Ralph’s Greenhouse, LLC

Ralph's Greenhouse is a family farm located on a bend of the Skagit River in northwestern Washington's Skagit Valley. The de Vries family moved from The Netherlands in the late 1950's, and from 1960-1980 Ralph had a dairy farm. When he retired in 1980 he started a garden next to the dairy farm called Ralph's Greenhouse where he grew leeks for the market and Dutch potatoes for his Dutch friends. Ralph didn’t use herbicides, pesticides, or artificial fertilizer because, he said, "We didn't use them in the Old Country!" In 1988 the retirement project got to be too much for him, and he asked his son Ray if he could help a little. This started Ray's involvement in the farming business. Since then the business has expanded a bit and today the farm grows kale, chard, collards, beets, carrots, fennel, parsnips, spinach, fingerling potatoes, and lots of leeks.

Mount Vernon, Washington