talking shop
At a Glance
Company: New Earth Organics
& Hydroponics
Location: 9806 Taylorsville Rd.
Louisville, Kentucky 40299
Phone: 1-502-261-0005
Web: newearthgardencenter.com
Motto: Inspiring Gardeners Since 1988
After 27 years in business, New Earth Organics &
Hydroponics in Louisville, Kentucky, is a trailblazer when
it comes to the indoor gardening industry. Founder Nancy
Roberts explains how the store got its start, and the
philosophy that has ensured its success over the years.
In the 1980s, Nancy Roberts, founder
of New Earth Organics & Hydroponics
and an avid gardener, found herself
driving from Louisville to Bloomington
to buy products for her garden
because they weren’t available locally.
A paralegal for a national restaurant
chain at the time, Nancy was starting
to realize the office environment
wasn’t really for her, and her (now ex)
husband was also looking for a career
change. “We thought we could bring
the indoor gardening/organic concept
to Kentucky,” she remembers. “We had
some money saved up and just decided
to take the plunge.”
New Earth opened up in 1988 in a tiny
storefront in Shepherdsville, about 20
miles outside of Louisville, a location
Nancy had chosen because it was close
to home and cheap. With no money
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to hire employees, the shop became
her second home. “I was constantly
at the shop, even on days off,” Nancy
remembers. “I have fond memories of
our border collie staying up there as our
store mascot, and of the relationships we
had with our early, loyal customers. My
oldest son was born in ’92, and he slept
in a little crib behind the counter. He
claims his first memory is the sound of a
tape gun!”
In the mid-1980s, a major challenge
was getting people excited about
hydroponics and organic growing. “We
were the first business of this kind in
Kentucky, so we did a lot of education
and had to prove to people we
offered valid gardening alternatives,”
says Nancy. “There was not a lot of
information out there about organics,
hydroponics and gardening indoors.”