Small but Mighty: Stahlhut Sisters grow into their sixth year as lavender purveyors

By Charles Bolinger
Editor • About five miles north of Edwardsville, just south of Route 140, sets a purple mailbox. It’s the first clue that lavender lovers are on the right path.

Kim Stahlhut and her sister, Kris, have been following that lavender (not primrose) path since 2016 when they planted their first test plot not far from Tenderloin Farm Lavender.

Usually starting around Memorial Day and lasting for 45 days, the sisters open their farm on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays to allow visitors on the property to cut and pick their own lavender, purchase plants and to peruse the barn, which they have turned into a store replete with items scented with or infused with lavender. They opened on May 22 this season.

The women said it’s not unusual for their cell phones to ring as early as 5 a.m. with customer inquiries: “Are you open this weekend?” “Is it free to come?” “Do you still have lavender?”

The sisters said the high temperatures in March (we had three days where the outside high temperature exceeded 90º before March 31) and early April accelerated growth in a lot of plants; others unaffected by the early warmth are still catching up. They planted corn during the first week of April which they said is the earliest they’ve ever planted in the farm’s history.

There are 450 varieties of lavender plants worldwide but continued experimentation has taught the women what varieties will tolerate this area’s soil and climate. They have traveled to various places – Sequim, Washington on the state’s Olympic Peninsula; Door County, Wisconsin, near Green Bay; and to Europe – to gather tips, advice and knowledge about the care and treatment of lavender.

Their hottest sellers right now are not in the barn store but in the greenhouse – five varieties of lavender plants customers can buy to take home for their own gardens for $14 each. They said they started with 1,000 plants and about 300 sold during the farm’s opening lavender weekend.

“What we propagate there are the five varieties that we feel work the best in this area,” Kim said.

“We only sell what we know we can grow,” Kris added.

She said they hear a lot of success stories from returning customers and the sisters, in turn, provide them with a cheat sheet of tips and growing advice for lavender plant care, such as adding lots of rocks to the soil and not to overwater the plants.

“The only thing really new in the barn is we got rid of furniture and put in shelving,” Kris said. 

“But we expanded our cooking section,” Kim interjected. Kris agreed.

“Before, it was a little shelf in the middle; now it has its own wall space,” she explained.

They make Lavender Sugar, Lavender Fudge, which they said sells well, Lavender Buds to add to teas; Lavender Baking Extracts and baking extracts and some cookbooks for those who wonder what it is like to infuse lavender into food.

They make all of the above items except for the cookbooks and glass items. 

Other notable lavender food and drink items on hand include Lavender Lemonade, Lavender Brownies and Lavender Lemon Loaf, they said. Those three are in the barn shop as refreshments for those browsing or after a group returns from the U-Pick Lavender section.

Besides help from family members, they have two employees who have worked with them since 2022. One of their daughters handles the farm’s social media channels, even using artificial intelligence (AI) to fine tune it.

Since they went commercial in 2021, they have attracted a lot of regional interest. Through the years, they have drawn visitors from Breese, Springfield, Alton, Collinsville and Edwardsville and beyond.

“Last year, Great Rivers and Routes got us a Greyhound Bus full of people from Europe, Asia and Australia,” Kim recalled. 

“They met in Chicago for some kind of conference on travel and tourism,” Kris said. “Then a side trip to Route 66.”

They got interviewed, photographed and video recorded but they weren’t tagged, so it was difficult to find the articles on the Web. They were on the property for three or four hours. 

Other than the barn store, there is an old granary, a greenhouse, two ponds and three distinct lavender beds. Only the one closest to the greenhouse is for customers to pick their own, or the U-Pick Lavender; the other beds are for farm use only. 

The sisters remind visitors that this is a working farm – there are insects, spiders and other potential hazards. They also remind visitors not to pick any of the wildflowers on the property. 

Tenderloin Farm’s last day to pick lavender is June 28. Other places and dates where the sisters will feature their wares later this year include the Goshen Market in Edwardsville on July 11, Aug. 15, Sept. 9 and Oct. 17; Collinsville’s Gateway Fall Market on Aug. 22; the Hobnob Holiday Market in Springfield on Nov. 6 and 7; and the Edwardsville Winter Market on Dec. 5. 

The Stahlhut Family has farmed in that area since 1853. The farm was a large hog operation until 1999, hence the name Tenderloin. 

For more details, to shop online and to view photos, visit https://www.tfilavender.com/  Internet Explorer or Safari browsers are not supported by the website.

The farm is located at 6368 St. James Road, north of Edwardsville. Hours are 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays between May 22 and June 28. There’s no cost to visit and reservations are not needed. If visitors arrive just before the top of the hour, they can partake in the farm tour, where visitors are shown how to cut the lavender. 

Guests can visit the Lavender Shop within the renovated dairy barn, the old granary, a greenhouse, two ponds, the wildflowers and the U-Pick Lavender bed. The wildflowers on the property are not for picking; they are for photography only.

To get to Tenderloin Farm from Highland, Pierron or Grantfork: Head north on Route 160. Continue until the T-intersection at Route 140. Turn left. Continue on Route 140 for 15 miles through Alhambra, Hamel and Carpenter. At Prairietown Road, slow down to turn left on St. James Road. If you reach the intersection with Route 159, you’ve gone too far. The farm’s about a half-mile down St. James Road on the left as you head south.

To get there from St. Jacob or Marine: Head north on Route 4 to Route 140 and turn left. Follow 140 through Hamel and Carpenter. At Prairietown Road, slow down to turn left on St. James Road. If you reach the intersection with Route 159, you’ve gone too far. The farm’s about a half-mile down St. James Road on the left as you head south.

To get there from Collinsville, Glen Carbon, Maryville or Troy: Head north on Interstate 55 until you reach the Hamel exit (Exit 30). Turn left at the top of the ramp. Follow 140 through Hamel and Carpenter. At Prairietown Road, slow down to turn left on St. James Road. If you reach the intersection with Route 159, you’ve gone too far. The farm’s about a half-mile down St. James Road on the left as you head south.