Mt. Greylock Greenhouses in Adams
Tending to Your Berkshire Garden
By: Charles Giuliano - May 14, 2008
Mt. Greylock Greenhouses
281 West Mountain Road
P.O. Box 44
Adams, Mass. 01220-0044
Proprietiors: Tom, Paulette and David Morin
413 743 2064
Gro Mor
gromor@verizon.net
www.gro-morent.com
The work starts in the dead of winter with seeding. Actually that goes rather quickly as Tom Morin, the owner of Mt. Greylock Greenhouses, in Adams, Mass. holds six patents on devices that commercial growers use to facilitate the painstaking task of seeding. When you are raising thousands of annuals and bedding plants imagine the challenge of getting just one tiny seed into all of those small cups filled with a growing mix.
This is the busy time of year for Morin and his crew of helpers. There was lots of buzz when we visited on Mother's Day to pick up a variety of bedding plants. The trick is to pretty much sell out by the end of June and put up that "Gone Fishin" sign to enjoy a leisurely Berkshire summer.
As the season progresses the prices drop. The most popular varieties are by then long gone. A couple of years ago we showed up for that last day sell off. We filled a car for just $50. That was the good news. But the down side was that over the Fourth of July we had to do all that planting while our friends were kicking back at the lake.
During our visit I was taking pictures. I explained that I intended to write this article. After a moment he recognized me. "Oh yeah," he said. "You filled the car on one of my last day sales. But that won't happen this year. So far it's been a good spring and everything is just flying out of here."
Sure there are lots of other places selling plants. The prices at Walmart may even be a bit cheaper. But we like the mood up on the mountain which is reached by a long country road. It's a friendly place and everything is fresh, healthy, and locally grown. Even the family dog stretched out and basking in the sun is a nice touch.
If there is anything left over at the end of the season they donate it to the town which makes life just that much more colorful.