Top 10 Fall Flower Farm/Garden Tasks to Start Today

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Top 10 Fall Flower Farm/Garden Tasks to Start Today

Fall may be here but there’s still lots of work to be done in the field and garden! 

In fact, fall is the most labor intensive season on the farm. After a long growing season, we’re bone deep tired. My husband and I often yell out to each other “Finish strong!” as we stumble our way toward the finish line (Thanksgiving is unofficial “end date” for field work). Ha!

Here’s my list of some of the most important “Fall Tasks” to tackle before the snow arrives.

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1. Take Notes and Make Evaluations

Over the growing season, I take a farm walk each Sunday morning and write notes to my Future Self to help me make better growing decisions in the future. It takes me about 10 minutes, but it’s incredibly valuable.

At the end of the season, I allow myself a couple hours to do a longer farm walk and reflect on the entire year as a whole.

What worked? What didn’t? What did I love? What have I outgrown? What felt right? What do I actually want to grow?

It’s a simple notebook and it’s literally just scribbled notes like:
“Don’t grow as much Amaranth next year”

“Snow Maiden Scabiosa is a pain in the butt to harvest. I don’t ever want to do this again.”

“Plant 4 successions of Tender Annuals next year instead of 3”

When I start making my crop plans and seed order lists in the winter, I pull out these notes and thank my Past Self for being so honest and truthful. Because let’s face it, in the winter we all want to grow ALL THE THINGS… but my Past Self reminds me of what I actually need to grow.  ;) Stick with the plan!

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2. Submit a soil test

Fall is the best time to take and submit a soil test. Any soil test at any time of year is better than no soil test… but fall is ideal.

When taking and submitting a soil test, be sure to follow the instructions on the test EXACTLY. 

Once your soil test has been mailed in and analyzed, you’ll receive recommendations on what you can do to improve your soil. 

I suggest adding the soil amendments in the fall, rather than the spring. Why? Soil amending is a slow process and the sooner you can start, the better. Adding the amendments in the fall allows them to slowly incorporate into the soil over the winter, so that your soil is ready to go in the spring. 

Do not skip this task. I know it can feel confusing, but HEALTHY SOIL = HEALTHY PLANTS. Improving the health of your soil is the absolute best thing you can do to reduce pest/disease issues and increase the productivity of your plants.

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3. Cut back summer crops and repare your planting beds/areas for early spring planting.

If you want to plant “Hardy Annuals”, you’ll need to prepare your beds in the fall. Hardy Annuals are cool weather crops that grow best in the fall or spring. In order to grow them properly, you’ll likely need to plant them or sow the seeds in the fall, late winter or early spring. 

If you live in a cold climate like mine, the soil is frozen most of the winter. As soon as the top inch of soil thaws out in early spring (March), it’s time to plant Hardy Annuals. Trust me - you don’t want to be trying to prepare beds in cold, muddy March.

Prepare your beds now and your March self will be so grateful. 

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4. Shop for and plant Perennials

Early Fall is the BEST time to plant Perennials, shrubs and trees. The cooler weather and increased rainfall is perfect for establishing these deeper rooted plants (instead of planting in the spring when the heat and drought of summer can stunt new plantings). Be sure to water them in well and apply a nice thick layer of mulch at the base to protect them from temperature extremes. 

This is also when we plant bare root Peonies. The first season, we mulch them well to prevent frost heaving, but in subsequent years they don’t need mulch. 

Many plant nurseries will still have a great selection of Perennials in the fall, so get out there and give your local plant nursery some love. Help them end their season strong! 

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5. Divide Perennials

If you already have lots of Perennials and they need to be split or divided, now is the time to do it. Here are some of my favorite Perennials for cut flower use.

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6. Plant Spring blooming bulbs

As soon as the weather and the soil begins to cool down, it’s time to begin planting spring bulbs, like Tulips, Daffodils, Alliums, etc. Here in Michigan (Zone 5), we usually plant our Tulips in October or early November. Want to learn how we plant our Tulips that we grow for cut flowers? Learn more in this blog post.

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7. Dig Dahlia tubers

In our climate, it’s too cold to overwinter Dahlias, so we must cut back the plants, dig up the tubers and store them over the winter to be replanted the following spring. 

To learn more about digging and storing Dahlia tubers, read this blog post.

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8. Preserve the harvest

As we cut back all the flowers (we cut each plant at the ground and leave the roots in the soil to increase organic matter), we reserve any blooms that can be dried for making dried flower arrangements. These dried flowers allow us to have “farm fresh, locally grown” flowers in our house all year long. Learn more about dried flowers in this blog post.

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9. Wash and sanitize seed trays

If you grow your own seedlings, it’s ideal to wash everything at the end of the season so you have clean trays ready for next spring. A warm fall day is great for this.

Bring your supplies outside, turn on the hose and scrub your trays with soapy water. After rinsing the trays, spray them with equal parts vinegar and water. Allow to sit for about 10 minutes, then rinse. Allow the trays to dry in the sun before stacking them.

Doing this outdoors in the fall is much easier than trying to wash all your trays in the bathtub in January. Ask me how I know this ;)

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10. Collect fallen leaves

Leaf compost is a wonderful soil amendment, full of nutrients and beneficial bacteria. Best of all, it’s free!

We collect as many leaves as we can and create a giant leaf pile. We allow the leaves to break down for about a year, turning them occasionally to help them break down into small pieces. This massive pile eventually turns into a small pile of soft, crumbly, earthy smelling compost that plants love.

You can use this compost to top dress your planting beds or Perennials.

NOTE: Do not use Black Walnut tree leaves, as they contain a compound called juglone that can stunt the growth of other plants. Thankfully, Black Walnuts lose their leaves earlier than most other trees, so it’s easy to avoid mixing them with other leaves. 

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There you have it. Finish strong, friend!

Crisp Cucumber Salsa Recipe

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Crisp Cucumber Salsa Recipe

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When August rolls around, it seems like the garden explodes overnight. Every day, I bring in loads of tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, herbs and more. 

I feel rich and wealthy beyond measure! There is something deeply satisfying about growing and eating your own food - your labors of love coming to fruition! 

In August, I'm always looking for ways to use up our produce. 

My friend Alicia shared this AMAZING recipe that takes advantage of all the good things growing in the garden in mid summer.  

I think you'll like this recipe as much as we do! I went ahead and doubled the original recipe for you... because, trust me. You'll want a double batch. 

Crisp Cucumber Salsa

Ingredients

• 4 cups finely chopped seeded, peeled cucumbers (Note: I'm much too lazy to peel cukes... so I don't and it still tastes/looks great)

• 1 cup finely chopped seeded tomato

• 1/2 cup finely chopped red onion

• 2 jalapenos, seeded and finely chopped

• 2 cloves garlic, minced

• 4 tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley

• 2 tbsp finely chopped fresh cilantro

• 1/2 cup sour cream

• 1 tbsp lemon juice

• 1 tbsp lime juice

• 1/2 tsp cumin powder

• 1/2 - 3/4 tsp kosher or sea salt

Method:

1. Seed and finely chop the cukes, tomatos and jalapenos. Then finely chop/mince the red onion, garlic, parsley and cilantro. Add to a bowl. 

2. Gently stir in the sour cream, lemon juice, lime juice, cumin and salt. 

3. Best served chilled on a hot summer day. :) I love to sprinkle a little lime on my tortilla chips and scoop up loads of this salsa... or just eat it by the bowlful. 

What are your favorite summer time recipes for using up your garden fresh produce? I'd love to hear them! 

-Lori

How to Revive Floppy Flowers

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How to Revive Floppy Flowers

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You've had it happen before.

The bloom looked perfect on the plant but within minutes of cutting, the whole stem is looking a little droopy. In fact, it looks downright sad!

What is going on?!?

Usually it's one of 3 things:

1. The flower was cut at the wrong time of the day.

Many flowers will immediately wilt if cut during the heat of the day.

Here’s why. Flowers are the most hydrated and firm in the morning, when the stems are filled with water.

As the day progresses and the heat rises , the water flows down the stems into the base of the plants and the flowers begin to dehydrate, which means the stems can get floppy and wilty.

Flowers that are harvested in the heat of the day are wilty, floppy and expire faster.

This is why we ONLY harvest flowers in the cool of the day, either early in the morning or late in the evening. On our farm, we start cutting as soon as it's light enough (around 6:00 am) and stop as soon as the sun is up over the tree line and it starts to heat up (about 10:00 am).

If the day is cool or cloudy, we can get away with cutting later in the day... but if the sun is out, forget about cutting in the middle of the day.

Evening is another good option for cutting. Start when the sun is far on the horizon and the day has cooled.

2. The plant was harvested at the wrong stage.

Every single flower has it’s own “Ideal Stage of Harvest”, which refers to how open or mature the bloom should be for optimal vase life.

Some flowers need to mature a bit more before being cut or they will flop. Really, the best way to figure this out is simply experimenting. 

If the stem feels floppy on the plant before you even cut it, that is likely a clue that the stem needs to mature a few more days. Wait until the stem feels more rigid.

For example, Zinnias are easy to test. Simply grasp the stem about 9 inches below the bloom and give it a shake. If the stem flops or bends, it's not mature enough. If the stem is stiff, it's ready. 

3. The plant DOESN’T hydrate easily.

Some plants simply do not respond well to being cut and have a hard time "rehydrating" and getting water flowing in the stems.

If you can manage to get these stems “drinking” water again, they will make a great cut flower and last for days. If not, they are basically worthless. 

A Simple Trick for Reviving Wilted Stems

In my reading and research about post-harvest care for flowers, I came across something called the "Boiling Water Method" for reviving wilted stems.

I was truly skeptical because the idea of placing stems in boiling water seems insane. In my experiments, I was attempting the opposite - recutting the stems and placing them into cold water. It didn't work.

I decided to give the "Boiling Water Method" a shot on some stems that I was about to throw out. I had cut the stems early in the morning, but they still wilted immediately... and a day later, even after being stored in my floral cooler overnight,  they still looked terrible.

Time to try the "Boiling Water Method". This is what I did:

1. Boiled water on the stove and poured it into a jar.

2. Re-cut the stems at an angle with clean, sharp flower clippers.

3. Immediately plunged the stem end into the boiling water, angling the blooms out the jar to avoid "steaming" the blooms.

4. Set a timer for 1 hour and walked away (I wanted to watch, but I had work to do!)

*NOTE: This was my first attempt. I learned that it's probably best to fill the jar with about 1 inch of water, so only a small part of the stem is "cooked". That part of the stem can be cut off later.

Also, one hour is probably unnecessary - I was headed out to work and wasn't able to check back earlier.

If you are concerned about "cooking" the stems, try dipping for 10 seconds for soft stemmed flowers and up to a few minutes for "woody" stemmed flowers like hydrangeas. After "searing" in the boiling water, place the stems in cool water.

When I returned, the water was cool and this is what the stems looked like:

AMAZING. I was in shock. 2 minutes of work and these flowers were back in business!

I removed the stems from the jar and added them to an arrangement in my dining room. 6 days later, the stems were still looking GREAT.

Now obviously, if your blooms are 5-7 days old and they start wilting, you need to simply accept that they are dying a natural death. Flowers don't last forever.

However, if your blooms are freshly cut and wilting, then you can certainly give the "Boiling Water Method" a try. What do you have to lose? It's better than your other option - throwing them out.

Flowers/Foliage That Might Need a Little Help

Here are a few flower/foliage varieties that respond well to this hydration method:

• Artemisia

• Basil

• Chinese Forget-Me-Not

• Dahlias

• Dusty Miller

• Hollyhock

• Honeywort

• Hydrangea

• Lilac

• Mint

• Scented Geranium

• Shiso/Perilla

Obviously, flowers are not "one size fits all", so this method will not work on all flower varieties.

I highly encourage you to do your own experiments. Have fun with it and set up your own control group and experimental groups.

For example, label several jars - one is the control (you do nothing), one is a stem seared for 10 seconds, one is a stem seared for 2 minutes, 10 minutes, etc.  Be sure to analyze and compare your results. This is the best way to learn!

If you consistently have an issue with a flower wilting, first you should make sure you are harvesting at the correct time of day and the correct stage of harvest. 

If this does not help (or if you simply cannot cut that early in the day), the "Boiling Water Method" is a good option to try out.

I hope this information is helpful. Give it a try next time you encounter a floppy, sad looking stem... and let me know how it worked!

Top 3 Simple Tips for Beautiful Bouquets

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Top 3 Simple Tips for Beautiful Bouquets

“What are your best tips for making a beautiful bouquet? Mine never look as good as I imagine them in my head!”

I hear this question all the time!

You’re in luck - I have some simple, actionable tips that will help.

Over the past 7 years, I’ve crafted thousands of bouquets using seasonal blooms from our farm. When I first started, I’ll admit my bouquets were less-than-stellar (that's a nice way of saying it!) because I was trying to do too many things at once.

As is true with so many things in life… Simplify, simplify, simplify!

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1. Choose a Color Scheme

Remember sitting in Art class learning about the Color Wheel and rolling your eyes thinking “This is so boring. Why do I need to know this? When will I ever use this?” 

You’re gonna use it now, friend. ;) 

The Color Wheel is a tool that helps you determine which colors look good together, depending on the “feel” or “look” you’re going for. 

Sticking to a recognized Color Scheme, instead of mixing colors together willy nilly, will create a cohesive, pleasing design. 

Of course, rules are meant to be broken, but if you’re looking for some guidelines to keep you on track, stick with a Color Scheme.

Color Theory can be complex, so here are a few Color Schemes that are simple and easy to use:

Complementary Colors: Colors directly across from each other on the color wheel. (Ex. Violet and Yellow)

Color Triads: Colors that form a perfect triangle on the color wheel. (Ex. Violet, Green and Orange)

Monochromatic: Multiple shades and tones of one color. (Ex. Varying shades and tones of pink)

Warm Colors: Reds, Oranges, Yellows

Cool Colors: Greens, Blues, Violets

As you can see in the sample photos below, I love to work with “Warm” and “Cool” Color Schemes.

When my daughter and I make our bouquets, we pull out all the “ingredients” (flowers/foliage) we have to work with, then divide them into “warm” or “cool”.

Then we lay out the “cool” color ingredients on the table assembly line style and make all the cool bouquets. After we’re done, we switch to the “warm” color ingredients and make all the warm bouquets.

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2. FOCAL, FILLER, FOLIAGE

To simplify the bouquet making process, on our farm we assign every bouquet ingredient to one of these 3 categories:

1. Focal: The main flowers that capture the most attention.

2. Filler: The other flowers that compliment the Focal flowers (the vast majority of the bouquet is made of these ingredients).

3. Foliage: The greenery that creates the foundation for the Focal and Filler flowers

To learn even more about Focal, Filler and Foliage, read this Blog Post.

We like to divide a bouquet into roughly ⅓’s so that the overall mass of the bouquet is: 

• ⅓ Focal Flowers

• ⅓ Filler Flowers

• ⅓ Foliage

We find this simple loose formula, along with a well defined Color Scheme leads to a well balanced, pleasing bouquet. 

Focal: Dahlias

Filler: China Aster, Veronica, Celosia, Snapdragon, Strawflower, Lisianthus, Gypsophila, Statice

Foliage: Eucalyptus, Plectranthus

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3. LIMIT THE “INGREDIENTS” in your “recipe”

It’s very easy to succumb to the temptation to add “a little bit of this, a little bit of that” to a bouquet… until you’re left with a cluttered, mish-mash bouquet that has no distinctive “flavor”.

The secret here is CONSTRAINT.

Instead of choosing 30 different flowers/foliage, CONSTRAIN YOURSELF and choose 5-10 flowers/foliage, and use them in multiples of 3-7 stems.

Why? The human eye loves pattern and repetition. Repeated shapes, colors, textures… all of these are pleasing to the eye and our brain can make sense of them. If a bouquet has no pattern or repetition, it looks chaotic and our brain doesn’t know how to process it.

Here’s a sample bouquet “Recipe”:

Focal - 1 Lily stem

Filler - 3 Snapdragon stems, 5 Yarrow, 3 Ammi (False Queen Anne’s Lace) stems, 5 Agrostemma stems

Foliage -3 Baptisa stems

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There are countless more bouquet tips, but again I want to emphasize:

Simplify, simplify, SIMPLIFY.

Once you master these 3 simple tips, you’ll be crafting your own beautiful bouquets in no time!

How to Support Your Cut Flowers in the Garden to Prevent Ruined Blooms

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How to Support Your Cut Flowers in the Garden to Prevent Ruined Blooms

Maybe you’ve been there…

Your cut flowers are at their peak production and looking AMAZING!!! The stems are tall and straight and you’re days away from harvesting buckets and buckets of blooms!

And then… a summer storm whips through with 50+ mph winds. In just 30 seconds, your MONTHS of hard work is ruined as the plants topple over and smash into the mud.

*Sigh*

Can you tell this has happened to us more than a few times on the farm? ;)

Ok, here are a few things I know for sure:

1. There WILL be summer storms with damaging winds. This is not a surprise or a shocking event. In fact, it is to be EXPECTED.

2. Cut flowers plants that are not supported WILL crash during these storms… unless they are supported.

Thank goodness there are ways to prevent this from happening.

Today, I will discuss a few different methods you can use in your garden to support your cut flower plants.

If I’m being honest, I will tell you that I don’t like supporting my cut flower plants. No matter what type of support you use, it will slow you down when you’re harvesting… and quite frankly, some plants are a nightmare to harvest through supports and can become a tangled mess (I’m lookin’ at you, Scabiosa and Cosmos…). But it’s better than losing entire beds of plants to a storm.

Netting

Hortonova Trellis netting is a popular option for many growers. The netting can be used vertically for climbing plants or horizontally stretched over planting beds.

Pro Tip: Place the netting over the beds when you direct sow the seeds or plant the seedlings. I usually stretch the netting so it’s hovering about 18” over the ground. As the plants get bigger, they will grow up through the netting.

I recommend securing the netting with sturdy rebar stakes or t-posts. When we started the farm, we couldn’t afford t-posts and instead used plastic stakes… and they simply are not sturdy enough and the netted plants topple over.

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Cattle Panel Support

While Hortonova netting has saved my butt many times, I’ve got no love for it. At the end of the season, it’s a tangled mess. We reuse it for as many years as possible, but eventually it will have to go in the trash.

One day, I saw a photo on Instagram posted by Cathy of “Miss Effie’s Flower Farm” in Iowa. Cathy’s husband, Cliff, created a brilliant solution for supporting her plants using metal cattle panel fencing from the farm store.

My husband thought Cliff was a genius and he started fashioning our own version of cattle panel plant supports.

The supports can be customized to fit your beds/growing area. Below is a video of how my husband bent the panels.

These supports are MUCH sturdier than Hortonova netting and I don’t find myself cursing as much when I’m harvesting Cosmos and Scabiosa. Ha!

But the real beauty of these supports is that they can “live” in the garden forever and don’t have to be “put away” at the end of the season. When I’m ready to clear out the beds, I just lift up the panel, remove the plants and put the panel back in place.

They are also very useful for early spring plantings. If you see that frost is coming, you can simply throw a sheet over the panel and protect your tender seedlings.

The only downside is the cost of the panels. We eventually want to phase out Hortonova netting completely and only use the cattle panel supports, but it will take us a few year to achieve that goal. In the meantime, we make more supports each year as our budget allows.

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Corralling

For our Dahlias, we use a support method called “Corralling”.

There are lots of different ways to grow and support Dahlias, but this is what works for us.

We grow the plants in single rows that are about 12” wide. We then place t-posts at the corners of the long bed and then about every 12 feet down the length of the bed. We use polypropylene string stretched tightly around the t-posts to effectively “corral” the plants into the 12” wide bed. The string keeps the plants from toppling over into the aisle.

Most of the Dahlias we grow reach 3-4 feet tall, so we run a string line at about 12-18” and another at about 30-36”. Some Dahlias will reach over 6 feet tall, so those plants get a third string line to help them behave.  

We plant over 1,000 Dahlias each season and find this to be the most efficient method for us. You can certainly use Hortonova netting for Dahlias, but I hated harvesting through the netting so much (it was very time consuming!) that we switched to corralling.

Tomato Cages

If you are growing a smaller number of plants and want to support them individually, tomato cages are an excellent option!

Here’s a photo of a Dahlia I’m growing in my vegetable garden. Eventually, the plants will hide the tomato cage, but the cage will keep doing it job.

Be sure to set up the tomato cage right away when you plant the tuber/seedling, so that you don’t damage roots/tubers installing it later in the season.

To support or not to support….

Many people ask me ”Do I HAVE to support all my plants? Is there anything I can skip netting?

Well, it really depends on where you live. If you’re growing in an open field, yes, you will likely need to net/support everything. Nearly all cut flower plants need support of some kind. Just do it. You’ll be so glad you did when those storm roll through.

However, if you are growing in a protected area that is sheltered from wind, you might be able to get away with only netting some of your plants.

On our farm, we net/support pretty much everything except:

• Sunflowers

• Statice

• Zinnias

• Most perennials