Nah,I had too much going on this past year to even sit down to order any.
Trying cuts at market again for 2010
ok... well they seem to be a hot cut fluer up here. Ya see them at all the markets.
I wanna get some statices going. both the perenial and annual kinds..
Both the "Soiree Series" and "QIS Series" statice have done well for me down here, in the winter. Can't recall where I purchased the QIS series back in 2007. The "Soiree Series" statice is available through Park Seed.
Well, im wanting the perennial statice latifolia and the other one that I cant think of its name right now. Ones sea and the other german.
Do some gyp and some achillea for fillers
My white peony did so wonderfully last year that I think I may do those as single stem sales at market. Wonder what I should charge per stem?
Well the glads get $1+/- a stem.. I would ask about the same or maybe at the most $2.5 maybe? Are you sleeving them though?
Red - I visited a floral shop in Sonoma earlier this year where they were selling peony stems. They range any where from $3 to $6 - I think the $6 was for the rarer yellow color ones. This is a touristy town, so the prices may be higher, but I would imagine you can sell them for at least $3. In this photo, there are some yellow ones to the right, pinkish ones in the middle, and in the left corner, some red charm. My friend who was with me bought some for her mom's birthday. I told her that if I had known she wanted some, I would have picked some for her from my garden.
This message was edited Dec 19, 2009 2:05 PM
This message was edited Dec 19, 2009 2:06 PM
Just think, I could have gotten $24 for this if I sold them at a bargain price of $2.00 a stem. These are Sarah Bernhardts - I looked them up online and one grower was selling them for $4.75 a stem, then you have to pay shipping on top of that.
Sometimes out here we have to settle for what the market will bare. If you find a thing at the market not selling well in the first few hours take the stickers off and then sell them at what the costomer thinks is a fair price. You will not have waste then at the end of the day and it will boost your sales the next time you are out if you have regulars.
People at the farmers markets can be an odd lot. They will pay their favoritefarmer double over the booth nextdoor at half price too though.
When we did the markets I would always ask if the person will be out again next week and what should I bring them and if I had it would bring stuff to fill their requests. As to whether or not they showed the following week that was hit or miss. You can try taking prepaid orders for the following week.. bring them the next week. There are all sorts of tricks to help boost sales. It will help you to presell your fresh too!
The worst you can do is have a bunch of fresh flwoers at the end of the sale day that did not sell and you have to dump them. Short of dumping them, stop at a retirement home or hospice or some place and give them away. It will be great advertising for you too. Sometimes you end up doing something for nothing only to make a gain later. Chaulk your lost sale up to good advertising in another valley!
Hi BB - I guess I need to qualify my comments...LoL.. I was not trying to sell the flowers. Those are the flowers that I take to work to display, or I give my flowers away, I was making a observation that if I wanted to, perhaps I could have gotten a couple of bucks per stem, seeing as how other people are asking for a lot more. It is too hard to try to sell - for all the reasons that you pointed out. I just grow all my flowers for personal pleasure.
soil,
Oh that makes me want spring even more...WOW...all that color.
In Arkansas,probably the most I could get per stem would be $2.00. My white one bloomed so heavy last year that even the cage couldn't hold all of the blooms up. I have Sarah B. too (your's just beautiful)and a red one ...have to look at tag,can't remember it's name.
...new poster to the forum---
been selling cutflowers for 30+ years in Tennessee, hope I can contibute to the discussion
I grow peonies and sell them by the 5-stem bunch for $12 in season. Maybe a little more for really nice ones. The ones you see in December come from Chile and usually sell for $2-4 a stem, but there's a lot of quality difference among growers.
In my market nothing delivers a consistent profit like zinnias. we grow the Benary series with a few special colors - envy, uproar, etc - spiced into the mix. We sell a 15-stem bunch for $7.50, growing cost is negligible. Our wet summer in Tennessee gave lots of mildew problems and lots of practice with the sprayer. Another grower tipped me off to "Actigard 50WG," which is a systemic "plant activator" rated for zinnias to give them protection from mildew. I'll try it this year.
Dahlias seem to be too much work for the money. Another grower gives me his on consignment and I get half for selling them.
Cutflowers are all about delivering consistent high quality for a fair price.
Hi Ifarr... thought you would enjoy this thread on
zinnias.http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1060267/
Up by me its glads.. to which I dont grow but the cut flower marketers here have a field day with them. course they grow them by the acres though.
I have peonies. They are hit and miss in my garden due to the water.
Been trying to get my zinnias re-established. Lost al my seed one year due to the floods.
Couldn't resist buying a couple bags of gladiola bulbs yesterday at Lowes. Picked up some blue and purple ones. Will be a plantin em this weekend.
Dibbs on yer mini croms when ya dig them LOL! I want to do some glads.. Gonna do them in large containers though. Then I dont have to dig themup, just dump them in the fall! I can also then just move them anywhere in the garden where I might need a hole filler! I like to tuck them in with the varigated hostsas. The hostas hide the pots and the glads give a splash of color.
So hows yer alligator Jon? Haighr and soils been shoing theirs off at the cafe.
The gator is fine. Gonna put em back outside in a bit because the rain is coming and he likes playing in the rain. I'm sure he'll be scratching at the door tonight after the cold front comes through and the temps drop into the 40's.
Awww man, yer having a heat wave! LOL!
Humidity: 72%
Wind: W at 9 MPH
Barometer: 30.33 in.
Dewpoint: 1°F
Wind Chill: -4°F
Visibility: 10SM
Sunny, brite and white!
hear tell the redneck ski hill is open... You do know what a redneck ski hill is doncha?
Nope. Never heard of a redneck ski hill. There are no hills down here. Poor baby. Here right now it's:
Temp 80 degrees
Humidity 55%
Wind WSW at 21MPH gusting to 29MPH
Windchill LOL
Visibility 10Miles
Gonna plant some "Bloomingdale Mix" Ranunculus seeds this afternoon. Never tried Ranunculus from seed before.
LOL! Guess I will go sow some pansys seed and some allysumn....worst I can do is chuck them in a pot, water then a tad cover them with saran and if they dont grow will have a pot to replant later!
Hmmm.. thought you was watchin the gator bowl?
Im going back to TAND M.. making a list....then I will toss it and go to the local nursery and get seed there!! LOL!
Oh, a redneck ski hill is a manure pile covered in snow.. but yano, that thang is open all year... slippery as all gad out!
Oh no!! TMI on the redneck hill. Actually I'm gonna watch the "Cotton" pickin "Bowl" at 2PM. I like the rednecky "Ole Miss Rebels".
I haven't started looking at all the flower catalogs that came around Christmas. Just got em set aside to look at sometime soon. Get those seeds planted Blossom. Hopefully they'll do well and give y'all a jump start for spring.
Well, were gonna go entertain ourselves and warsh the toilet bowl.. be about time.. Start the new yar off right! You and yer gator have fun now ya heyar!
We will. Think I'll pick some lettuce and have a Salad Bowl
Hi lfarr - welcome to this forum. I grew zinnias for the first time this year, and was quite pleased at how well they grew and flower until mid December here.
Regarding glads - I grew some years ago, great for the first two-three years, then started noticing deformities in all the patches. The thrips have attacked!!! After reading up on it, it seems like the only remedy is spraying on a regular basis, so I ended up tossing them all away since I did not want to spray. I read somewhere that you can control the problem by spraying early in the season with a mashed garlic concoction - has anyone ever tried it? If I can control the thrips organically, i may consider growing them again.
i am inbetween here with the high in the mid-fifties to sixty.
Soils, I have not had any problems with glads here. I put mine in containers though. I do have to stake them on occassion.
Hmmm... now thats my kinda weather. Was just outside. It actually warmed up by the thermometor, but it feels colder than it was earlier today when it was colder! Well, back to the dog, the hub and a cozy couch! Although, thats my kinda weather too! Snuggly!
Jon, I would not think either you nor soils woluld have to lift them? Just let them go? Here we have to obviously lift them.
You're correct Blossom. Gladiola bulbs can be left in the ground here. They're very inexpensive cuts flowers here. You can buy 10 stems for no more than $3.99 year round at the supermarket. The only reason I'm gonna grow a few myself is because the colors are different than what they typically sell at the supermarket.
Thrips are a big pest here, especially in the summer. I have to spray my hybrid hibiscus plants every couple of weeks, in the summer, if I want to see any blooms. They cause premature bud drop with hibiscus. They tend not to be much of a problem during the months of Nov-May. I suppose there is probably an organic approach to controlling thrips, but I use pesticides. There are about 3 or 4 very common pests in the summer here and the pesticides work on all of them. I know the organic/non pesticide approach is more politically correct, but it would be very time consuming to battle each pest on an individual basis.
i just discovered that Dawn dish soap and vinegar 50/50 mix makes a flea soap for a dog....bet you could dilute that some how and spray the garden with that.
Dawn is what they use on the animals when the oil slicks get them.....
Dont have thirp issues here. about the only pest we have are some biting flies that would go away if the a-hem neighbor would clean up his ski hill.
We try to stay organic as much as possible., but its pigs like that that make it hard on the rest of the neighbors. Some people just do not know how to compost properly.
Ok, some other flowers for cuts that are good.. Convent Gyp and achilleas. Coronation gold makes a great focal.. sell them 3 in a bunch. The other achilleas make for nice fillers and there are so many colors now. And so easy to grow.
Gomphrenas, craspedia, delphiniums, cosmos, stock, balsams, laitris, bells of ireland.
Strawflowers, feather celosias
If you want colorful foliage go with coleus. Only thing on coleus, some people can develop a dermititus rash from it. So handling it may be an issue.
Dont ignore your rudbeckias, gazanas, gerberas, coreopsis and mums! And lavenders! hmmm, for that matter, calendula, marigolds, chives, basils and salvias.
Hostas make great foliage, and the flower staulks can be great cuts. Evergreens, boxwoods....lilacs
Speaking of foliage, the newer huecheras have some stunning foliage.
Pansys can be good cuts too. They have a nice vase life.
I have had people wanting hollyhocks for cuts... go figure! I told them they would droop, but that did not matter! You can cut the tips back to make a sturdier staulk, but the vase life is not all that long.
Verbena bonarensis, coralbells make nice fillers....
lily of the valley...
ok, more than we need to know, but there are others too!
Mix your cuts with drieds. Feathers could be sold to add too.
Of course everything is seasonal, but there ae a lot of garden flowers that can be used for cuts.
In your small bunches always put MINIMUM three of a same kind, same color for focal flowers in a mixed bunch. The focal flowers are your key elements to when you just stick it all in a vase as is. To help your bunches appearance, cut those three flowers to three different lengths. It just helps the buy-it-in-a-bunch buyer make a quick pretty arrangement when they do not know how to arrange flowers! Field bunches are great sellers, but they do need to have some appeal and that is what your three focal flowers do for them if you are selling vase ready bunches. Sleeves are a cheap bonus for a customer so have them. And have on hand some ribbon or raffia to tie the bunch once sleeved.
And yes jon, time of day to cut is relavent to extending cut floral life! Timing is everything!
bigred what about calla lily do they last longer if you burn the stem. i get 2 weeks out of them fi i change the water and trim them a little. where do you get your flower treatment stuff? i dont go to market or anythig but i do flower shows. would love to see some of your cut flowers. ive only been a member of daves garden for about 2 mo. have gained alot of good stuff in a short perid of time.
Some of those flowers I've heard of and/or tried and some of them are new to me. A few of them won't grow here. I ordered quite a few different interesting seed packs from www.botanicalinterests.com a few weeks ago. I liked the look of "Brightest Brilliant Rainbow" Quinoa. I ordered it for the colors it comes in and didn't realize it's a vegetable. LOL
Planted some "Giant Excelsior" Stock, "Pavlova Dark Blue" Aster and "Bloomingdale Mix" Ranunculus seeds this afternoon in small 2" containers. Need to get the "Imperial Giant" Larkspur plants transplanted into the ground this weekend. Hopefully some of this stuff will do well down here in the winter. Ya never know if you don't try.
I generally cut flowers in the AM, but didn't know that was the best time to do so. Mostly just cut flowers for myself, but sometimes takes some to the neighbors.
The best way to keep pests/bugs away down here is to keep things cleaned up and neat. Many insects thrive on decayed matter. When you remove that stuff they seem to go elsewhere. At least that's what I've noticed in the past few years.
Biggest problems here are spidermites and mildew.
I don't know what all I'm going to do for cuts this year. I do have seeds for cockscombs,that new gompherna Fireworks. Lady at market last year only sold zinnas and huge cockscombs.
I like Queen Ann's Lace,flowers and seed pods of talinum for filler material. I have the green and gold leaf talinums.Alos have a native(weed)called seedbox(can't spell it without looking). It's weedy looking even in flower but makes the most darling seed pods that look like tiny boxes.
I use boxwood and fern mostly for greenery.
Welcome ifaar
little nettie,
I don't have many calla lily plants so I haven't done any for market. As soon as I can get the dog outta my lap,I'll check my cut flower ref.
I use a homemade floral presevative.
Spider mites are one of the common pests here along with thrips, whiteflies, mealybugs and occasional aphids. They are mostly a summer problem, but I can be battling a couple of them at the same time. That's why I try to treat the plants with something that will eliminate all of them, rather than treating on an individual pest basis.
I do grow calla lilies here in South Florida and they are a great cut flower. They usually last 1-2 weeks in a vase. The bulbs can be left in the ground here.
amorecuore im in zone 7a or b just depends on which way the wind blows. i also grow amaryllis out side, calla lily, and other plants that should not grow here, this is with mulch and extra protection this area is known an the river valley. mountain range on both sides guess this would be why i get by with doing this. do not know. the callas made seed this year one has come up i going to keep trying . i only have yellow and white.
Probably the extra mulch is doing the trick littlenettie. Sometimes that little extra "TLC" and a bit of creativity can help you grow some things not typical for our zones. On calla lilies most of them bloomed year one (2007) for me, but the second year was a bit "hit n miss". Quite a few of them were just foliage and no blooms. We'll have to waot and see what 2010 brings with them. I have some calls in yellow, white, pink, orange, red and purple. All of them are short varieties of about 8-18 inches...I would guess.
I have some callas in pots. The first season they were great.. they have wained terribly and I do not expect hardly anything of them for this spring. I did nothing to fertilize them or anything.. shame on me, but they were gorgeous while they lasted!
Im afraid in my zone I cannot really make a crop out of them for cut flowers, but they would make a terrific hot house pot crop, which thatis hhow most are sold up here!
Jon. been meaning to ask you. do you do cannas and if so, what would be your advice on how early I should pot some? I have 3 in my cripser drawer in storage and was wondering, since my last frost date is mid April, if I were to plant them now if that was too early? Knowing of course I could not set them outside for any time soon? I was just wondering if I could have a little fun with them as house pets before their booting out of doors would be more doable? Then too, where should I place them best for lighting etc!
I did quite a few tall cannas (5-7 feet) back in 2007 Blossom. Also grew the shorter "Tropical White" and "Tropical Salmon" Cannas from seed back in 2007. The seeds came from Park Seed. Although I do like them, I removed all of them in 2008. They were very high maintenance down here due to an insect called the Canna Leaf Roller. It's a caterpillar that secretes a sticky substance, folds the edges of the foliage over, and devours the foliage at a very fast pace. I had to spray the foliage every two weeks or I'd immediately start to see the damage to the foliage.
I'm not sure whether you could start them inside quite yet Blossom. They do have very high light requirements and no tollerance to freezing temperatures. Perhaps you should wait until late February if you want to give them a head start inside. That way they will have a chance to get started and won't be too large inside the house prior to you planting them outside in mid-late April.
Thanks, I was wondering. Oh poor you and your pests. Jaws is shirking his duties! LOL! Well anyway, they are lovely plants, but one of the reasons I do not grow them either is because of the fall lifting. I have 3 that I plan to do and to just leave in large containers and that is it. If they work out that way , maybe I will try more, but fall lifting is too hard on my arthritis. The ground is too cold getting colder and that just is not fun. Spring lifting is not so bad as the ground is warming. I take it then the cannas are pretty fast growing?
Same on the taro, it has to do well in a container and it will be first trys this season if I can find the ones I am after. One is a near black leaf with a blue vein, so very striking,.
Summer pests are a real pain in the ... down here. Yes, Cannas grow real fast down here, but surprisingly you don't see lots of them around. Mine just got so massive in the one year I had them. They keep spreading and sending up new stalks all the time. They tripled in size/width in just one year because they never stop growing. Perhaps you should try the dwarf "Tropical Series" of Canna seeds from Parks. They are a nice/manageable 18-24 inches in height and still have fairly large sized blooms. They grow very quickly from seed to bloom. I would guess it was around 90 days if my memory is correct.
I'd love to send you some of my plants Blossom, but they probably wouldn't survive going through the cold in transit. Bummer
Thats ok jon, this time of year is not a good time! About the only things I dare to get this time of year would be daffodil bulbs! Anything else is suicidal.
My shipping of plants is actually best through mid April to mid October, but it depends on what it is and how its to be shipped. I dont even like getting seed this time of year but some come anyway.
Tomorrows weather here is 2 to 7 below! Im not sure if that was the windchill! Put it another way, bloody dang cold!
Ouch, that's a numbing cold. Sounds like it's going to be a lazy/cozy Sunday up there. It's gonna get down to around 40 tonight here after barely making it to 60 today. Thats fairly cold for down here, but I love these cool days we occasionally have in the winter. My parents used to plant some tulip and daffodil bulbs outside in pots in the fall. Then they would bring in a pot every few weeks during the winter and watch them grow/bloom.
I don't think anyone ships plants during the winter because they're likely to travel through somewhere cold.
Its been numbing cold for days.. its the kind of cold that can freeze your lungs. You just cannot stay outside for more then a few minutes at a time. Its hard on the animals and doing chores has been a real effort, but you cant let the cold stop you. Our chickens even stopped laying yesterday and the day before their eggs froze and cracked.
I should have started some daffs for in the house but just did not get to. Did only that one paperwhite! LOL! And that one I just tucked behind my peppers to let it up and die! Told my hub, no one has to look at it there and thats just fine! I will not do tulips. They do not do good in the garden. Its too wet for them and they rot.
And as for corn.. nope not gonna happen in any volume here! We cant raise corn here. Tried sweet corn, indian corn and the grounds to piss poor and too wet in the spring, too dry in the end of summer and it just does not grow here. We used to row crop at the old farm.. had 120 acres and I sure miss that. But dont miss doing the beans at all! Dang fuzzy stuff! Itchy as all gad out. unlike my pet Goliath! DId think about trying a couple corn in pots though for grins, but will wait until summer! Maybe try some broomcorn.. been awhile since I have done that! Gonna try some millet this year too.
And no, the aquarium is gonna be straight radish, its to small to put any lettuce! LOL! Im not a fan of growing lettuce, especially leaf stuff. I have rabbits and well, they have plenty of other stuff to eat!