Our History

Founded by Bill Tall in 1972, City Farmers Nursery is a family-owned, independently operated garden supply nursery located in the heart of San Diego. Bill was raised in San Diego, attended Madison High and at the age of sixteen, opened City Farmers Nursery. His father, Nathan, provided Bill with the property, and on November 20^th with two-hundred dollars, 2x4 wood planks as humble gates, and manure from a San Yisidro dairy, Bill’s piece of the American Dream began.

Today, City Farmers specializes in those hard-to-find items that big box and chain stores just aren’t interested in. Further, we organically maintain every plant, bush and tree as Mother Nature intended. We carry on the pride of three decades of free advice covering everything from soil content to bugs. As Bill says, “Sometimes you’re going to come in and we’re not going to sell you a single thing… because all you need to do is change your watering!”

Bill and his staff pride themselves in quality knowledge and service over product pushing: “The very least we can do for folks who stop by is to give it to them straight… whether it takes twenty seconds or twenty minutes, we’re here to help.”

We invite you to drop by, visit our farm animals, pond, and garden deli, Nate’s Café. You’re also welcome to give us a call, and you’ll always speak to a real person. We’ve got one phone line, so you may have to try twice on some days, but we look forward to getting you one step closer to enjoying your garden!