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How to Start a Flower Farm

Writer's picture: Kathryn DeLaduranteyKathryn DeLadurantey

Updated: Jan 27



How to start a flower farm.

HOW TO START A FLOWER FARM:

  • Why start a flower farm

  • Tools needed:

  • Soil:

  • Seed Starting:

  • Season changes:

  • Planning:

  • Selling:


Why to start a flower farm:


Over the past years, I have been driven nuts watching YouTube videos made by other farmers about how awful flower farming is and why you should not do it!


Haha, I feel like saying "PLEASE STOP COMPLAINING" but oh well.

Though to you dear reader I will say...to be completely honest name one thing in life that comes with no work and is super easy, nothing in the real world is a get-rich-quick, and so it is the same with flower farming.


But I am here to tell you why you should start a flower farm:


1. Flower farming is, in some ways, one of the most healing things I have done. With its long hours of sunshine and days of kneeling in the dirt, you will feel refreshed. In the winter, I seem to always find myself longing for those hot days—crazy, I know, but completely true.


2. Flower farming is also one of the best ways to keep an active lifestyle, yes, it does involve computer work at times, but it will give you a lot of exercise every day!


3.It is very fulfilling, once you get a grasp on, growing flowers is not about you but about who you are serving by growing flowers, it is one of the most wonderful things you can do. Delivering bouquets and watching how they lift a person's mood is one of the most magical moments to experience.


4. You will meet so many people in the world of agriculture, and most likely run into the coolest people you will ever meet!


 


What tools will you need:


1. Meet your neighbors: This was one of the best things I did when I started my flower farm, I did not start out with all the right equipment nor the right knowledge. But by meeting folks and telling my neighbors what my plans were it opened up some of the best doors possible.

I would suggest also going to local AG events, and connecting with your local AG office.


2. Flower farming is one of the coolest AG endeavors as it is what they call Micro Farming, this means you can grow a lot in a small space, which means if you live in an urban area flower farming is perfect for this space.

I would suggest if you can not find a way to plow your new ground, to start with raised beds.


3. When starting any new endeavor having a support system is absolutely key, because when things get tough you will need people around you to tell you to keep going.


4. You will need soil and good healthy soil, something I will talk about later.


5. I would encourage anyone who is working with a new plot of ground to have a tractor or a rototiller. This could be something your neighbors help you with.


6. Basic Tools:

Rack,

Hoe,

trowel,

shovel,

heat mats,

 grow lights,

Seed trays,


7. Finding a free source of compost is also so important, there are probably more ways to do this in your area than you think.

Around our area, I get a dump truck of mushroom compost from a mushroom factory.


There is also a fish hatchery near me and I also can get fish emulsion from them....these are just a few ways to build up your soil using some unconventional methods.


 


SOIL:


This is one thing that can be missed when starting a farm, but without good soil, your farm will not be very successful!

When you till the ground for the first time it will tend to be better than usual, as you have turned in all the grass on top, and their roosts and blades of green are now decomposing into the soil.


Let's go over a few important things about soil that can be missed:


  1. NEVER LEAVE IT UNCOVERED: Mostly why weeds appear is because the soil is telling you....." I NEED A COVERING" Soil left barren to the sun can become extremely depleted and ruin your soil, so that is why you need to keep things growing in the soil and also some kind of mulch...Yes, mulch and the plants you want to be growing shade out the weeds but this also allows the soil to have a covering and keep it healthy.


  2. LIVING SOIL: We are looking for soil, that is breaking down matter and feeding itself, soil that contains worms, and frogs.


  3. AIR FLOW: We also want soil that breaks apart easily, with air pockets going through it. We dont want heavy clay-like soil, or what I have here which is very heavy sand.


  4. LEAVE IT THERE: Sometimes we can think that tearing out all the old plants along with their roots is okay....but it is not always so. When you tear a plant out you have just removed one of the most nutrient-dense parts of that soil. You see that plant was taking nutrients from the soil and the sun through photosynthesis and instead of turning that plant into the ground to decompose you removed all of its wonderful nutrients from the soil.


Ways to build soil:


 1. test your soil this is key, go to your local AG office and get a soil sample bag, they are very easy to use and when you get your soil test back you will then be able to move forward with a better understanding of what your soil needs.


2. Add compost, be careful of picking up compost from someone who does not know how to make it...this can cause major issues. So study how to make compost so you are educated when you go to buy it. 


Also just be mind full of adding variety....straw, leaves, things that will break down over time and bring more nutrients into the soil. All soil normally is empty of nitrogen, so any time you can add that in don't hesitate.



3. Off-season: Cover crops are one of the best ways to gain nutrients into your soil in the off-season. Talk with a local commercial seed company and tell them what you're doing and what seed combo they would suggest. A cover crop is normally a mix of seeds that are high in nitrogen. You will broadcast/ spread your seeds all over the soil let them grow and then either.


. Burn them out by throwing a tarp on them,

. Till them into the soil.


This is the best way to overwinter your soil, the seeds you planted are only there to build the nutrients and also supply a covering over that soil.


But I highly recommend speaking with a local seed supplier who knows the area and the soil, because often the wrong things can planted if a seed representative does not know your zone or your area.


 

SEED STARTING:


  1. I would recommend for anyone just starting out, to go take Lisa Mason Ziegler's seed starting workshop, it is very basic but extremely helpful.


A few basics to help you get started:


  1. LIGHT OR DARKENESS: When starting out we can think all seeds need to be covered. NOT SO....some seeds like darkness or light for germination, this is something you will need to google seed by seed.

Seeds like SUNFLOWERS, need darkness, meaning we will need to put dirt over the seed.


Seeds like snapdragons need light, meaning we will need to only sprinkle them on top of the surface of the soil...crazy I know but it works.



2. COLD OR WARM SEASON: some flowers are cool season flowers meaning they need what is called cold stratification.....I grow in zone 9a which means I never get a winter.


With cool flowers such as Snapdragons, foxglove, delphinium...I need to perform what is called cold stratification https://youtube.com/shorts/P0bSaEtRGuk


Warm-season flowers only need to be started four weeks before planting out just after your last frost.



3. DIRECT SOW OR TRANSPLANT: Some seeds do better sowing directly into the soil as in Cosmos.....my first year I did not understand this....and they grew very poorly.


With direct sowing you will need to hoe a trench and sprinkle the seeds in, this also means you will need more seeds than you think, do not follow the spacing on the back of the packet, if you do you will see a very poor germination rate, seeds need companionship, so pack them in tight and pull the extras out later once they are growing. I also find great success in covering this trench with hay...I am not sure if it is the warmth from the hay or humidity caused but it works well.


Direct sow flowers:

Zinnias,

Cosmos,

Marigolds,

Sunflowers,




Transplanting: This is where you would start seeds inside in trays or soil blocks. You will need to also have grow lights and heat mats for this.


Find a good space out of the way. Sow your seeds and then to create a humidity dohm I wrap my trays in saran wrap.


After they germinate I unwrap them and once they are fairly tall I move them outside for a few days bringing them in when too sunny or cold to help them adapt to the elements.



 

YOUR CLIMATE:

It is key to understand where you are growing.


With the internet the way it is these days, we can be educated by someone who is not in our climate which means we can often fail in our endeavors as the same rules do not apply to where you are growing.


CLICK HERE FOR MY ZONE GROWING COURSE. https://www.canva.com/design/DAF1xtPw


Know which growing zone you are in to be successful in growing flowers.


I am in zone 9a and most rules do not apply to my farm, it is extremely dry and hot so when a flower most times does not need water I actually need to water that plant.


So understand your zoning.


 


PLANNING:

As a flower farmer, you will need to get used to planning a season or two ahead.


If a flower needs to have cold stratification for example. You will need to order it put it in that cold period, plant it then transplant it.....this is a lot of steps and weeks, so you will need to calculate all of that into your farm planning.


Often spring is done with fall planning in mind and summer with winter planning in mind.


After a few years, you will learn to get a hang of it.


 


SELLING:


Once you have your flowers growing it is a huge and beautiful step.


You will need to know how you are going to sell your flowers.


I have compiled a list below of things I have tried or have seen other farms do.


~Let Photographer rent your flower farm for photos,

~Open the farm for Field trips,

~Teach floral classes using your farm flowers,

~Supply Restaurants with edible flowers,

~You could have customers that you ship bouquets to,

~Be a wholesaler to Florists,

~Do floral arranging for weddings,

~Make your farm an event center,

~U-pick flower farm,

~Supply Grocery stores with weekly bouquets,

~Bouquet Subscriptions can be picked up at your farm or a location in your town.



Hopefully, you gained something from this.


And happy Growing.


Your flower farmer,

Kathryn












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