First Year Flower Farming Lessons Learned

That’s a wrap on the summer flowers of 2021!

I cut thousands of stems over the season in spite of making SO many mistakes. The 2021 flower season began for me in January when I seeded my first lisianthus. I waited for those things to germinate for a month, then tossed the seed tray aside thinking I killed them all… they finally sprouted sometime in March. The one seed tray of pink lisianthus produced several hundred beautiful blooms! Mid-August was the last harvest of the pink lisianthus, they are in the bottom bucket in the pic below.

We planted several crops of sunflowers, mowed them down when they were done, and then planted more. The sweet, earthy smell of fresh cut sunflowers is a new favorite thing. I can’t wait to plant more next year!

I planted three crops of zinnias, the first was taken down by strong winds in May, so I started over with these beauties! Benarys Giants, they were spectacular all summer, and into September. They are also the favorite snack food of grasshoppers.

It’s already mid-September, and I am furiously seeding cool hardy annuals to plant out in the fields before the frost date in November. If winter doesn’t kill them, they will establish roots all winter and be the first to bloom when the warmer days arrive in very early spring. I am learning from local flower farmers, reading flower farming books, and of course YouTube.

Below are some pics of the 2021 summer flower season… already looking forward to 2022!