WADSWORTH, Ohio — Reese Rose wouldn’t call himself a farmer, but when he has an idea he puts in the work and grows it into an opportunity. The Wadsworth local decided, during the pandemic, to turn his land in his backyard into a sunflower farm.
“I’ve been to a couple of sunflower fields and they were pretty amazing. It takes a little to get to me and when I saw those, it definitely made an impact, so I figured I’d put one in myself,” he said. “I definitely did a lot of planning.
“We have about 10 acres planted. I planted about 300,000 seeds. It took me about two days to plant everything and it took them 60 days to flower,” said Rose.
The Medina Sunflower Farm, located at 7731 Beach Road in Wadsworth, is officially open seven days a week from 10:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. It is $5.00 per person and free for kids under 5-years-old. Visitors can pick out four flowers for an additional $5.00.
“The only thing I did is put a Facebook Page, "Medina Sunflower Farm," and posted in a couple of community groups,” he said. “I got 1,500 followers in, I think, six days.”
The idea of a new, sunflower farm has created a buzz in Medina County.
“I saw their Facebook page and I thought it would be a nice evening to come out,” said Teresa Romeo, who was out Friday night visiting the farm. “Just being able to take the family and enjoy the outside and the fresh air it’s definitely needed at this time.”
Amanda Osborn brought her 12-year-old daughter and a friend to the farm. She, too, heard about it through Facebook.
“It’s so nice to have a local farmer and have something close by that we can enjoy,” she said.
Jenna Collins brought her kids, too.
“I always wanted to get up to Maria’s Field in Avon, but it’s a little bit of a hike from here, so I was happy to see something close to home,” she said.
Whether it’s to take a photo, pick out a bouquet, or just get some fresh air, Rose hopes it’s a business that can flourish even during a pandemic.
“There’s plenty of room for social distancing. They are saying now with the Delta variant it’s something that we are definitely not over,” he said.
He is planning on keeping the sunflower farm for years to come and, also, has plans on growing lavender and pumpkins.
