Solar Champion Stories

Van Berkum Nursery, a wholesale perennial nursery in Deerfield, NH, is looking forward to their second Solar Spring. The family-owned business installed a 55.7 kW ground mounted solar array on their property in October 2023. We caught up with Van Berkum's owner John Gedraitis recently to learn more about their solar journey. 

ReVision Energy: Why did you first consider solar?

John Gedraitis: I was raised as an environmentalist, and I've always sought to lessen my negative impacts on the environment where and when I could. When I had the opportunity to purchase the nursery, I knew solar was a direction I wanted to consider early on. Since its founding, the nursery has always incorporated environmentally friendly practices into all its operations. The nursery has grown considerably over the years and given the amount of energy we are currently using on site I felt it was our moral imperative to do everything we could to increase our energy efficiencies and use as much green energy as possible.

RE: Why did you go solar with ReVision?
JG: I had some friends who had worked with Revision on home and business projects, I liked the employee-owned aspect, and I had a great first couple meetings with [ReVision's Commercial Design Specialist] David Webb.

RE: How have you liked your solar so far?
JG: I was thoroughly impressed with the sales and project development process as well as permitting, construction and implementation. The first few months in service were not perfect. There was quite a bit of fine tuning, but once we got through that phase it has been smooth sailing ever since. I love to see the sun shining and know that we are making electricity.

RE: What does spring mean to you and your business?
JG: Being a very seasonal business spring is a particularly exciting time for us at the nursery. Our Spring really begins in mid-February with warming up our main propagation greenhouse. Fall and winter sown seeds begin germinating and cuttings are rooted out to supply our potting program. The smell of the newly warmed greenhouses is reinvigorating and quite the elixir for any winter woes. Then onto March, when we fill out other greenhouses with newly potted plants. When the snow recedes outdoors, and the sun starts to warm the ground, we uncover all the plants that have been lying dormant under frost blankets outside in the nursery beds. It really is a time of new beginnings for us all, the plants and the people. We welcome back our existing and new employees, wake up old plants and grow new ones. We are all happy to see each other and get to work again, not knowing what this new year will have in store for us.

RE: How are you planning for spring?
JG: We are working on a lot of new and exciting projects this spring. We are now offering our line of native plants grown from locally sourced seed in a 50 count tray, “Eco50s”. This new size offering will help our native plants find their way into larger, private, civic, institutional and environmental restoration projects more effectively. Also, to support our increased need for seed, we’ve purchased a beautiful historic farm on the other side of the hill in Epsom. We will be developing this farm as a native seed increase farm as well as a meeting space and educational facility. We really see it being an asset for the community, both local and regional as well as an essential source for those in the trade and beyond for ethically sourced and grown seed and plants. Crazy exciting for us!

RE: What advice do you have for individuals and/or businesses to prepare for spring planting?
JG: This may sound dumb, but don’t do too much research. Get out there, get your hands dirty, make mistakes, learn, and have fun! Too many folks are afraid to make mistakes and never get started.

RE: Are you considering other sustainability measures for the future?
JG: Always! On top of other sustainability considerations made for all aspects of greenhouse and nursery growing, we are looking at more electric vehicles (nursery and road) as well as power tools. We are also exploring more electric heating and cooling options for greenhouses and other nursery and farm facilities.