Someone You Should Know: Running a greenhouse from their home

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Dakota News Now) - Roni Daale had an idea more than twenty years ago, that she told her husband Dave at their home in Fairview.

“Roni and I were sitting out on the bench one day by the barn. She said let’s start a greenhouse business. And I said you really don’t know how to plant flowers that well,” said Dave.

“And he literally looked around the house like this and said, so what makes you think you can do a greenhouse, cause i have no plants in our house. I can’t grow a plant for anything,” said Roni.

Despite the lack of a green thumb, the Roni Daale and Company Greenhouse business began.

“One year the flowers werent so good. So that’s when we decided to grow them ourselves, and we put up half of this big building to go with our small building. And then five years later we added on half again. And the next year we built another little building to hold it all,” said Roni.

“And twenty some years it grew into three buildings of plants, and a great business. A fun business,” said Dave.

It’s a business now with more than ten-thousand plants. The Daale’s three adult kids also help out.

“We have our potting party the day we get our plants in. Them and friends all come, and we just have an assembly line busy here for about six hours. And it’s all done,” said Roni.

“We’re only open this year from April 21st to June 10. That’s when were open for sales. But it takes probably three months to clean after were closed. It takes probably at least three months before we open to get the greenhouses disinfected. We water them all individually. We only water what needs to be watered. Once the weather warms up and we have sunshine, we’ll be looking at two to three hours a day just to water,” said Dave.

“When people are ready to do flowers they’re happy. They just want to come and see colors. and how we divide it up in the building. When you walk in the door, because they all require different fertilizer. When you come in door, it looks like you’ve walked into this massive garden. Because all of the colors are mixed up together,” said Roni.

The greenhouse is a little off the beaten path, but the customers will come.

“Most of it is all word of mouth. They come one year, and the next year they bring a friend,” said Roni.

“We don’t want to get really any bigger that the two of us can’t handle it. With some minor help from our kids at times. But we put signs up within ten miles around at every intersection when we’re open,” said Dave.

“It is hidden away it’s down here in the river valley. In the dead zone. Because if you come, don’t plan on talking on the phone, because you won’t have service,” said Roni.

For the Daales, who also run a real estate business out of their house, they plan on selling plants for a long time.

“We’re getting older, but I think it’s in our plans to keep doing it. We like working together, it’s our small way of farming,” said Dave.

“I can’t say there’s one minute of it that I don’t enjoy. I love every minute of it. I love when people bring pots, and I help them put it together. I love telling people about the different plants. It’s just fun, it’s fun,” said Roni.

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