New growth at local greenhouse business

Originally from Pennsylvania, Milton Pearce and his wife worked for 18 years at the Northwest Indian Bible School in Alberton before moving to their current location in St. Regis 22 years ago.

“All my life,” he answered when asked how long he’s been in the agricultural industry. “We had a large family, and my mom and dad had huge gardens, and I’ve always loved it.” 

He’s had a greenhouse for their personal use most years but began selling plants in 1989 in Alberton and when they relocated, they kept the business going. 

“And by word of mouth, we have built the business. The community has built it for us.”

Their business, The Potting Shed, was clobbered by huge trees on April 4, 2022, and the public put them back together, which is something to this day that is deeply appreciated. 

“They brought a crane up from the mill and lifted the logs straight up, otherwise if they just pulled them out everything would have been drug with it causing more damage. What was salvageable went over to Tom Olding’s house for storage. A few days later, Dawn Palmer came, and Tina Hill came and said they had room in the greenhouse at the (St. Regis) school so we got the plants from Tom’s heated garage and moved them down there because they needed more light. In the meantime, Ryan Funke and his wife Danica, Harley Taylor, Rachel Van Ensign and a man named Wes, they came and put up part of the greenhouse that we’re still using now. You couldn’t ask for a better neighborhood.” 

Much of this was done when Pearce was in the hospital or recovering as the bows from the trees worked him over.

Since that windstorm, their business has been phenomenal in sales. 

“People have simply said that they want us here. Because of otherwise having to drive to Missoula. Plains have some good greenhouses and plant sales there, but the community just likes us being here. They know that we’re going to have plants that would normally be sold out in other places later in the season,” Pearce shared. “Plus, we also sell soil and the people just like the availability of it all. They’re very patient with us because of my wife’s health issues and everything, we have a lot of doctor visits, and they are very understanding.”

His best sellers are the flower baskets he makes and pot-fillers, like petunias and other annual ‘color’ for gardens. Perennial seeds are popular, and he’s found the ones in the gallon pots he brings in from Illinois at the end of February are also well liked as they bloom much sooner.  

“I guess I could say that I’m known for my onions,” he chuckles. “We will have 36 to 42 trays of onions, and they are varieties that people like. Colleens Country Feed Store in Plains will sell half of my onion inventory, alone.” 

Single tomatoes and single pepper plants sell better than the 4 or 6-pack plants because customers like the head-start they have from being started earlier. 

“We may have to change prices again, but we do our best to keep our prices as low as we can for as long as we can and hope and expect for volume (in sales) to offset the cost we’re absorbing in our increased seed costs.”

Right now, he’s in the process of ordering as he had just sent his request to his geranium vendor for 400 cuttings. Pearch explained that they start the seed plants in the first part of March. Onions have first planting priority and then herbs. 

“People are more and more into herbs these days, which I’m really happy with,” he said. Pepper planting is next followed by early tomatoes. “And when I say early, those will all go into 3-inch or 1-gallon pots. The main crop tomatoes are seeded in the third week of March because with the heat and such, we can have a nice saleable plant in 6 weeks.” 

Customers want his cucumbers and squashes earlier than when he is ready to sell them because people tend to plant too early and not cover them, so they freeze out.

For those who want to start their plants from seeds in their homes, Pearce offers advice. 

“You may have heat enough for proper germination, but you may not have light enough for good growth. One thing they need to do is to be constantly turning those plants once a day, at least, because plants will stretch for the light. Then, the object is to keep your plants as short and small as possible so that they grow stalky stems. I feel people get into a hurry (planting too early in the year) and have plants what we call leggy which are taller and spindly. They have less of a chance to make it once it’s planted outside in the garden.” 

He advocates for those that are serious, especially with tomatoes in the capacity of serious canning, that they invest in a small to medium quality greenhouse just to extend the season on both sides of the growing season. 

Pearce shoots for the third week of April to be open for business at the corner of Montana 135 and Old Mill Loop.