By CELESTE BAUMGARTNER
Ohio Correspondent

OXFORD, Ohio — Shirley Conrad’s favorite flowers are petunias.
“Can’t you tell?” she asks, as she stands surrounded by 600 hundred baskets spilling over with petunias of every color. Conrad sells the baskets at the Oxford Farmers Market at Talawanda High School. The market runs from the first Saturday in May until the first Saturday in November, but Conrad usually sells out by July.

Last year it was even earlier because Noah’s Landscaping bought 300 of the baskets. That company used some of them to decorate three homes in Homearama, which is put on by the Homebuilders of Greater Cincinnati; the landscaping company will use Conrad’s baskets at Homearama again this year.

Conrad has been in the business for six years, and it is a family business involving her husband, Ralph, son Edward, granddaughter Tara Waywood and her husband, Bob. Conrad, who has no training in horticulture, began growing flowers and vegetables from seed to produce plants for her own use.

“We enjoyed it so much we just kept doing it,” she said.
Now Conrad’s Greenhouse consists of a grow house and two greenhouses open to the public. Business at the greenhouse is growing. Conrad raises a lot of Wave and Surfinia petunias. They are difficult to grow from seed, so she buys plugs; they arrive on March 12. “A lot,” she said, when asked what kind of care they require.

“Watering, fertilizing, we put chemicals to prevent diseases and insects. They have to be cut back. Then we fertilize, water and watch them grow.”

The cool, rainy spring is not helping, Conrad said. She has had to heat the greenhouses because of the moisture. Too much moisture with no sunshine could cause the plants to develop a fungus.
Many of the containers are unusual – ceramic frogs and bird cages, which Conrad said are popular. She also raises other annuals, vegetables and water plants.

“We just started raising them and we seemed to be doing so well, we just kept growing, and here we are,” she said.

The Oxford Farmers Market at Talawanda High School, where Conrad’s baskets are in demand, has been operating since 1976.
Items for sale at the market include flowers, fruits, vegetables, jellies, baked goods, herbs, honey, eggs and more, according to Sarah James, who directs the market with Don Mahlerwein and Nick Wocinak.

“It’s a good gathering place and we’re selling local fruits and vegetables,” said James, who has been involved with the market since it began.