Q&A with Larry D’Ottavio

NM: How did you get started in horticulture?

LD: I was from a row crop family; we did a lot of produce. I grew up on that, and as a kid I was always there with my father and uncles. [The family] had a farm market, so we were growing annuals and things like that for it. We started doing the farm market in the early 90s. Then a piece of property came up, and I bought it. I probably was in my early 20s, and I had this idea that I was going to start growing stuff for the market, like a little side thing. I always wanted to do more even when we were farming, so I ended up building four small hoop houses and started with that. We got water put in. Then in 2003, I ended up going full time. I met a few wholesale customers and the whole thing just blossomed to where we are today. It started off as a little side thing for our market, and now we have 65 acres, all containers. We no longer do vegetables, it’s strictly all nursery [crops].

NM: Why did you decide to start the nursery?

LD: For freedom. I wanted to be on my own. I wanted to do it, and I’ve always enjoyed any kind of agriculture. I couldn’t see myself doing anything else. If I wasn’t doing this, I would definitely be doing something ag related. I enjoy being outside, the camaraderie with everyone and we have a good group of employees here. That’s what drove it. That’s basically the reason why I’m doing it; the seasonality of it is another part. It’s exciting, and you can’t explain it to somebody that doesn’t have it. Over the years you really learn to appreciate what people are buying and what they actually do as far as properties or restorations or residential or whatever. You really come to appreciate what the whole industry is in a whole, what it does and what it stands for.

NM: What do you do as owner of L. D’Ottavio Nurseries?

LD: A little bit of everything; I mean I get chased out of trucks loading at times (laughs). I’m on the phone. My biggest thing is sales and general management of the whole place. When I started, it was going to be something that I could be on top of, be involved with. That’s huge; I don’t want to be sitting behind a desk, and I don’t want to be loading the truck all day. I want to be a little bit of everything, and that’s kind of where we’ve ended. I just love being hands on, everything about it – from production to the sales, to the customers. It’s always that revolving door. Hands down that’s what I like about it, just being involved in a little bit of everything.

NM: What is your favorite part of the job?

LD: My favorite part of the job is the sales. I like the people, and I really enjoy the camaraderie with all the customers. It’s the great people; that’s what’s driven me with this whole thing. The people across the board are exceptional, from customers to other growers. It’s a great industry.

FOR MORE: ldottavionurseries.com