We are Toad Hall Gardens, Bloomington’s newest pesticide- and herbicide-free farm. Our mission is to provide top-quality produce in a way that increases the health of our water, land, air and customers. We believe in invigorating our local food systems and protecting our environment through sustainable agricultural techniques.
Toad Hall produce is grown in soil managed with only OMRI-listed organic products and is fertilized with compost made from Ellettsville’s leaves and Upland Brewing Co’s sour ale grain. We continue to learn and refine our methods of blending very old practices with very new technology to create solutions for the future of agriculture.
Ancient History
When we moved in to our first house it was a perfect southern Indiana July. It was so wet out that toads plopped around everywhere at night and wandered into the garage after us. All the yard amphibians coupled with my nonsense ideas and big talk of many plans to come landed us our name.
I started gardening a bit at age twelve and hated it. More of my time was spent avoiding the work or trying to figure out how to cheat at it. While hiding from weeds in the garage wishing for an easier way staring at a wall of unused tools the answer was there. A hoe. I hoed all the weeds in minutes instead of hours then buried the evidence. The real game changer was the mulching mower. Nothing but branches went into the trash after we got that mower. I raked all the leaves into the barren part of the yard where the blades of grass grew inches apart, mowed them repeatedly until particles fit between the pathetic blades of grass. After a few seasons the grass grew in and the perennials flourished from their secret mulch. Thus began my ever evolving personal philosophy of waste, work, and part we play in nature.
Toad Hall Gardens is the playground for those ideas to be refined. The way each one of us lives today shapes our futures. Your interest in local agriculture will help to revitalize and diversify the rural United States and improve the health of our land, air, water and neighbors.