A clean road to success

Photos courtesy of N.G.
Heimos Greenhouses

N.G. Heimos Greenhouses is known far beyond its home state of Illinois as one of the largest plant growers in the Midwest. Founded in 1951 by Norwin and Shirley Heimos as a produce stand, the company has since grown to encompass 46 acres under cover and 50 acres of outdoor growing space, claiming a well-deserved spot in the nationally recognized Top 100 growers list.

Run today by five of Norwin and Shirley’s children, the company supplies bedding plants, perennials, mums, poinsettias, floral crops and young plants to independent garden centers, big-box stores, landscapers, pop-up shops and fundraisers throughout the Midwest.

Running such a large operation successfully leaves little room for error, so it’s no surprise that Vice President Amy Morris relies on Pace 49 products in several areas of production.

“We’ve been using Pace 49 products since 2012 and use them in nearly all areas of production,” Morris points out. “We put very high emphasis on running a clean greenhouse, and using Strip-It PRO has made a huge difference for us; we use it for all greenhouse cleaning.” When rotating from one crop to the next, Morris and her team use Strip-It PRO — a powerful greenhouse and outdoor cleaner — to clean all floors, wash all surfaces and clean drip lines to remove build-up. This is followed by an application of Pace KleenGrow, which Morris refers to as an “insurance coating.” Thanks to the combination of these products, the company was able to eliminate the use of chlorine, thereby improving worker safety.

Morris also uses the Pace ACBD program in their subirrigation floors to keep the water fresh and kill pathogens — cleaning with Pace Strip-It PRO, followed by their microbial control insurance product, Pace KleenGrow. “We use KleenGrow weekly to clean the water and monthly in wet-walls to combat algae,” explains Morris. “It keeps irrigation lines from developing buildup. We use it in footbaths to disinfect and in hand-dips as well as to dip our cutting knives for disinfecting. I love that we can use one product in so many applications.” UpTake PRO is the Pace surfactant that N.G. Heimos uses in sprays when applying fungicides or insecticides. Morris has observed better and more even spray coverage. Plus, since UpTake PRO has no REI, employees can go right back into the greenhouse.

“We used to have a problem with thrips,” states Morris. “After just one month of using Pace 49 products weekly, our thrip problem all but disappeared. I really do feel that especially when applied between crops, anything that could potentially ‘hibernate’ in gravel or dirt floors gets eliminated by the Pace 49 products.”

Another improvement the company observed was a healthier root system when using Pace 49 products in flood floors. Roots are whiter and healthier, which was especially significant in poinsettias.

What started out as a 5-gallon trial in 2012 has since grown to using six 275-gallon totes a year. Morris has realized significant cost savings after switching to Pace 49 products. This is partially because she doesn’t need so many different products. By using a couple of products that have multiple uses, Morris can get a better price per product, as well as save shelf space and time when her team doesn’t have to wait out an REI after using UpTake PRO. When asked if Morris has any new uses for Pace 49 products in the pipeline, she pointed to her planned use of Pace KleenGrow as a dip for bulbs.

Morris has had such great success with Pace 49 products that she recommends it to her peers regularly. “I just send them home with a gallon to try,” she quips.