Initially, my goal was to see if I could create a flower for my customers that no one else had. Will you share more about why you decided to shift your focus? So after finding that special rogue sunflower, it sounds like you started down the path you’re on now. There shouldn’t have been any flowers in that field, especially a teddy bear-looking thing that was bi-colored.Īnd that lone flower has led me to where I am today, turning the page on my 22 years as a cut flower grower to start a seed company to breed and bring amazing new sunflowers to the world, with the hope to spread joy and leave a beautiful legacy behind in my wake. From 2012 to 2022, we cut between 15,000 to 20,000 sunflowers a week for 12 weeks, and they became what we were known for.ĭuring this time, I discovered a rogue sunflower in one of my idled fields that had volunteered, which was really odd because everything I grow is a sterile hybrid. In 2012, we changed focus and concentrated on doing high-volume 5-stem bunches of just our most popular flowers-peonies and lilacs for perennials, sunflowers and zinnas for annuals. Growing acres of perennials and annuals, we sold mixed grab-and-go bouquets as well as wholesale 5-stem single-variety bunches. I grew to love growing and selling flowers over the next few years as we added a huge retailer, a wholesaler, and two farmers markets to our customer list. Some of my flower shop customers suggested I start growing zinnias and sunflowers for them, so I did, not having a clue what I was doing … just a desire to provide for my family. As a side hustle, I started selling single stems of golden Alexanders, blue Baptisia, echinacea, and a dozen other native flowers to flower shops in the Twin Cities. I got a job working for a friend but needed to make more money, and I discovered that nobody was utilizing the native prairie flowers in the cut flower market. In January 2000, I lost my job due to downsizing and I needed to find a way to make an income. I had been growing native prairie grasses and flowers since the early 1990s in order to improve our land for wildlife. I pretty much stumbled into the cut flower world. I’d love to have you share a little about how you started and where you are now. Your flower journey has been a long and winding one. I thought it would be fun to have Steve share a little more about his flower farm, the sunflowers he’s been breeding, and his upcoming seed sale on April 1, 2023. Steve is one of the kindest, most generous people I know and it has been such an honor to get to play a small part in his flower journey. And during the winter months, he shares a lot of really interesting videos about how he utilizes these magnificent birds of prey to combat pests, such as rabbits, on his farm. In addition to being a flower farmer and sunflower breeder, Steve is also a master falconer. After getting to experience Steve’s beautiful creations, it became clear that he was really onto something and we encouraged him to follow the trail so that he could one day release his beauties out into the world. Two short weeks later Steve Kaufer flew out to the farm to meet us and we ended up planting a huge field of his amazing sunflowers to trial here in our climate. His sunflowers were like nothing I had ever seen before and I immediately picked up the phone. A few years ago we got an email out of the blue from a flower farmer in Wisconsin who sent a picture of some sunflowers he had been breeding and wanted to see if we might be interested in offering them.
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