“Every piece of our greenhouse is sourced from repurposed materials. It doesn’t look pretty, but it works well.” – Kevin Crow

Blooming Future

“Every piece of our greenhouse is sourced from repurposed materials. It doesn’t look pretty, but it works well,” Kevin said while describing how he and his wife Kayla operate Mount Olive Farms.

Kevin and Kayla were faced with some hard decisions as their family income was affected by arduous economic conditions in early 2020. Kevin, a full-time pastor, and Kayla, an in-home nurse, often spending half a day in travel time going to and from assigned clients, suddenly found themselves with, seemingly, instant income constriction.

“We decided to put all of my efforts into operating Mount Olive Farms,” Kevin explained.

They purchased their little farm, not long before the challenging economy arrived, and had formulated a dream of creating a flower business that would have stewardship at its core.

“Our philosophy is simple,” Kevin clarified. “We do everything to make sure the land will be better than it was before we started.”

They fulfill their role as stewards of the land from the ground up. One example of their creativity is their on-property worm farm. Kevin constantly feeds the worms organic material from their farming activities, that would otherwise go to waste. The worms eat and grow. Their waste creates worm castings that Kevin uses to supplement the soil. He also brews “worm tea,” from the worm enclosures, which he uses to spray his crops, giving the plants exceptional nutrition. 

“It’s all about using all of the existing pieces and resources we have, so as respond to what I sometimes refer to as the mystery of success,” Kevin said.

Other pieces they’ve added to their business include weekly flower selling at the local Farmer’s Market, holding weekly “You-Pick” sessions on their farm, selling flowers to florists, renting their farm for photo shoots, seasonally renting a yurt constructed on their property, and selling edible flowers to local restaurants.

They’ve created a multifaceted business which is allowing them to reap rewards and grow relationships.

“We invest what we make back into the business and our family,” Kevin explained. “So, we aren’t experiencing explosive growth, just sustained growth.”

And, growing they are. They’ve become a well-recognized business while keeping their values firmly in place.

“They’re sweet people,” Chef Tyler Rogers said, as he described how he uses Mount Olive Farms grown edible flowers in his food at his “Hail Fellow Well Met” restaurant. “They provide us with great food enhancing products that match our desire to provide dishes aimed at expanding the pallet of our clients, by offering menu items with a twist, which results in traditional-like dishes which are unusually flavorful.”

Chef Tyler’s creations are also a reflection of Kevin and Kayla’s family. The Crows have adopted three children all of whom are growing like the flowers on their farm. It is a traditional-like family with a twist. The kids came from varying backgrounds and are now part of an unusually flavor-filled family all working to grow their farm and build rooted bonds with each other.

Just like Kevin said, every piece of the Crow farm, and family, is sourced from and rooted in repurposed materials. And those words, perfectly describe Kevin and Kayla’s exceptional life called Mount Olive Farms.

If you’d like to know more about Mount Olive Farms and Hail Fellow Well Met restaurant, watch as I host this episode on American Dream TV which will be streaming on Apple TV and Roku in August 2023