The Story of Scheiderer Farms Garden Center

The journey of our family history plays an intricate role in where we are today, influencing where we look forward to going in the future.

In 1930, my great grandparents, Gerhart and Lena Streng, purchased our farm from Adam and Catherine Streng. Their dream of making a living and raising their family on their very own plot of land had finally been realized. No doubt, their days started before the rooster crowed--there were cows to milk, livestock to feed, fields to be tilled, and hay to be made. At that time, milking was done by hand and the field work was accomplished with horses. They knew it would not be an easy life or a way to make a lot of money. However, I’m sure they knew in their hearts that raising their five daughters and making a living on the farm would make them rich in so many others ways. In those days, farmers took a lot of pride in their farms and it was common for them to paint their names on the barns. Gerhart must have been very proud of his farm. Above the big barn doors in beautiful lettering, my great grandfather painted “Gerhardt Streng The Homestead.” I remember those words above the door when I was a young boy and I remember the lovely lettering and how it gave me a connection to a man and part of my heritage that I never knew. The farm must have been a happy place, because over the years I’ve had many people tell me how they used to come to the farm to visit. In 1961 my grandparents, Elmer and Frances, bought the farm and took over. The horses had been replaced by a small tractor by this time. Additions were made to the barn to make room for more cows, hay, and straw. The milking parlor was added so the cows no longer had to be milked by hand, and the old redwood silo that stored feed for the cows was taken down and replaced with a much larger and more automated concrete ribstone silo. 

Over the years, more improvements were made to the milking operation, including a pipeline so the heavy buckets of milk no longer needed to be carried to the cooler and physically dumped in. Later, a pit was made so the person milking was lower than the cows. This eliminated the need to squeeze between the animals and bend down to put the milkers on. Having your face at the same level as the bottom back end of a cow added new issues as you can imagine! Throughout the years the small tractors and equipment were gradually replaced with larger, more efficient, and of course, more expensive ones. It would be reasonable to think all these additions and upgrades in farming practices might have given them the opportunity to work fewer hours or take more time off; but in reality, it led to milking more cows and planting more acres. Such is the farmer’s mentality! 

In 1989 Candi and I married and moved to the old “Homestead.” In 1990 my parents, Candi, and I bought the farm from my grandmother. I had dreams of working on and taking over the farm someday, but the jobs I had kept me from having the time. After several years of working in the landscape business, I decided to combine my desire to make a living on the farm with my love of plants and new interest in horticulture. In 1996 I started my own landscaping business called "Scheiderer Custom Lawn Care," which then turned into "Marysville Mulch and Supply" in 1998. Meanwhile, Candi was a nurse at Mt. Caramel, then Memorial Hospital. We followed our dreams and began construction on our first greenhouse, officially opening Scheiderer Farms in 1999! It seemed so big to me at the time but it didn’t take long to realize more space was needed. We’ve added more greenhouses and made improvements over the years, not only so we could grow, but so we could improve quality and efficiency. We’ve also made additions and improvements to make our customers’ visits more enjoyable and memorable. 

Candi and I are grateful to have the opportunity to live, raise our family, and make a living on this farm just like generations before us. We hope our children and grandchildren will have fond memories of this place and the opportunity to raise their kids and make a living from this land. We also hope that like so many who visited here many years ago, there will be a new generation of visitors who will take fond memories of visiting our farm with them for many years to come. 

-Keith