Bulbs in Crates

With a break from our chilly February temps this past weekend, I made it my mission to finish planting the last stash of bulbs, which have been taunting me from the corner of the garage!

These are the crates that hold my bulk orders of fall bulbs.
One crate holds roughly 500 tulips.
They come in different sizes but these measure 16"x23" and are 9" deep...
which works best for my planting purposes.

I line the perimeter with at least 4-5 layers of newspapers...
a good use of your recyclables...

to prevent soil from leaching out of those slats.
Fill the bottom with at least 3" of a good potting mix.
I do like to add a handful of bone meal to boost growth.

Depending on the size and variety of the bulbs, you can really pack them in!
Notice these tulips have started to sprout but they are firm and healthy
so they will be just fine!
Then add a 5-6" layer of potting mix on top.
 I will add mulch or leaves if I have any on hand.

The crates are placed outside in the garden through the winter
and just do their thing.
With the occasional rain and snow, no extra watering is needed.
By mid-late April, I'm ready to harvest...

bulbs and all. 

Easy peasy, right?! 
Stems are cleaned, extra foliage removed, they get conditioned overnight
and are ready for use the next day.
Spent bulbs are composted as I treat them as annuals.
 Blooms harvested with tighter buds (but showing color) can be held
in my flower cooler for up to 3-4 weeks.  Once in water, they plump and
color up in a few days.  This storage method helps extend my season of
cut tulips into mid-late June.

This is a crate of Spanish Bluebells.  I planted 400!

 Aren't they pretty?  (Internet photo)
I hope you enjoyed this quick tutorial.  Leave a hello (or question) in the comments.
If you have limited garden space, give this process a try.
We were back to a snowy forecast the next day so I'm glad I got this over-due chore done!

Back to School...

...but hey, it's not September!
I'm talking about the Beginner Growers' School for flower farming newbies, like me!
As you know, I've been a gardener most of my adult life but home gardening practices are much different then gardening commercially.  Oh yes!

The 2-day event attracted many young (and old..me!) farmers from all over the U.S.  We had a wonderful meet and greet reception and it was fun to put faces to names I'd gotten to know via social media in the last year.  It was especially fun to see which of these tags someone chose to highlight his/her personality.  Of course mine read 'party animal'...haha!  

 A floral demonstration came next and wait 'til you see the finale!
Sue from passionflowerevents.com wowed us with her very unique
design style and choice of materials.  

 Each new bloom variety she introduced brought oohs and aahs from my lips. 
And, she made the process look effortless!

   Isn't that just STUNNING!
Another favorite demonstration was this wrist corsage.

Our second day of school included a roll call of amazing speakers.
These are the pros in the biz who's 'been there' and 'done that',
so they truly speak from experience.

The topics ranged from seed starting to how to market your flowers.

The legalese of starting a business and pricing formulas...

...and, even bug pressure!

All in all, an amazing session.  I filled page after page with (hopefully legible) notes.
The camera came in handy too for those quick changing slides.
A huge THANK-YOU to the ASCFG (Association of Specialty Cut Flower Growers),
for putting together such a great how-to program. 
I know it will save me many years of having to 'learn from my mistakes'.

I came home fully recharged and ready to start an amazing new season.
Now...if only the snow would melt!!!

IS IT SPRING YET?

Reflections...

There's nothing like a year end post to make one pause, reflect and give thanks.  2017 certainly was a milestone...my first season as a 'flower farmer/designer' was AMAZING and I am beyond grateful for how wonderful it all turned out.
(Isabel March Photography)

The process of harvesting blooms at dawn became a zen-like ritual I could
hardly wait to get out of bed for.  Seriously!

(Seth David Photography)

Learning how and when to cut certain blooms, how to process them,
to provide the longest vase life, was truly a trial-and-error process.
And I am still learning!

(DHM Photography)

All those long hours of planting, pinching, weeding, watering really paid off as I was able to harvest enough stems to provide lush, healthy and colorful bouquets for the Farmer's market on Sundays from mid-April to mid-October.

10-14 hr. days were the norm, and quitting time came only when my legs and back gave up, in utter exhaustion.  I knew it would be hard work but...oh man!  Guess when I'm surrounded by beautiful flowers, breathing fresh air, how can I complain?!

 Especially when customers, like sweet Olivia,
love and appreciate my flowers like this?  So cute!

 

So with a full season of growing for market and a few wedding designs behind me,
I'm forging ahead and growing even more flowers!
Anyone have extra sunny space in their yard to rent me???

3 weddings already booked for 2018 and a second (mid-week) farmer's market
in the works, it's going to be an awesome year!
The garden is now in deep sleep under a cozy white blanket but I can't
wait for the explosion of color come spring.

Plantings this fall included many new varieties of tulips and hardy annuals...
already establishing their roots under the snow. 

And, of course, that coveted first handful of blooms
from my favorite vine, sweet peas!
I mean, who can resist their intoxicating fragrance?

As always, thank you, garden friends, for stopping by.


I wish you ALL a Healthy, Happy, Prosperous and Love filled New Year.
Catch you on the other side!
~Lynn

Full Circle

My first amazing season as a flower farmer passed in a blink of an eye, so it's no surprise that I find myself right back here again, planting bulbs and planning ahead for next season's blooms!

 Last year, I planted around 3 thousand bulbs.  This year the number increased to 4,000.  It sure sounds like a ton but, believe it or not, I'm so small scaled compared to other flower farmers I've come to know and admire.  While daffodils and alliums remain to naturalize in the garden, tulips will once again be treated as annuals (see last post).

There's my Tilly, lost in a sea of late summer blooms. Most mornings had me out pinching plants (to make them bushier) or deadheading blooms.  Timing the blooms to open for an upcoming event is quite tricky, but by the end of summer, I could easily gauge harvest time by the size of the buds.  It's work, work, work, but I loved every minute of it!

Providing fresh bouquets at the local farmer's market generated some wedding design work for me as well.  I loved creating this bright sunflower bridal bouquet.

And these cheerful mason jar centerpieces for an engagement party. 
Fresh, local grown flowers are the best!

This is what my work area looks like before Sunday's farmer's market.

Ta-Da!  A sample of my mixed bouquet ready for market.

September/October was dahlia season.  That blush one is called
Cafe Au Lait, most prized by designers.
And, no wonder, she's a BEAUTY...isn't she?

Well, there's lots to catch you up on but that'll have to wait 'til next time.
Thanks for stopping by, friends, I'll be back soon!

Catching up...

So much going-ons to share since my last post, but, as usual, I am scrambling for time!  With two farmer's market sales under my belt, it's a good time for a re-cap.

Remember all those bulbs I planted last fall?  Each and every one made it through the winter and provided such an array of colorful and gorgeous blooms!  I truly thought I would lose some here and there to voles and squirrels!

Even the bulbs I planted in plastic crates did extremely well!

I kept detailed notes on which varieties did best, provided longest stems (though I harvest them all with bulbs attached).  There will be a few varieties I will NOT include in this fall's planting, due to bud size, color pigment and foliage issues.

Before I knew it, the window for tulip harvesting came to a close...which is end of April here in central NJ.  This last harvest was certainly bittersweet.
As you can see, there were so many different colors and sizes it was hard to pick a favorite.

Tulips can be wrapped in newspapers (bulbs and all!) and stored in a cooler, for a few weeks.  Did you know that?!
Since this was my first 'farmed crop', mistakes were made in this process...
but that's how I'll learn to do better!

A sampling of blooms I had available for that first farmer's market sale. 
Not too shabby, eh?

It was such a fun experience and I felt like a proud mama, showing off her babies!
Offerings included wrapped bouquets in difference sizes and mason jar arrangements.

The flowers were a big hit and I even had a few repeat customers at the 2nd market, two weeks later!

I already miss all these beautiful spring blooms but I'm definitely looking forward to the next crop to harvest.  They include alliums, bachelor buttons, lilacs, peonies and irises.  Can hardly wait!  Thanks for visiting, friends!  If you're local, come visit me at the Rte 12 circle market in Flemington 9-1pm...every Sunday.