Callaway Fields celebrates 10-year anniversary this month

John Graham trims plants in a greenhouse at Callaway Fields. The business opened 10 years ago this month.
John Graham trims plants in a greenhouse at Callaway Fields. The business opened 10 years ago this month.

Callaway Fields in Auxvasse opened its doors 10 years ago.

John Graham purchased the property and the Callaway Fields greenhouse opened for business on April 1, 2005. He had recently graduated from University of Missouri - Columbia with a plant science degree and was looking for work.

"In some aspects it went by very fast. And other times - during the winter - it seems like it's taking forever," Graham said with a laugh.

The winter, he said, is his least favorite time of year for Callaway Fields. During the winter months, Callaway Fields maintains its greenhouses and checks on its heaters to ensure everything is working properly. Weather is always a challenge, Graham said. The harshness of winter and summer have great influence over the plants and thus over the businesses' profits.

Despite spring's long working hours, Graham said April and May are his favorite months to work. During that time, he said, the work they put into growing the plants at Callaway Fields begins to show in the plants' growth.

"After growing a product for anywhere from six months on, it's always nice to see people come out here and appreciate the effort that you put into it when they take their plants home," Graham said.

Graham

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said that right now he most enjoys growing succulents, a plant he said has been catching on and increasing in popularity.

"Succulents are really hot right now," Graham said. "Those are always kind of fun because they're so different. Each one can look completely unlike the next one. Whereas your petunias, you may get different colors but it always looks like a petunia. Succulents are easy to maintain as well."

Graham said growing most of the plants at Callaway Fields allows them to better control the quality of the plants.

"It's a lot easier when you're growing it yourself to maintain the quality. You can influence how fast that plant is going to grow, you can regulate the temperature to either increase the speed or growth or reduce that speed down. You can also watch the nutrients on the plants," Graham said. "And we scout for insects and pests everyday as we work the crop."

To help protect those plants, Callaway Fields uses what Graham calls soft pesticides on its plants. Mostly, Graham said they use a rubbing alcohol and water solution to fight off certain types of insects. And, when they find insects which are considered beneficial to the environment, Callaway Fields employees simply remove and release the bugs. Some of the bugs on the beneficial list include lady bugs, praying mantises and spider mites.

Callaway Fields sells annuals, perennials, hanging baskets, vegetable plants, tree shrubs and tropical plants. The plant nursery has increased its number of greenhouses over the years. Currently, Callaway Fields has seven greenhouse, with two that operate during the winter months. Of the property's 20 acres, 1.5-2 acres are taken up by greenhouses.

The greenhouses are open longer hours, too. At first, the greenhouses were only open for a few months in the spring, closed during the summer and opened again for a couple months in the fall. Now, Graham said Callaway Fields is almost year round. The greenhouses are open from March through October and employees work to keep plants growing during the winter months as well.

Callaway Fields has increased the number of events and classes it holds, as demand requested, Graham said. It added container classes about six years ago. For that class, people plant container baskets in March, Callaway Fields takes care of the plants in its greenhouses and the people pick up their flourished plants in May, just before Mother's Day.

To celebrate its anniversary, Callaway Fields is having a customer appreciation weekend April 25-26. Graham said he is excited to celebrate the business' 10-year milestone.

"Overall, I've really enjoyed it. Like any business, it has its ups and downs and some days are better than others. I'm glad I'm able to be here hopefully with the customers, I'll continue to be here another 10 years or longer," Graham said.