Production Tour Planned for New Jersey

Jennifer Zurko

AmericanHort will host a tour this fall of growing facilities in Southern New Jersey. The Field & Covered Production Tour, being held September 14-15, will provide growers the opportunity to see new techniques, gain a better understanding of industry trends, have an opportunity to learn best practices and make valuable industry connections.

Tour stops include:

Overdevest Nurseries, Bridgeton—A wholesale grower that sells to independent garden centers and distributors within a 300-mile radius, Overdevest grows more than 1,400 varieties of shrubs, trees, vines and perennials on 210 acres, while container production involves more than 2.7 million sq. ft. of covered growing space.

Centerton Nursery, Bridgeton—A family-owned operation that produces nearly 1,000 types of container-grown hardy garden plants, including perennials, shrubs, vegetables and herbs. Centerton Nursery sells exclusively to independent garden centers, franchises, farm and roadside markets, landscape contractors and florists.

Lucas Greenhouses, Monroeville—Known for its plant quality and customer service, Lucas sells to garden centers and landscapers. More than 1 million sq. ft. of indoor growing facilities combine with more than 30 acres of outdoor production space to house Lucas’ full line of annuals, mums and poinsettias. Lucas is also one of eight pilot sites for SANC (Systems Approach to Nursery Certification), so growers will have the opportunity to learn more about this harmonized, risk-based systems approach to nursery and greenhouse certification, what it means for the industry and how to implement it in their operation.

Information about the event, tour locations and registration is available at AmericanHort.org/Tour.