Ohio Couple Shares Love Of Flowers

2024 - Volume #48, Issue #5, Page #10

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Michael Mullen of Marietta, Ohio, went off-grid for 5 years in the ‘70s, learning as much as he could about raising, canning, and preserving vegetables and herbs. The experience paid off. “Once you start growing stuff, you always grow stuff,” he says.
  In 2021, Claire, Michael’s wife of 25 years, added a flower crop to the peppers, squash, carrots, onions, zucchini, tomatoes, and green beans they raise on their 2-acre property. She figured they could make extra money by selling bouquets at local farmers markets.
  Originally from Parma, Ohio, Claire did not have gardening experience growing up, but “Mike and YouTube taught me.” Before long, their greenhouse and yard were blooming with annuals like zinnias, cosmos, celosia, Amaranthus, asters and basil (for decorative greenery) and biennials like snapdragons, canterbury bells, scabiosa and godetia. The couple even grows corms, bulbs, and tubers such as gladiolas, dahlias and tulips.
  Michael said, “We learned by the seat of our pants.” This has included building raised beds and installing an irrigation system. Water is collected off the roof into a 300-gal. rain barrel. “We’ve gotten smarter, better and faster every year as we’ve learned what works and what doesn’t. You have to water and add nutrients at the right time.”
  He and Claire start their seedlings in the basement, transferring them to a propane-heated 20 by 20 greenhouse when they get stronger. This helps because “we have frosts and freezes between February and May.”
  The goal is to be early in the market and stay late. “We adjust as all growers do. It has worked well, but we’re still at the whim of the weather.”
Claire admits that if they were starting over, they’d do a few things differently. “I would’ve thought more about infrastructure, drip lines, and being better prepared.”
However, she has figured out what works best for the growing year. “I’ve learned the life cycles of annuals, hardy annuals (or biennials), and perennials. These diverse groups require starting seeds during different months of the year. In addition to planting seedlings indoors during the heat of the summer, in air-conditioning, I winter sow shortly after Christmas, so the seeds that need to be cold-stratified can do so naturally. It’s a year-round endeavor.”
Compost is important to success, and the Mullens have their own mini-compost facility on site. “I work part-time at a hotel,” Claire says. “The chef allows me to take home a significant amount of kitchen waste every week.”
Each season, a County Extension Agent tests the soil’s pH levels. He then comes to the home to see what’s scientifically needed to balance the plants, helping to determine what goes into soil amendment.
It amounts to “a little bit of science and a whole lot of luck. And we have to consider Mother Nature. With global warming, our frost dates have gotten earlier, and summers have gotten hotter.”
They’re constantly on alert for any fungus, blight or varmints. Although there’s deer fencing around the flowers, Claire says, “We deal with rabbits, chipmunks and groundhogs.”
Planting goes on all year at “Moonville Farm,” as they have named their little property. “We’re in the geographical middle of the city, but our place is surrounded by woods and perpetually green spaces, which gives us plenty of privacy,” Michael says.
The Mullens must work around city zoning codes. “Customers aren’t allowed to come here and pick their own bouquets as it might disturb the neighbors. We can’t have a roadside stand, either. That’s why we do farmer’s markets.”
Michael considers himself fortunate to live where he does with the land that he has. “We’re just semi-retired, small-scale farmers. In the end, you have to do what you love and what makes you feel whole, especially now that we’re in the fourth quarter of our lives.”
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Michael and Claire Mullen (cmullendesign@global.net).

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Ohio Couple Shares Love Of Flowers FARM HOME Miscellaneous Michael Mullen of Marietta Ohio went off-grid for 5 years in the ‘70s learning as much as he could about raising canning and preserving vegetables and herbs The experience paid off “Once you start growing stuff you always grow stuff ” he says In 2021 Claire Michael’s wife of 25 years added a flower crop to the peppers squash carrots onions zucchini tomatoes and green beans they raise on their 2-acre property She figured they could make extra money by selling bouquets at local farmers markets Originally from Parma Ohio Claire did not have gardening experience growing up but “Mike and YouTube taught me ” Before long their greenhouse and yard were blooming with annuals like zinnias cosmos celosia Amaranthus asters and basil for decorative greenery and biennials like snapdragons canterbury bells scabiosa and godetia The couple even grows corms bulbs and tubers such as gladiolas dahlias and tulips Michael said “We learned by the seat of our pants ” This has included building raised beds and installing an irrigation system Water is collected off the roof into a 300-gal rain barrel “We’ve gotten smarter better and faster every year as we’ve learned what works and what doesn’t You have to water and add nutrients at the right time ” He and Claire start their seedlings in the basement transferring them to a propane-heated 20 by 20 greenhouse when they get stronger This helps because “we have frosts and freezes between February and May ” The goal is to be early in the market and stay late “We adjust as all growers do It has worked well but we’re still at the whim of the weather ” Claire admits that if they were starting over they’d do a few things differently “I would’ve thought more about infrastructure drip lines and being better prepared ” However she has figured out what works best for the growing year “I’ve learned the life cycles of annuals hardy annuals or biennials and perennials These diverse groups require starting seeds during different months of the year In addition to planting seedlings indoors during the heat of the summer in air-conditioning I winter sow shortly after Christmas so the seeds that need to be cold-stratified can do so naturally It’s a year-round endeavor ” Compost is important to success and the Mullens have their own mini-compost facility on site “I work part-time at a hotel ” Claire says “The chef allows me to take home a significant amount of kitchen waste every week ” Each season a County Extension Agent tests the soil’s pH levels He then comes to the home to see what’s scientifically needed to balance the plants helping to determine what goes into soil amendment It amounts to “a little bit of science and a whole lot of luck And we have to consider Mother Nature With global warming our frost dates have gotten earlier and summers have gotten hotter ” They’re constantly on alert for any fungus blight or varmints Although there’s deer fencing around the flowers Claire says “We deal with rabbits chipmunks and groundhogs ” Planting goes on all year at “Moonville Farm ” as they have named their little property “We’re in the geographical middle of the city but our place is surrounded by woods and perpetually green spaces which gives us plenty of privacy ” Michael says The Mullens must work around city zoning codes “Customers aren’t allowed to come here and pick their own bouquets as it might disturb the neighbors We can’t have a roadside stand either That’s why we do farmer’s markets ” Michael considers himself fortunate to live where he does with the land that he has “We’re just semi-retired small-scale farmers In the end you have to do what you love and what makes you feel whole especially now that we’re in the fourth quarter of our lives ” Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Michael and Claire Mullen cmullendesign@global net

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