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“We needed another greenhouse for our farm where we grow lavender,” said Lainey Harvick.
“We passed by the vacant greenhouses south of (the former home of ‘For the Birds’ Garden Center), and, on impulse, we stopped by and asked the owner if he’d be willing to sell us one of them. He told us no, but that he would sell us the entire garden center (which included six greenhouses). The Harvicks thought about it for a bit, but not for long. “We signed a contract in January and moved forward full steam ahead in order to get ready for our March 26 [2022] grand opening,” Lainey said.
The Harvicks - who moved to the area with sons Samuel (now eight) and Alex (now four) from Fort Worth, Texas, four years ago - are passionate about community education. “We envision Harvick Farms as a place where people can gather to learn about different aspects of gardening and related activities,” Lainey said. They are making that vision a reality. Classes taught by local gardeners, business owners and extension agents began in April with Landscaping 101. The community’s response has been overwhelming. “We only had four people show up for the first class,” Lainey said, “but two days later – on a Saturday - attendance jumped to 19.” Bee-keeping, seed-starting and vegetable gardening classes followed in April and May. Followed by a composting class in June and July. The Harvicks are listening to feedback from the community. “We have people asking for classes on skills related to homesteading, so we’re going to plan a canning class and one about the disease process in crops,” Lainey said. “Later, we hope to offer classes in trellis-making and growing lavender.”
The future class schedule is still evolving, and the Harvicks are open to suggestions for topics. A class recently added to the schedule for Thursday, June 16 at 5 p.m. will cover the fundamentals of preserving foods by fermenting them. “The nice thing about community education,” Lainey said, “is that when we have local business owners come in and teach a class, we can promote other local businesses along with our own.”
That spirit of community is what the Harvicks have in mind for Harvick Farms. “We participated in the City of Exeter’s annual Arbor Day tree-planting event,” Lainey said, “and we are working with the Cassville FFA chapter for their annual fall mum sale.”
In addition to classes, Harvick Farms offers trees, shrubs, veggie and flower plants, custom hanging baskets, decorative pots, potting soil and mulch. The Harvicks are not only selling plants, they’re growing them. Raised garden beds have been constructed in one greenhouse where one of each variety of vegetable plant they sell will be planted in a type of test garden. “We’ll see what varieties we like best and decide what we want to offer next year,” Lainey said.
They also hope to be able to offer fresh produce for sale throughout the growing season. We have already been able to contribute to the local food pantry fresh vegetables and vegetable seedlings.
The farm has been featured in Connection Magazine, Ozark Farm and Neighbor, The Democrat and Barry County Advertiser due to the positive impact on the community.
Starting an educational farm has many startup costs. We have put in approximately $28,000 into rebuilding the farm/nursery to date and financed the remaining for the property. Funds from this Kickstarter campaign will allow Harvick Farms to cover preliminary expenses for retrofitting a building located on the farm for basic and advance education homesteading courses.
Building permits ($424 – $650)
Concrete work ($2,000-$3,600)
Plumbing (costs $3,000 to $4,000)
Gently used commercial kitchen equipment ($2,000)
Additional support surpassing our $5,000 goal will assist with the remaining cost of retrofitting the building.
The Vision by 2024: Create edible educational gardens Offer Harvick Farms environmental and educational workshops and long-term courses Create and maintain partnerships with Missouri public/private/charter schools, colleges, and non-profit organizations to offer field trip experiences and internships for students. Provide financially accessible produce and other naturally grown materials to small food, medicinal, and craft businesses.
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