Looking Toward the Future of Growing

Anne-Marie Hardie

For young grower Mark Thies, horticulture is more than a career—it’s become an essential part of his life.

Mark is part of the sixth generation of the Thies family that’s been growing in St. Louis, Missouri, since 1885. Today, Thies Farm and Greenhouses has allocated this plot of land for their greenhouse production, keeping the original location as the heart of their business. Over the years, Mark has seen the business evolve, including the operation of a farm focused on wholesale and retail produce production.

With more than 100,000 sq. ft. of production greenhouses, the business grows bedding plants, hanging baskets and perennials for its retail locations. In addition to the greenhouse operation, the family operates a farm where they grow and sell fruit and vegetables to both wholesale and retail markets. Currently, this operation is run by Mark’s father Dave and his uncle, Darryl.

Mark didn’t automatically turn to the family business for his livelihood. Instead, he attended college with the intent of pursuing a diploma in architecture. But there’s something about growing that seems to draw people back into the industry.

“I went to college for architecture, but I missed going outside,” says Mark. “And so I transferred to the horticulture program, initially focusing on landscape design, and quickly realized that my passion was the production side of things.”

After college, Mark worked in a few locations in Kansas, including a production greenhouse and a nursery and landscape company. These experiences were invaluable, providing him with another perspective on how a greenhouse and nursery operation could function. It was here that Mark learned new processes that he would eventually bring back to his family business, and in particular, the new St. Charles location right outside of St. Louis. It was the opening of this location that beckoned Mark’s return to the family business.

“We were in the process of building the St. Charles site while I was in college,” says Mark. “I decided to come back and get this new location going.”

Approximately 3 acres, this new space, which is managed by Mark, includes a garden center, nursery stock and a small retail building. With 10 core employees, each individual works together for the continued success of the business. During the peak season, an additional 30 seasonal employees step in to ensure that the business can respond to the needs of customers.

The Thies family has been growing flowers, fruit and vegetables in St. Louis, Missouri, since 1885.

Open from March until Christmas, Mark is actively involved with all aspects of the business, including plant selection and sales. During the Christmas season, the business evolves to include poinsettias, Christmas trees and gift items, providing the community of St. Charles with a mini Christmas getaway. His sister, Anne, has also become involved with the business. In fact, her education in advertising has been vital for managing both Thies Farm’s advertising budget and social media accounts. Actively engaged on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, Anne uses this medium to both engage with their customers and discuss upcoming events.

Since his return, Mark has expanded the overall production, including adding nursery stock, trees and shrubs at their retail location. Today, Mark spends half of the year involved in greenhouse production at the original site in St. Louis and the other half focused on the sales in the new retail location.

“It is definitely different working with family. I get to see my family a lot, talk to them a lot; not just dealing with business. You have the family aspect of it,” says Mark. He shares that the key to working successfully with family is finding the balance between work and personal. For the Thies family, this means striving to restrict business activity and discussions to business hours only, freeing up the evenings/off hours for matters pertaining to family life.

Constantly looking at how to do things better, Mark frequently attends short courses and seminars on new practices, whether its sustainability or production techniques.

“Over the years, I’ve tried different techniques. I’ve switched growing media and even experimented with hydroponic growing,” says Mark. Not afraid of change, Mark enjoys exploring different plant media, plants and other natural solutions to discover what will work best to meet both the needs of the business and his customers. Hydroponics and its possibilities is one area that Mark is paying close attention to.

“When you look at the future of farmland production area, particularly as fertile soil becomes more scarce, you really need to take a deeper look at hydroponics and its possibilities,” said Mark.

One of the Thies Farm and Greenhouses’ mandates is to steer towards environmentally friendly practices, including integrated pest management and reducing the amount of spraying that’s done. For the Thies family, sustainability is about finding that balance between meeting present needs while decreasing the impact for future generations. With an eye always looking forward, the Thies family is looking at ways to protect the environment, natural resources and the health of their employees in the long run. This includes integrating more natural products, like neem oil for pest management, to reduce the overall impact.

At the St. Charles location, one strategy that Mark has implemented is a bio-retention center to collect the excess rainwater.

“Our goal is to have no rainwater leave the premises,” says Mark. With a plan to eventually take over the business, Mark is constantly looking at the future and its potential. This includes looking at the plant selection they offer, including adding more native plants to the operation, and the way that they’re grown. GT

Anne-Marie Hardie is a freelance writer/speaker from Barrie, Ontario, and part of the third generation of the family-owned garden center/wholesale business Bradford Greenhouses in Barrie/Bradford, Ontario.