14 CapitalPress.com
August 21, 2015
Nursery part of grower-owned cooperative Nursery owner pleased
with his career path
By JULIA HOLLISTER
For the Capital Press
Julia Hollister/For the Capital Press
Louie Figone grows flowers in Half Moon Bay, Calif., and sells
them at the San Francisco Flower Mart. It is one of only five grow-
er-owned wholesale markets in the United States.
market. The Mart opens at 7
a.m. for wholesale businesses
and opens to the public at 10.
Growers, wholesalers and
others depend on the flower
market for fresh flowers and
greenery. Event planners and
organizations can’t afford to
waste time searching the Bay
Area for fresh flowers, which
are also shipped in from South
America, Africa, New Zea-
land and Holland. Orchids are
brought in from Watsonville,
Calif.
“I’ll be bringing in dahlias
— these flowers love the cool
weather and sandy loam soil on
the coast — this week to go into
the 35-degree cooler because
By ERICK PETERSON
For the Capital Press
YAKIMA, Wash. — With
32 years in nursery work,
Zach Nurse is an experienced
professional. He owns Far-
west Nursery and Landscape
in Yakima, Wash., and says
that there are many things that
make nursery work accessible
and enjoyable for people like
him.
For he considers himself
a self-made man in the sense
that he did not receive an ed-
ucation beyond high school.
He began his nursery career
by working for experienced
employers, starting when he
was 18 years old. He made
a point to learn from bosses,
co-workers and customers.
“If you quit learning in this
business, you should quit,” he
said.
He discovered that every-
one around him has a bit of
knowledge from which he
could benefit. This informa-
tion could then be tested in
the field.
Erick Peterson/For the Capital Press
Zach Nurse is the owner and
operator of Farwest Nursery and
Landscape in Yakima, Wash.
He said that local nurseries are
doing well these days, as the
general economy improves.
After some time, he said,
he started his own landscap-
ing business.
With an eye to expansion,
he discovered inexpensive
land upon which he could
start a nursery. He began leas-
ing property on the outskirts
of town, an area that appeared
rural enough to give custom-
ers the experience of getting
out of the city. Bird sounds
and fresh air are two of the at-
tractions that bring people to
the nursery, Nurse said.
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SAN FRANCISCO —
Flower grower Louie Figone’s
days begin early.
“I sell what I grow so I ar-
rive at the Flower Mart in San
Francisco around 1:30 in the
morning,” he said. “I’m here
for sales Monday, Wednesday
and Friday and the other days
I bring in the flowers to get
ready for the sales days. We
start cleaning up around 11 and
head back down to Half Moon
Bay at 1 p.m. with a couple of
delivery stops along the way.”
The San Francisco Flower
Mart is one of only five grow-
er-owned wholesale flower
markets in the United States.
The other four are in Los An-
geles, San Diego, Seattle and
Portland.
Figone Nursery Co. is one
of the growers that provide cut
flowers, greens, foliage and
blooming plants at the urban
they don’t have a long shelf life
like the hydrangeas,” Figone
said. “We only sell fresh flow-
ers — nothing over three days
old — so we dump the leftovers
in the compost heap at the 58-
acre farm.”
So far he said he is not too
concerned about the drought
that has hit other parts of Cal-
ifornia hard. Growers on the
coast don’t rely on federal wa-
ter projects because they have
wells and store water in the
winter to replenish them. He
admits the creeks aren’t flow-
ing like they did in the past.
“My biggest challenge is
not the lack of rain, it’s the
government,” he said. “We run
tours on the ranch for govern-
ment officials and I tell them
we have to educate you be-
cause you know nothing about
what we are doing. I am very
involved in San Mateo County
Farm Bureau and work so that
we have a good rapport with our
representatives.”
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