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The Thriving Farmer Podcast


Feb 4, 2020

In This Episode:

I talk to Karl Vahrmeyer Jr. from Greenpark Nurseries, in the Southern Ontario Niagara region. Karl and his family operate a wholesale flower production specializing in woody ornamentals. Their nursery recently went through a large expansion, which we dig into, discussing the logistics and financial planning of such an endeavor.


You’ll Hear:

>> What the family grows and when 3:40

>> What made his father change direction into cut flowers 4:40

>> What a typical day looks like with the business 8:17

>> How they expanded their facilities 11:00

>> About their various properties 14:21

>> Why they have another farm 8 hours away 15:20

>> What the production process of woody ornamentals looks like18:25

>> What trials they are doing and how Holland plays into that 20:02

>> How they manage their organization 22:50

>> How Karl has grown his community network 31:10

>> How roles are divided amongst family members and company workers 33:50

>> Karl’s advice to new farmers 48:08

About the guest:

Karl Vahrmeyer Jr. is a second generation ornamental branch and cut flower grower working along side his younger brother, sister, and father. Green Park Nurseries used to only grow trees and shrubs for garden centers and landscape companies but phased out that business model in 2000 to 2010 and replaced it with ornamental branches and flowers for the floral industry. They currently have 80 acres in production, spread across 4 farms in the area of Niagara, Ontario, where they produce cut ornamentals such as Lilacs, Snowball Viburnum, Spirea, Mock Orange, Dogwood, Curly Willow, and Pussy Willow.