You might think that once the last bouquets are harvested and the flowers are finished blooming, things would slow down around the flower farm. I certainly thought so! But as it turns out, fall has been one of the busiest times of the year here at Petals & Pasture.
There's been compost to spread, soil to till, new beds to make, hundreds of flowers to plant, and plenty of preparation for next spring. And while the field may not look like much right now, there's actually quite a bit happening both above and below the soil!
Getting the Cool-Hardy Annuals Ready for Winter
An update from my October 7th Farm Journal entry:
Earlier this fall, I planted hundreds of snapdragons, dianthus sweet, campanula, and delphinium plugs. I also planted thousands of seeds: bachelor buttons, poppies, bupleurum, bells of Ireland, nigella, corn flower, larkspur, Ammi white dill and green mist, Queen Ann's lace, feverfew, and rudbeckia. These flowers can tolerate colder temperatures than many of the summer annuals I grew this year, and by planting them in the fall, I'm hoping they'll develop strong root systems before winter and get a head start on blooming next spring. As I already mentioned, I did plant them later than I should have and still the hot weather made a few of the dianthus sweet send up shoots for blooming already. I pinched most of them, so we will see how they overwinter. But one good thing about it having been unseasonably warm since I planted them is that they've had quite a bit of time to grow and establish themselves and they all are looking really nice.
Lavender Maryland snapdragons
Before the first frost arrived, Adam and I installed hoops and frost cloth over the beds before our first frost. It's been a bit of up-and-down for the frost cloth, down at nights and up during the day. Once nighttime temperatures are consistently dipping into the 20s, I'll be closing the cloth over the hoops and tucking them in to give some extra protection from the cold and wind.
I'm really hoping this fall planting experiment pays off with earlier blooms and longer stems next spring!
Compost, Tilling, and Making More Beds!
Another big project this fall has been getting the growing beds ready for next year. The whole area is now about half-an-acre.
I've been adding compost, tilling, and forming new beds (thanks to Adam and my brother’s bigger tractor to pull the hiller/bedder) in the original and expanded growing areas. After dealing with some pretty challenging soil conditions during my first season, I'm especially focused on improving the soil and giving next year's flowers a better growing environment. And it has to be an improvement since last year at this time it was just a field with weeds. It has been loaded with 130 cubic yards of Price Farms Zoo Brew compost since then!
Once the beds were prepared, I covered them with weed guard to help keep them from eroding or becoming compacted. The goal is that these beds are ready for planting in spring.
I've also been making an effort to cover every bit of bare soil that I can in the aisles. Some areas have been seeded with grass, which has sprouted nicely—while others have been covered with straw, hay, or leaves (picked up from our neighborhood in town). My goal was to cover every bit of exposed soil, which I think was accomplished.
Between the compost, the soil improvements, and keeping the ground covered, I'm hoping to see healthier soil and stronger plants as the years go by.
There's something satisfying about looking out over the field and seeing the beds all made, covered, and ready for another growing season. It may not be nearly as pretty as a field full of flowers, but I know how much work went into getting it that way!
My sister, Amy, helped me finish the last of the aisle covering. And that blue sky! Such a beautiful place.
One Last Beautiful Show — The Heirloom Mums
While most of the flower field was winding down, my heirloom chrysanthemums were just getting started! I had never seen mums like this before! They were certainly not the big ball plant that you buy to add to the front porch and then discard when it dies in January.
Those plugs I bought in early spring from Three Porch Farm in Georgia (and moved around multiple times, sadly!) finally bloomed this fall, and they were absolutely beautiful. I enjoyed their beauty so much as I worked out there. Their fragrance was really nice too. I hope to only move them one more time in the spring and then leave them be in their permanent place on the farm. Hopefully next year I can include them in bouquets so that others can enjoy them too.
Already Planning for Spring!
Of course, while I'm finishing up the work outside, I'm also busy planning what will be growing in the field next year.
I've already placed orders for thousands of seeds (which already arrived!) and hundreds of flower plugs that will begin arriving in March and April. Some are flowers I grew and loved during my first season, while others are new varieties I'm excited to try.
Lisianthus is definitely coming back, and in much larger quantities! It was one of my favorite flowers to grow this year, with beautiful blooms, an incredibly long vase life, and even a second flush of flowers late in the season. I'm hoping for even more of those gorgeous blooms next year!
I'm also adding more bupleurum and Bells of Ireland, both of which I'm hoping will become reliable fillers for my bouquets.
There will be more snapdragons, too, including Groups 4 and 5 for later-season production. I learned quite a bit this year about the different snapdragon groups and how their growing requirements change with the seasons. I'm looking forward to putting that knowledge to use and hopefully having a more consistent supply of beautiful, long-stemmed snaps.
Stock is returning as well! I loved growing it this past spring, although the stems were much shorter than I had hoped. I'm making a few adjustments to my growing plans and hoping for taller, more usable stems next year.
And then there are the poppies!
I've ordered poppy plugs for spring, but I also sowed poppy seeds directly into the field this fall. They've already germinated and are growing! Many hardy annual poppies can survive our Central Ohio winters without additional protection, especially when they're well established and planted in well-drained soil. I'm leaving mine uncovered and hoping they make it through.
I'm especially excited to compare the fall-sown poppies with the spring-planted plugs to see which perform better. Another little experiment for this flower farmer!
And last but certainly not least, I've ordered ranunculus in beautiful, creamy bridal shades for early spring blooms! These will be a new growing adventure for me, and I'm so excited to see how they do!
A Season of Preparation
I think one of the biggest things I've learned during my first year as a flower farmer is that growing beautiful flowers involves so much more than planting seeds and harvesting blooms. There's an entire business to learn alongside the growing!
I've been taking Jenny's flower farming business course through Trademark Farmer, and it has really opened my eyes to just how important the business side of flower farming is. Growing beautiful flowers is one thing, but figuring out how to grow them efficiently, price them profitably, manage expenses, and actually make a sustainable business out of it is another challenge altogether. I've learned so much through the course already, and I'm looking forward to putting those lessons into practice this coming season.
For now, most of the beds are tucked in for winter, the cool-hardy flowers are settling in, and I'm looking forward to a little slower pace over the coming months. Although, I will be moving all of my growing tools from our house into The Flower Market studio area at the farm, next door to the flower field, so stay tuned for exciting updates about that.
Thanks for following along on this flower-growing adventure!