SHELBY — A couple of years ago Dick Friebel gave Cadence Fairchild the opportunity to grow 25 extra mums as a summer project.
Cadence took the knowledge and experience last year to grow over 2,000 mums that she sold last fall.
Cadence used last year’s mums as one of her FFA projects along with her sheep and hogs She earned several ribbons with her animals at the Richland County Fair last year and this year. This year’s mums can be found on State Route 61 North next to Details Hair Salon and across from Sportsmen’s Den.
She has decided to call her growing project “Fairchild’s Garden Market” because her younger sister, Cailey, has followed her sister’s footsteps and raised ornamental corn to sell at the market this year.
Cadence has a younger brother, Sam, who will be a freshman next year and has shown interest in being a part of the business venture, too.
When asked what is the hardest part of raising the mums Cadence replied “Filling the pots with the seedlings.”
She ordered her own seedlings to get started, but give credit to her dad, mom, siblings, and friends for helping to water and weed the plants.
Cadence has been involved with various projects in the past during her seven years in 4-H. This year will be her third year in FFA.
She is the President of the SHS Chapter of FFA and is exploring several colleges that offer agriculture classes and plant science for her future.
The yellow mums are starting to bloom, with the white, orange, and reds following shortly. The purple mums usually bloom a little later. She has several large mums in large pots that make a beautiful outside decoration for any home.
Cadence has 8-inch, 10-inch, and 20-inch pots filled with healthy soon-to-be lovely mums.
Cadence stated she will have a sign in front of the market when the mums are ready. She is trying to keep the prices down while fighting the inflation costs of materials to grow her mums.
The busy season is coming fast with the great weather we have enjoyed this summer.
