Being a micro flower farm definitely has its challenges. Space being the obvious one. We live in a small suburban community surrounded by Amish and Mennonite farms. Do I drool over their property? Yes, but for now, life has me here and making the most of the micro flower farming life. So how do I pump out blooms all season long in such a small space?
The answer is planning and succession planting.
While most flower farmers are deep in the throws of wreath making season around the holidays, I’m pouring over my spreadsheets to see where I can be more efficient. What grew well, what I need more of (dahlias) and less of (nothing, lol). I have a master seed list that includes variety, color, seed to bloom time, way to germinate it, the week I start them based off of when I want it to bloom and much more. I can sort my spreadsheet by starting week so it keeps me on track with my weekly seed starting routine. Yes, I said weekly! This is where succession planting comes in.
Succession planting is a micro flower farm’s best friend. We don’t have the luxury of space so when a planting starts fading it gets ripped out and something else gets planted in its place. If I planned it right, the next succession will be blooming as the first is fading. This spring, I am trying 3 successions of cool hardy annuals in addition to what I fall planted according to my hardiness zone which is 6b/7a. (I’m not going to lie, I did lose some fall planted items because of the cold snap we got here that went down to single digits for a week!)
Next week we'll talk about what exactly I'm starting and when I'm going to be planting.
Want to start your own seeds? First of all you need to see what your hardiness zone is. To figure that out click here. This gives you a guideline as to what you can plant based off your climate. Then you need to figure out what your last frost date which you can find out here. Then follow the directions on the back of your seed packet!
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