Kellogg Answers Disney’s Call

Back in the 1950s, Kellogg founder H. Clay Kellogg served on the Orange County Farm Bureau, with two gentlemen by the name of Walter Knott and Walt Disney.

Disney was a visionary, and he had big dreams of creating a happy place where families could spend an afternoon. His favorite book was “The Jungle Book” by Rudyard Kipling, and he envisioned re-creating a cruise through a tropical jungle as his first amusement ride at his new park. Boats would take guests through a winding river, with lush vegetation lining the banks. Disney had a big problem though: tropical plants don’t grow well in Anaheim’s chaparral climate and desert-like soil. The soil in this part of the country lacks the organic matter and pH that is necessary for the lavish, dense greenery found in the jungle.  Kellogg assured Disney that with a little manipulation, Kellogg could create the perfect soil for tropical plants. He blended redwood fibers with an existing product at the time and a new product was born! Gromulch was formulated to ease tropical plants into this desert environment, and a lush landscape succeeded!  Gromulch went on to be the largest selling planting mix in the western US, and an exotic, thrilling attraction called Jungle Cruise opened in Disneyland that endures to this day!