King Farm has been growing plants in New England for more than five decades. The operation started as a dairy farm before shifting into horticulture in 1972, when Bart King's father took over and began adding greenhouses. What began as a few small structures has become five acres of protected cropping and three acres outdoors.
"It was not much when he started," Bart says. "Just a few small greenhouses." The expansion came little by little. The farm grew by adding space and updating systems every few years, always laser focused on plant quality rather than volume.
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Production strategy
King Farm supplies independent garden centers, farm stands and similar retailers. The idea has never been to push large volumes into chain stores. Instead, the Kings have their eyes fully set on growing plants that look finished and healthy when they leave the greenhouse.
"We produce quality," Bart says. "We are not big enough to produce the quantity that is sold in the chain stores, so we sell to independent garden centers and farm stands."
Christy King brings a design approach to the growing operation. Before joining the farm, she was a floral designer. "My eye is on trends and pretties and all the extra stuff," she says. "I think the extra steps we take to make it different and unique really show."
Balancing hands-on work and new tech
Technology has become a larger part of the workflow in recent years. Heating systems, boilers, transplanting machines, boom watering and new injectors are now integrated into daily production. "The technology has changed so much," Bart says. "From our heat to our boilers to our transplanting machines to boom watering and we just put in some new injectors."
Even with updated systems, the Kings keep a lot of work manual. "We still do a lot by hand," Bart says. "But we do as much as we can through the equipment that we have."
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The necessity of consistency in substrates
One persistent challenge for the farm was finding consistent growing media. Previous suppliers delivered material that varied load by load, especially in pH. "We needed consistency," Bart explains. "We were not getting it. You would get one load, different pHs, different things."
Since switching to PRO-MIX®, both Bart and Christy have noticed an improvement in plant health and consistency. "I would say tc Christy says. "No problems with just about anything. You know, there's nothing inconsistent about it so far. I think it's been really, really beautiful to work with."
For Bart, reliability matters as much as product quality. "Quality is there. The service is there. Consistency is there. It is as simple as that."
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A symphony of plants
Bart handles the mechanical side of the operation. Christy manages planning, layout and the visual and creative decisions. "I feel like I am standing on a podium, baton in my hand, directing the team as if it was an orchestra," she says. "I have to make sure everything flows and that everybody is working in sync."
Customer expectations are one of the ongoing challenges. Short notice requests can complicate scheduling and labor allocation. "We want to cater to our customers, but sometimes they need things last minute," Christy says. Bart adds, "But we always make it happen."
Advice from the grower bench
"Pay attention," Bart says when asked what he would tell new growers. "That is the best piece of advice I ever got." Christy agrees. "There is so much information available that you really cannot miss if you just pay attention. You can learn it all pretty quickly if you are willing to."
"You are never going to know everything," Bart adds. "But as long as you know the person who has the answer to the problem that you have, you are all set."
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With another busy season approaching, King Farm continues to refine processes while holding onto the principles that guided the farm from the beginning: steady growth, consistent inputs, and attention to detail. "We have had a big transition in the last five years here," Bart says. "We are set up for another long go."
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