Digger magazine

Written to make you a nursery industry expert.

Al’s Garden & Home celebrates seven decades in business

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On May 2, 2018, Al’s Garden & Home celebrates its 70th anniversary as a family-owned business this year. Over that time, the company has grown from a single fruit stand in Woodburn to a garden center and grower with four retail locations. Al and Ann Bigej founded the company in 1948, housing the fruit stand originally […]

Bower & Branch hires communications officer

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Bower & Branch, an e-commerce site populated with products from independent growers and garden retailers in the Northeast and Midwest, has hired Clint Albin as their chief communications officer. Albin runs a horticulture industry consulting business, and has previously held director-level positions at Garden Centers of America, the Independent Garden Center Show, and Garden Media […]

May 2018 — The Efficiency Issue

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The Efficiency Issue Rising costs, labor scarcity and competition create challenges for growers. Greater efficiency can be the answer. In this issue: Your efficient nursery business. We talked to more than a dozen growers and industry colleagues who have become more efficient, and increased their bottom line, by improving their management, workflows, inputs and workspaces. Managing for […]

Optimum watering schedules for Oregon home lawns

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By Conner Olsen and Alec Kowalewski In times of drought, outdoor water-use restrictions are most often focused on landscape water use, and implemented in terms of the number of days per week for which watering is allowed. This method, although effective at reducing water use, neglects to consider ideal irrigation frequency for maintaining the health […]

Money efficiency

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These tips will help growers spend their business dollars wisely As a business owner, you want to spend your money on what provides true, long-term business value. Because nurseries can rely heavily on cash flow to keep their operations running, it’s important to understand where your money is going and plan for your capital investments. […]

Your efficient nursery business

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Nursery profitability is always a challenge. We talked to more than a dozen growers and industry colleagues who have become more efficient, and increased their bottom line, by improving their management, workflows, inputs and workspaces. Whether it’s a daffodil or a giant sequoia, a plant is a relatively simple closed system. Its ultimate growth is driven by basic environmental factors such as light, water, soil and accessible nutrients. The nurseries that produce these plants, however, are much more complicated.

Managing for efficiency

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Efficiency begins at the top. It starts with company leadership setting an expectation and empowering employees to contribute their ideas and expertise. It’s about encouraging dynamic, back-and-forth conversations in the workplace. Companies such as wholesale propagator JLPN Inc. in Salem, Oregon; wholesale grower Skagit Horticulture in Mount Vernon, Washington; Eshraghi Nurseries in Hillsboro, Oregon; wholesale […]

Creating an efficient workflow

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Although setting the tone for innovation is important, the production process is where the action takes place. Companies like Alpha Nurseries of Salem, Oregon; Robinson Nursery of Amity, Oregon; Woodburn Nursery & Azaleas of Woodburn, Oregon and others have realized great savings from revising their production processes to make them more efficient. At Alpha, manager […]

Using your inputs efficiently

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Although labor is the largest expense for many nurseries, it isn’t the only expense. Inputs such as water, fertilizer, growing media and even artificial light also impose significant costs for the grower. Entire books could be written on saving water and electricity in a nursery. The Oregon Association of Nurseries and the Oregon Environmental Council […]