From Humble Beginnings: 35 Years of History Pinelands Nursery started as a simple “side-hustle” and evolved into a thriving, sustainability business. In 1983, Don Knezick was working for the NJ Department of Forestry in the Lebanon State Forest, surrounded by blueberry farms. He had an idea to pot-up some blueberry bushes to sell at Rutgers Cook College Ag Field Day. When a landscaper purchased every last plant, Don realized that this could be a viable wholesale business. Don & Suzanne officially opened Pinelands Nursery in 1984. They erected a small greenhouse in Don’s parents’ backyard and started to grow. That small greenhouse, and a few hundred blueberries, led to a thriving little nursery marketing container grown blueberries, raspberries and grapes to garden centers in the Mid-Atlantic States. In 1986, the Knezicks purchased a 16 acre property in Columbus, New Jersey, which would become Pinelands Nursery’s permanent home. Initially, there were only a few small greenhouses. To save money, the driveway was paved with free prune pits from a local processing company. While the business proved to be very successful, by the late 1980’s the Knezicks were looking to expand their product line. The idea of growing wildflowers led Don and Suzanne to start attending Native Plant Society of New
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Jersey meetings. It was here that they were introduced to Bob Swain, President of the Dawson Corporation. Bob explained to the Knezicks that many companies, like his own, needed a local source for native plant material for ecological restoration projects. With the adoption of federal and state environmental legislation, such as the Pinelands Protection Act, the Clean Water Act and most recently, NPDES Phase II stormwater regulations, contractors were searching high and low for native plants. This is where the future path for Pinelands Nursery was born. Shortly thereafter, Pinelands started to carry erosion control material like coir matting, silt fence, and coir logs, helping to popularize the latter in the Eastern United States. With the added product line, Pinelands Nursery was due for a name change, becoming Pinelands Nursery & Supply. There was expansion at home as well when Don and Suzanne welcomed two sons, Tom and Steve, in 1989 and 1990. Pinelands Nursery & Supply grew quickly in the 1990s and early 2000s, adding more plants to their repertoire and adding more greenhouse space to the property. As one of the only ecological restoration focused nurseries on the East Coast, the nursery’s only business limitation was how much it could produce. However, as the millenium
