Saturday Market Feature: Kuntry Girl Flower Farm

This past week's hot summer temperatures ushered in with the first day of Summer, and this weekend Orting's Summer streets will feature everything from "The Big O" Motorcycle Ride to tomorrow's opening of the Saturday Market running Saturdays into August.

If you've never been to the Saturday Market let me give you a bit of a primer by pointing out one of the booths in particular, Kuntry Girl Flower Farm.

Located off Orville Road and 'up into the hills', Jessica Rakos' "Kuntry Girl Flower Farm" boasts everything every home and office should showcase;   "Farm Fresh Flowers Organically Grown in the Foothills of Mt. Rainier".

"I’ve always loved to grow flowers.  About a year ago I got the idea of starting an actual business that would allow me to grow not only for my personal enjoyment, but also to have a way to offer locally grown, fresh, and reasonably priced flowers to people in my own community." said Rakos while delivering a mason jar filled with a beatiful arrangement that is both simple and elegant.  "As with all businesses, we’re starting on a small scale, but have plans to continue expanding in the coming years.  Each year we will be adding new varieties of flowers and coming up with fun and interesting new ideas for arrangements."

Everything from Sunflowers, Zinnias, Lilies, Bells of Ireland, Roses, Sweet Peas, Snapdragons, Ranunculus, Gladiolas, Hops and Hydrangeas burst from the Kuntry Girl Flower Farm and they'll all be available, on display, and eagerly snapped up from a community ready to walk the streets and enjoy everything the beautiful work the City of Orting has been laboring on in the North Park downtown during the cold wet months.

"We especially love lilies and plan to grow as many varieties as possible, including Oriental, Asiatic, and hybrid varieties."

Kuntry Girl Flower Farm's philosophy is that we all should tread lightly when working with Mother Nature.  They are very aware of the impacts that they have on our surroundings and kept this in mind when planning out the layout of their farm.  Paths through the growing area for elk to pass through on their yearly migration are the norm,  and they also welcome beautiful native plants, such as Heuchera and Foxglove that pop up frequently in their planting areas.  

"We use organic methods of farming, focusing on building healthy soil, through the use of cover crops and compost.  Rather than use synthetic chemical fertilizers we use organic fertilizers, such as compost tea that helps build up the soil structure.  We do not apply any type of insecticide to our flowers and any rodent control (like for those darn destructive voles) is handled without the use of chemicals." added Rakos.  "There are obviously many ways to go about purchasing flowers.  What I can say about ours is that they are grown sustainably, locally, and with a lot of TLC.  When harvesting, we go to great lengths to properly condition each stem, in order to ensure the longest possible vase life.  We are also able to offer certain varieties of flowers that don’t travel well and generally aren’t generally available through other sources."

This year flowers can be purchased at the Saturday Market from July to August.  They also plan to be at Summerfest on August 28th.  Additionally, they have a subscription service available for Orting residents and businesses, but have limited this service to just a few customers this first year in order to ensure the best quality for each delivery.  Details of their subscriptions can be found on their website at www.kuntrygirlflowerfarm.com.  They will begin taking reservations for next year’s subscriptions in early 2011.