Is Organic Gardening Magazine going out of business? I have a subscription and recently received an issue called "Organic Style". I did not care for this new magazine - it's way tooooo slick for me! Does anyone know if it is replacing "Organic Gardening"?

-- Ugly (here@home.com), August 19, 2001

Answers

No it's not replacing Organic Gardening. It's anew magazine,when you subsribe to O G you get this new magazine. They want you to send in your opinions...........

-- Jo (farmerjo@kvalley.com), August 19, 2001.

Organic Gardening magazine itself is too slick. When J.D. Rodale died and his son took over, it changed to mirror the new yuppie mindset. Never has been the same. It used to be directd toward those who struggle for a truely organic, back to the land way of life. Now it's full of chef-designed sugar-containing recipes and fancy-schmancy lawn tractor advertisments.

-- daffodyllady (daffodyllady@yahoo.com), August 19, 2001.

Organic Gardening used to be about gardening! Now there are more ads than articles and it is geared to those who have big bucks. I was a subscriber for years, then missed a few years, and when I renewed my subscription I was shocked. It wasn't the same magazine at all. I do miss the editorials though, Mike McG. was pretty funny at times and of course he does have a Great Pyr which put him right up there with me! It's a shame, but didn't this happen with Mother Earth News too?

-- Cindy (colawson@mindspring.com), August 19, 2001.

Hey, I'm glad someone else started this thread -- I was going to when I got back from this weekend (went to a wedding).

I got an issue of Organic Style. Their "letter" on the front was not clear, so I inquired by email. They had SWITCHED me from OG to this new, drecky magazine, so if you've gotten that magazine, you'll be getting THAT instead of OG, unless you complain and tell them they must switch you back.

I think I started reading then subscribing to the OG magazine when Robert Rodale, son of the founder (is the founder R. L. Rodale), was in charge. I thought it was a pretty good magazine back then. Then he was killed in a car accident. I still enjoyed it when Mike McGrath was the editor, but after he left, it really went downhill. And I miss his goofy editorial comments on letters received! :-D

I don't know if I will renew again or not, but in the meantime, I definitely want OG more than this Organic Style. What bothered me MOST about it was the plethora of ads (for products of no interest to me) and the superficiality of their articles -- not just the subject, but the depth (or lack thereof!).

They told me (via email) that I was chosen for this switch based on my previous purchases from them. Now I'm wondering what the HECK I bought years ago that made them think this magazine was MY style. Yech! I must say, they were prompt in replying to my complaints, and claim to have already switched my subscription back to OG. Of course, IMO, they shouldn't have switched it in the first place!

-- Joy F [in So. Wisconsin] (CatFlunky@excite.com), August 19, 2001.

While we're on the subject, does anyone know of a magazine like the old Organic Gardening?

-- Cathy N. (keeper8@attcanada.ca), August 20, 2001.

I could have cried when Organic Gardening Magazine became slick and cutsie ! I loved Mike McGrath and his editorials. I still have all my old copies and once in awhile I go back and read them! We looked forward to the new issues like we do CS! Oh how I wish there was a magazine like that out now!

-- Ardie from WI (ardie54965@hotmail.com), August 20, 2001.

I was getting OG and got sick of it. Tiller and juicer ad abound...In depth articles on "The right lawn mower for you" (ooh fascinating.not!) And every issue seemed to be the same thing..compost articles and nothing but. It became really repetitive and I wasn't learning anything new to me. Drag. I used to love MEN and Harrowsmith too. They have gone the same ways sort of but Harrowsmith claims to be trying to go back to its older ways. It went totally country STYLE there for awhile for the horsey set it seemed. I was so disgusted I cancelled my subscription. Now I only get Rural Delivery.. farm stuff for farming people (Dirk van Loon is publisher). Coverage of grazier conferences and Organic conferences. Articles from oldtimers and newbies alike.I'd like more how-to articles though. I learned how to make calendula salve and a chicken pen out of these pages. Cheap too at the current special price of $25 for 2 years(Canadian). I am considering Shepherd's Journal too. Its a Canadian sheep magazine ($40). I would get Countryside (bought it when I could find it and afford it) and hope to subscribe someday soon but the price is a bit prohibative at this point for me (gotta love that exchange rate). If there are so many of us that want the no frills (or at least less frills) informative stuff, why is there so little out there? thats why I love this forum..real stuff and real people.

-- Alison in N.S. (aproteau@istar.ca), August 20, 2001.

Thanks everyone. Joy, especially thanks for telling me I was switched to this new magazine. I agree they had no right to do that - it's not what I paid for! I will certainly get an email to them and am seriously considering cancelling my subscription after that and I just renewed for 2 years. I agree with everyone else that Organic Gardening is not the same as it used to be. I wish I could find a gardening magazine like the old ones. I have several from the '70's and they were much like the Countryside magazine - full of a wealth of info. This new Organic Style magazine is definitely for the city person, not homesteaders, plus it is toooo liberal and yuppiefied for me. I thought Harrowsmith had gone out of business too?? I used to read them. A friend used to give me his old ones. I wanted to get a subscription but never could find any info on them. Anyone know? I would love to find some good homesteading magazines. Anyone know of anymore besides Countryside? Countryside is great but just doesn't last two months in between publications! In fact, it's doing great to last me 2 days!

-- ugly (here@home.com), August 20, 2001.

Organic Gardening has gone down the drain. I use to subscribe to it back in the 70s and 80s. That was when the articles were written by people who were doing it. They had articles from livestock, bee keeping, making cheese to planting windbreaks. Do you remember that they use to be called, "Organic Gardeing and Farming"? The information found in them was worth its weight in gold.

Good thing I saved many of the magizines and have bought others I have found along the way. I have magazines that go back to 1966 - 1988. I have indexed all the articles. It is a great resource.

Let me ask - if any of you have any old issues that you want to get rid of, I would be happy to buy them from you. Now that I've talked up the magazine it's like asking you to sell one of your children - but it's worth the risk.

Thanks.

-- Tom S. (trdsshepard@yahoo.com), August 20, 2001.

Joy, Of course, you are right... R. L. instead of J. D. I need a vaccination for foot-in-mouth disease.

-- daffodyllady (daffodyllady@yahoo.com), August 20, 2001.

just sent in a subscription for o.g. They combined new farm and o.g. a good while back. now I am really worried as to what to expect. I haven't had a scription for a long while. Harrowsmith combined, new name country life, then went out of business. when they went out, sent some kind of family book to finish out subscription. Boy was it awfull, I get backwoods and backwoods-home, they are 2 different mags. learning info in them, I think they have a free issue to look over. BWH has a web site, not sure about BH. Lexi

-- Lexi Green (whitestone11@hotmail.com), August 21, 2001.

Boy, am I glad I left OG behind the day they fired Mike Mcgrath. He was the sole reason we kept subscribing. We would read aloud from his articles and loved his humor throughout the magazine. Change....Sigh.

-- Anne (HealthyTouch101@wildmail.com), August 21, 2001.

What is Mike McGrath doing anyway?

-- Rick#7 (rick7@postmark.net), August 21, 2001.

Hey, daffodyllady, that was supposed to be a QUESTION, I forgot the question mark. I don't know if R. L. Rodale is right or not .. . Oops, I just found it: J. I. Rodale was the father and Robert the son, and they founded OG and Prevention together. http://store.yahoo.com/seedsofchange/robertrodale.html

I didn't think Mike McGrath was FIRED as editor, I thought he QUIT. He's been writing a column still for OG since then.

Couple of URL's to read more about what he's up to:

http://whyy.org/91FM/YBYG.html

http://www.wvu.edu/~agexten/nery2kconf/mikemcg.htm

-- Joy F [in So. Wisconsin] (CatFlunky@excite.com), August 21, 2001.

You might enjoy ACRES,USA. It more about organic farming, both large and small scale. Every issue has articles about people and their organic farms. We really like it, it's not glossy or cute or yuppie- fied. Very down to earth and practical stuff.

On another note, Dave, I hope you're reading this and paying attention. Please do not do to Countryside, what has been done to Organic Gardening and Mother Earth News. True, there's Backwoods Home, but we like Countryside better!

-- Rebekah (daniel1@itss.net), August 21, 2001.

Guess I'll have to watch my mail for the switcheroo. I, too, wish the old OG was back. I first got into it in the 70s and loved reading it. I subscribe now but it wouldn't take much for me to drop it. It is definitely too full of landscaping and composting. I have heard McGrath on the radio so I'm not sure if that is where he went or not. I think he may be freelancing. I think they had a parting of the ways between he and daughter Rodale who is now the editor. I don't think she is an improvement although I wasn't particualarly enamored of Mike because I found some of his stuff a bit too silly for my liking but I didn't really mind him.

-- Colleen (pyramidgreatdanes@erols.com), August 23, 2001.