NATURE'S NEEDS

I use a lot of compost as an organic gardener. Nature's Needs is transparent about their composting process (they utilize curbside compost pick-up). I've had great luck with their compost in my garden! The delivery drivers are always super competent and able to maneuver through a tight gate opening to drop it exactly where I want it. If you want to avoid the delivery fee you can pick up directly from their facility with your own truck.

I have contacted Nature's Needs by phone,(Jessica handles the phones), by e-mail, and I made a personal visit to the facility in North Plains. Alas, their has been no response to the e-mails, and only one phone call has been answered. My visit to the facility got no results either, other than the assertion that she (Jessica) would take this to management; that was last Thursday (6/9/11). On Friday (6/10/11) I sent another e-mail to Jessica, and again today (6/13/11). There has been no response. I would in no way recommend this company.

Called and ordered 3 yards of their supposedly Certified Organic Humus, and scheduled a delivery for Wednesday, May 5, 2009. Wednesday rolls around, and I wait, and wait, and wait - no truck of humus for me. So I call them in the late afternoon and a nice young lady tells me that my load was delivered elsewhere, and that I would have my delivery the next day. Seemed like a fine solution. The next day, the humus arrived in the mid-late afternoon amidst my own crazy day. The humus looked nicely black and steaming, except for a few pieces of debris that rolled off the side. I totally discounted the little bits of plastic, and shouldn't have. But I was getting ready to leave the country on short notice, and had no reason to believe that what lay in my driveway was anything but what I thought I'd bought. So, while I was away, my well-meaning (but black-thumbed) husband trucked the humus to the backyard to lay on our new veggie bed, and as a treat, had the humus tilled into the soil. Fast forward to July when I returned. As I strolled to the garden in my jet-lagged haze, I saw a horrible sight - little, tiny pieces of plastic bags, pop bottle rings, ground siding, glass, strings of turf netting and tons of retail vegetable stickers mixed throughout my entire vegetable bed. How could I ever plant an organic garden in that mess, or let my children walk barefoot through the plots?! No way! I knew then that I'd have to find a way to get all that junk out, along with the soil that was there to begin with - what a drag. Well, figuring I'd better document things, it took me a while to get hold of a digital camera, take pictures, and figure out how to get the pics on the my computer (mea culpa for delays - I'm a really busy person). But, I did it, and then called Nature's Needs back and talked with Jessica at length. She asked me to e-mail the pictures to her account, and to the manager Glen Zimmerman. She didn't have an explanation for why the junk would be in my compost, but wanted to make it right. I e-mailed on July 30, sending a description of events and 4 pics. Weeks went by. I never got any response (e-mail or otherwise), not even an acknowledgment that they were working on a fix. So after a month or so of waiting, I called Glen directly. He didn't recall my situation, acted as though I was interrupting his day with my call, and said the best he could do was give me a refund for the humus or bring another load. He was totally unsympathetic. My concerns were these: (1) the top 8 inches of surface needed to be removed, brought somewhere and replaced with clean soil and compost (lots of $$), and (2) I could not physically remove the ruined soil having had a recent hip surgery (lots of $$ to hire someone else to do it). I spent an additional $200 paying someone to dig out my vegetable bed and get rid of the soil. I have yet to find another organic compost supplier, so my unplanted veggie bed is now just a depression in the side of the yard. It wasn't Nature's Needs' fault that my good hubby tilled everything in (without knowing how to spot a problem with the compost first). But it is their fault that their product didn't live up to their claims or certification. And it was their choice to give truly lousy customer service. I will also be sending a complaint to Oregon Tilth and USDA as soon as I have time and figure out how to do it.

They were so fast and friendly. We visited their operation in North Plains and were comfortable that what they provide is high-quality and comes from safe, organic sources. Their prices are outstanding.