April 12th 2018

Farming With Redwood Byproducts: A Renewable Resource

 

ARCATA, CA – (April 12, 2018) The Mendocino Forest Products (MFP) Marketing Team recently visited Sun Valley Group, a floral farm wholesale company that uses MFP’s redwood byproducts in their farming techniques. The trip was a part of the Marketing group’s week-long content creation project. “We wanted to go behind the scenes to get a better sense of how MFP’s redwood byproducts are used for flower farming” says Amber, Marketing Manager, and Stephanie Digital Marketing Coordinator of the Mendocino Companies.

 

Dennis Workman, Bulb Warehouse Manager at Sun Valley Group, provided a tour of the entire facility for the Marketing team. “We use the redwood [byproduct] for planting lilies and iris. For other flowers like tulips, we don’t use redwood byproduct because it is too acidic,” says Workman.

 

For the flowers that do well with redwood, a concoction of “70% soil 30% redwood byproduct is mixed together. We plant the flowers in plastic trays, let them start growing and rooting in a 48-50-degree cooler for 2 weeks, then transport them to the growing location. In some cases, the redwood byproduct is pulled from the bottom of a redwood bark dumpsite.” The organic material is both sustainable and beneficial to the plants.

 

In addition to using redwood byproduct, which is a renewable resource, Workman explained that they also recycle materials through a steaming process. “The steamer machine dumps the old [flower] crates after harvest and the soil is sent through a large steam box that sterilizes it. The process enables us to reuse materials after cleansing them.” The procedure enforces their goal that nothing should be wasted.

 

Similarly, the redwood byproducts used at Sun Valley Group are certified as a sustainable. During a harvest, MFP ensures that all parts of the redwood are utilized. Producing byproducts for Sun Valley Group and other farms is one way that the company achieves that mission. In addition, MFP’s sister company, Humboldt Redwood, uses their byproducts as an energy source at the Co-Generation Plant in Scotia, which supplies power to the Scotia Sawmill.  Sun Valley Group and the Mendocino Companies mission of resourcefulness coincide.

Along the tour, the Marketing team noticed that at various locations there were pink and purple bicycles. Dennis explained that “the staff uses them to get around on the property,” thus adding to their goal of sustainability.  

The Marketing team voiced that the tour allowed them to have a new perspective for the resourcefulness of redwood mulch. “The experience made me realize the versatility of redwood byproducts; the average person wouldn’t guess that redwoods can be used to grow flowers” explained Stephanie and Amber. The visit to the Sun Valley Group was a great ending to the team’s week-long project where they photographed a variety of products created by Mendocino Companies.