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MEMBER PROFILE 



Bay Farm ^1^ North Hill 



TWO OPPOSITES MAKE A GOOD BALANCE 



Twelve years ago, Don Mitchell ("Mitch") moved up from Beverly, Massachusetts, 

 to Newington, New Hampshire, and began Bay Farm Nursery, a wholesale operation. 

 Last year, Mitch and his partner, Pat Parent, opened a retail outlet 

 called North Hill on Route 1 in North Hampton. 

 The two enterprises are very different in feeling, but each compliments and strengthens the other 



Bay Farm Nursery. 



In the 1950s, Newington Road 

 had become dead end, stopping 

 at the edge of the newly-con- 

 structed Pease Air Force Base. 

 It's still quiet and at Bay Farm, 

 with its yellow-clapboard cape 

 (with its decorative pool and ex- 

 otic plantings) connected by an 

 ell to the large barn behind it, 

 there is no sound. The air from 

 the bay is cool; the rows of ever- 

 greens become lines of simple 

 geometric shapes in the strong 

 April sun. A cat rubs against 

 your leg. It's a nice place to con- 

 centrate on growing. 



Which is what Mitch and Pat 

 do. They grow and wholesale 

 plant material — evergreens, a lot 

 of perennials. Some are field- 

 grown: most are containerized. 

 They raise all sizes — "everything 

 from one pint to two gallon." 



There are also three green- 

 houses, totalling 6000 square 

 feet. One is heated and used 

 year-round; the others are used 

 more as cold frames for newly 

 potted plants in the spring. 



In early fall, flats of herbs and 

 perennials are seeded — herbs, 

 perennials — then transplanted 

 into deep 606 flats (2 1/2 square 



by 4" deep, 36 per flat) and 

 grown over the winter. This fall 

 crop is a nicely-sized plant when 

 it's time for spring sales. 



Around March first, they seed 

 another crop, following the same 

 procedure, and puts this into the 

 unheated houses. Once they're 

 established, they go outside. 

 What doesn't sell is put into the 

 ground and overwintered. The 

 next year, they're transplanted 

 into one-gallon containers 



The largest perennials Mitch 

 sells have been in the field for 

 three years — if they haven't sold 

 by then, they're gotten rid of. 



"We're trying to use more bio- 

 degradable pots. Next year, ev- 

 erything we raise will be in bio- 

 degradable pots." 



Everything is grown in either 

 Metromix or their own combina- 

 tion of sand, decayed bark, and 

 peat moss. Slow-release fertilizer 

 is added. "We don't use loam — 

 we don't sterilize and there's too 

 much weed seed." 



The market decides the crop. 

 Right now, perennials are still 

 big, but "instant results" seems 

 to be something that customers 

 are willing to pay for. This year, 

 Mitch is growing 500 tomatoes in 

 two-gallon containers ("If they 

 have little tomatoes on them, 

 they sell. People want to be the 

 first on the block.") He's also 

 growing annuals (cleome, zinnias) 

 in five-gallon hexagonal contain- 

 ers — for instant color on a patio 

 or deck. He's growing 1000 of 



them and potential sales look 

 good. 



His hanging baskets reflect the 

 same market trends. His ivy gera- 

 niums — grown in 14" baskets of 

 sphagnum moss — give customers 

 the color they want from the mo- 

 ment of purchase. 



They do buy in material. 

 Clematis seems to be something 

 people want right now ('Nelly 

 Moser' is their best-seller). This 

 year Mitch is buying in 1500 

 clematis to pot up and grow for 

 next year's sale. Again, the price 

 will be higher, but a two-year 

 plant will give that "instant 

 color." 



Cold-susceptible material is 

 overwintered on shelves in the 

 cellar under the barn. A 30x50 

 insulated, dirt-floored storage 

 space equipped with fans — it 

 never goes below freezing. This 

 year, Mitch hopes to add a poly- 

 tube vent to improve air circula- 

 tion. 



Outside, along with the unusual 

 plantings around the house 

 (Mitch's personal collection), 

 there's also a small garden of 

 specimen plants — and a collec- 

 tion of hemlocks. Hemlocks is 

 one of Mitch's interests — he has 

 a good selection — Armstrong, 

 Baldwin's Dwarf, Bennett, Cole's Pros- 

 trate, Curly.... "The average 

 homeowner doesn't know much 

 about using them," Mitch says, 

 and he tries to share his enthusi- 

 asm by incorporating hemlocks 

 into his designs whenever it 



The Plantsman 



24 



