This Week’s Focus in the Greenhouse
This week in the greenhouse, our primary focus continued to be preparing live pepper plants for shipment.
Much of the week was spent on plant prep, cutting rockwool, performing quality checks, labeling, and staging plants, before things began to slow down slightly toward the end of the week.
It’s been a demanding stretch for the team, with longer hours and a full workload, but it’s been worth it. Seeing more space open up in the greenhouse and hearing from happy customers receiving their plants makes it all come together.
Live Pepper Plants: Production Update
Current Growth Stage
Pepper plants throughout the greenhouse continue to span all stages of growth, from newly planted seeds to plants being prepared for shipment.
With more plants heading out the door, we’re beginning to see additional space open up, allowing us to return focus to planting new trays and maintaining consistent production.
One of the biggest improvements this season has been plant quality. Compared to last year, when plants were shipped at a smaller size, this year’s plants are stronger, more established, and better prepared for success once they arrive in home gardens.
Healthy, well-established pepper plants in the greenhouse, including Mad Hatter, Fatalii, and Lemon Drop varieties, showing strong growth and full foliage.
Improving Efficiency in the Greenhouse
This week, we introduced new table labeling throughout the greenhouse to help streamline plant organization and improve efficiency during shipping prep.
Each table is now numbered, and signage has been added listing the pepper plant varieties located on each table. With over 40 pepper plant varieties being grown at any given time, this system makes it much easier for the team to quickly locate plants when preparing orders.
These small improvements help save time during busy shipping periods and keep the workflow running smoothly.
New table signage in the greenhouse showing plant varieties on each flood table, helping the team quickly locate plants and improve efficiency during shipping preparation.
Seed Stock Production
Seed stock plants continue progressing through early growth stages, and this week marks an exciting next step.
The team is beginning the process of separating grower plants, where seedlings are moved from shared trays into individual containers or into a single cell within a six pack container.
Most varieties were originally planted with 70 to 140 seeds, and each plant now needs to be separated and given its own space to continue growing.
This step is an important part of the process, helping ensure each plant can develop fully before being grown out for seed production.
A greenhouse team member transplanting 7 Pot Primo Chocolate seedlings from a shared soilless growing tray into six-pack containers, preparing them to be sent to local growers for seed stock production.
Observations & Wins
A Well-Earned Slowdown
After several weeks of fast-paced shipping preparation, the end of the week brought a slight slowdown.
The team has been putting in long hours to keep up with demand, and while it’s been exhausting at times, it’s also incredibly rewarding. Seeing plants leave the greenhouse, more space opening up, and hearing positive feedback from customers makes it all worth it.
Looking Ahead
While our pre-order shipping window has officially wrapped up, we are still working through a portion of orders that did not ship out as originally planned this week.
This is something we typically see during peak season, as our shipping team takes on a significant increase in volume over a short period of time. We want you to know we are working through orders as quickly as possible.
We truly appreciate your patience if you are waiting for your pepper plants to ship, as well as the hard work of our shipping team as they continue getting plants out the door.
We had hoped to share our total pre-order shipping numbers this week, but with a few final shipments still going out, we’ll be sharing those numbers in next week’s update.
As we move into the coming week, the team will focus on:
•Completing remaining pre-order shipments
• Maintaining plant health across all greenhouse stages
•Continuing seed planting and seed stock production
What This Means for Home Growers
The work happening in the greenhouse right now is all about delivering strong, healthy plants and continuing to improve how we grow and prepare them.
This season’s adjustments have resulted in more established plants at the time of shipping, helping give them a better start once they arrive in your garden.
🌱 Keep Up with the Greenhouse
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