COVID-19 and Its Affect on Greenhouses

During the age of the Coronavirus (COVID19) many things have changed and one of them is the way that greenhouses operate. Greenhouses have become a more viable business now that people are afraid to leave their homes and go to the grocery store. However, not every greenhouse is doing as well as you may think.
 
Golden Acre Home and Garden, a greenhouse in Calgary, has been allowed to open, as it is considered an essential service. However, there are still many warnings to continue to practice social distancing. They have seen a steady stream of customers who are complying with the warning to wear face masks. Despite their eagerness to shop with them, unfortunately, they have a very limited selection of products.
 
One greenhouse owner said that establishing an online presence before the pandemic started gives him an advantage that others don’t have. They have supplied produce to Nunavut and Nova Scotia but are not starting to focus on the Calgary market. The orders are up by 2000% from the previous year. However, it still isn't what they would consider being a gold mine.
 
The greenhouse is expensive to run. They now have to pay for someone to do their shopping. Having an online store has kept them in business. Every day is a struggle and presents new challenges. The owner of the greenhouse admits that they are just trying to survive.
 
Alberta has designated local garden centres as essential services. Some have been allowed to offer curbside pickup of their items, which appears to be safer than allowing people to come inside to collect their items. The customer has to phone or email the greenhouse ahead of time so that we can pull the items for pickup.
 
Some of them have had no choice but to start taking online orders but they cannot do e-commerce. They are hoping that gardeners will still shop with them when the restrictions have been relaxed. This will, of course, depend on how long the lockdown remains in order.
 
According to the executive of the Canadian Garden Council, there has been a large number of Canadians who would like to start gardening. However, right now, many growers and greenhouses are struggling. There is a big push to declare horticultural products as essentials and should be considered essential to our well-being.
 
Unfortunately, despite the encouragement that people have received to do more gardening. It seems impossible for them to do without the necessary materials and products. However, the demand that one gardener is receiving is substantial but he doesn’t believe that it will be sustainable due to the lockdown.
 
While the demand for soil, vegetables, and seeds have been strong, the items that other businesses need, such as flowers, has drastically taken a hit. Despite the sudden downturn in resources, many greenhouse owners and gardeners are optimistic about the future. Even though they are down, many believe they will steadily rebound.