Pansy Dig creates flurry of sales, boosts growing season

Problem: Retail and wholesale grower Weidners’ Gardens in Encinitas, Calif., had unused outdoor production space after its begonia field was emptied by Labor Day. The grower hosts a wildly popular Dig Your Own Begonia event each year.

Solution: Plant pansies in the field and mirror the begonia event with an Annual Pansy Dig in November.

Details: After weeks of building up anticipation and excitement in the local press and through customer mailings, Weidners’ Gardens kicks off the Annual Pansy Dig every Nov. 1. No one touches the ground with a digging trowel until the opening bell sounds at 9 a.m., said owner Evelyn Weidner. Gates open at 8 a.m. for diggers to scope out what they want and prepare for the harvest. Half of the pansy field is open Nov. 1, and the other half is open for digging the following weekend, which includes a pansy festival. Weidners’ Ball Horticultural Co. rep, Miriam Levy, is always on hand for opening day and the festival weekend, Weidner said. Levy makes notes on what varieties are the best sellers to prepare for the following year’s orders. Weidners’ typically sells 7,000-8,000 pansies during the first week or 10 days after the Annual Pansy Dig. The event “brings in money during a season when many of our other plants aren’t being grown,” Weidner said. “It maximizes the use of the land, complements the cyclamen and poinsettia crop and maximizes sales in a short seven weeks.”

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For more: Weidners’ Gardens, (760) 436-2194; www.weidners.com.