You have seen pictures of the greenhouse. Here is the front of Larry's Garage. He had just put up new steel siding on the building. Can you read the sign?
So a continue of our Christmas letter "Work is what we do."
But with the family business Larry helps me out in the greenhouse. He cuts the wood for the outdoor wood furnace that heats the greenhouse, keeps it going all winter long. He moves the plant racks in and out when I need him to. He keeps the watering system going for the plants. AND anything other thing I come up with the working of the greenhouse he will engineer. So like I say it is a family business. Larry continues to work on old tractors for himself, and for customers. Has a vast knowledge of them, and pride when he can get them into operating conditions. He continues to work on automotive and keeps up with the latest as the vehicles comes in he needs to keep himself informed. But you know, we have a great reference with our son, Josh who is at Molstead Motors in Charles City as service and parts manager.
I, myself, will be starting my 27th year of growing plants. I know you will say it has been that long. One of the things that has changed is the greenhouse where we get our plugs( small plants to transplant). We have been getting the from Swift’s Greenhouse in Gilman Iowa. But they have decided that their market of greenhouse growing annuals plugs has gone down. One of the reasons, I have had noticed this in a greenhouse grower’s site on Facebook. What has happened is that growers for the consumers are going to single plant in a pot. No matter if it is a petunia or a tomato. The comment on Facebook from one grower “ We have noticed as the baby boomer get older they are buying less single pots, we might have to go back to growing in 4 packs.” I never got that memo that we stop growing and selling in 4 packs. I will continue to grow and sell in 4 packs and still sell a flat of mixed annuals and vegetables for a special low price.( I have done that forever as when I was buying packs, I wanted the growers to do it for me.)
With Swifts not selling annual plugs, I worked it out with another broker for a greenhouse grower in Minnesota. BUT you see, Swifts order form was 9 pages long, theirs was 59 pages long. I worked, studied and went thru each line to make sure I knew what they had and what to order. That was nearly 100 plug trays coming this spring. Work is what we do!!!!!
Till next time, this is Becky Litterer from Becky's Greenhouse, Larry's Garage, Dougherty
But with the family business Larry helps me out in the greenhouse. He cuts the wood for the outdoor wood furnace that heats the greenhouse, keeps it going all winter long. He moves the plant racks in and out when I need him to. He keeps the watering system going for the plants. AND anything other thing I come up with the working of the greenhouse he will engineer. So like I say it is a family business. Larry continues to work on old tractors for himself, and for customers. Has a vast knowledge of them, and pride when he can get them into operating conditions. He continues to work on automotive and keeps up with the latest as the vehicles comes in he needs to keep himself informed. But you know, we have a great reference with our son, Josh who is at Molstead Motors in Charles City as service and parts manager.
I, myself, will be starting my 27th year of growing plants. I know you will say it has been that long. One of the things that has changed is the greenhouse where we get our plugs( small plants to transplant). We have been getting the from Swift’s Greenhouse in Gilman Iowa. But they have decided that their market of greenhouse growing annuals plugs has gone down. One of the reasons, I have had noticed this in a greenhouse grower’s site on Facebook. What has happened is that growers for the consumers are going to single plant in a pot. No matter if it is a petunia or a tomato. The comment on Facebook from one grower “ We have noticed as the baby boomer get older they are buying less single pots, we might have to go back to growing in 4 packs.” I never got that memo that we stop growing and selling in 4 packs. I will continue to grow and sell in 4 packs and still sell a flat of mixed annuals and vegetables for a special low price.( I have done that forever as when I was buying packs, I wanted the growers to do it for me.)
With Swifts not selling annual plugs, I worked it out with another broker for a greenhouse grower in Minnesota. BUT you see, Swifts order form was 9 pages long, theirs was 59 pages long. I worked, studied and went thru each line to make sure I knew what they had and what to order. That was nearly 100 plug trays coming this spring. Work is what we do!!!!!
Till next time, this is Becky Litterer from Becky's Greenhouse, Larry's Garage, Dougherty
