Vegetables aren’t the only option for Community Supported Agriculture! Caitlyn & John Wiederhoeft own and operate Stone Hearth Farm & Garden out of Madelia, Minnesota, and offer a flower CSA! They are first-generation farmers, farming on rented family land. Caitlyn is the primary farmer & florist, and John supports in all the ways that he can when he's not busy climbing trees at his off-farm job!
In the spring of 2020, Caitlyn & John took the leap to leave the big, bustling city of Minneapolis and move to the Wiederhoeft hobby farm in rural Madelia. Caitlyn started working for a nearby vegetable farm (Cedar Crate Farm), while John continued to work as an independent arborist in and around the Twin Cities. Meanwhile, Caitlyn farmed and learned and the two of them started making more concrete goals toward starting their own farm business. They read many books, bought a few chickens, took the Farm Beginnings course through the Land Stewardship Project and with that, Stone Hearth Farm & Garden was born!
The farm business was launched in the spring of 2021 and provides flowers & farm goods via CSA, the Mankato Farmers’ Market, the Minneapolis Craft Markets, and small events and weddings. With two seasons under their belts, a newly minted marriage, and a tiny house John built onsite, they have grown to include cut flowers, a 55+ member Flower CSA, dried flowers & floral creations, cottage foods, baked goods, fermented hot sauce, farm fresh eggs and more!
Stone Hearth has two 2023 Flower CSA's available with spots still remaining! The Spring Flower CSA (4 weeks -$100) runs for 4 weeks and will include flowers like specialty tulips, daffodils, anemones & ranunculus. For the Summer Flower CSA (12 weeks - $180) folks can expect to enjoy all that the summer season has to offer. Both make for a great gift, either for yourself or a fellow flower lover!
When asked what they love most about farming Caitlyn said, “We love connecting with our local community via the Mankato Farmers' Market. Seeing the joy on our customers' faces when they choose a bouquet of flowers makes all the hard work worth it!” She also shared, “I love that I get the best of both worlds growing flowers; I get the hard work of farming paired, with the creative aspects of designing with flowers. We love that we get to work together and are so closely tied to the land. We're inspired by the journey to self-sufficiency and providing food & flowers that brighten our community.”
You can sign up for the 2023 Flower CSA's on their website at stonehearthfarm.com/shop. They occasionally have other goods (such as dried flowers, gift certificates, etc.) for sale on the website as well. You can also find them at the Mankato Farmers' Market every Saturday, May through October. November-March they vend at the Winter Mankato Farmers' Market every 1st & third Saturday. Also, in November & December you can find their dried flower products available at various craft markets with Minneapolis Craft Market.
Minnesota Grown is participating in National CSA Week from February 20-26. It's the most popular week of the year to sign up for a Community Supported Agriculture membership! During this week, we will feature in-depth profiles of local CSA farmers here and on our social media accounts, along with information about different types of CSAs available to Minnesotans.
National CSA Week is hosted by the CSA Innovation Network, a national network for local CSA farms. Read More.