Going Green: Green's Garden brings organic options to Patton

PATTON, Mo. -- When Lance and Sharla Green relocated their family to Patton, Mo., two years ago, they had a vision.

"Our vision was to create a resource where people could find healthy alternatives to what is already out there on the market. We wanted to provide things like nontoxic repellant, medicinal pure essential oils and organic foods," Sharla said.

The Greens, with the help of their eight children, opened the store, Green's Garden, near the junction of highways 51 and 72 a year ago. They say they feel right on track with their vision, although things haven't just come together.

Sharla, left, Mercy, Job, Frankie, Becki and Lance Green of Green's Garden in Patton, Mo. Not pictured were the Green's other four children, Titus, Selah, Paul and Simeon. (Candice Hale-Davis ~ The Banner Press)

"It's been a struggle, getting started," Sharla said. "We're slowly making progress, but slow has been a good pace for us because our vision is growing along with our progress."

Green's Garden sells Nutrena cattle feed, soaps and products made in the store with essential oils, spices and herbs grown on the property, diabetic resources like natural sugar-free substitutes, bulk garden seeds, organic gardening supplies, fresh eggs and more.

According to Lance, the success they've seen is a reflection of what inspires their business.

"It's more about our own lives than running a store and that's exciting," he said.

It's exciting because the Greens have incorporated their children into every aspect of the business. The children are homeschooled. Sharla said the business adds life experiences that give her children an edge in their education.

Their oldest son, Frankie, is 9. "Frankie makes cookies by himself now and he can almost bake bread by himself," Sharla said.

The Greens bake fresh bread Fridays and Saturdays. But, unlike other bakeries, they don't start with a cup of flour.

"We purchase wheat, grind it and immediately make it into bread, cookies or other products," Sharla explained.

She said the use of fresh ground wheat makes the bread healthier, because once wheat is ground, air mixes in and begins to oxidize the wheat. This causes the loss of vitamin E and other trace minerals.

She said nutrition is a big portion of her children's education, but they also learn about technology and computers at the store.

"Our son, Job, enters all of our products into the computer for inventory," Sharla said, adding that the children also work with Lance on their store Web site.

"It's fun to watch my children learn and be excited about what they're learning," Sharla said. "In this setting they don't have to worry about being cool. They get to learn about life experience along with their studies."

The Greens offer some of these experiences to the community as well. Sharla said they have children's cooking classes, folk art classes like rug making and chicken scratch embroidery, and gardening classes.

"In the kid's cooking class we take the kids out to pick the herbs we'll use, we grind the flour with them so they can see the whole process," Sharla said.

The newest program at the Greens' is what Lance calls "The Biggest Loser of the County." According to Lance, it's a weight-loss program, but mainly a healthy-living program.

"We're trying to get people to eat healthy," Sharla said. "Food can be healing, and we'll learn about that. We may even learn some good ways to eat tofu, like in a smoothie or as a dessert mousse."

The Greens say community members may register for the three-month competition from Feb. 1 to 14.

For more information on Green's Garden, visit www.greensgarden.com.