While Rose Loveall oversees the plants at Morningsun Herb Farm, her husband Dan Sale handles maintenance and business operations. When the duo opened their nursery 20 years ago, they started with just one small greenhouse and two hoop houses.
Since then, Sale has built another greenhouse and eight more hoop houses, in addition to the small gardens that dot the property. “I think the main thing we’ve done is identify and address all the primary categories, then dive deep into them to make sure we pull everything out of the nooks and crannies,” Sale says.
Morningsun Herb Farm sells more than 40 varieties of ornamental salvia, over 25 different kinds of lavenders and 18 types of basil — just to name a few.
In the months leading up to busy season at Morningsun Herb Farm in Vacaville, which runs from spring through the end of summer, co-owner Rose Loveall must manually water the seedlings and cuttings in her greenhouses every two hours due to their different stages of growth.
She also goes through weekly to remove any dead leaves or plants. During the rainy season, fungus develops and spreads quickly.
Since Loveall only uses organic sprays at the nursery she runs with her husband, Dan Sale, “Anything I could use to stop the spread is pretty mild,” she says.
The Morningsun team includes two staffers during the winter and nine during the spring and summer. Loveall and Sale also have three donkeys, the nursery’s “ambassadors,” with hefty appetites that help speed up the composting process.
Strategy for Growth
Variety is the spice of life at Morningsun Herb Farm