Getting Ready for the Holiday

Walking around the farm, we are gearing up for the Valentine rush

We had forecasted this year would be down as a result of the Saturday holiday, and we planted accordingly.  Hindsight is 20/20 and we probably should have grown a bit more as we are currently sold out of Gerberas, Lisianthus, Starfighters, Pink Orientals and Snapdragons.  We have tulips and novelty items to sell: talk to your KB rep to see what we have.  

Here is a picture of the warehouse, you can still see the floor space, 

so you know we haven’t gone into full production yet.

Our grower Jimmy Zheng is standing in front of his lily crop.  

We are sold out, so thank you for ordering your lilies this Valentine.  

Oriental lilies will continue to be in short supply for the remainder of the year, 

because of the unstable bulb supply and a backlog of containers at the container ports 

due to a longshoreman strike.  We will do our best to supply our customers.

As for the Valentine holiday, take it one day at a time, it will be over before you know it.  Then you will have just enough time to prepare for Women’s Day on March 8^th!

RHK 

Kitayama Brothers

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KB Christmas

How did it all of a sudden become Christmas Eve?  I will start shopping in about 3 hours: my usual tradition.  I believe gift cards were invented just for me.  Anyway, we have had a nice holiday season.  Our coolers are empty heading into the Christmas holiday week. 

We could have grown and sold more flowers this December, and we will plan accordingly next year, but it will be nice to start 2105 with all FRESH FLOWERS.

Some highlights from this holiday season was a great Christmas lunch last Thursday, 

organized by our HR Director Maria Ledesma.  

The BBQ from Carmonas was delicious, and don’t kid yourself that pinatas are for kids play.  

As you can see the KB staff got into the “swing” of things.

To everyone thank you for your support and interest in KB, 

and we look forward to another great year in 2015!

RHK

Kitayama Brothers

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What we are planning for 2015

Kitayama Brothers - CA Grower since 1948

2015 Growing Plan:

We just returned from the KB December board meeting where I presented plans for 2015.  We are expecting a 5% growth in sales and here is how we hope to accomplish this:

Increase:

Gerbera Daisies: We will increase gerbera daisies in all types; standards, minis and gerrondos. We are also increasing gardenias, asiatic lilies, stock and mini callas. 

Gerberas

Gardenias

About the Same:

Oriental lilies will be about the same, but we will produce less in the summer and more in the fall and winter. 

Lilies

Snapdragons, tulips, lisianthus and iris will stay the same. 

New Test Flowers:

We will test a few new items such as astible and anemones.

What we are Not Growing:

The board asked about growing Cannabis.  It is still illegal and we are not willing to risk our assets until the Federal Government changes the law.

What do you Suggest we Grow?

Send us your suggestions, if we take your suggestion, we will send you the first box of whatever it is.

Still Thinking about Growing:

Carnations: The board was very encouraging on bringing back a California carnation.  Now if we could just find some cuttings…

RHK

Kitayama Brothers

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KB English Classes

Here is an update on a program spearheaded by Stuart Kitayama.  This is Stuart in his own words.

“We’ve been thinking about an English class for our employees for a long time, just never sure how it would work and who would be interested.   I know from living in Mexico how difficult another language can be, and how important it is to understand what is being said.  So when Genie Dee from the Literacy Program of Santa Cruz County said she could help us, I was intrigued.  

Genie was very positive and helpful, and it took several months before anything got going.  We started in the spring with 5 students, all foremen or higher level employees.  They were motivated and wanted to try the class.  Now they attend class twice a week for 2 hours. 

The best part is seeing the student’s excitement and satisfaction with the class and their teacher Bonnie Ott.  We see their confidence grow and they are more comfortable speaking English.  It’s very obvious that the students (Juana, Artemio, Brenda, Wilbert, and Jose Luis) enjoy the class and each other’s company.”

(Sitting: Juana and Wilbert. Standing: Brenda and Jose Luis. Center: Bonnie)

What is very gratifying to read is how well they are doing; this is an email from their teacher.

Dear Stuart,

Artemio, Juana, Brenda, Jose Luis and Wilbert are all excellent students – something I have never experienced in 30 years of university teaching!  Jose Luis has come the farthest. He was at Alfredo’s level when we began, and now he is near Juana. I think I know why:  one of their fill-in-the-blank exercises included “I am always _________.”  Jose Luis put ‘thinking’.

Such a delight your folks are.

Bonnie

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Bye-bye Beauties...

Next door to our greenhouse is a 300 acre field of mini callas we have enjoyed for two years.  This past summer, the field was a riot of colors with the most beautiful assortment of blooming mini callas.  As beautiful as our flowers are, visitors were blown away by the calla fields.   

Our neighbor had leased the land to CallaCo which is the largest calla and begonia bulb producer in the USA.  Here are two photos taken with our greenhouses in the background.

 

To make a mini calla bulb, it is a two or three year process of blooming the flowers, then letting them die back.  After one or two more seasons of this process they have a sellable bulb.  

This past week CallaCo started to harvest the bulbs. It is a major project with around 100 workers with 8 tractor and work stations harvesting the bulbs. It is amazing how fast they cleared the fields and picked the bulbs. 

This is very hard work and CallaCo has perfected the process.  CallaCo is an example of an exceptional local flower company.  Flower growing and bulb growing is still a big part of the Northern California agriculture of which we are proud to be part of.

~RHK

 

The Kitayama Story

BAINBRIDGE ISLAND

This past week, Maya, Grace and I visited Bainbridge Island which is the “homestead” of the Kitayama Family.  We went to visit Auntie Yo and my cousins to show my girls where the Kitayamas came from.  For those who have never been to Bainbridge, you have to take a ferry out of Seattle across Puget Sound on a 30-minute ride.  Bainbridge was once a sleepy little island where the main industry was strawberries.  Today it is an expensive bedroom community for Seattle with incredible water scenery to match our Sunset Beach.  

THE FARM

Around the early 1920’s, Grandma and Grandpa Kitayama rented a greenhouse on the south part of Bainbridge Island to raised tomatoes, potted plants and 6 children.  It was there that the boys started their love of growing.  It was a tough life but they managed to support themselves until Dec 7 1941 and Pearl Harbor Day.   

Here is a photo of the farm today which the girls visited, it’s just a field.

And here is a photo when the family was there just prior to WWII.

RELOCATION

On March 30 1942, Japanese Americans on Bainbridge were ordered by the US government to be ready for “relocation”.   They were the first group relocated in the USA because of the proximity to Bremerton Naval yards across the sound.   

The Kitayama family was part of this group which was marched onto a ferry to be taken away; not really knowing what their future held while being escorted by armed US soldiers.  They were taken by ferry, bus and train to Manzanar, a camp located in east California, not far from Death Valley. 

BAINBRIDGE JAPANESE AMERICAN EXCLUSION MEMORIAL

Maya, Grace and I visited the recently opened Bainbridge Island Japanese American Exclusion Memorial on the site of the ferry dock which took the Bainbridge Japanese Americans away.  

Just like most of my parent’s generation, we didn’t hear much about their experiences and they didn’t bear grudges. They dealt with the circumstances and went on to make huge contributions to their communities, industries and a good future for their families.

LESSON

The message at the memorial is, Nidoto Nai Yoni, translated as "Let It Not Happen Again". 

The lesson I hope my girls learned from their grandfather, grand aunts and uncles...when bad things do happen, how you adapt is most important. 

~RHK