Family owned and operated, City Farmers Nursery is the lifelong and ever expanding passion of Bill Tall — a man who’s on site daily in his signature blue jeans, forest green company t-shirt and yellow measuring tape suspenders to help customers, share stories and offer sage gardening advice.
Bill Tall has spent most of his life on the property, and currently lives in the house he built there in 2001 — a handcrafted upgrade from the trailer that used to be called home. His three children, Rebecca, Sam and Sara, grew up on the nursery property. They are currently each pursuing their own careers, but are never too far from the nursery for too long.
In addition to the typical things you’d expect to find at a nursery, there’s a gazebo where one can enjoy a seat and maybe a bite to eat from the onsite café (closed during January for remodeling), a hand-built koi enclosure, playground equipment for the kiddos, bee hive enclosures, as well as a working and learning garden.
There are also resident animals, such as the Welsh/Shetland pony named Georgette, a simply massive turkey and his flock and a mama goat and her twins.
City Farmers Nursery is located at 4832 Home Ave.
All photos by Annie Lane.
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I know I'm acting like I've never seen a turkey before, but there were so many incredible details to this one that I was mesmerized. -
Koi enclosure with floating trays to start plants. -
See the living roof? -
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The working garden. It's proof that gardens can be wonderful and fruitful without being pristine. -
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Squash. -
Bee hive enclosures. -
Strawberry patch. -
The Learning Patch. -
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A hand-built system to collect and reuse water runoff. -
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Bill Tall helps a customer. -
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The more you look at this picture, the more things you'll find. -
I think I will! -
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Coming soon! -
Annie Lane
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The nursery itself sounds delightful and I love the story of the owner. A new destination for my get-to-know-San-Diego list!
Bill Tall has been a part of the civic fabric of City Heights for as long as I can remember – close to 3 decades. He is our own Mr. Green Jeans. He has educated hundreds of kids and has donated and planted just as many trees. Bill is beloved for his kindness; respected for the depth of his knowledge and a marvelous raconteur. Get thee to City Farmer’s Nursery!
Annie- you captured the Bill Tall feeling perfectly!
City Farmer’s has been our favorite nursery for years and years. It is a little drive for us, but it is worth it! Even if you only have a tiny, 4 X 4 garden, get friendly with this place!