Jenny Sauer-Schmidgall, who farms near Riggston in Scott County, poses at her new Grab ‘N’ Grow Greenhouse, located between Jacksonville and Winchester. The fully-automated facility allows customers to shop and check out by themselves. (Photo by Daniel Grant)

The fully-automated facility allows customers to shop and check out by themselves. The simple self checkout procedure includes using a scanner and tablet. The facility features cameras and Sauer-Schmidgall will receive alerts on her phone so she can talk customers through the process if the need arises. There’s also instructions on how to check out located by the tablet and a video loop will play continuously to walk customers through the process. Or, they can also pay cash. (Photos by Daniel Grant)

Jenny Sauer-Schmidgall, who farms near Riggston in Scott County, poses at her new Grab ‘N’ Grow Greenhouse, located between Jacksonville and Winchester. The fully-automated facility allows customers to shop and check out by themselves. (Photo by Daniel Grant)

The fully-automated facility allows customers to shop and check out by themselves. The simple self checkout procedure includes using a scanner and tablet. The facility features cameras and Sauer-Schmidgall will receive alerts on her phone so she can talk customers through the process if the need arises. There’s also instructions on how to check out located by the tablet and a video loop will play continuously to walk customers through the process. Or, they can also pay cash. (Photos by Daniel Grant)

A new greenhouse in Scott County will provide consumers with a wide variety of plants – including herbs, vegetables and fresh cut flowers – and the convenience of self-checkout.

The unique venture, fittingly named Grab ‘N’ Grow Greenhouse, is the brainchild of Jenny Sauer-Schmidgall, who farms with her father, Hunter Sauer, near Riggston.

“It all started with an idea I had about three years ago.” Sauer-Schmidgall said while preparing the greenhouse for its grand opening set for April 30.

“I’d been selling plants locally. But, the problem with that is I’d have to stop what I was doing during the (farming) season. That’s pretty important,” she noted. “I wanted to find a way to stay in touch with the same (customers) and reach new people without having to be there. This is for people to shop in my own, personal greenhouse.”

That’s where Mark Schmidgall, Jenny’s husband, enters the picture. Schmidgall, who owns a construction company and had already built one 8x10 greenhouse from a kit, was tasked with building a 12x24 greenhouse from scratch.

“We didn’t have blueprints. We utilized a lot of old barnwood we had stored here,” Sauer-Schmidgall said. “It’s a good thing he does this for a living. He figured out how to make this. It turned out very well.”

The greenhouse features a security door that can be programmed to lock and unlock at specific times and cameras to monitor traffic. All the plants will have barcodes on the containers.

There’s a register with a touchscreen tablet so people can check out on their own. They can also pay via cash, with all additional proceeds to be donated to the Winchester FFA.

“The cameras are set up so I can talk to people,” Sauer-Schmidgall said. “I receive notifications on my phone (when someone enters the greenhouse) and if it looks like someone is having trouble (with self-checkout), I can talk them through the process.”

The greenhouse features many traditional vegetables such as broccoli and cauliflower and herbs including parsley and cilantro along with microgreens. There’s also plant arrangements for people to essentially start their own garden with a variety of beans, peas, carrots, Brussel sprouts and tomatillos.

One of Sauer-Schmidgall’s creations includes a mini-wildflower garden in a container.

“You can put it in a pot or next to your garden,” she said. “It attracts beneficial insects and hummingbirds.”

Sauer-Schmidgall starts everything from seed and uses a nearby sunroom with grow lights to nourish the young plants.

Customers can also leave a request for a particular plant in a suggestion box in the greenhouse and Sauer-Schmidgall will start it and have it ready to pick up at a later date.

“Plants like a happy home, just like humans,” she said. “I grow everything from seed and don’t buy anything wholesale or from nurseries. That’s why I don’t have to hike my prices up as much. I’m growing plants for people.

“A lot of my ideas are just from being a consumer. What would I want – and I try to make it affordable.”

A recent soft opening attracted about 50 people who were very interested in the new Grab ‘N’ Grow Greenhouse concept.

Sauer-Schmidgall and her father grow corn and beans and she also manages a beef cattle herd of around 100 head and sells handmade items from her mother (Theresa) at her website, TheWittyFarmer.com. Sauer-Schmidgall also grows and sells sweet corn and pumpkins seasonally.

She previously worked in the film and television industry in Los Angeles before returning to the farm about four years ago.

“It didn’t hit me until my lease was coming up (in Los Angeles) that nobody was here (on the farm) to help my dad. My grandpa had passed away,” Sauer-Schmidgall said. “It hit me that I’m always happy when I go home and I’m outside working with my dad. It’s funny, I made different businesses involving both my parents. It’s a lot of fun.”

Sauer-Schmidgall returned to Hollywood last year, though, as she was chosen as a contestant on the reality game show, The Weakest Link, which aired April 17.

“They found me on Instagram,” she said of the call for the show. “They didn’t know I had a background in acting. It was just because they were looking for someone who’s a farmer. It was fun.”

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