Concentrates

Google Maps kept telling me I’d arrived at my destination, but I couldn’t find it! Concentrates is hidden up the drive behind the commercial building along the street. Head back and park inside the gated area to the far right. It might seem like it’s not a parking area, but it is! They had an interested selection of herbs and other starts (feverfew, yarrow, aponia, etc).
I was here for supplies for my hens, but being an avid gardener I *had* to check out their gardening supplies. They have a thorough stock of large bags of coco fiber, pumice, peat, 4-​way-​mix and a number of organic garden and potting soils.
As far as their chicken feed and supplies are concerned, I was impressed by their selection, and even more impressed by their prices. I picked up 5 grain scratch, gran-it’s grit, payback organic feed, and oyster shell (all 50# bags) for $ 62! Wow!
The young woman running the register was extremely helpful and friendly, and when I remarked how happy I was with their selection and pricing she told me to let her know if I found lower prices anywhere else.
The bulk of their business is wholesale and you can definitely feel that, but their public store is fantastic. They aren’t allowed to advertise to the public due to regulations in their lease with the business park, but the public is definitely welcome!

Been going there faithfully since they relocated to the Milwaukie light industrial park area. Always found the organic feed and and plant nutrients to be good quality at a fair price. The two young men working the retail side were curious and always more then helpful. They actually looked up information if they didn’t know the answers to my questions.
Lately there has been an older woman working there that is less then curious and always chatting with the other workers but seems very short in temperament when customers have a question or when I needed help loading feed. I dislike going in there because I don’t like being around this person.
What happened to the younger guys that worked there?

Very courteous in recommending resources for us first — time chicken owners. Also, excellent selection of books.

Great selection of garden amendments, many are available in bulk so you don’t have to buy a 25 – 40 pound bag if you don’t need to. They sell organic fertilizer but you can make your own custom blend and save a little bit per pound over the prepackaged options. They have a small seed rack and various small animal feeds.
Check out the online price list/​inventory sheet. I love this! It is great to be able to plan out your shopping from home and have an idea what it will cost.
They now carry a line of heavy duty hoes, I bought a couple for Father’s Day, they seem to be good quality and effective.
The staff seems knowledgable, and they are eager to answer questions. I’ve only been in a few times so I can’t really gauge how good their advice is yet. That’s why I’m holding back a star. (Sorry, I’ve had lots of bad advice from retail employees in the past so I’m kind of cautious)
Great selection and awesome online inventory list!

They’re in the far corner of the Portland metro. Called during rush hour, half hour ahead of close, saying I’d be there 2 minutes after six. Begged the kid on the phone to let me come in and grab one thing.
He said he’d be there til his ride showed up. Got there right at 6:04, they’d already locked up completely and turned off all the lights.
**They evidently don’t care about customer service.** God forbid you have a day job and try to shop here.
I’m ordering off Amazon or going to their competitors, exclusively. They’re not a bank, they’re a fng grow store.
Linnton Feed & Seed Store is awesome and actually cares about customer service, Urban Farm Store is way better than Concentrates and is nearby.

Yay Yay great local chicken food supplier. Its a fun store in a strange location.

Concentrates has a great selection at unbeatable prices. We can buy our garden supplies, animal feed, and pet food all at one place. The staff is always helpful.
The online price sheet is really useful, especially if like me you’re the kind of gardener that likes to spend January making spreadsheets of all your plans.
Occasionally, you’ll find some weird stuff like the set of barn-​animal Christmas lights my wife couldn’t live without.
It’s a bit of a drive, but worth it — Bob’s Red Mill is just next door and you can grab breakfast on your way.

I’m not an organic farmer or a gardener (yet), but we do have animals — housecats, to be precise. Concentrates has been our connection to great value on our shrinking budget for some time now. We get most of our cat food (Sportmix is a good brand that nourishes the kitties and goes a long way) and Kozy Kitty litter is a good basic clumping litter that doesn’t break the bank.
It may strike you as odd to go to an Ag vendor for household products but Concentrates has What You Need™ at a good value. At least give them a try.
If you go, say «hi» to Tiny, and see if you can’t be introduced to Selene, the cat. She’s a sweetie!
NOTE: Make sure you go to their web page
and make sure you go to the new location (5505 SE International Way, Milwaukie, off the Milwaukie Expressway (OR 224)). They have directions on the web pages. Go to International Way, corner Mallard Way, and follow the signs. They’ve got a nice, nifty, tidy setup there with an expanded retail section.

I’m always on the lookout for pro spots that sell special items to the general public for cheap. Bonus for good customer service and providing advice.
I came across Concentrates because they promote urban chickens. The front counter person, Heather, has even written a pamphlet about it.
They have more soil amendments than I knew existed: crushed oyster shells, rice hulls, organic fertilzer in dozens of varieties, non-​organic fertilizers — as many, chicken feed. Very helpful in Portland’s hard pan clays that otherwise excel in growing weeds. You can get an idea from the retail product list on their web site.
They are a wholesale-​retail spot for pros — like you! So you make your order and a guy brings it on a forklift and loads it into your car, or preferably a high horsepower biodiesel two ton pickup!
A unique spot once you outgrow the retail nursery (we love ‘em) suppliers for special items.

As gardening season approaches everyone should consider a trip to concentrates. Best bet for you organic fertilizing needs. Nothing is small so the prices are reasonable compared to the dinky boxes of organic fertilizers at home and garden shops.

No one has reviewed this place?!? Oh my word. Urban gardeners, and heck, every gardener I am yelling out to you. THIS PLACE HAS WONDERFUL DEALS! They sell in bulk, and also in smaller sizes.
For instance I got:
–A box of 4lb Black Gold organic fertilizer and
–2 cu ft (56.6 L) Black Gold waterhold cocoblend potting soil (OG)
That’s what I mean by small
They’ve specialized in organic agriculture since 1938. Here’s the website list of some of the stuff they carry: soil amendments, meals, fertilizer, compost, livestock feeds, supplements, chicken supplies, pet foods, and a wide variety of salts.
They aren’t the type of place you buy a trowel.
They are very helpful. I will warn you, it’s intimidating when you first go because it’s a warehouse, but there’s a little office to the right of the parking lot. You don’t have to know much. Just go, talk to the person behind the counter and they will help you out. If you don’t know specifically what you want, they are more than happy to help you. They had great recommendations for me.
You tell the woman/​man your order, he/​she writes it on a paper, than you take it to the (usually) dude who’s loading stuff and he will load it in your car for you. The minus one star is for this whole transaction. It wasn’t explained well and there was some wait time, but I just stood outside my car with my book and read while I waited. It wasn’t that long, but this process could be optimized.