<Begin Segment 52>

RW: Tell us about this area.

KO: This area was also at one time, nothing but chrysanthemums when we first got here. And, when we quit growing, we made these cold frames. I think we were one of the first ones in the area to make a frame of this size with heat inside so that in case it gets extra cold, we can turn the heat on. But now, they're converting over to those new houses that we just saw over on the other side. If you look back in the corner there, you'll see some posts in the air that -- where we had some greenhouses up, and they fell down in the snow storm in 1996, right around Christmas time. It's hard to imagine how much pressure snow can create. It looks like it's a lot of fun when you have a lot, but for the greenhouse industry, it's a real pain. We had houses go down here, and houses go down over at our two other locations. And we also had, oh, about 1,500 panes of glass break out of these greenhouses. And I think we're still trying to recover from that snowstorm. It was quite damaging to a lot of us.

RW: What do you use that space for now?

KO: Oh it's a hardening off space. We use this open area about ten months out of the year. In the spring, all of these cold frames are full of bulbs that we force for Valentine's Day. Ideally, the bulbs are supposed to be forced in coolers. But, I think we're one of the few who still do it the old way, and cool the bulbs off out here. And of course to a layman, cooling doesn't mean a heck of a lot. But bulbs have to be pre-cooled a certain amount, if you want 'em to bloom at a certain time. And we want them to come in before Valentine's Day and that's why we go through this pre-cooling process.

<End Segment 52> - Copyright © 1998 Densho. All Rights Reserved.