MEMBER PROFILE 



Eric does the delivering — "It 

 takes time from other things, 

 but it's important to talk di- 

 rectly to customers." 



THE CYCLE BEGINS in Janu- 

 ary. Plastic curtains are hung 

 in some of the houses and 

 plants begun in the heated sec- 

 tions. Pansies are grown in 

 four-inch pots, twelve-inch 

 ovals, and eight-inch hangers; 

 osteospermum (seven variet- 

 ies), in five- and eight-inch 

 pots. 



Their first spring crop — in 

 1995 — was of four-inch annuals 

 and hanging baskets. There 

 were no packs — "we wanted to 

 be different — to find our own 

 niche." At first, they sold to J. 

 Shannon customers — ]. Shan- 

 non wasn't growing four-inch material at the time. 

 Now they, as well as many wholesalers, have be- 

 gun to do so, but "there seems to be enough busi- 

 ness to go around." 



Hangers are major: eight lines of ten-inch and, 

 above these, four of twelve, are in each of the 

 houses. Material reflects today's trends: ten-inch 

 material includes antirrimum, argranthemum, and 

 felicia; ivy geranium is in twelve-inch "specialty 

 baskets." These baskets are varied and include 10- 

 inch "Wonder Gardens" (impatiens), 12-inch Com- 

 binations, 14-inch Moss Combinations (a variety of 

 hanging material), and 12-inch Geranium Combina- 

 tions (geraniums, draecena, vinca). Color Bowls 

 use both grown-from-seed and larger annuals; 

 some are mixed to order. 



These were offered from the start and have al- 

 ways been strong sellers — "we can't keep up." 



Summer offerings include 7.5-inch fiber annuals 

 and ten-inch terra cotta pots. 



There is kale and pansies, but mums is the ma- 

 jor fall crop. Five thousand five-inch are grown in 

 trays inside; outside, ten thousand 7.5-inch and 

 3,000 oval (four plants in a sixteen-inch oval 

 planter) are grown (pinched twice) on black plastic 

 in three separate areas totalling 3000 square feet. 



Ten-inch mum hangers are being grown ("just to 

 see what happens"). Belgian mums — with their 



In a time 



of niches and clever marl<eting, 



it seems surprising 



to see a straiglitforward 



wliolesaie operation begun 



and do weil 



without fanfare or fuss. 



later, prolific bloom — offer an- 

 other variation. Fiber pots of 

 fall perennials (rudbeckia, core- 

 opsis) are offered and Fall 

 Color Bowls mixing fall-bloom- 

 ing material with mums do 

 well. Sales are from March 

 through October. 



INVESTMENT goes into basics. 

 A Sensaphone monitors the 

 temperature of each house. 

 There's also a 30,000 kilowatt 

 (enough power to run ten 

 greenhouses) generator that 

 runs on natural gas. Before this 

 year, one portable generator 

 had to be moved from house to 

 house. 



Production space continues 



to be expanded. The number of 



30'x70' houses will increase to 



four. One of these will have BioTherm hot water 



heating system buried in a sand floor and be used 



for propagation. 



A row of five quonset-style houses (two 

 14'xl00', three 17'xl50') are currently being put up 

 in an adjacent area slightly below the first houses. 

 These will be used in late spring primarily for 

 colder crops (pansies, snaps, dusty miller, dian- 

 thus), allowing production to grow. 



Right now, a three-car garage and a 20'x80' barn 

 are used as storage. ("We park our cars outside.") 

 Plans include a central headhouse between the two 

 rows of houses: a central spine connecting them 

 into one unit. And, out back, an acre is being 

 clearcut. The use of the land has not been decided. 

 Another major change has occurred with Eric's 

 marriage this month. Annlouise's arrival adds a 

 new personality and another helping hand. 



In a time of niches and clever marketing, it 

 seems surprising to see a straightforward whole- 

 sale operation begun and do well without fanfare 

 or fuss. Maybe hard work and practical choices 

 still have value. (BP) 



(Deerfield Gardens is at 37 South Road, Route 43, 

 Deerfield, New Hampshire. The photje number there is 

 603-463-5685.) 



OCTOBER. NOVEMBER. 1998 



