Growing and Blooming

Sprouting Farms Production

We planted so many veggies this month!! We prepared the soil in the field for planting and layed down plastic rows with drip tape for watering. Using a water wheel transplanter we poked holes in the plastic while planting at the same time. This is a very cool piece of equipment that is pulled behind a tractor. The transplanter pokes a hole and waters the hole, while the crew sits on the back to plant as it moves down the rows. We transplanted lettuce, tomatoes, beets, chard, kale, mustard greens, cabbage, cucumbers, basil, onions, summer squash, and peppers. WOW! Time to grow, grow, grow.

Sprouting Farms has been attending the Alderson Community Market and selling some of our greens, veggies, and herbs. The market is doing really well and more vendors are coming each week. Come check it out! We are at the Alderson Visitor Center on Tuesdays from 4–7pm.

Our potluck for the month had the theme of Fermentation. Will Lewis from Hawk Knob Cidery taught the group how to make sauerkraut and beet kvass. He went over the ins and outs of lacto-fermentation. It was great to see the community come out and learn with us! The feedback from the community said that they really enjoyed the tour, talk, and potluck. Our next potluck will be June 20th with the theme Appalachian Herbs. Our herbalist friend Ruby Daniels will speak about what herbs can be found in Appalachia, how to identify them, and what their medical purposes are. We are so excited!

At our Volunteer Day we got half of the fence painted. We could always use more volunteers and people willing to help us out with projects like these. If you know a school group, youth group, or club that would be interested in volunteering at the farm give us a call at 304–573–4242.

Sprouting Farms had an info booth at the Alderson Strawberry Festival! We were perfectly positioned beside the unicorn rides that the WV Renaissance Festival was offering to kids. We talked to a lot of people and passed out a lot of literature about the program. It’s been great to see more and more people know who we are and what we are doing.

We have several incubator farmers using Sprouting Farms’ high tunnels, land, and resources for building and supporting their own businesses. Let’s get to know one of our incubators, Alaina Hower. Here are her words.

“I’ve been playing in flower beds my entire life. My mother was a flower enthusiast and I always remember her picking the things she had grown and making bouquets for our home. This love for all blooming things seems to have been directly passed on to me. I’m making a career out of growing and picking and arranging flowers and it’s honestly one of the most rewarding jobs I’ve ever had.

Just over a year ago I started growing my blooms at Sprouting Farms. A dear friend of mine who is connected to the farm suggested I take a drive down to Summers County to see the location and figure out if it was something that would work for me. The space at Sprouting Farms has been a dream for me to use and I’ve been able to expand my word of mouth business. I mostly grow flowers that I love, that last for a while as cut flowers, but sometimes I’m growing a specific color or variety with a future event in mind.

My next big event is my mother’s wedding at the end of June. I am experiencing a high level of stress and excitement. I know she’ll be pleased with whatever I create for her, but I want everything to be perfect! I’m thankful I took that drive a year ago and now have a beautiful high tunnel with returning blooms that I can afford to lease throughout the year. Sprouting Farms is helping my dreams come true. After all, there’s nothing like seeing someone’s face light up when they receive a beautiful bouquet.

Feel free to follow me on Instagram for posts of my homegrown organic flowers and photos of bridal bouquets and events!” @bigwampumwv

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