Flower Farm Update

This season, we took another step in trying to grow cut flowers. The past two seasons, we have grown them from seed and planted into containers. This season, we tried to plant a 50-foot strip of flowers, which I dubbed the 50-foot flower farm.

Killing grass for the cut flower garden

The first observation I have is that it is a lot of work to grow flowers. A new bed had to be created and tilled. I had planned the garden assuming all the seeds would germinate and grow, which did not happen. I had been aiming for about 200 seedlings, and probably got 100. The Gomphrena was a complete failure; I ended up with almost half a flat but they all died while getting hardened off, probably an overwatering issue. .In the end, I am not sure where I would have put so many flats of plants in the house as they grew. We also started onion from seed this year and more herbs, so space was at a premium. I also probably could have started the seedling later as they got leggy, especially the zinnias.

Algae growing on seed trays

The second observation I have is that while 100 plants sounds like a lot, it is really a small number compared to what would be needed for a real flower farm. A hundred seedlings only covered about 25 to 30 feet of my 50-foot strip. I used landscape fabric to control weeds, which meant I needed to burn 100 holes in the fabric, and then plant 100 seedlings. I put up a small fence to keep the chickens out, and will probably put some fishing line up higher to try and manage deer browsing. I filled the rest of the bed with direct-sowed zinnias and cosmos, with some sunflowers at the end.

This is what 100 seedlings looks like

Three weeks into the season, the seedlings have established themselves and look good. We have been getting zinnias already, which I have been picking to encourage new growth. The feverfew and marigolds will bloom soon, to be followed by snapdragons. The cosmos and sunflowers will round out the flower season.

This experiment has given me a new appreciation of the flowers I see for sale at the farmers market. Like all farming, it is a lot of work, and is not always a success. A greenhouse and/or high tunnel seem to be essential in growing flowers for sale in Wisconsin, given the number of plants needed and short growing season. I only tried five types of flowers, and did not even try to add filler or greenery to the mix. I also had a complete failure of one type of flower. It has been nice having small vases of cut flowers in the house, but next year that plot may end up with something new - perhaps wheat.

A lot of work goes into flowers