Kaye Usher, the owner of R&K Greenhouses in Lyons, GA, grows vegetables — watermelon, cabbage, collards, kale, broccoli, and leeks — across 23 indoor structures. R&K Greenhouses specializes in germinating seeds and caring for the small plants until they are big enough to be transplanted into the field. In the photo slideshow below, Usher explains her favorite pieces of equipment to accomplish that end.
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1200 Vertical Bale Shaver (Horticulture Equipment and Services)
“I recently purchased this machine," Kaye Usher says. "It has dramatically increased my efficiency in seeding my crops. I was able to substantially reduce my input cost as well as shift an employee to another position on the seeding line.”
“This addition further increased my efficiencyin seeding, as well as, in my opinion, contributed significantly to increased plant germination. Use of this equipment filled my growing trays more evenly and completely and eliminated problems I was experiencing with trays not being properly filled. Alan Rowe, Owner of Horticulture Equipment, and his associate personally delivered and set up the equipment on my premises. They did not leave until every piece was running and fully operational. Could not have asked for better service.”
“Another piece of equipment that is vital to our operations is the SK Design watering system. It is an overhead boom system that travels the length of our greenhouse and waters one side of our house and then, with the use of magnets and solenoids, changes booms to return to the start location while watering the other side of our greenhouse. It also has adjustable speeds and can be equipped with an additional spray boom for application of chemicals.”
“Another piece of equipment that is vital to our operations is the SK Design watering system. It is an overhead boom system that travels the length of our greenhouse and waters one side of our house and then, with the use of magnets and solenoids, changes booms to return to the start location while watering the other side of our greenhouse. It also has adjustable speeds and can be equipped with an additional spray boom for application of chemicals.”
Usher turned to greenhouse growing in 1989, four years after Hurricane Kate had taken out the entire cotton crop on her father-in-law’s farm, which, in turn, was sold. She and her husband, Randy, wanting to get back into farming, constructed two greenhouses to grow pepper and tomato transplants for the Georgia State Prison system.
By 1993, R&K Greenhouses had become their full-time employment. Some greenhouses were dedicated to tobacco, and Usher later started to focus on flowers. But when the market for tobacco transplants disappeared, she decided to expand the vegetable transplant arm of the business and discontinue flowers.
As Usher struggled to gain a larger customer base, she heard of a large vegetable and watermelon operation in South Carolina that was seeking a new greenhouse to grow its cabbage transplants. That led to a contract to grow 750,000 watermelon transplants.
December 13, 2023 
