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Image provided by: Suffolk Cooperative Library System
PAGE 4A LONG ISLAND TRAVELER - WATCHMAN THURSDAY, APRIL 8. 1976 V a n B o u r g o n d i e n s A r e S k i l l e d P r o f e s s i o n a l s In the quiet revolution that is revitalizing and perpetuating agri culture on Eastern Long Island, greenhousem e n arc among the most effective of the farm front fighters. The highly professional growers of plants, vegetables and flowers pro duced under glass and plastic arc adding years to the life of the area's leading industry and millions of dollars to its economy. Among t h e s e skilled professionals are the Van Bourgondiens of Peconic, m e m b e r s of an internationally known horticultural clan d ating well back into the last c e n t u r y . This spring the family firm of C .J . Van Bourgondien, Inc., is harvesting the production of a new glass house c o n structed last y e a r and said to b e, with its 44,000 s q u a r e feet of growing area, the largest green house of its type on the North Fork. The Van Bourgondiens are relative ly recent transplants from West Babylon, having relocated at Peconic in 1973. Urban sprawl and air pollu tion triggered the move from the W e s tern Suffolk site, where Cornelius John Van Bourgondien, as an em i grant from the Netherlands, esta blished the business in 1919. The founder, incidentally, had worked with his father in the production and distribution of Dutch bulbs and that business is still c arried on by another branch of the family. C.J. Van Bourgondien, Inc., now headed by brothers J o h n and Philip, has made haste slowly since the operation was transferred to Peconic and a o ne-time potato farm. The West Babylon establishment had been one of the largest e n terprises of its kind on Long Island, with a covered growing area o f some 160,000 s q u a r e feet. The brothers began in Peconic with small plastic h o u ses, of which they now have ten with a total area of about 20,000 square feet. They set up a modest roadside retail outlet for p lants and cut flowers on Route 25 a n d that has been the only clearly visible segment of their relocated business. However, they have continued without interruption and are now greatly e x p a n d ing their production of cut flowers, together with bedding and house plants and vegetable transplants. While the great bulk of the com p a n y ’s o u tput is wholesaled, they also sell at retail at Peconic and through a newly acquired garden center in Dix Hills. Huntington. Specialties among cut flowers are the spectacular and multi-hucd ger- bera and the equally beautiful free- sia. Both originated in South Africa and have been vastly improved over the y e a r s by plant b reeders, including the late Cornelius Van Bourgondien, and by his sons, who today hold several plant patents. The brothers grow more of t h e s e two flowers u n d e r glass than any other producer east of the Mississippi. G e rberas, alsoknown as T ransvaal daisies, and f r c e s i a s a r c White House favorites a nd a shipment of freesias marked for delivery to the presidential mansion was made this past week. ‘‘It all b e g a n with a handful of seed my fat h e r got from South Africa,' ’ said John Van Bourgondien while he helped in the hand-grading of the day's cut of g e r b e r a s , which come in every color but green and black. Specialties Of The House Other “ specialties of the house\ include cymbidium orchids and chry santhemum s . The firm also grows a wide assortment of annual fiowers. The new acre-size greenhouse is semi-automated, with automatic heating and v entilating s y s t e ms a n d a watering system that dispenses plant food as well as moisture as indicated by soil and foliage testing equip ment. Conveyors, flat-filling m a chines and lift trucks save time and hand labor. The growing mix is one that the Van Bourgondiens have evolved after much experimentation. The c o mpany's area of distribution is far-flung, a n d includes such c enters as Miami, Chicago, Detroit and Cleveland, as well as New York. Much of its production is s h ipped by plane out of Kennedy and LaGuardia Air ports and some is moved over inter state bus lines. Despite their preoccupation with theirburgeoningenterprise- a n d with plans for its further expansion - the Van Bourgondiens have found time for various professional and c o m mun ity activities. John has b e e n a director of Suffolk Cooperative Extension and Philip is treasurer of the Long Island FlowerGrowers Association. Both are former directors of the New York Florists Club and their firm is a m e m b e r o f the New York State Flower Industries Association. They also have been active in the Long Island Farm Bureau. The Van Bourgondiens are a closely knit family and the third generation is well represented in the business by Philip. Jr., and by J o h n ' s son. Bob. and his daughter, Karen. Philip's second oldest son. Dick, heads up the Dix Hills garden center. Mrs. Joan Condit. sister of J o h n and Philip, Sr., is active in the parent enterprise in Peconic, as a re their respective wives. May and Kathryn. Incidentally, Bob and Dick are graduates of SUNY Cobleskill, and Philip, Jr.. is a graduate of SUNY Farmingdale. During a tea break in one of the greenhouses, the Van Bourgondiens, Philip, Jr., Bob, Joan Condit, John and Philip, Sr., relax. H a n g I t A ll! The quaint old-fashioned techni que of arranging prim, neat little rows of potted plants on window sills has given way to massive gardens of breathtaking handing plants and container gardens. Today, dramatic and decorative plants are hanging from all sorts of George Ahlers Builders, Inc. Does it Again... A full line of Homes From ^18,990 on your land. The only Builder on the North Fork participating in the upcoming ‘ ‘N. Y. State Home Owners Warrantee Program''. A Q U A L I F I E D B U I L D E R _ . I I , . 1‘ I '■ ~ York from $ 1 8 ^ ^ ... It • Windsor I! from $22,660 Garage not included > 5 3 3 2 * / h i Buckingham $28,790 I k ' Balnnorai 4 Bedroom $33,990 Garage included Windsor I from $21,360 ........... s • . -A'. . . . Sherwood from $21,490 Nottingham $32,990 4 Bedroom ' \ . vyf'i I Sussex from $21,360 Garage not included H o m e s l t e s A v a i l a b l e f r o m ^ 8 , 5 0 0 5% Down Mortgages Available with P.M.I. for Qualified Buyers 250 Cox Lane, Cutchogue, N.Y. • 734-5010 containers beautifying otherwise plain a reas everywhere in the home, reports “ The Facts of Light\ a new garden book from the Ortho garden series. About the only thing you h ave to be careful with in hanging plants is to make sure they get enough water since hanging plants dry out more quickly than those on ground level and to make sure you've taken care of the drainage. If your handing container has no drainage hole in the bottom, place a handful of g ravel, or pieces of broken crockery under the soil, to ensure proper drainage. And, if your con tainer docs have a drainage hole, it would be wise to put a glass pie plate under it, to catch the water or your floor will do the job. There are various methods of hanging decorative plants, described in \T h e Facts of Light\ but one particularly good idea is to use a pulley. Pulleys add a g reat deal of flexibil ity to your indoor g a rden. Not only do they let y our raise or lower the plants for more or less light, but they help your garden as well. With a pulley, you can lower your plant for conveni ent watering, misting or grooming. For a lavish display, use a large pulley with a long b a r or s q u a r e frame from which several plants can be hung in staggering positions. With this technique, one simple operation permits you to raise or lower an entire garden at one time. For those who like to stick to the simple stuff, use one pulley for each plant. Simply decide where you want your plant to hang; then put a pulley in the ceiling above that spot. Next, place a cleat in a convenient location on a nearby wall, where you can tie your rope to anchor the pulley. 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