American Grown checks in with Jello Mold Farm
American Grown interviews Diane to chat about their journey with Jello Mold Farm, how their name was created, and what you can find in full bloom at their farm right now.
American Grown: We are so excited to feature Jello Mold Farm, a Certified American Grown Farm. Could you share a little bit about your story and how you got started in the floral industry?
Diane Szukovathy: "My husband Dennis and I are creative people. Dennis is a musician and primarily, we are both visual artists. My education background is visual arts and an estate gardener in the Seattle area. We both grew up in large cities but were really not comfortable with the large amount of noise and crush of people in the city. We both wanted to move in a more rural area.
"In 2001, we located a lovely piece of land near the Skagit River. Seven acres of unworked land, we were told it was used as a horse pasture for the past 30 years. That was first for us, finding a piece of land. Next, we decided what we wanted to do with it.
"With newly purchased land, we initially thought we were going to become food farmers, but it didn’t work out that way. Both being botanically knowledgeable, we thought what if we grew cut flowers! It was that moment we began to explore the possibilities of flower farming.
"Early on we joined the Association of Specialty Cut Flowers and realized it was a great fit for us. Through this journey, I have discovered many flower farmers have some kind of art’s background, which has been interesting witnessing the merging of an art culture and the beauty of flowers.
"At the start of our farm, we began to grow crops that were not so common in the floral industry. Revolutionary to us, we decided to grow beautiful blooms and see if they could grow in water after being cut. Learning from others who were already doing it, we found ourselves introducing new cut flowers to the floral industry.
"It’s always been the two of us one-way-or-another, we definitely operate as a strong team and that always needs to be acknowledged. Dennis is a tremendous hard-worker who is the support, the rock, the people glue and the connector. I’ve often been the figurehead who tends to focus on the organizational aspect and strategizing piece."
Read the full interview at American Grown Flowers