JOEL’S GREENHOUSE HISTORY
Joel’s first customers carried
their plants home with the root balls carefully wrapped in newspaper. Joel planted the tomato and other vegetables
in wooden flats and when someone purchased them they were carefully dug out and
wrapped. He was a senior in high school
at that time.
From
that meager and simple start in 1971, Joel’s Greenhouse has grown to
having 15,400 square feet under
cover. Joel’s family has always been
avid gardeners. Large vegetable gardens
were grown to feed the family and excess vegetables were sold to the local
grocery store. The first greenhouse was
a 19x19 foot plastic and wood structure that was heated with oil.
After
high school Joel attended the University
of Minnesota, Waseca
majoring in horticulture. That is where he met his wife Nancy. His mom, Della Mae, and brother Ron handled
his greenhouse business. The JR Johnson
Company in Austin
was his next stop. He worked there for a
year while his mom and brother continued to help keep his business at home
going.
Joel’s
passion was for his own business, so in 1974 he took the plunge and went on his
own. He built a 20x48 foot fiberglass
greenhouse and helped his dad with the family’s dairy herd.
In
1975 property across the road from the farm was purchased and in 1976 Nancy and
Joel were married. Nancy also has a horticulture degree so that
started not only a family partnership but also a professional partnership that
still keeps things going today.
Throughout
the 80’s Joel’s Greenhouse saw slow but steady expansions. Joel had bought the dairy cows from his dad
and continued to milk the small herd and meet the demands of that enterprise as
well as the greenhouse business.
In
1990 Joel attended a seminar in Chicago
put on by the Ball Institute on retrofitting your greenhouse enterprise. That spurred a couple of years of planning
how they wanted to move the business into the next century. The dairy cows were
sold in 1992 to allow Joel and Nancy to focus on their first love, the
greenhouse. They knew the changes needed
to allow a space that was as comfortable for the grower as it was for their
customers. Retail space was added to
sell hard goods. Cement walkways put into
the greenhouses make it clean and safe.
A hallway between several greenhouses and the planting area was needed
to move plants safely between the houses during Minnesota’s cold early spring months.
Every
stop along the way, every greenhouse added Joel and Nancy kept their focus on
growing the best quality plants for their customers that they are able. “We want our customers to be successful
gardeners,” said Joel, “and we will help them in any way we know how”. “Gardeners want something new and different. Our customers love to see what will give
their yard or even just a pot on the deck just a little more pop of color. That is why we plant a lot of different kinds
of plants.”
In
the middle to late 1980’s perennial plants were coming to the garden center
scene. Customers wanted at least some
plants that would come back year after year.
Joel expanded the business by adding perennials and woody plants. Now shade trees, fruit trees and ornamental
shrubs are available. No matter what
corner of the yard needs attention, Joel’s Greenhouse can fill the bill.
During
the winter months Nancy
scours the catalogs looking for new and interesting perennial plants to grow in
the upcoming season. Disease resistant
plants and winter hardiness are a must.
“We want our customers to know that any perennial plant purchased at
Joel’s Greenhouse is a strong plant that can withstand Minnesota’s
harsh conditions.” said Nancy.
Around
the same time that perennial plants came on the scene, change was taking place
in the annual marketplace. Osteospermum, Calibrachoa, sun-loving Coleus,
spreading Verbena and new and
interesting Petunias helped bring
container gardening to a new level.
Joel’s Greenhouse specialized in offering all the new plants but Joel
took it even further. About 10 years ago
on a tour in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area, Joel saw sun coleus and it was love
at first sight. He decided that the
beautiful foliage that the sun coleus offered, with its reds, yellows, dark
bronze and greens would be something special he would like to share with others. Joel’s collection has grown t over 80
different varieties, which he is proud to offer to his customers.
Joel and Nancy select and grow
a wide range of plants that will tolerate Minnesota’s theater of seasons, but offer
lots of color and versatility to any gardener’s backyard. No matter if it’s a tomato or flowering plant
to put on the deck or a large perennial and shrub landscape makeover, Joel’s
Greenhouse will help make the project a success.