photos courtesy of Kelp’ s Greenhouse and Pumpkin Patch
version was started as a roadside pumpkin stand by Peggy in the early 1990s, and greenhouses were added in about 2000.
Almost everyone who works there is related to Peggy. Her parents, Emmett and Karen Smith, still do lots of work around the business. So does her brother-in-law Bob, her husband Roger, and son Cannon. Only one or two non-family members are hired to help when things get really busy. Even the three resident cats, Roscoe, Frannie, and Gracie, do their part in keeping the mice under control in the greenhouses.
The first greenhouse, made from hoops that once covered a swimming pool at a Nashville hotel, was 17 by 20 feet. Now there are five greenhouses, each approximately 30 by 100 feet.
It’ s a year-round operation: growing flowers, herbs, and vegetables from seed in greenhouses beginning in February; busy spring days selling plant starts and hanging baskets into the summer; and fall, with pumpkins, gourds, Indian corn, chrysanthemums, and autumn decorations. Between busy seasons, there are supplies to be ordered, seeds to be planted, greenhouses to be cleaned, repairs to be made, and crops to harvest.
Continued on 18 Sept./ Oct. 2026 • Our Brown County 17