John Riley

John Beeby and his Grow Your Soil program was the perfect gift at a time when it was really needed. I had just begun working on a small sustainably driven farm in Kansas. It was such an exciting time but soon into it I was bewildered by what I was witnessing. Seeds often times didn’t germinate, transplants were weak, productivity was poor. Nothing was thriving as it should have been. Though the previous several years of soil analysis reports looked favorable it was obvious there was a big problem. Something that was hard to fathom was the possibility that the well water that had been so depended upon for so long could actually have become a problem. I had the water analyzed and what I saw in the report was a lot of interesting numbers. I needed someone to decipher what they all meant so I reached out to John and asked him if he would be willing to look at the report for me. John was all over it and quickly responded with the fact that the water’s high salinity, bicarbonate and chloride levels were of major concern. John worked with me with many options to be able to minimize the use of the well water including growing bio-intensively, incorporating crops that were drought tolerant, utilizing a rain catchment system and much more. John also advised me, after seeing the up-to-date soil analysis report, on how to correct issues in the soil the water was causing. Even though the gardens had a very rough start, with John’s Grow Your Soil program and support we were able to see things turn around. With a revitalized hope we look forward to having bountiful seasons ahead. Thank you John Beeby for all of your time and consideration.