EDWARDSVILLE - Lavender is in the air. Tenderloin Farms INC. (TFI) has been in operation in the Edwardsville area for many years. You might know them as the Stahlhut family who raised hogs north of town on route 159.
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The hogs are long gone, but the farm is still in operation. The Stahlhut farm was recognized as a centennial farm by the state of Illinois in 2017. J.H. Stahlhut bought that part of the family farm in 1917. A lot has changed over the years but the family’s roots are still in the dirt. Nowadays, a new generation of Stahlhuts’ runs the farm. Kim Hansen and Kris Straub operate the grain business, but they have added a new crop to their landscape.
The two sisters have started to a boutique lavender farm on the rolling hills of their property. They started growing lavender four years ago. After a few setbacks, mainly due to the weather, the two have expanded their crops to over 500 plants.
This is a hands-on operation. Everybody in the family gets involved. Whether it is planting new bushes or cleaning out the old fence row, it is a family affair. They even have their Aunt involved. She does a majority of the sewing for the neck wraps and eye pillows. The kids help with packaging and labeling too. When it comes to harvesting the lavender, it is done by hand. No machines are used in the process of picking, bundling, drying or debudding these things of beauty.
The Stahlhut girls’ use the lavender to make a wide variety of products. Fresh and dried bundles are available for sale depending upon the harvest schedule. Some of the lavender is distilled in order to extract the oil out of the buds. The oil is used in other products they make. All of the products are made by hand by the family. Many hours of research and testing is done before a new item is for sale. The sisters make and sell soap, candles, shower steamers, bath melts, hydrosol, neck wraps, eye pillows, and body scrubs.
This year, the two women have started to take their show on the road. This past spring they attended the Hobnob Hoopla Spring market in Springfield IL. This summer they have participated in the following markets: Edwardsville Goshen Market, Maryville Farmers’ Market, and Tower Grove Farmers’ Market in St. Louis Mo. This November they will be back at the Hobnob Hoopla Market for the Christmas show. Just look for the purple canopy if you attend a market this year.
New this year is their bee business. It’s buzzing with excitement. The bees were delivered in June and will take about a year to get comfortable in their new setting. TFI plans on selling lavender honey next year.
The two sisters plan to expand their agri-tourism business to include other eye-catching items like wildflowers and pumpkins. This summer the family has been busy renovating their grand-parents’ old dairy barn. They plan to turn it into a shop for the lavender business. If things proceed as planned, 2020 will see a boom in their agri-tourism business. A UPICK lavender weekend is being planned for next summer. You may even see the sisters open up their farm as a venue for special events.
