In today’s program, Cathy Isom gives you a grower’s guide to selling cut flowers at a farmer’s market. That’s coming up on This Land of Ours.
Flowers are in high demand. And growing beautiful cut flowers can make you some good money at your local farmer’s market. All of these things make a great farmer’s market flower:
- Lifespan – you want varieties that hold up in a vase for at least a week.
- Height – tall varieties over 14 inches are best.
- Climate – pick varieties that grow well in your climate.
- Variety – don’t just grow the flowers that jump out at you with size and color. When you are putting together a bouquet, the smaller flowers or fillers such as baby’s breath, are equally important.
- Sizes and shapes – flowers come in different shapes and sizes. Keep in mind that you want a variety of round flowers, spiky tall flowers, wispy flowers, etc.
- Perennials or Annuals – annuals produce faster, but don’t overlook perennials. Perennials may give you an edge by having something others don’t. Phlox, asters, and delphinium make great cut flowers.
- Flowering time – keep on eye on bloom length when you are selling flowers and plan accordingly.
Also, a farmer’s market flower should be:
- Beautiful
- Productive
- Fast-growing
- Relatively low-maintenance
- Easy to harvest
Also, keep productivity in mind. Cut-and-come-again flowers are the kind that you can snip off and the remaining stem will grow a new flower in the same season, so you can have continuous blooms. Zinnias are an ideal cut-and-come-again flower. Some of the best flowers to grow, are Sunflowers, Zinnias, Rudbeckias, Cosmos, Celosias, Amaranth, Snapdragons, Baby’s Breath, Field Weeds, Herbs, and Peonies.
I’m Cathy Isom…