Gary Kline

OLYMPIA - Walk into Black Lake Organic and you're likely to receive a lesson in soil health from nursery owner-manager Gary Kline.

Sure, the rustic retail store and nursery on the shores of Black Lake, west of Tumwater, is a place to buy garden tools, vegetable-seed packets and organically grown vegetable-plant starts.

But over the years, Kline has developed a line of 10 organic fertilizers customized for trees, berry plants, vegetables, lawns and other landscapes.

For his efforts, the state Department of Ecology recently presented Kline and Black Lake Organic with an environmental-excellence award.

The plaque reads, "For 27 years building human and environmental health from the ground up."

To Kline and his customers - he said he has sold about 10 tons of fertilizer this year - the key to nutritious, disease-resistant vegetables, berries and fruits is healthy, mineral-augmented soil.

But now in failing health, Kline has placed the nursery, the adjacent home and 250 feet of lakefront on the sales block, hoping to attract a buyer interested in organic fertilizer blends.

"I'll spend as much time as I possibly can, teaching the blends to anyone who buys the nursery," he said.

Picture of Gary Kline standing on the store's steps

Black Lake Organic's newsletters are written by BLO's owner/manager Gary Kline.

Gary Kline, founder and owner of Black Lake Organic Nursery and Garden Store is announcing that this unique and long-established retail business is for sale after more than 25 years of operation.In addition to the business, the adjoining residence of Gary and Suzanne Kline is also being offered for sale as the owners plan to retire and relocate to another part of the state.
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Serious inquiries regarding the purchase of Black Lake Organic and the above described residence and property are invited and may be made by calling Gary Kline at (360) 786-0537.Alternatively, inquirers may write to Gary and Suzanne Kline at 4711 Black Lake Blvd. S.W., Olympia, WA 98512.

Walk into Black Lake Organic and you're likely to receive a lesson in soil health from nursery owner-manager Gary Kline.

Gary Kline, owner of Black Lake Organic Nursery and Garden Store in Olympia, is already selling crimson clover and also offers numerous cover crops such as fava beans, subclover, common vetch, Austrian field peas, winter rye and annual ryegrass.
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Kline said cover crops don't come with a guarantee.

"This is a long-established practice.There's a lot of misconceptions about what cover crops can do," Kline said."Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn't.It all comes back to finding out what's in your soil, getting the right nutrients and the right balance and from then on gardening is a breeze."

Pricing

Kline said cover crop seeds average $2 a pound and run from 30 cents to $3.75 a pound, which can cover up to 1,000 square feet.

The answer is simple: You need to plant overwintering crops in mid-to-late summer to reap the bounty of a late fall, winter and early spring harvest, explained Gary Kline, owner of Black Lake Organic.
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After visiting with Burk, and talking to Kline, I know I have one old habit that it's time to break.

Gary Kline, owner

Black Lake Organic (B.L.O.) has been in operation for over twenty five years, ever since Gary Kline, owner and manager, started selling organic fertilizers out of his garage in 1980.
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Black Lake Organic and Gary Kline presented with

Presentation to the Olympia Free School on February 1, 2005 by Gary L. Kline