Buzas’ Greenhouse and Farm
The Lehigh Valley is home to a diverse community with many hardworking business owners in all lines of work. Like the interwoven fibers in a colorful quilt, the people and businesses of a region grow to become a part of its composition. This meaningful symphony of people and places reminds us to keep a local focus whenever possible. In particular, the Valley offers rich farmland to cultivate crops as well as a great place to build a family legacy that continues to dig its roots deeper into the community’s soil.
Buzas’ Greenhouse and Farm first took root in the Lehigh Valley back in 1938, started by Arthur and Mary Buzas, the grandparents of Beverly Hoyer, who now owns the business with her husband Bob and their two daughters, Nicole and Julia.
The early days saw the family selling produce at the Easton Circle market in Center Square, and eventually at Nazareth’s market as well. The first of the greenhouses came to life in 1961, with four buildings made mainly of glass and wood boasting 64 feet in length apiece. Since then, the farm has expanded with more greenhouses and now the fourth generation is getting ready to take over the family business. The original greenhouses are still standing, with a few modifications for modern use.
At Buzas’, the Hoyers grow and sell plants in their greenhouses year-round, ranging from Easter offerings and spring bedding to fresh summer produce, falls mums and pumpkins, and Christmas decorations, door wreaths, poinsettias, and cemetery blankets. In addition to providing high quality plants, shrubbery, and produce, the Hoyers happily help people plan their gardens or answer questions about growing and planting as related to their customers’ own unique yards and growing spaces.
They are working to carry a “greener” theme throughout their business, reducing their carbon footprint and keeping plants and produce healthier for their customers and their families.
“We’re involved in the retail end of things and one of the advantages is we start the product from a tiny seed and grow it on and sell the finished product off or halfway through for our customers to finish off,” says Bob Hoyer. “We meet a lot of interesting people and are able to help a lot of people. You have that one-on-one contact and that really means something. No day is ever the same; you have your issues but if I didn’t like it, I would have left a long time ago.”
Buzas’ Greenhouse and Farm offers a wide spread of fresh produce and plants, including some that can go out in early April like cabbage, broccoli, and kale. Others should wait until mid-May to avoid the threat of frost. The Hoyers grow a variety of tomatoes ranging from early girls to the large big beef varieties, not to mention hot peppers, sweet peppers, and a good selection of herbs. During the summer months, they offer fruit like cantaloupes, peaches, apples, pears, and fresh-picked strawberries. Buzas’ also grows a lot of sweet corn.
As far as flowers go, the farm raises a large selection of Easter flowers, including Tulips, Daffodils, Lilies, Hyacinths, Hydrangeas, Azaleas, Pansies, to name a few. They also offer annual flowers like impatiens and begonias, among others.
“The greenhouses are one acre under cover,” Hoyer says. “That allows us to grow a lot of different varieties throughout the year. Our greenhouses aren’t always full but we’re starting to fill them now. We just started various bedding plants and flowers, and we’re growing produce inside the greenhouses.”
“The area of the LV that we’re in, south of the slate belt and that area, has been proven to have the best farmland in the entire county,” he adds. “All these warehouses are scoffing up that good land. The prime agricultural farmland down here helps us to grow a good product, but by same token, we’re in an area where everybody wants to buy the land up and put their warehouses up.”
Embracing advances in the science of the growing and farming industry, Buzas’ Greenhouse and Farm has taken steps to become more involved with integrated pest management where they use very few chemicals and only when necessary. Instead of sprays to control the bugs and pests, the farm brings in beneficial insects, which are essentially good bugs introduced to kill the bad bugs. Rather than relying on chemical pest control, the farm is turning more in the direction of biological controls as much as possible.
Additionally, in one of greenhouses, the Hoyers are able to recapture and reuse irrigation water. They are working to carry a “greener” theme throughout their business, reducing their carbon footprint and keeping plants and produce healthier for their customers and their families.
Buzas’ Greenhouse and Farm will be introducing a couple of new varieties of plants and vegetables this spring. A quick glance at their Facebook page will show some of the exciting plants in bloom, from oranges and grapefruits to flowers as far as the eye can see.
“The Lehigh Valley is a good place to live and work, there’s no doubt about that,” says Bob Hoyer. “Although, it’s undergoing several changes, like it or not, just because of geography. We’ve been here 75 years almost, and we’ve had the opportunity to sell the place many times. We are committed to the area. I have an old saying, ‘Buy Local or Bye-Bye Local’ on a sign we put out. If the farmer can make a living, he’s not going to sell his land.”
Buzas’ Greenhouse and Farm is located at 3927 Newburg Road in Easton. The greenhouse is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day right through Christmas. For more information, please visit buzasgreenhouseandfarm.com or on Facebook, Buzas’ Greenhouse and Farm.
