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What does it mean to “Live Natural First”?
It seems that everybody is interested in the natural movement these days. The Natural movement has been described using many different buzz words like green, organic, or sustainable, but they all mean “natural.” How far should we go in our efforts to be “natural?” That is a tough question to answer.
In our show, Living Natural First, we use a commonsense approach the “natural” lifestyle. In every situation, we want to consider the natural alternatives and then make logical decisions based on this information. For example, think about pesticides in and around your home. There are many different conventional chemicals to spray that will probably take care of the bugs. The one thing that we know about these chemicals is that they are extremely toxic to bugs . . . and to US! Now, let’s look at the natural alternative. There are several natural insect controls that are toxic to bugs . . . but not to US or our pets. One example of a natural insect control is diatomaceous earth (Not the same as in your pool filter). It will effectively control bugs and you don’t have to worry about your kids or pets getting sick from toxic poisons. It is so safe that it is used in many food products to control bugs. If you compare the cost of natural alternatives, there is not a big difference in price.
So here is the question. If the cost is comparable and the natural alternative is just as effective, why would you risk the use of a toxic chemical product? Is it a coincidence that the incidence of cancer and other degenerative diseases has grown over the last 50 years, while the development and use of chemicals in our homes has also risen? How long will we have to study the true, long term effects of these chemicals in our lives before we can be totally assured of their safety? Do we really trust our government to tell us what is safe or unsafe? Once again, if there is not much difference in the cost or effectiveness, WHY RISK IT?
Listen to “Living Natural First” to explore the natural alternatives that are available for all aspects of your life. We believe in a commonsense approach to using natural products for your cooking & cleaning, in your yard & garden and for you & your pets, too. We also explore other aspects of the “Green” movement such as better energy choices, green home building, and even the efforts of the auto industry to make products that are better choices for us and the environment. We will bring you experts each week to talk about natural living. We won’t call you names if you don’t agree. We just want you to have the opportunity to learn about living “Natural” FIRST. Simple, Logical, NATURAL.
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John Krause
Once upon a time, in a galaxy far, far, away, a child was born to a German share cropper in central Illinois. This child turned out to be one of the finest farmers in the community and he was well known for his chicken manure tomato patch. This child is still turning out tremendous tomatoes in Texas now. John Krause is a gardener that uses all his common sense. It took John 25 years, and the grace of God, but he finally made it to Texas.
John started out in theater back in the 70's and toured with production companies of Godspell. After several years of touring, John decided he needed a real job. John spent 20 years in banking and insurance mostly in the St. Louis area. It was at this time the pride of his life, his daughter Heather was born. Heather resides outside of St. Louis, where she stays very busy raising John's two grandsons.
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Getting burned out on the corporate world, John decided to move to Charlotte, NC to begin producing music. Over the next 7 years, John produced music for children's learning centers across the US. John also produced a series of music for people with dementia and Alzheimer's. John has written several articles on the effect of music on children and the elderly.
While producing music, John received the joy of his life, his son Adam. Adam, now 17, is John's baseball star. Adam is the star of his high school baseball team and in 2005 his team went to the Triple A World Series in Orlando where they placed 9th in the world.
Ten years ago John moved to Texas to be with his childhood sweetheart, Jeanine Smith. They reside in Allen where they both practice organic gardening. John has been Store Manager at Wells Brothers Farm Store for over eight years. He's responsible for making Wells Brothers a destination for all your lawn and garden needs. Along with the radio show, John gives speeches on gardening all over the metroplex. Recently he's earned the Master Gardener title from Texas A & M Extension.
When not working or goofing around on the radio, you can find John in his garden or on the golf course. When he gets anytime off you can find him with his two grandsons Chandler and Landon at a St. Louis Cardinals game or in Charlotte, watching his son Adam play ball.
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Tropical John
His cell phone message states "I've got my hands in the dirt and can't come to the phone right now". It sums up a life of dedication to gardening. John Thomas was headed for a lifetime of working with the dirt.
Born in Garden City, Michigan, John's family moved to Dallas, Texas in 1964. Dad, Mom, and his Grandparents all had a passion for gardening. So, at age 13 when it was time to pick an Eagle Scout project, it was just natural to do a landscape project. With the help of Hilgers Nursery, John installed and maintained a small section of ground at a nursing home.
He was still too young to work, so he mowed grass and planted flowers in the neighborhood that he lived in. In 1974 he started work at Hilgers Nursery. John started off loading carts and by the time he left Hilgers eight years later he was commission sales, doing landscape installations, landscape sales, was a crew foreman, and a landscape designer. In 1979 John became a Texas Certified Nurseryman. John attended an enormous array of horticulture courses at Richland College.
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In 1984 John was ready for a new challenge. The interior maintenance boom was in full swing and he went to work for a small company call Tropical Designs. Over the next few years John would help build the company into a quarter million dollar contract business. With his brightly colored shirts he wore every day, the nickname "Tropical John" was born and the name would stick forever.
As the 80's played out, so did the money for the guy who watered the office plants. However the landscape business thrived. In 1987 John moved to Rockwall, Texas and worked for Covington's Nursery. He started out as assistant manager in Rowlett, Texas and within one year became manager of the Garland, Texas store. It was at this time that John appeared on his first radio spot, an ad.
In 1988 John opened his own nursery/landscape company - Tropical John's Garden Shop in Rockwall, Texas. The shop started out selling synthetic products, but within the second year of business, John began experimenting with organic products. By 1991 Tropical John's Garden Shop was 100% all organic. John began doing organic seminars all over Rockwall.
In 2005 things began to change again. He had watched 18 years of a small town retail store be gobbled up by mega stores. Years earlier John had met David Stockman, owner of Natural First Distribution. John began as a part time sales rep for Natural First and in January '07 he made the toughest decision of his life. He shut the doors on Tropical John's Garden Shop and went to work full time with Natural First. A match made in heaven - selling and helping stores with organic products, and spreading the organic word doing seminars throughout the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex.
Tropical John has one son, Jonathan, the pride of his life. Jonathan also worked at the shop on and off through the years. Tropical John now shares his passion for organic gardening with Sarah, also known as "Miss Daisy". Together they spend countless hours with their hands in the dirt - nice, clean, NATURAL dirt!
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Sabino Cortez
Sabino Cortez is one of the nations leading authorities on organic gardening, organic crop production, composting, native grasses, and compost tea. Sabino consults with farmers and ranchers the world over, from the Rio Grande Valley to New Zealand, about organic agricultural production. He is responsible for developing many innovative ideas and products that transcend the line between agricultural production and home gardening. Many of Sabino’s advancements have been utilized in the manufacturing of products for the retail market, by his company Erath Earth based outside of Hico.
Sabino grew up in Kerrville where his father was an avid gardener. He also spent time with his Grandfather during the summer on the family farm in Mexico. This exposure sparked his interest in agriculture and soon Sabino was studying Plant and Soil Science at Tarlton State University in Stephenville. During the late 80’s he invented a patented process for making hydro compost. This patented process would eventually evolve into a method for large scale compost tea production. In the early 90’s Sabino, with his partner Malcolm Beck founder of Garden-Ville in San Antonio, created some of the first herbicides and insecticides available to the organic gardener.
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