Meet Erin Riley of Chatsworth

Today we’d like to introduce you to Erin Riley

Hi Erin, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I came to Los Angeles in 1996 from pastoral Lancaster, Pennsylvania to pursue filmmaking. After several years freelancing at movie studios and on independent projects, I had my daughter Molly is 2000 and Ray in 2005. I threw myself into being a full-time mom and volunteer. I still worked professionally dabbling with writing, editing gigs and teaching yoga but being a mom was my career. When my marriage ended in 2008, my kids were 3 and 7. I had no career, no prospects, no savings, no child care and no geographically close family…and suddenly I had to take on the financial role as head of household. The recession and the restraints of affordable child care seemed to completely stymie my efforts at finding real work. I tried direct sales but it just wasn’t for me. Every avenue was a dead end. I was completely broke as well as heartbroken. I could not think what was going to happen to me and my kids.

And then came a pretty unlikely hero: Michael Pollan. I had always been a hobby gardener and my grandmother had a tomato garden every summer. My hometown of Lancaster PA has the country’s oldest continuously operating farmer’s market and some of the best farmland in the world. I was not a vegetable gardener but I was ripe for the picking.

After consuming Omnivore’s Dilemma and his excellent editorial to President Obama titled “Farmer in Chief”, I absorbed all the writings and internet research I could get my eyes on. I read about sustainable gardening, community gardening, native gardening, pollinators, composting, the Farm-to-Table movement, the Sun-Food agenda, the Slow and Local Food trends. Another hero, Michelle Obama was planting a victory garden. These were heady times. I realized how empowering growing one’s own food could be and I was on a mission to spread the word. This was my calling. I founded Hope Gardens in April of 2009.

I started planting raised beds all over Los Angeles, promoting my business through word of mouth and volunteering time and materials at community gardens and through government agencies. I worked with non-profits and dedicated myself to school gardens. And the celebrities soon followed. This is LA after all!

Many celebrities had large gardens but were not home often to enjoy them. They were happy to donate their bumper harvests to food banks and I became involved in finding solutions to getting fresh food into needy households. So much has happened since then. This was before the wide-spread distribution of CSA boxes. Access to food was much more centralized than it is today and food banks did not distribute a lot of fresh fruits and veggies. De-centralizing that system was a major goal of Hope Gardens and I am amazed by how far Los Angeles has come. Now there are dozens of agencies and non-profits working at distributing healthy foods, collecting unwanted food, creating green neighborhoods and fighting for food sovereignty. It’s been a real renaissance.
As part of my edible gardening business, I created my own fertilizers for different seasons and plants. I ordered individual fertilizer inputs in bulk and hand-mixed them in my garage. Naturally, being a curious gardener, I wanted to know the sources of these organic fertilizer inputs…and the truth shocked me.

It wasn’t easy to put the pieces together but I finally found the source of animal fertilizer inputs: rendering. Although most of us assume there may be manure in garden products, I found it was entire animal caracasses. And these organic animal inputs don’t come from organic animals. They are the worst detritus of animal agriculture. The truth disgusted me so much, I created a plant- and mineral-based fertilizer for my clients. And shortly thereafter, took all my gardens plant-based and went vegan myself.
Now I hope to steward organic urban agriculture and home gardening through another renaissance: elevating organic fertilizers past their dependance on animal byproducts.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
When I created my vegan fertilizer, there were a couple traditional fertilizer companies that produced a vegan version of their meat version, but that wan’t really solving any problems. After successfully creating and testing my own vegan fertilizers, I wanted to share this information with the public. I felt that old activism gearing up. Everyone should have access to an organic, truly plant-based fertilizer.
I did further testing, came up with 4 formulas in 2 formulations so gardeners could have a whole line of fertilizers to choose from, set up the business and trademarked the name, took photos and videos and set up the website.
Fertilizer is heavily regulated and each product requires its own license. In addition, each input or ingredient in each product requires its own license.

In addition, fertilizer is licensed state by state so I would need to secure these licenses in every state to sell online. (That’s why you sometimes see that some things can’t be shipped to California. We are a pretty strict state in that regard.) I researched all I could about the fertilizer business to prepare my applications and samples. Since this was not my area of expertise, I hired regulatory consultants to guide me and started my licensing journey in California with an optimistic spirit!
Record scratch.

First, I was sued by a big pesticide company in Texas for the name of my company. Although I had the trademark, they filed a lawsuit to keep me from using it saying it was too close to their trademark. Basically they disagreed with the federal government and signed six lawyers to the case. I gave them the name but that meant everything had to be redone. I am grateful for that happening because Cabbage Hill is a great name!

Second, the CA Dept of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) refused to issue my products a license. I spent over a year emailing, calling, jumping through hoops, entangled in red tape I couldn’t even see. My consultant had a nervous breakdown and my website was surveilled by a Dept of Ag Environmental Scientist. Even with new consultants and some calls from my state senator’s office, the CDFA wouldn’t budge. They had exhausted and bankrupted me.
But not for long!

In November 2023 I launched my brand Cabbage Hill® Animal-Free Fertilizer Co.. I successfully held onto my new trademark and introduced my community to this revolutionary veganic gardening movement to the public. Although I can’t legally sell to the public, I can get the word out. Since then, I’ve been raising funds to go back and fight the licensing department at the CDFA armed with public support, investors and environmental lawyers.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I was a drama geek, New Wave punker in high school and college. I got a film degree and thought that art and filmmaking was going to be my life. Instead, I’m using chemistry and biology in my fertilizer business. And to earn my landscape contractor’s license (CA-27) I had to have an excellent grasp on algebra and geometry.
I have loved learning how multi-faceted I can be and how many learning opportunities life offers. And I still get to use my storytelling skills on social media and in my personal writing.
I’m most proud of the fact that through my business, I was able to provide a home with my own two hands. And the flexible schedule of self-employment allowed me to work and be a single mom to my kids…all while working outside and writing off visits to the garden nursery. 🙂

What matters most to you?
Empowering people seems to be at the core of my passion. Where I see injustice, I see red. And fakes and greenwashing and misinformation makes my blood boil. Especially about issues I’m passionate about. I care most about liberation, physical and mental for all living beings. And that includes safe food to eat and a sustainable way to live.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.cabbagehillfertilizer.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cabbagehillfertilizer/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yourHopegarden
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@cabbagehillfertilizer