Today we’d like to introduce you to Kenny Talloen.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
If you’d asked me one year ago, I would have never imagined I’d own a plant business organizing a local plant market each month, importing plants from all over the world, or having sold over 1,000 gallons of my specialty plant potting mix (The Chonk!). Seriously. One year ago, I was still suffering through a brutal architecture program, praying for the summer to start and not knowing this pandemic would go on for more than another year. Plants were just a hobby, not my entire life, love, and work.
When I was little, I remember how my mom would garden all day until the sun went down. I never understood how; while she was fully absorbed in weeding her lemongrass or hunting down tomato hornworms, I would sit and complain about the mosquitoes and think, “If the sun didn’t go down, I think she’d go on forever.” Now, I understand how a single immigrant mother of three who spoke little to no English and barely made ends meet could spend hours getting lost in her garden. Her plants didn’t have bill deadlines for her to meet. They didn’t summon her to court to battle for custody. They didn’t ask her, “Where is your husband?” They didn’t require her to speak her best broken English and still sneer at her or huff and puff when she didn’t understand. She didn’t need English at all here, only love, care, and time.
As the pandemic got worse, I became more absorbed in the therapeutic qualities of houseplant care. I started to study the science behind it all, seeking out publications and journals on soil science, especially. I started experimenting with all different kinds of stuff for potting my plants. I sold a few plants to friends here and there, and they’d always report back that the plants they got from me were thriving. They’d ask for my secret mix, and I’d pack a Great Value gallon bag for them. I never expected demand to boom, but I soon found myself ordering packaging and designing labels for ‘The Chonk’, and even teaching classes!
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Smooth, no. Fulfilling, absolutely. The hardest thing to overcome was telling my loved ones I was leaving architecture to pursue my small plant business and being told I should keep my head down and just get a good job drafting construction documents from 9 to 5. The only saving grace has been the support of the local Houston plant community. We have an incredibly loving, generous, and selfless group of people here.
The worst part was seeing our community devastated by the freeze and outages in February. Entire collections were decimated, months of love and hard work being destroyed as temperatures indoors dropped below freezing. I also lost power for 96 hours myself. I didn’t have much to do except cry when I saw my friends losing their entire collections.
Sitting there in the dark, I decided to use what laptop battery I had left along with my phone’s data hotspot to launch a “Re-Leaf” project that allowed people to anonymously request and give lost plants. The connections I saw being made through the program and the hope that we were able to give our friends was… incredible. Our community is so resilient. I think this is the first time my business started to get noticed, and the support was overwhelming. I just wanted to do something, anything. I didn’t expect it to get so much attention. People from all over the country started sending in plants!
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I believe in science-based growing, teaching, and learning over making anecdotal claims because science doesn’t lie. I explain How and Why things work, not just What works. That’s all that a green thumb really is- it’s not some gift or talent. It’s building intuition and understanding through failure.
My #1 product is The Chonk. I’ve sold over a thousand gallons of it in Houston and am now selling it locally in Manhattan and shipping nationwide. It took lots of research, experimentation, discussion, feedback, and constant improvement to perfectly balance three simple ingredients: wood bark, pumice, and peat moss. It was a fully scientific process to develop, and the success speaks for itself. Houseplants seriously LOVE this stuff. The recipe is a secret, but the success will be hard to hide. I also teach workshops and classes on soil science and fertilizing, as well as 1-on-1 virtual consultations. All scientific, of course!
If you want to join us in plant community, I also organize a local community plant market called HOU Grew It (@hougrewit on IG). We have plants for beginners and seasoned collectors alike, and our vendors are just incredible, helpful, attentive, and warm humans. You can seriously ask them anything. They are the heart of the market. For vendors, we know many people are transitioning their COVID side hustle into full-time small businesses, so we also offer free counseling and advising for getting legal.
Our next one is on Sunday, July 18, at Tenfold Coffee Company in The Heights from 9am to 2pm. There will be a free plant swapping station and a recycling area for donating your no longer used plant pots and supplies! If you’re just trying to get into plants, come pick out a free cutting and a pot. If you’d like to vend, please visit kennygrewit.com/hgi!
Do you have recommendations for books, apps, blogs, etc?
Join the ‘Houston Grew It’ group on Facebook! We have a wonderful community that is always there to offer advice and help you along your journey. A community is your best resource for success, and this is a great one.
Pricing:
- The Chonk – $49.90 for two gallons
- Virtual Plant Chats – $25 per half hour
- HOU Grew It – $50 per vendor
- Dirtshop/Fertshop – $50 per class
Contact Info:
- Email: howdy@kennygrewit.com
- Website: www.kennygrewit.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/hougrewit
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/groups/houstongrewit
Image Credits
B&R Mixed Media
