Back in the 1920s, California orange farmers believed that soils became degraded by agriculture, and they abandoned orchards when yields fell. H. Clay Kellogg discovered that adding riverbed sediments brought spent orchards back to life. He created a booming business by marketing the sediment as Nitrohumus. His son expanded the company in the 1950s to offer a complete line of organic soil amendments and fertilizers, and pioneered the use of beauty bark.

Kellogg Garden Products, still family-owned, recently celebrated its 75th year in business. The company’s customers include homeowners, retail garden shops, and major national retailers in six Western States and Hawaii.