News

Aug 02, 2023

Preston County Workshop greenhouses open and ready for picking

REEDSVILLE — The Preston County Workshop greenhouses are ready for customers. This is at least the 12th year for the greenhouses, according to Executive Director John Hyre. Over the years the

REEDSVILLE — The Preston County Workshop greenhouses are ready for customers.

This is at least the 12th year for the greenhouses, according to Executive Director John Hyre.

Over the years the greenhouses have expanded their plant varieties as well as number of greenhouses.

Customers arrive every year to decide on what to grow in their flower and vegetable gardens.

“We have a little bit of everything from perennials to annuals to vegetable and fruit plants,” he said.

The workshop has perennial bushes, as well as azaleas, to the greenhouses, while keeping favorites such as roses, hibiscus and hanging baskets.

The workshop also planted West Virginia varieties of tomatoes that include Mountaineer Delight, 63 Tomatoes and Cindy West Virginia.

Two years ago the workshop decided to plant and purchase twice as many plants as opposed to past years.

It appeared to the workshop employees many more people were planting gardens during the pandemic.

Customers also have concrete walkways to browse along as they choose their plants.

“One of the reasons was to make it easier for people to walk on,” Jeremy Hyre said when the concrete was placed. “The second reason is we have shelving units with plants on them that we need to put in at night. It was difficult to put them into the greenhouses on gravel.”

Jeremy said the greenhouses added a new vacuum seeder to help plant seeds faster than in past years by doing it by hand. The process is simple: You place a tray into the seeder, lower the top holding the seeds onto the tray and move a lever that pops the seeds into the individual sections on the tray.

The vacuum seeder comes in handy, as greenhouse staff will be planting additional plants over three days.

The greenhouses are open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. Sunday is by appointment only, but it will be open on Mother’s Day, May 14 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The Preston County Workshop is located on Jennmar Drive in Reedsville. Follow signs from the Reedsville intersection of W.Va. 7 and W.Va. 92 toward Arthurdale. It is approximately one-half mile to Jennmar Drive. Turn left and follow to the top of the hill where the road ends at the workshop.

For questions, call the workshop at 304-864-6446, 304-288-3233 or 304-777-8964.

The Preston County Workshop is a United Way agency. The workshop also receives client referrals from the West Virginia Division of Rehabilitative Services.

Staff writer Theresa Marthey can be reached by email at [email protected] or 304-276-1127.

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