Green Garden provides indoor gardening options in North Canton

NORTH CANTON – After nearly 20 years offering furniture repair, refinishing and restoration, Jamie Kattman wanted to return to a retail business, but not one that had him working 80-hour weeks.

He had worked during the 1980s for the former Circuit City appliance and electronics chain. He decided to start his own business and in 1993 opened North Canton Woodwork, refinishing antiques and furniture used in hotels.

But Kattman missed retail. He did some research, then partnered with his son Erik to open Green Garden Indoor Garden Center in February 2011. For a few years, the store in the Marc's Plaza at 1664 N. Main St. doubled as home for North Canton Woodworks, but these days it's dedicated to gardening.

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Last year, the Kattmans doubled the store's size by expanding into space next door. The additional room serves as a warehouse, allowing the Kattmans to store potting soil and display growing tents, hydroponic systems and other equipment.

"Pretty much anything you can grow outdoors, you can grow indoors," Kattman said.

If you want home grown vegetables during winter months, all you need is the correct equipment and interest in tending a garden.

Kattman enjoyed outdoor gardening, so he had the background that helped him get started with Green Garden. His research showed that hydroponic gardening was a niche market with potential for growth. He also figured that large retailers ― Menards, Lowe's or other big box chains ― wouldn't want to get into such a niche market.

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As the gardening store got started, Kattman relied on business from the North Canton Woodwork to help cover the costs. Word of mouth brought customers in for gardening products and Kattman exited the furniture business.

About 30% of his customers use hydroponic systems, where plants grow in water instead of soil. But whether using a hydroponic system or traditional dirt, a key to growing indoors is having the correct mix of nutrients. Kattman said he had some customers who treat their mixture of nutrients the same way a chef would guard a special recipe.

Technology has led to changes, Kattman said. Indoor gardeners are starting to use LED lighting systems in place of large conventional bulbs. The LED systems use less power, are more efficient and not as hot as conventional bulbs, Kattman said. Additionally, the bulbs would last only nine to 12 months, while LED systems will last for years, he said.

The store carries lines of organic and synthetic liquid and dry nutrients, organic pest control, seed starting trays, 15 types of grow media, fans and filters. It also carries grow tents, which protect indoor plants from insects, mold and other pests.

Kattman has lived most of his life in Stark County. He lived in Tennessee during the 1980s while working several years for the former Circuit City chain of appliance and electronics stores, but returned to the area to operate his own business.

Green Garden is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday. Through the years, the Kattmans have come to know a number of good, steady customers.

"They appreciate us being here as much as we appreciate their business," he said.

Technology designed to provide fraud protection is being incorporated in Diebold Nixdorf's Vynamic Payments processing platforms as part of a partnership with Featurespace.

Based in the United Kingdom, Featurescape specializes in technology designed for preventing fraud and financial crime. The company helps financial institutions protect customers and reduce risk and operating costs by providing financial crime prevention products.

Joe Myers, executive vice president of global banking for Diebold Nixdorf, said in a press release that the pairing of Vynamic with Featurescape technology "can provide financial institutions with the most powerful and open technology to combat fraud and financial crime."

Real estate agents sold fewer housing properties in September, but prices continued to rise, the Ohio Realtors reported.

Agents in the MLS Now, which covers Stark and 22 other Northeast Ohio counties, sold 4,860 properties in September, a 13.8% drop from the 5,635 sold in September 2021. So far this year, agents have reported selling 40,458 units, a 4.7% drop from 42,469 sold through the first nine months of 2021.

Statewide real estate agents reported selling 13,785 properties in September, a 15% drop from 16,241 sold in the same month last year. Through the first three quarters, agents have sold 117,999 properties, down 5.4% compared with 124,700 units sold in 2021.

The average price for a property sold in the MLS Now region is $232,287, up 8.7% compared with the average price of $213,603 reported in 2021. Statewide, the average price is $261,049, a gain of 9.2% compared with the 2021 average of $239,091.

Reach Edd at 330-580-8484 or [email protected] On Twitter: @epritchardREP