Going back to school after being in the work force for several years is never easy. But it's even more difficult to take courses and hold down a full-time job at the same time.
Cultus area resident Kay Armstrong, 30, knows just how difficult that can be but she found the effort was worth it wen she received her diploma in commercial floriculture from the University of Guelph earlier this month. And not only did she receive her diploma, she captured the Hanno Kreisig Flowers Canada Award as the top commercial floriculture graduate enrolled in the Independent Study Program of the University of Guelph's department of horticulture.
Mrs. Armstrong qualified for the award by achieving the highest marks in commercial floriculture. During the five-year period she was enrolled in the course, her marks averaged 94.1 per cent.
Mrs. Armstrong admitted she was at times tempted to quit the course as it placed many demands on her personal time. But she's glad now that she persevered, noting the diploma and the experience she garnered through the course have enabled her to advance in her field.
Mrs. Armstrong joined the staff of Fernlea Flowers Ltd., near Courtland, in 1977 as a general greenhouses worker and it was her work there that spurred her to enroll in the commercial floriculture correspondence program offered by the University of Guelph in 1981.
Her job at Fernlea Flowers was her first exposure to the horticulture field and Mrs. Armstrong found herself fascinated by the scientific aspects of plant propagation.
She said she wanted to learn more about why fertilizers, insecticides, fungicides and growth regulators work the way they do on plants. Through her correspondence courses and the practical application of her course material at the Fernlea greenhouses, Mrs. Armstrong learned about plant identification and their use, soils, plant nutrition and insect and disease control. She in now one of the company's five growers.
She said the company was very supportive of her efforts to obtain her diploma and she gave credit to her husband for putting up with her studies. She noted her course load consumed many of her weekends and free time, but her husband always supported her efforts, suffering through the neglect so she could complete the course.
Mrs. Armstrong said she has no plans to go into business of her won now that she has her diploma. "I find this place interesting and I'm able to play around with different things and automation that I wouldn't have in my own industry." She said, noting there are many new developments in the industry being applied at Fernlea's that she wouldn't see otherwise.
Mrs. Armstrong said she enjoys her work at the greenhouses pointing out there's lots of fresh air and sunlight she wouldn't find in a factory job. "It's a good atmosphere to work in."
While she has given some thought to pursuing a degree in the field "there's always something to learn" her job as a grower, supervising the work of a labor foreman and an assistant grower, keeps her busy enough for now. And she and her husband are planning now for the first expansion of their family in November with the birth of twins.
She said she is please the university makes the opportunity to further one's education through correspondence courses available to people whom might otherwise not have that chance.
Press Release 5
THE TILLSONBURG NEWS ~ October 20, 1986
Largest Greenhouse Stresses People, Quality
By Julie Day
It was in the early 1930s that Lloyd Veit planted the seeds for what was to become the flourishing business of Fernlea Flowers with head off ices located just east of Courtland.
Mr. Veit was a student at the Guelph agricultural college when he started the business as two small greenhouses filled with vegetables. Today the company has seven retail flower shops and about one million square feet of greenhouse space, making it North America's largest single-location greenhouse range.
Wages were low in 1935 when Mr. Veit graduated, so the young entrepreneur continued to grow vegetables on the family farm, located five miles west of Delhi in an area known as Fernlea. He later started to grow flowers and opened a small store in Delhi to market the merchandise.
This first retail outlet sold a variety of cut flowers as well and wedding and funeral flowers. Sales were brisk-as high as $10 on a good day and so in 1945 a second store was opened in Alymer. Two years later another shop was started up in Tillsonburg.
With three retail outlets well established, Mr. Veit focused his attention on expanding the greenhouse operations. Local help was available and the businessman continued to build more greenhouses and experiment with different crops.
The company suffered a setback in 1948 when a fire in the boiler room resulted in considerable damage. The ends of the greenhouses joined to the boiler room were burnt off, leaving the plants inside exposed to freezing temperatures. The majority of the plants and greenhouses were destroyed despite the efforts of nearby neighbors to help save the plants.
A fellow nurseryman helped the company overcome this setback. Enough lettuce seedlings were donated to replant the range and allow Fernlea to produce a bumper crop.
In 1952 a flower store was opened in St. Thomas and four years later another shop was opened in Ingersoll. In 1956 the retail and wholesale operations merged and Fernlea Flowers Ltd. was incorporated.
Flower production eventually replaced vegetable growing and new glass greenhouses were constructed. Mr. Veit and his wife traveled as far as Europe to observe greenhouse ranges in operation and many of the innovations were brought back home.
Today, the company's wholesale operations account for 90 per cent of the business, according to operations manager Mike Bouk, with the retail aspect making up the smaller portion.
The size of the greenhouse space doubled in the 1970's, Mr. Bouk noted, when tropical plants were introduced to the Canadian market. Since it's more economical to ship the product rather than heat the greenhouses throughout the cold Canadian winters, a greenhouse was purchased in Stuart, Florida.
The company's annual heating is about $750,000, or 15 per cent of the product cost, Mr. Bouk pointed out. To help reduce this expense the company has drilled eight producing natural gas wells. Retractable heat curtains are used as another technique. The curtains are drawn over the crops to either help retain the heat or keep the sun off.
Growing techniques were also perfected during the 1970's, Mr. Bouk said, noting this was the period of transition for the company. Qualified "growers" were taken on to manage the greenhouse operations. The growers program "environmental computers," Mr. Bouk explained, so the crops can be irrigated and fertilized with precision.
Greenhouse work is supervised by the co-ordinator of the company labor pool. Eight labor foremen, each responsible for a specific area of the greenhouse, report to co-ordinator. There are 35 managers and supervisors with the company, and half of them women.
The company grows flowering and green potted plants throughout the entire year. Fernlea sells about 25 million bedding plants, one million geraniums, 500,000 Easter lilies, 450,000 garden mums and 1.5 million tropical plants.
About 20 per cent of the company's products are exported to the United Sates with shipments are as far as Texas and California.
And there's always a steady demand for the company's product, the manager noted. "We don't see severe ups and downs," Mr. Bouk said, noting sales remain stable even during periods of recession.
In the springtime, however, activity at the company picks up. The number of workers jumps from about 175 to about 375 at this time of the year. Instead of one crop being grown, 1 ½ crops are cultivated in the greenhouses, Mr. Bouk said. Using the "plug system," more plants can be cultivated by planting the seeds in coin-sized holes on a plastic tray before they are transferred to the larger flats. The plugs are treated with high-intensity lights to encourage the rapid growth of the seed before they are transferred to the larger flats. Soon the greenhouses are filled to capacity, Mr. Bouk said, with plants hanging from the ceiling and stored in the walkways.
The busy springtime period also requires additional trucks for shopping. The company has a fleet of 12 trucks, but vehicles are rented in the spring to handle the increase in business.
While the company has continued to expand at a rate of about seven per cent each year for the past five years, Mr. Bouk said he expects future growth from within Fernlea Gro-Pro, the division which sells growing material and supplies to other growers. "It's surpassed our expectation, " Mr. Bouk commented, explaining that because of the size of the company, supplies can be purchased at a low per unit cost and the savings passed on to other growers.
But as the business continues to expand, the company must ensure that individuals with expertise are available and capable of assuming added responsibilities, Mr. Bouk said. "We want to stress the people aspect," the manager said, adding the company now offers training programs and employees attend work-related courses.
Belief in the product helps motivate the company toward future growth: "We believe our product is above average in terms of quality," Mr. Bouk added.