What Does a Flower Farmer Do Over the Winter?
Our first frost arrived this past week, and since we don’t grow anything in hoop houses or green houses, that means our flower season is officially finished. It’s bittersweet as I am already missing the fresh flowers on my kitchen table. However, winter is also a much needed rest for our bodies and mind after a busy season tending to the flower fields. But don’t get me wrong; just because the flowers are finished blooming, it doesn’t mean that we have nothing to do. So, what does a flower farmer do over the winter?
Organize, Organize, Organize
Where do I event start with this one!? Not only was it a busy growing season, it has also been a busy last year-and-half, navigating Covid, transitioning to life as a family of 4, and then having a baby who required a LOT of attention. Suffice it to say we fell behind on a lot of tasks both at home and on the farm. To get through we just started making piles anywhere there was a space for things that needed to be addressed but we didn’t have time to work on. Now, we are finally working our way through those piles: consolidating and finding places for everything, donating things we no longer need, organizing our storage areas, and finally repairing all the equipment that broke. We also decided to we need a flower shed for the farm. We will use this to store our supplies and equipment, and free up more space for us inside to make bouquets next summer!
Business and Administration Tasks
On top of the time to grow and tend to the flowers, we are also have a lot of administrative tasks associated with running a business. Each season our business grows and our needs shift, so winter is a great time to take all of our learnings from the season and update our business tools. We make sure all the information on our website it up to date. I also work on figuring out how to improve some of our administration processes. Specifically, this winter I really need to streamline my email and online ordering systems. That way, during the busy season, I can focus more on growing the best flowers possible and providing the best experience to everyone who receives our products or visits the farm.
Planing for the Next Growing Season
There is a lot of planning that goes on behind the scenes! In addition to things like deciding which flowers to grow, buying seeds, and determining when they need to be planted, we also need to start planning our farm events and offerings. Fortunately, I already have a head start on ordering seeds and putting together my planting schedule for 2022. I just have a couple more seeds and dahlia tubers to order as they become available this winter. In a couple weeks we we will also open up registration for our summer flower CSA, so I am busy finalizing what that offering will look like. I have also been thinking through a handful of new offerings, which I am so excited about. However, before I can share information about it, I need time to really dive into what those offerings will look like and work through all the product details. I jotted down so many thoughts throughout the growing season, but now it is time to pull those all together!
Start Seeds Indoors to Plant in the Spring!
In February and March we will begin the process of starting seeds indoors. Doing this allows us to get a head start on the season and have plants ready to go in the ground once the weather begins to warm up. I generally start planting around the first week of February, and then continue to plant seeds indoors every three weeks until early-April. When we start seeds indoors depends on how long it takes for that particular plant to bloom and how long it will produce blooms. This system has made it so we were able to harvest flowers beginning in June - remember we don’t have any hoop houses, so plants don’t go into the ground outdoors until the second-half of April at the earliest!
While we aren’t going to be busy harvesting flowers this winter, we have lots going on. We are looking forward to sharing more about farm life during this time of the year with you in the coming months.