Solid foundation

Choosing growing media is a critical step to a successful production program. Heartland Growers, based in Westfield, Ind., uses OASIS’ FERTISS media for the majority of its plants.

“You name it, we put it in there,” says Nick Gapinksi, general manager at Heartland. “Basically anything that comes to us in a non-rooted form we put in FERTISS.”

Heartland Growers currently grows more than 60 plants that they supply to local independent garden centers, florists and landscapers. They also supply their plants to national chain stores in the Midwest.

Heartland has experimented with other growing media products, but now primarily uses FERTISS.

“We’ve used the wedges over the years intermittently but not as much anymore,” says Gapinski. “We’re almost exclusively in FERTISS now.”

Heartland used to mix its own media, but being able to use the OASIS product has made things a lot easier.

“Oasis came in with the FERTISS already preloaded; already done for us,” Gapinski says. “It just sped up a lot of our efficiencies in house.

We’re getting more on a bench, so that’s more plants per square foot. We’re getting better quality, which is huge. And our rooting times have been cut as much as 18 to 22 percent. That’s huge.”

Using FERTISS has also made things more efficient for Heartland Growers by allowing them to turn more of their focus to other areas that need it.

“[This] allows us to concentrate on other things knowing that when we put it in FERTISS, not that we can forget about it, but there’s a confidence there that we’re going to get out of it what we put in it, and it’s a solid thing that we don’t really have to worry about too much,” says Gapinksi. “That piece of mind and that freedom to allow us to go do other things, and focus on other things has really been nice.”

Photos courtesy of Nathan Keil