Are organic nursery crops feasible?

What once was a novelty has now become standard fare. Walk your local produce aisles and you’ll see all sorts of organically grown fruits and vegetables, sold for premium prices.

But few if any nurseries are producing organically grown trees and shrubs. Outside a few bedding plant growers scattered around the country, there are virtually no certified organic ornamental crops produced.

Growers question if there’s even a market for these products. One Texas retailer thinks so.

Rohde’s Green Sense in Garland, Texas, is a garden center that specializes in organic and eco-friendly products. It caters to a customer base that wants certified organic products from natural pesticides to composts to actual plants.

Sales associate Chris Pyle said Rohde’s customers do request organically grown ornamentals.

“Absolutely we get that request,” Pyle said. “I’m sure I was asked that question at least 20 times last week. People want to know, from seed to the finished pot, has that plant been grown completely in accordance with organic principles?

“The problem with that is that it’s very hard to source that material and find availability. We can source organic seeds readily, and we’ll produce some of our own stock from those seeds. But it’s nearly impossible to get from outside vendors.”

Often, the company will take the closest it can find, Pyle said. And that can mean making special requests of his vendors.

“We sometimes do ask that suppliers not spray for a certain amount of time before they’re shipped to us,” Pyle said. “It’s hard sometimes. We’re trying to promote that we sell the most natural products available, and customers ask, ‘Well what’s up with those Osmocote prills on the top of the pot?’”

He estimates that two-thirds of his customer base understands, and will accept that Rohde’s sells products that are as safe for the environment as possible. But another third are hard core and will not accept plants unless they’re certified as organic.

“They’ll just walk out if they hear it’s not grown organically or if we have compost that isn’t OMRI certified,” he said.

 

The Garden Writers Association conducted a national survey, and found that most American consumers are more likely to purchase products described as “natural” or “eco-friendly.”

The association also found that most consumers don’t differentiate between products marketed as “natural” or “organic.” The perception is the same – that these are safer products.

There are several facts GWA discovered about consumers who buy “natural” products.

·         They tend to be younger (under age 35), better educated and more likely to have young children and pets.

·         They are more likely to engage in gardening and other outdoor activities, describe themselves as “very experienced” gardeners, and spend more time looking after lawns and garden

·         They believe they are more concerned about the environment than most people, and are willing to spend more to buy products that won’t damage the environment.

·         Need to be convinced of the benefits that can be achieved by using products and that they are safe.

 

Suzanne Wainwright Evans, owner of Buglady Consulting, works with growers across the country to help develop beneficial-insect programs.

She said she knows of no nurseries producing “organically grown” woody crops.

“There are some floriculture growers that produce organic products, but as far as nurseries go, I don’t see any out there. I don’t think anyone in the nursery industry out there is good enough to get certified right now,” she said. “There’s a lot involved. You have to start clean and really watch your practices.”

To be truly organic, a nursery would have to look at all crop inputs, and make sure that they would pass organic certification.

At propagation, seed stock would have to be organically produced. No artificial rooting hormones could be used to root cuttings, which could drastically reduce rooting rates.

Only OMRI-certified potting media could be used, and only natural fertilizers. And, of course, only organic pesticides, fungicides and herbicides would be acceptable.

In the nursery business, time is money. Growers always look for ways to speed production of crops. If switching to organic practices slows crop turns, then prices for organically grown nursery crops may have to double or triple account for extra production time.

Most question if there is a large enough market of consumers willing to pay these premiums.

“I don’t know if that market is big enough or not,” Wainwright said. “More likely, I think there would be a better market for growers that promoted their products as more eco-friendly rather than truly organic.”