Shenandoah from C4 “A major mission of ours is to keep everything as local as we can,” Heydon said, “using suitable byproducts in our growing inputs whenever possible.” So Shenandoah Growers makes fertilizer from locally produced green plant waste. Next year, if all goes as planned, the company will use a biomass furnace - feed largely from tree trimmings collected from power line maintenance - for heating. (Currently the greenhouse is heated with propane). When it comes to pest and disease control, Shenandoah Growers has an IPM program which uses biologicals such as nematodes and beneficial insects such as ladybugs and Hypoaspis
miles. There is also mechanical control for the greenhouse growing lines. A trolley with a large number of rubber flaps dangling from it slowly passes over each growing line. As the flaps pass over the plants, disturbing them, insects are jostled and rise up into yellow tape placed above each flap. Currently Shenandoah Growers supplies supermarkets from Florida to Pennsylvania and west to Louisiana and Wisconsin. “We’re starting to get into New England,” said Director of Marketing Sarah Yoder. The company supplies about 25 different supermarket chains. The company has a packing facility near the Miami airport, and a farm in
Live Oak, FL. All of the live plant production is done at headquarters in Virginia. In addition its own field production, Shenandoah Growers has partner growers. “When we’re off-season,” Heydon said, “we go to different regions.” They do have a local grower’s program, partnering with about eight farm families in Rockingham County. “It’s a nice ancillary income for a family farm,” Heydon said. “In a small way, we like to think we’re helping small farms survive.” Shenandoah Growers produces mint and rosemary by rooting live cuttings from mother plants. All of its other production - and it produces about two
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get a product that, Heydon said, “is as fresh as its gets. It’s alive. You can put it on your kitchen countertop, snip it when you need it, make a recipe, then a few days later make another one. People like to have a live plant.” Half of the live herb production at Shenandoah Growers is basil. But the company also sells living thyme, mint, rosemary, chives (seasonally), cilantro, dill, Italian parsley, oregano, and sage (seasonally, near the holidays). In addition to taking a sustainable approach to managing the growing system in the greenhouse, Shenandoah Growers also strives to be sustainable in sourcing inputs. For example, the company mixes its own organic soil onsite.