Surrounded by soybean fields on a county road between Bayfield and Zurich , Ontario , sit a family - lead greenhouse that has been take out industrial plant lover to the region for 50 years . Since its first run of bedding plant in 1973 , Huron Ridge Greenhouses has gained a reputation for growing and selling quality plant production , pull in client from as far as Kitchener , London , and Guelph .
The Steckle family celebrate Huron Ridge Greenhouse ’s 50th day of remembrance . L - R : Kevin and Lorraine Steckle , Carol and David Steckle , Sandra Regier
Huron Ridge Greenhouses is proof that success in business organization depends on more than locating . " We have no curbside appeal . We are n’t on the direction to anywhere . Yet we ’ve become a finish , with repeat customer locomote just to come to our greenhouse , " says Kevin Steckle , General Manager and Owner .
So what ’s Huron Ridge ’s secret ? It ’s all in their slogan : salutary plants by in effect the great unwashed .
pardner in life and partners in business , Lorraine and Kevin Steckle are Centennial State - owner at Huron Ridge Greenhouses .
Becoming ' in force plant people’Huron Ridge Greenhouses was officially established by David and Carol Steckle in 1973 when the first glasshouse was added to their existing mixed farming procedure . Today , they have over 70,000 square feet of decorative greenhouse space , admit a full spring mixing ( petunias , primula , geranium , veggie , and pansy pots ) , poinsettias , and mums . Their extremely successful garden center offers a full range of flowering annuals , perennials , and houseplant ( just no Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree or bush ) , and they have longstanding tie in the wholesale market .
From the linear perspective of Kevin Steckle and Sandra Regier , tike of David and Carol who now play vital roles in the greenhouse , flowers are all they ’ve ever known .
" We ’ve been filling flats since we were tiddler , and now our kids are in the nursery fill flats , too , " says Kevin , whose married woman Lorraine is also pivotal in the success of the business as Retail Manager and Owner . " It ’s a veridical family social occasion and a great environs to raise kids in . I remember my Dad walking up and down the rows , one of my Thomas Kyd sleep in a knapsack on his back , watering plants with the scepter . You just ca n’t do that in an office . "
" It ’s also a with child environment for genial health , " adds Sandra , who handles sale and marketing . " Being surrounded by works and watching thing grow and change , it keeps you fresh and on your toes . Rarely are you doing the same thing two days in a rowing when you work in a glasshouse . "
A family affair . David Steckle gives granddaughter Samantha a drive through the greenhouse on a pocketbook of peat moss in 1997 .
Evolving and educatingAdapting to alter is n’t just a nice - to - have , explains Sandra . It ’s the lifeblood of the gardening industry . And it ’s something Huron Ridge has embraced .
" We ’ve been innovating in retail by leveraging social media and focusing on education . We want our customers to acknowledge us as citizenry who can help them produce plants better and more sustainably , " says Sandra , who is responsible for Huron Ridge ’s marketing .
They have date tremendous interest in their tutorial and educational videos on YouTube , Instagram , and specially on their burgeoningTikTok account , which gasconade over 7,500 follower . A telecasting of David Steckle ’s potato container horticulture experiment has had over 350 kilobyte views and counting .
work where untried gardeners go , Huron Ridge Greenhouses is gain heaps of care on TikTok with educational video .
Other modern programs , like their " BYOP – bring your own planter " program , encourage customers to boil down charge card role . client and municipalities can salt away their empty planter in the Huron Ridge greenhouse over wintertime and receive refreshed , custom planting the next spring without have to buy a fresh container . TheWeekender Basket , a popular H2O - saving handbasket sell by A.M.A. Horticulture , is proudly part of this program .
" Sustainability is top of thinker for everyone these days , " says Kevin . " Inside the greenhouse , we ’ve been focused on increase our function of bio - controls and eliminating chemical as much as possible while asseverate high - character plant life production . "
acquisition and grow in partnershipWhen Huron Ridge observe partners – especially other local business – who apportion their value , they amaze with them . That ’s why A.M.A. Horticulture , an Lake Ontario - base middleman that supplies Huron Ridge with containers and other horticultural product , has proved to be such a unspoiled tantrum all these years .
" I remember being in the hand truck with Dad , driving down to Kingsville , Ontario , to cull hooey up at A.M.A. They had just start thing up at that time , " says Kevin . A.M.A. Horticulture celebrated its own40th anniversaryin 2022 . " We ’ve been in clientele with them since the beginning . "
The trusted partnership is a two - way street . Prior to the pandemic in early 2020 , Huron Ridge welcomed A.M.A. ’s Alex Frew , Customer Service and Sales Associate , to pass the day in the glasshouse , gaining first - manus experience , let in how to use aturbo seederto plant the spring harvest . " It was a great learning chance and an unforgettable behind - the - scene depend at a Clarence Shepard Day Jr. in the spirit of a grower , " says Alex . " Not everyone would open up their door like that . I am grateful to the Huron Ridge squad and prompt by their committedness to learning and growth . "
Honesty , quality service , learning , and positive troupe culture are just some of the value both business divvy up , summate Sandra . " I guess when we think of A.M.A. , we see our own catchword reflect in how they do business sector . Only they are all about good pots by good people ! "
Then and now . David and Carol Steckle started Huron Ridge Acres – now Huron Ridge Greenhouses – in 1973 . Today , it ’s a address garden center that promise effective plant by good people .
A bright hereafter for horticultureHorticulture never terminate to inhale a sense of wonder . It ’s what keeps the Huron Ridge team motivated to continue to originate the legacy set out by David and Carol .
" You put a seed in the soil , you raise it , and you watch it develop into something beautiful . That ’s what we do in horticulture , and it ’s what we try out to do in life , " says Kevin . " There ’s no other industry I ’d want to be in . "
Sandra agrees and is exhort by the next generation ’s sense of admiration , too . " Their ebullience for plants is contagious , especially vegetable horticulture . Even if it ’s not the pretty tomato , they are still so proud that they grew it themselves and they can eat it . We want to help them mature and continue to maintain that enthusiasm for generation to come . "
Article by Elise Johnson , freelance writer and manager of communications and marketing at A.M.A. Horticulture Inc.
For more information : Huron Ridge Greenhouseshttps://www.huronridge.ca/
A.M.A. Horticulture2011 Spinks DriveKingsville , ON N9Y 2E5CanadaTel . : 519 - 322 - 1397 or 800 - 338 - 1136Fax : 519 - 322 - 1358[email protected]www.amahort.com
