Picking a peck of peppers can be a tongue-twister when you have hundreds to choose from, but there's a market for every taste. Cross Country Nurseries in Stockton, New Jersey, feeds the need with a successful shipping model.
Tom Spies, who with his wife, Kristin, purchased the 30-year-old Stockton business from Janie Lamson and Fernando Villegas in 2021, has taken it to the next level with his background in mechanical engineering and logistics.
One unique part of the business — besides the sheer number of varieties — is that the nursery starts everything from seed and ships established plants in 3-inch pots, not plugs.
Cross Country Nurseries offers around 800 varieties of live pepper, tomato, eggplant and herb plants, as well as 120 perennials, delivered to customers' doors across the country. Hence the business name. The nursery also ships fresh peppers in the fall and offers dried pepper powders and seeds. Spies added the pepper powders and reintroduced perennials to the business. The original owners started with perennials and transitioned to peppers.
Read more at Lancaster Farming