James Klett, Ph.D., became a faculty member at Colorado State University (CSU) in 1980, more than 40 years ago. By the simple fact of his longevity, Klett has touched the lives of countless students in horticulture. Additionally, he has been a tireless volunteer on multiple committees and boards of directors at both the state and national levels, and consistently...
Five Nursery Pros Share the Backstory
Republished with permission from Colorado Green. Originally published by the Associated Landscape Contractors of Colorado, VOL 38, NO 4, July/August 2022.
The diverse plant palette you once enjoyed with consistent availability and a range of sizes may not only be up in the air this year, but for years to come. What to expect going...
Lessons From 2008 Can Help Plan for the Future
CNGA’s NewsLeaf reached out to key people in five greenhouse or nursery businesses to talk about what happened during the 2008 recession, what was learned and how they may respond if there is another recession.
Respondents include (alphabetically): Stan Brown and Steve Brown, Alameda Wholesale Nursery, Inc., Englewood; Al Gerace, CEO,...
On June 7-8, I had the honor of attending the Colorado State FFA convention in Pueblo. Along with Glenda Mostek, CNGA Executive Director and Nicolette Malfitano, Tagawa Greenhouse Enterprises, we represented the Colorado Nursery and Greenhouse Association (CNGA) as exhibitors in the convention’s career fair. Ample turnout from Colorado’s far-reaching FFA chapters made for great conversation. Several chapters had...
We hope you’ve been having a great season so far – it’s been a whirlwind.
The Nutrien Agricultural Sciences building at CSU is officially finished and will host its first students in Fall semester 2022. The CHREF board of directors will continue to work with the College of Agricultural Science and the Environmental Horticulture Department on ways the industry can...
Are nurseries and greenhouses ag? Are we not ag? Are we some nebulous classification of ‘other ag,’ and what does that mean for us?
Glenda Mostek
CNGA Executive Director
This summer I learned way more about ag classifications in the state tax system than I ever thought I would know. This kind of sums it up: The legislature creates different definitions for...
SpectraGrow, Inc.2590 Walnut StDenver, CO 80205720.934.6107www.spectragrow.com
Interview with Whit Allen, Founder/CEO
How did the company get started?
In 2017, executives from three companies that were already working together in the LED lighting space attended a conference in Denver that was focused on horticulture lighting. They realized that there were better ways and newer technologies that could be used for growing plants than...
O’Toole’s Garden Centers1404 Quail StreetLakewood, CO 80215303.232.6868http://www.otoolesgardencenters.com
Interview with Kerry Young, General Manager; Patrick O’Toole, Head of Marketing and Logistics; and Adele O’Toole, Owner
What is the history of O’Toole’s?
In 1979 Jim O’Toole was working as a salesman for Colorado Growers Supply. One of his customers ran a small garden center at Colfax and Quail Street and Jim kept advising the...
If you were in the greenhouse industry 40-50 years ago, summer was the time for your family vacations after a very busy spring season. Of course, if you had field crops, you would take turns and plan far in advance for that sacred time away. Over the years so much has changed. Maybe your business grew into something with...
Part 2 of 3 – The Income Statement
Moving on from the Balance Sheet (featured in the previous issue of NewsLeaf), go to the Income Statement. Always review comparative statements for both the Balance Sheet and Income Statement. Compare your year-to-date to last year. How have the numbers changed? What are the differences? First look for big dollar differences then...
