Hills Transplants: Big things growing for small plants

A SEEDLING business in North-West Tasmania has found a growing market for vegetables and herbs, while a rejuvenated forestry industry is in the mix again.

Hills Transplants, Janine Dewhurst processes mint at Don. PICTURE CHRIS KIDD

INNOVATION has been at the centre of the Hill family’s business and has helped it become a crucial part of the state’s vegetable and forestry industries.

Hills Transplants was established by John Hill and his wife Megan on their property near Don in the North-West more than five decades ago.

Still a family operation, nowadays the business is run by their son Stephen.

Mr Hill said the business originally started when his father began growing market-garden vegetables.

“He grew the full range of vegetables, but concentrated on celery, lettuce and glass house production of tomatoes,” Mr Hill said.

“Dad was the first hydroponic tomato grower in the country. And he also brought in the first vegetable seedling trays as well.

“He learned the technique of growing vegetable seedlings because he’d read that it was an advantage with some of the crops to start with seedlings as opposed to direct sowing.”

After balancing the seedlings and market-garden vegetables for a while, John Hill went on to focus more on the vegetable seedlings where he could see a growing market.

Eucalypt seedlings receive a watering.

The Hills also grew plants for the pyrethrum industry before a shift to direct sowing.

Mr Hill said the year Botanical Resources Australia stopped buying pyrethrum seedlings coincided with an expansion in brassicas for McCain and Simplot and this created more opportunities for them to diversify.

Now the business grows millions of seedlings each year for the state’s forestry, vegetable and seed production industries.

Just like the industries it supplies, Hill Transplants has had to adjust its programs over the years for fluctuating markets and changing demand.

One of the biggest changes came about in 2010 when the plantation forestry industry collapsed. Until then , supplying seedlings for forestry had become a major part of the business.

Mr Hill said the market crash, combined with financial losses due to unpaid debts, had made it a challenging time and that brought about the decision to diversify again.

“When we lost all that we didn’t hold a lot of hope in it coming back, certainly not in the capacity that it was,” he said.

“So we looked for something else to take its place and we ended up growing fresh herbs in hydroponics.”

Now the business grows a full range of herbs that go to major supermarkets and independent retailers across the state year round.

Mr Hill said a resurgence in the forestry industry over the past three years meant they were again growing more eucalypt and pine seedlings.

The tree seedlings take about 12 months to grow. After being planted the seeds are germinated inside.

“The reason we do that is we can create a very humid environment in there, which is perfect for germination,” Mr Hill said.

“Once they’re up and growing and we’re confident they’ve all germinated we move them outside and they’ll stay there until they’re dispatched.

“I don’t think it will get anywhere near where is was before the industry collapsed, but it’s a good balance now.”

Seedlings in trays.

The seedlings go to private forestry growers and commercial companies. They can be netted if required and supplied in custom-made cartons.

Growing seedlings for the state’s vegetable industry is now the main focus of the business while forestry seedlings make up 10 to 15 per cent and herbs about 5 per cent.

The company also grows some poppy seed crops and is branching out into cutting and propagation work to grow raspberry seedlings.

“There are some things that we don’t really jump at, but if it’s close to the model then we’ll grab it,” Mr Hill said.

“Generally speaking, our core business would be sowing a seed and propagating it and growing it.”

Broccoli is one of the main seedling crops the company grows for the processing and fresh markets.

The business also grows cauliflower and lettuce seedlings as well as plants for seed-production crops.

The site is about 10ha with 1.5ha now under climate-controlled glasshouses to maintain ideal growing conditions. A boiler fuelled by wood chips provides heating through winter.

This can control not only heat, but also humidity in the glasshouses.

The business employs between 20 and 55 staff depending on the season.

“Every week of the year we’d be dispatching some vegetable seedlings,” Mr Hill said.

“But from November through to the end of February, we would do about 75 per cent of our business.”

Hills Transplants manager Stephen Hill holding a basil plant in the glass house at Don.

Most vegetable seedlings are grown outside after germination but some like tomatoes and capsicums are grown indoors. All seed crops, including poppies, are also grown indoors to prevent any potential contamination.

The business uses a specially designed computer program to track orders through the system.

It records plant numbers, varieties and required sowing dates so seedlings can be dispatched on time. The system also keeps track of seed inventory.

Good hygiene across the growing system is crucial to prevent disease issues. All equipment used is steam sterilised between crops.

Ensuring the seedlings get the right amount of water and nutrients is vital to produce even and well-grown crops.

Nets over some outside growing areas prevent damage from birds.

“The benchmark for quality just lifts very year,” Mr Hill said.

“What was acceptable 20 years ago just isn’t acceptable now, it has just risen all the way through and our systems have had to keep improving with it.”