CPD Consumer Advisory Committee members run green business
Reprinted with permission of
The Herald Journal
Robin and Blake Savage look over the plants inside the greenhouse at their home in Hyrum on Friday. (Meegan M. Reid/Herald Journal)
By Matthew K. Jensen
Published:
Monday, April 27, 2009 12:35 AM CDT
HYRUM --Some people's green thumbs only come in handy on the weekends or the occasional fair-weather gardening day.
One man's expertise and passion for plants, however, has turned into more of a full-time job than just a simple hobby.
Blake Savage of Hyrum doesn't let cerebral palsy keep him from his greenhouse, growing tables or his 20-plus-year career as a custodian at a public school near his home.
Savage and his wife, Robin, sell various plants to the public right from their home using old-fashioned growing techniques and no pesticides.
In the couple's basement are two large light tables that Savage helped build. Each table has a hand crank that raises and lowers banks of florescent lights, suspended on cables above rows of bell peppers, pumpkin and cucumber.
Savage said he wanted to work with plants after deciding that tending rabbits wasn't his first choice for a hobby.
"A few years ago, I was looking for a hobby to do," he said. "I grew up on a farm and worked there for many years. I was thinking I might raise rabbits."
The idea of tending rabbits didn't excite Savage, he said, so his father suggested he build a greenhouse.
Today the Savages' greenhouse is a reality. Inside are geraniums, tomatoes and Four O'Clocks, a flowering plant that blossoms on a fairly predictable schedule, explained Robin.
Savage has combined his skills with the AgrAbility Project and Options for Independence to improve and better market the products he and his wife sell.
"The AgrAbility Project was created to assist people with disabilities employed in agriculture," the organization's Web site reads. "The AgrAbility Project assists people involved in production agriculture who work both on small and large operations."
The public is invited to purchase plants from the Savage home. Ornamental products include marigolds, petunias, pansies and violas.
In addition, Roma tomatoes, watermelon, cantaloupe and other food plants can purchased for $1.50 for a pony pack.
Plants can be purchased with cash or check at 175 N. 400 West in Hyrum.
