Snavelys ready for new season at Holton Greenhouse
Holton Greenhouse is growing thanks to the efforts of new owners Sandy and Joe Snavely.
The couple purchased the greenhouse in April of last year, and were open for just a short season.
“We were about a month or so late in getting everything started, and the weather didn’t really cooperate,” Sandy said. “But it was a wonderful learning experience. Mother Nature threw everything she could at us, and we survived. We just want to thank the public for their support last year during a stressed-out growing year.”
The Snavelys, who will celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary this November, are the fifth owners of the greenhouse, which has been in operation at 109 New Jersey Ave. for more than 125 years.
“We’ve always been huge gardeners – starting our own plants from seed with artificial lights,” she said. “So we were very interested when the greenhouse was for sale last year.”
Joe is a native of Whiting, and Sandy grew up in Brown County. They lived in rural Overbrook for 28 years, and now reside in Holton. Joe is a fourth-generation carpenter, and Sandy has many years of experience as a bookkeeper and an office manager.
The property includes three greenhouses, and Sandy said they have made extensive renovations to the eastern greenhouse by adding insulation and a tin roof. New electrical wiring and a furnace were also installed, and local contractors were used for all the renovations, she said.
While the main north greenhouse continues to be used for the plant inventory, purchases are now made in the eastern greenhouse, which also includes a large inventory of plant pottery and tinware and seeds.
“The eastern greenhouse is our retail area now,” she said. “We’re trying to direct traffic to the east side of the property.”
Right now, the couple is offering certified seed potatoes and onion sets and onion plants.
“We’re going to get pansies, broccoli and cabbage soon,” she said.
The Snavelys purchase seeds in bulk and repackage them for customers.
The north greenhouse is full of annuals and perennial flowers, including unique varieties such as the regal geranium and ptilotus joey. They also sell ornamental grasses and other accent plants.
“We have almost 200 hanging baskets and 50 planters,” she said. “We’re going to have herbs and a lot of different vegetables. We also have blueberry bushes and orange trees.”
Sandy said she’s been impressed with the results from the greenhouse.
“We always used artificial light when we were trying to start plants. And they would do ok. But in here, if you plant it and put it underneath Mother Nature, it grows,” she said. “It’s phenomenal. The sky is the limit.”
Sandy said that some of the flowers are very delicate when they are young and can have trouble with the colder nights.
“You keep walking the floor,” she said among the rows and rows at the greenhouse. “Just like being a nurse. It’s the only way to do it. You keep walking, pulling and moving things over and give them TLC.”
In the next couple of years, Sandy said the couple wants to try hydroponics, which is a method of growing plants in water and not soil.
“Joe is from Jackson County, and every time we would come here to camp at the lake and go into stores, it just felt like home,” she said. “He’s a small-town person, and I’m a country girl.”
During the remainder of March, the greenhouse will be open 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday. Hours will be extended in April and May.
“We’ll be open seven days a week in May,” she said. “We’re here, and we’re here to stay.”
For more information, call (785) 362-7070.
