal seasoning blends, hand-made herbal soups, potpourri, herbed vinaigrettes and marinades, aroma essential oils, and herbal lotions. They also carry baskets, pots, terra cotta ornaments, t-shirts, and numerous books on cooking, gardening and organics.

They have come up with several creative gift ideas that add value to their plants. If a customer picks out a pot and an herb plant, the O'Tooles will plant it for them. This is a very popular seller. At holiday times, they’ve offered a planting of lettuce in a pot and called it a salad bowl. And of course, they make up all kinds of gift baskets.

It's obvious that both Jim and Betty love interacting with people and teaching them about herbs and gardening, but retail sales requires a lot of customer interaction and they sometimes wish they had more time to themselves.

Despite these reservations, on-farm sales now account for about 50 percent of the O'Tooles' business. The other half comes from year-round sales to the plant nurseries, and seasonal sales of fresh cut herbs, salad mix and shiitakes to a handful of restaurants and grocers in Tallahassee.  

Sharing With Their Community 

Betty and Jim are considered beacons of light for the organic community in North Florida because of their good humor and willingness to help others. Since neither had any formal training in horticulture, Jim says they learned by networking and asking lots of questions.

“We can call almost anyone in FOG (the Florida Organic Growers) or Southern SAWG who is doing something similar to us, and they will practically drop everything to help us," remarks Jim. "The Southern SAWG conferences have been a big benefit to us because of the networking that takes place.”

They are pleased to return the favor by giving information back to others. Jim says, “Betty has become something of a local resource, so we answer questions for all kinds of other people now.”

Even though, the O'Tooles are slightly amazed that they are now sought out by university researchers studying organics. Personnel from the University of Florida agricultural center in Live Oak periodically bring researchers and students to tour their farm. And this past season the researchers conducted an organic experiment in their greenhouse, studying the production of herbs and edible flowers in hydroponic towers.

Whether they are participating in research in their greenhouse, answering a neighbor's questions on the phone, welcoming friends at their retail shop, or leading a tour through their garden, Betty and Jim are generous to others. This generosity, as well as their hard work and savvy marketing, has helped them build a successful 11-year-old business.