Too much rain is bad for local businesses.
By: Matt Kirdahy
Last year plant growers said there wasn’t enough water to grow flowers due to a statewide drought.
Conversely, farmers say that the once parched ground that made it hard to grow is now saturated, resulting in a new problem customers aren’t buying.
According to the National Weather Service, the state has seen 3.7 inches of rain in May, .3 inches above normal for this time of year.
Area farmers say the wet weather means many people are not doing the amount of gardening they usually do at this time of year. In fact, the weather ruined Memorial Day weekend for some farmers, a time usually considered a boon to growers.
Places such as Hagerty the Florist Plant & Garden Center on South Main Street in Cranbury, Baker’s Nursery on Spotswood-Englishtown Road in Monroe and Von Thun’s Country Farm Market on Ridge Road in Dayton are feeling the brunt of this wet season. These local plant growers, which carry hundreds of types of plants, flowers and trees, opened their doors in April and say sales are down from previous years.
Dean Hagerty of Hagerty’s said business was down and that, before closing at 1 p.m. Monday, he had made only two sales.
"The season is definitely being delayed because of the weather," Mr. Hagerty said. "Since Mother’s Day we’ve been certainly lagging behind last year."
Frank Baker, owner of Baker’s Nursery, attributes the slow business to gardeners who simply can’t tend to their gardens because the ground is so wet.
"Sales are definitely down because of the rain," Mr. Baker said. "On Memorial Day people like to get out and do some fixing up before they have company and that didn’t happen this year."
Though business was slow last weekend, Mr. Baker said his nursery had a pretty good day Sunday, but not as good as last year.
Robert Von Thun Jr., owner of Von Thun’s Market, said it wasn’t just this past weekend but all month long that business has been bad.
"It’s been much slower," Mr. Von Thun said. "It’s not just Memorial Day, but the whole month has been cloudy, cool and overcast and the plants could definitely use some more sun."
Mr. Hagerty said that in order to keep the plants growing, they need sun and heat, something that came in abundance this time last year.
"I’ve had to move some of the plants to areas in the greenhouses that are getting the most light," Mr. Hagerty said. "It’s still not enough though."
Mr. Baker said there has been one advantage from the persistent rain he doesn’t have to irrigate as much as last year.
"We turned our irrigation system on last year at the end of March and it never went off," Mr. Baker said. "This year we went this past week without having to use it at all and we’ve never been able to do that for an entire week."
According to The Weather Channel, this weekend calls for more rain throughout central New Jersey, which could keep many of the customers home again.
Mr. Baker said dealing with the weather is just part of owning this type of business, though he remains confident that it will pick up in the coming months.
"We have peaks and valleys," Mr. Baker said. "It’s an ulcerous business from that standpoint."
Mr. Von Thun said he encourages customers to keep coming back despite the rain.
"This is the growing season for New Jersey farms," Mr. Von Thun said. "I want to help people keep New Jersey green. We need the people to support local farmers by still buying their vegetables and flowers even during this type of weather."

