The More sisters have owned and operated a flower and produce-selling business – Wild Prairie Homestead – for about two years. Left to right are Vivian, age seven, Reagan, age 10, Adeline, age five, and Kennedy, age nine. Their family tends a large garden in Winnebago.

Four pint-sized business women from the wild prairies of Winnebago are making their mark at the local Farmer’s Market.

Wild Prairie Homestead’s owners range in age from five to 10 years old, and, like Eliza Doolittle, their occupation is selling flowers. And produce, and sometimes eggs – although they clarify that the eggs come from their chickens, not their garden.

The More sisters broke into the flower business about two years ago. However, Reagan, age 10, Kennedy, age nine, Vivian, age seven, and Adeline, age five, had enjoyed helping in their family’s garden for many years prior.

The girls’ favorite things about gardening vary. Kennedy says she likes admiring and picking the flowers, while Vivian and Adeline enjoy helping with the watering. Reagan – a sunflower lover – likes to compare her height with the towering plants to see who’s taller.

Reagan’s sisters are quick to name their favorite flowers, too. Kennedy likes Bells of Ireland – green, flowering plants native to Turkey, Syria and the Caucasus. Vivian likes bright Gladiolus and Adeline prefers cosmos flowers for their colorful, daisy-like blooms.

Molly More decided to help her daughters start a business when boredom set in during the long, quiet days of the pandemic. The More family already cultivated a large garden for their own enjoyment, so why not sell its products at the Winnebago Farmer’s Market? 

Since they first began selling their wares, Wild Prairie Homestead’s young owner-operators have done steady business. They are regulars at the Farmer’s Market throughout the growing season, which begins when the tulips poke their heads out in mid-May, and lasts through mid-October, when the pumpkins are ready to be harvested.

Molly says she and her daughters are always on the lookout for plants which will pop up earlier, or emerge later, than those which they already cultivate.

“Every year, we try to buy more plants to extend the growing season,” she explains.

As it is, the girls stay very busy caring for the seeds they have already sown in their garden.

Their garden requires lots of love and care from spring to fall. Spring is dominated by hours of planting, and watering is a daily ritual.

Additionally, when the sisters are preparing for a day at the Farmer’s Market, they spend roughly two hours cutting and stripping flowers and arranging them in vases.

“It takes a long time,” Kennedy admits.

Farmer’s Market days also require a great deal of patience. The girls spend many hours meeting and greeting customers as they offer up flowers and produce for sale. Sometimes those items are accompanied by eggs, decor, and even cocoa bombs on one occasion.

However, the sisters agree that interacting with customers is one of the best parts of owning a business.

“I like selling things,” Kennedy says, while Reagan adds that she really enjoys seeing people at the Farmer’s Market.

When asked what her favorite part of owning a business is, meanwhile, Vivian says, “Seeing friendly faces.” 

“They’ve made a lot of connections,” Molly affirms. “A lot of people (customers) come weekly.” 

Sales are typically satisfactory at the market, but in the event that the girls have flowers – or other goods – left over, they will sometimes offer arrangements for sale online, and even deliver them to customers.

“People will contact us for orders,” Molly explains, adding the best way to get ahold of Wild Prairie Homestead is on their Facebook page, @WildPrairieHomestead.

The sisters plan to invest their earnings in their futures – a purpose toward which all of Wild Prairie Homestead’s profits are dedicated.

“I’m saving to buy a car, or for college,” Vivian explains. She adds, ruefully, “We have a long way to go.” 

The girls seem to have a zest for business, though, and they have already made progress toward their goal. Perhaps part of their success can be attributed to family ties.

The More family’s large acreage, which straddles the city limits of Winnebago, used to belong to the girls’ great-grandmother, Catherine Weir.

“She was known for her gardens,” Molly says.

When the girls are not in the garden, they like to spend their time playing outside, caring for the family’s many animals and roaming the wild prairie which serves as their backyard.

Hence, as Molly explains, the business’s name: Wild Prairie Homestead.