What to grow, where to sell, how to display. Introduction to local cut flower production, planning, and marketing.

1. Taking Your Cut Flowers to the Next Level
Mark Cain Dripping Springs Garden SSAWG 2020

2. *Know your market
*Know what to plant
*Know how many to plant and when
*Know how to best harvest and store
*Know how to display and market
*Know what to charge

3. Dripping Springs market stand circa 1986

4. Fayetteville Farmers Market

5. Dripping Springs stand at Fayetteville Market, early April

6. Early April Fayetteville Farmers Market

7. Up your game by joining the ASCFG
Association of Specialty Cut Flower Growers
Benefits: Cut Flower quarterly and all back issues
Archived production information

8. ASCFG.org
More benefits:
Closed Facebook group
Pricing guides
Archived conference presentations

9. A tour of some proven sturdy performers for local marketing

10. Gladiolus: keep for 2 years
Plant 5 rows/4’ bed/6” apart in row, netted

11. Tuberose
Plant 4 rows per 4’ wide bed
6” apart for single bulbs
12” apart for clumps
Dig yearly to store or mulch heavily

12. Tuberose

13. Snapdragons:
1-3 successions in unheated hoophouses
Planting mid-Feb,-late March
4 rows per bed, 6” apart, netted

14. Zinnias Benary’s Giants
Sucession plant every 3-4 weeks
Beginning last frost date through mid-
summer
4 rows per bed, 6” in-row, netted

15. Zinnias

16. Sunflowers:
Use pollenless varieties
Transplant or direct seed
4 rows per 4’ bed
6” apart for bouquet work
Plant late April-Aug

18. Cockscomb:
Chief series, Kurume series, Cramer series
4 rows per 4’ bed, 6” apart, netted
Plant early May-mid July

19. Plume Celosia
Pampas Plume
Hi-Z, Sylphid, others
4 rows per bed, 6” in-row
May through mid-July

20. Marigolds
Babuda, Narai, Jedi series
4 x 12”, netted
May-mid-July

21. Daffodils
Use sturdy, late-blooming varieties
Plant 4 x 6”, divide after 5 years
Plant fall-winter

23. Tulips
Grow as annual
Many varieties possible,
Late Darwin hybrids very useful
Harvest 2x daily at bare color stage
Will store 2-3 weeks with bulbs on @38 degrees
Concentrated egg-carton spacing or 5 x 3”
Plant mid-Nov-mid-December

24. Lilies: Oriental, Asiatic, LA Hybrids, OT hybrids
Year round production possible indoors in lily crates
Outdoor production possible for June bloom, disease issues
Unheated shade house succession production in containers for summer

27. Anemones
Unheated winter-spring hoophouses
Plant 4 x 6” December
Cold pretreatment necessary, begin mid-Oct.
Bloom late February- mid-May

28. Anemones

29. Ranunculus
Same procedures/spacing/bloom time as anemones

30. Lisianthus
Unheated hoophouse production
Plant early-mid March
6” x 6” planting grid, 1-2-1-2, netted
Many varieties bloom June-Sept

31. Dahlias: use tubers or plants
2 x 18”, stake and weave or netting support
Dig after frost to store

32. Statice
Many varieties
4 x 12” spacing, plant late April
Bloom June-frost

33. Purple Majesty Millet
4 x 6” , 2-3 successions
After frost to mid-summer plantings
Other millets, sorghums, broom
corns possible

34. Larkspur
Direct seed early October for May bloom
Long germination time, very hardy
Netting

35. Dianthus Amazon series
Transplant early spring 1-3 successions
4 x 6” spacing

36. Dianthus barbatus “Sweet William”
Biennial, May flowering of 2nd year
Seed June, tranplant by August to overwinter
4 x 12” spacing

37. Blue Horizon Ageratum
4 x 12” plant after frost
2 successions 4 wks apart for best quality

38. Centaurea cyanus Bachelor Button ‘Blue Boy’
Overwintering annual; transplant early October-November
Or plant early spring
4 x 12” (overwinter) 4 x 6” (spring); netting required

39. Rudbeckia Indian Summer, Prairie Sun
Transplant mid-March through early April
4 x 12”

40. Abundant filler material is required for bouquets
Green Filler:
Cinnamon Basil
African Blue Basil
Cardinal Basil

41. Architectural filler:
Statice (Limonium sinuata)
QIS, Fortress series, others

42. Green filler: Common asparagus

43. Woody green filler: Privet
(Ligustrum) common, Chinese, varigated

44. Grasses and grains:
Highlander millet (foxtail millet)
Pearl millets
Broom corns, wheats, triticales

45. Scented geraniums
From cuttings
Not hardy
Excellent vase life

48. BOUQUETS
• We divide the types of flowers into focal flowers (large,
showy blooms like lilies), disc flowers (like zinnia or
rudbeckia), spike flowers (celosia or others with that
shape), and filler flowers (greenery or other space-
filling flowers that help create a 'space' for the
bouquets. For standard medium size bouquets, stem
count is around 14, including 1 focal flower, 3-5 filler
stems, 4-5 spike stems, and 3-5 disc flower stems.

50. Marketing bouquets at Farmers Markets:
A tour through the bouquets at the Fayetteville Farmers Market 2019

51. bouquets at the Fayetteville Farmers Market 2019

52. bouquets at the Fayetteville Farmers Market 2019

53. bouquets at the Fayetteville Farmers Market 2019

54. bouquets at the Fayetteville Farmers Market 2019

55. bouquets at the Fayetteville Farmers Market 2019

56. bouquets at the Fayetteville Farmers Market 2019

57. Dripping Springs Garden at Fayetteville Farmers Market

58. Walls of color with materials to be made at market into bouquets

59. Dripping Springs Garden at Fayetteville Farmers Market

60. Dripping Springs Garden at Fayetteville Farmers Market

61. Ready-made bouquets in stands to side of main display

62. Ready-made bouquets in stands to side of main display

63. Retail store marketing: taking notes and learning lessons in display
Whole Foods Fayetteville

64. Color saturation!

65. Every bucket clearly marked with price and professional signage

66. Poor product/color saturation
Poor species selection for vase life
Not monitored for wilting
= poor display and sales

67. Weddings!

68. Local flowers are the rage!

69. Bridal bouquet in process

70. Boutonnieres

72. Basic Production Techniques:
Propagation

73. Heated propagation greenhouses are extremely important
for seedling production. This 30 x 80 double-poly house has
ground beds in addition to benches

74. Organic Propagation: Basic Materials
Sterile Organic Soil Media,
Dried chicken litter or feathermeal
Commercial compost or earthworm castings
Fish emulsion, seaweed extract
Sowing/transplant mix: 2.5 cu ft media
+ 3 c granulated litter or 1c feathermeal
+ 1g compost

75. Seed sower showing seeding into
plug flat
Specialty flower seeds are expensive; careful sowing in
individual cells with tap-seeder or vacuum seeder
minimizes waste. Sterile media important for avoiding
damping off and weed germination.

76. 288 plug tray for
initial seeding of
smallest seeds

77. 50, 72 cell trays
50-cell plug tray for production of field transplants. Using plug trays
allows us to transplant at almost any time of day with little or no root
disturbance.

78. Potting-on from 288 tray to 50-cell tray

79. 72-cell winstrip tray
These trays of hard plastic last for years. The smaller sizes
(162 and 128) are seeded and transplanted directly to field; these
larger 72’s are transplanted from 288 plugs, then grown to field size.

80. Winstrip trays air-prune at sides
and bottom of trays; must be
used on wire benches

81. Outdoor benches to
harden-off seedlings

82. Basic Production Techniques: Soil Management
Scale, budget, terrain, and job determine equipment needs
Italian-made BCS 11 HP walking tractor with 24”
tiller attachment (incorporating amendments)

83. Primary tillage of production beds with
Kubota 26HP tractor and Celli 50”spader

84. Spaders are excellent for deep cultivation without soil inversion,
here used in former blueberry field to prepare planting beds

85. Secondary tillage with Landpride rotary tiller for
incorporating of amendments and seedbed formation

86. BCS tiller used here to incorporate amendments after primary
tillage with spader—avoids tractor compaction and time spent
changing implements

87. Bed Formation

89. Once upon a time, not so long ago…
Creation of permanent raised beds on
contour using soil from adjacent paths

90. Bed shaper from Buckeye Tractor Co.
(Columbus Grove, OH)
Pro-Junior Model

91. This bed shaper works best on level ground with well-tilled soil,
and requires that both beds and paths be tilled and mulch-free

92. Berta-Franco rotary plow attachment on BCS tractor

94. Formation of beds in new hoophouse using rotary plow

95. Completed and planted hoophouse beds three months later

96. Well-engineered irrigation systems save time, boost yields
Basic Production:Irrigation

97. Drip systems are low-cost, require low pressure, are water efficient
and effectively deliver irrigation water. Water must be adequately filtered
to prevent clogging and zone establishment may be necessary

98. Picture of tape loc, drip tape, header pipe
Drip tape
Tape-loc
+ valve
¼” tubing
¾” header poly
pipe
Drip Irrigation Basics
Header pipe sizes, connectors, and tape vary with need
¼” barb

99. Drip tape can be applied by hand or with mulch-film laying equipment
Multiple tapes per bed or row possible; holes per foot vary 4-12”; may be
used 1-3 years depending on water quality, care, and rodent damage.
Cost $.02-.05/ft depending on quantity.

100. Bed prep with plastic mulch film. Because of the strip-cropping
method used in this former blueberry field, film-laying equipment
not appropriate. Time required to lay 250’ of film about 20 min
with 3 people.
Weed Control Using Mulch Films and Fabrics

101. Preparing bed for planting using woven ground cover with hole pattern
burned with hand-held propane torch. This fabric allows rainfall to
penetrate, is extremely durable (10+ years), enhances spring growth, and
can be used in summer without heat damage to plants

103. Weed control for bulbs and tubers: plant, apply drip
tape, then mulch immediately. Plants emerge through
straw; little subsequent hand-weeding required.
Tulip planting November 2011; this procedure
works for garlic, gladiolus, potatoes, even beans

104. Tulips coming through wheat straw mulch
applied after planting: zero weeding/cultivation

105. Only when unavoidable: hand cultivation with scuffle or colinear hoes
Examples: transplants on bare soil prior to straw mulch; crops that prefer
direct-seeding; late summer transplants needing bare soil to prevent
insect attack.

106. Keeping good
records is key to crop planning
Farm maps
Greenhouse log
Market log
Harvest log
CSA log

107. A
B
C
DE
Field Hoops
G
H
I
Blueberry East
Blueberry Central
Blueberry West
East
Hoop
West
Hoop
Upper greenhouse
X Y
Lily house

108. 'D' SECTION
2010
D17 3/19 Red Gold potato ~8/1 Provider green beans 2 x 12
50’
D16 3/19 Red Gold potato ~8/1 Provider green beans
52’
D15 6/24 purple and common sage
52’
D14 3/19 Red gold potato ~8/5 transplanted ‘limelight’ millet
52' on bare soil
D13 Red gold potato ~8/5 Celosia Chief Fire, Orange/Peach on fabric 4 x 6”
54'
D12 Red gold/ and Carola potato ~8/5Celosia Kurume Mix, Chief Mix
55'
D11 3/19 Carola potato ~8/5 magenta lettuce
58'
D10 3/19 Carola potato ~8/5Chinese cabbage transplants
58'
D9 (was dahlias) 7/0 ‘Astro’ arugula direct-sown 4 lines
64' 11/1 wheat/pea cover
D8 (was dahlias) 7/20 ‘Bolero’ carrots with French Breakfast radish interplant
65’
D7 (was dahlias) 7/20 ‘Bolero’ carrots with radish interplant
67'
D6 3/19 Carola potato 2 x 12” 7/8 Tadorna leeks on fabric 4 x 6”
66'
D5 3/19 Carola potato 7/8 bunching onions white spear, purplette + leeks on fabric
66' 11/1 wheat/pea cover
D4 3/19 Carola potato 7/20 Hakurrei turnip direct sown
11/1 winter wheat/pea cover
D3
67' fallow
D2
57’ fallow
D 18 11/15/09 oat pea cover
50’ 3/19 red gold potato 2 x 12”
~8/10 Gold Coin marigold on fabric 4 x 12”
D 19
50’
We use section maps
created with text boxes,
each representing about
¼ acre (use dimensions
that make sense for
your farm). Here, each
box in the section
represents a 4’ wide
planting bed; because of
slope and contour on
this site, beds range
from 50’ to 275’ long.
Bed length is displayed
on map for planning
purposes. Beds are
designated with their
section letter and a
number. If the site
allows, standard bed
length is preferable.
FARM MAPS

109. Our daily harvest info is entered on an erasable white board on the cooler wall by
all workers as produce comes in; before the next harvest, data is entered into
permanent logbook affixed to the white board (with a pen that can’t escape!)

110. Harvest Log 2012 2-Jan 9-Feb 23-Jan 29-Jan 6-Feb
arugula
asparagus ( .5 lb bu)
bac choi (pcs) 18 18 24
basil bu
basil lbs
beans, green qt
blueberries pint
broccoli
carrots
cabbage
chard (bu) 14
chinese cabbage hds
cucumbers, crate
daikon (lbs) 20
eggplant, cr
fennel bulb pcs
green garlic, bu
garlic bulbs
kale bu
leeks bu
lettuce greenlf pcs
lettuce redlf pcs
lettuce romaine pcs
lettuce, butterhead pcs
mint, bu
onion, green bu
The time spent entering the total annual harvest on a spreadsheet
more than pays for itself in useful information

111. Dripping Springs Garden
Crop Planning Worksheet
2013
greenhouse
date
last
year
target
greenhouse
date
actualgreenhouse
date
transplant
to
field
last
year
target
transplant
date
actualtransplant
date
bed
feet
last
year
target
bed
feet
actualbed
ft
row/bed
in-row
spacing
plants
ne
Ageratum Blue Horizon 12-May
88
4 x 12"
Anemones 31-Jan
~70
4x6
Anemones Galilee Blue, Meron
Albino, mystery 30-Dec
90
4x6
Anemones Galilee Red and Pink 1-Jan
90
4x6
By collecting planting information from field maps, harvest data, and greenhouse
logs, planning spreadsheets can be created to guide the next year production schedule

112. Flower Items greenhouse
date
last
year
target
greenhouse
date
actualgreenhouse
date
transplant
to
field
last
year
target
transplant
date
actualtransplant
date
bed
feet
last
year
target
bed
feet
actualbed
ftrow/bed
in-row
spacingplants
neededlocation
first
harvest
date
last
harvest
date
ageratum blue horizon 1st 22-Mar 7-Mar 1-Jun 16-May 83 100 4 12 400
ageratum blue horizon 2nd 4-Apr 13-Jun 50 4 12 200
agrostemma purple queen 11-Feb 1-Feb 12-Apr 15-Mar 44 50 4 6 400
anenome galilee blue, red, pink;
meron bordo 11/13/2009 11/4/2010 1-Jan 7-Jan 7-Jan 180 180 180 4 6 1400
aster matsumoto 9-Mar 1-Mar ~5/13 1-May ~40 50 4 6 400
bachelor buttons overwinter crop
2010/11 9/7,16
10/13,
11/2/2011 90'
bachelor buttons, spring crop 12-Jan 1-Mar 60 4 12 240 BW
bachelor buttons, spring crop 15-Feb 1-Apr 80 4 12 320 A?
bachelor buttons overwinter crop
2011-12 1-Sep 1-Oct 200 4 12 800
basil, cinnamon 1st 8-Mar 1-Mar 6/4? 15-May <55 55 4 12 220
basil, cinnamon 2nd 15-Apr 15-Jun 55 4 12 220
calendula indian prince 11-Feb 1-Feb 29-Apr 3 ~15 4 6 440
celosia chief fire, kurume scarlet,
orange/peach, others 4/20,26 15-Apr 6/1,3 20-May 153 150 4 6 1200
worksheet with added target greenhouse/transplant dates and amount

113. Dripping Springs suggested FLOWER
planting schedule (zone 6b) best varieties
plant in
greenhouse transplant to field
sow initiallyin
this size
bump up to
this size
rows per
4' bed
in-row
spacing netting Comments
Ageratum Blue Horizon 3/3 and 5/1 5/1 and 6/15 288 50 4 12 no
two plantings for full-season
production
Bachelor Button (overwintering) Blue Boy, others 1-Sep 1-Oct 128 4 12 yes
Bachelor Button early spring Blue Boy, others 1-Feb 25-Mar 128 4 12" yes
Basils, ornamental
African Blue, Cinnamon, Cardinal,
others 3-Mar 12-May 288 50 4 12" no
African Blue availableas cuttings only;
may need two plantings one month
apart
Celosia, plumed
Pampas Plume, Gold Plume, Scarlet Plume,
Cramer's Hi-Z,Sundae series, others 7-Apr 15-May 128 4 6" no
Best to use two or more plantings one
month apart
Celosia, crested
Chief series red, fire, persimmon, others;
Kurume Scarlet; Supercrest series 7-Apr 15-May 128 4 6" yes
Best to use two or more plantings one
month apart
Statice sinuata
QIS series lavender, white, yellow,
blue, apricot; Purple Monarch; others 5-Mar 28-Apr 288 50 or 72 4 12" no
Rudbeckia hirta Indian Summer, Prairie Sun 1-Feb 7-Apr 288 50 4 12" no
Dianthus, annual
Amazon Neon Duo, Purple Bouquet,
others 6-Feb 7-Apr 288 50 4 6-12" no
Use two plantings separated by one
month
Eucalyptus Silver Dollar 1-Feb 15-May 128
50 or straight
to field 4 6" no
may wish to buy plugs of 288 and
bump to 50's in mid-March

114. Sweet William Diathus barbatus Tall double mix, Electron 4/1-5-1 6/15-7/15 288 50 4 12" no
to overwinter and bloom
following year in May
Marigold
Babuda series, Narai series,
Jedi series 7-Apr 15-May 128 4 12" yes
Best to plant two to three
plantings separated by one
month
Snapdragons, heated greenhouse
Potomac series, Liberty
series, others 1-Oct 30-Dec 288 50 or 72 4 to 7 6" yes
for bloom mid-April to late
May
Snapdragon, unheated hoophouse
Potomac series, Liberty
series, others 11/1 to 12/1 2/15 to 3/15 288 50 or 72 4 to 6 6" yes
Seed flats must have good
heat for rapid growth;
transplants hardy to around
17 degrees with row cover
Gladiolus many varieties 4/1 to 7/15 5 6"
overwintered gladiolus (with
mulch) will bloom second
year all at once; we remove
after second bloom, as
plantings become spotty
Lisianthus (unheated hoophouse)
Echo series, Mariachi series,
ABC series.others order in plugs! 15-Mar 288 50 or 72 5 6" yes
Zinnias Benary's Giants 4/1 to 6/1 5/1 to 7/15 128 4 6" yes
Use 2-3 plantings one month
apart
Sunflower
Sunrich Series, Procut Series,
Sunbright Series, others 4/10 to 8/15 5/1 to 9/1 128 4 6" no
last sowing date given is for
unheated hoophouse

115. Dripping Springs
Garden Intensive
Production of
Unheated
Hoophouse Flower
Crops Planning
Timetable
(zone 6b)
Order plant
materials from
suppliers
Pretreatm
ent?
start seedlings
in greenhouse
transplant to
hoophouse
rows per 4'
bed
in-row spacing
inches netting harvest period Comments
Anemones
Marianne and
Carmel series June, July yes
transfer to 50's
for 3 wks or
plant directly
late Nov-
early Dec 4 6" no Feb-early May
control aphids
with neem oil
products or
Pyganic
Ranunculus
La Belle,
Amandine
series June, July yes
transfer to 50's
for 3 wks or
plant directly
late Nov-
early Dec 4 6" no Feb-early May
control aphids
with neem oil
products or
Pyganic
Lisianthus
Echo series,
Mariachi series,
others Nov-Dec no
plugs arrive 4
wks ahead of
transplant
date; transfer
to 72's mid-March 5 6" yes June-September
control fusarium
with RootShield
Snapdragons
Potomac series,
others fall no
plugs arrive 4
wks ahead of
transplant
date; transfer
to 72's
mid-
February
through mid-
March 5 6" yes
April through
June
control aphids
with insecticidal
soap or Pyganic