Ben Brook Farm

Ben Brook Farm has been operating for over 25 years on a 50-acre site located along the historic Erie Canal. In addition to growing annuals, perennials, grasses and woodies that are sold both fresh and dried, we operate a container nursery and sell herbs, perennials and shrubs in 4.5-inch to three-gallon pots.

We work approximately 20 acres that is part of a large prehistoric lakebed. The soils are lacustrane—a moisture-retentive sedimentary silt loam with occasional sandy ridges. This can cause problems in a very wet year, but is a real plus in times of drought.

History

We began with raspberries, a small apiary, and a planting of flowers for drying. We planted rows by hand, irrigated with soaker hose under black plastic. While we sold retail from the farm, our initial goal was to supply the wholesale trade.

Our operation grew enugh to sell and ship by the case when we were able to rent greenhouse space for starting seedlings and borrowed an antique cabbage planter to put out the plugs. At the same time, we started selling assembled items to supermarkets and, at one point, were supplying 54 stores in New York, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.

Growing methods, field work and cultivation

Early on, we direct-seeded into open trays and transplanted to cells by hand. Because this method was time consuming, as well as prone to shocking the plants and promoting disease, we now use a small vacuum seeder to directly sows seeds into cell trays. This simple automated technique eliminates transplant labor and reduces most damp off problems and transplant shock (though we still start most of our perennials in open trays). One of our greenhouses serves as a germinating house and has a misting system set up for propagation after spring germination.

Field preparation is standard: plow, disc and harrow. Eight to ten acres of our farm consists of sandy ridge soil requiring minimal tillage. Beds are formed with a raised bed maker and are 28 inches wide by six inches high. The center marker is fixed, the other markers are variable.

We have planted the beds with a transplanter, but prefer planting by hand, a process that has proven to be surprisingly quick. A measuring tape is placed on the bed or in the row for spacing. It takes about 15 minutes to make 220 holes in a 110-foot row using a bulb-planting dibble attached to a hoe handle. It is pressed into the soil and makes a hole perfectly sized for the perennial plug.

Marketing

Three or four times a year we send a mailer to our retail customers to keep them informed about events, product availablity and specials. We also have a wholesale "sampler" list of assembled products for our resale customers. At Christmas we send order forms to customers and ship decorated fir wreaths. It is a major season for us, and our shop is very busy, especially with custom work.

We sell at retail and wholesale from the same location, offering a 15% discount to customers with a resale tax number. For live plants, a special order form is used. The emphasis is on annuals. With pre-ordering we essentially eliminate speculative growing. This spring we will also list our perennials and shrubs and offer pre-season pricing.

Fresh flowers are sold at the farm and at the weekly Elmwood-Bidwell Farmers Market. We typically make up about 50 bouquets and take 10-15 buckets of loose flowers for those who like to "pick their own." We also provide dried and/or fresh product for weddings where the bride wants a less formal look of garden flowers.

Currently, we do not regularly sell to wholesale houses, although we do sell directly to florists, faxing a weekly availability list on Sunday evening, and following up Tuesday.

We are also active participants at craft shows, garden shows, local museum events and the Erie County Fair. At every event, we distribute "rack cards" with a map and list of services and encourage people to join our mailing list. In addition, we make presentations at garden clubs and private homes, as well as teaching adult education classes.

Ben Brook Farm
Rick and Karen Vilonen
1851 Tonawanda Creek Rd
Amherst, NY 14228
Tel: (716) 691-7553