| Good morning to all! As most flower growers do, we are already looking ahead to what to grow for next year. I would love to get information from all of you folks since this forum is where I have been learning and growing for the past 8 years. We are a 2 "man" operation, retiring after 35 wonderful yrs. of teaching and grain farming. (We ain't young!)
We sell at one farmers' market on Sat 8-12 and sell to 10 florists -- doing a "run" on Tuesday and Thursday mornings.
At market we sell:
Single stem suns $1
Mini-bouquets $2, 5-7 short stems of misc.
Med bouquets $5, 5-7 med. flowers with filler
Larger bouquets $8, ex: 3 suns, ager, zinnias, filler
We have sold out by 10:30 most markets and have built a nice business with florists as they have learned to trust our flowers for freshness, post-harvest care, etc. This took "several" years!
I also do some weddings, sell by the bucket to brides, and do $25 bouquet for pick-up or delivery.
Our main crops are suns (mainly Sunrich series), zinnias (Benary/State Fair), ageratum (Blue Horizon), Amazon dianthus, lilies, buddleia, dahlias, gomphrenas, celosias, yarrow, hydrangea, and peonies -- and several smaller crops like sweet peas, herbs, etc.
We have 60 beds -- each 50x4 ft. surrounded by deer fence. We have a large used florist cooler that has been invaluable. We start about 5000 plugs inside starting about March 1 each year and succession plant inside until June 15. We direct seed all suns and most zinnias.
We would like to add several strong, reliable crops to our main crops and would appreciate your input re: marketing ideas that went well for you in 2011 plus any crop that you would suggest for zone 5 (central Indiana).
I know you are busy "flower farmers," -- thanks in advance for taking the time to share any descriptions of what you are doing! Julia -- from the Hoosier state. |
