Flower People

Dahlia season is slipping away… we’re scheduled to start digging in a month!

Making bouquets is one of the things that drew me to flower farming, but I realized I haven’t made nearly enough this year. It’s easy to get so busy labeling and planning that I forget to make time to enjoy the flowers.

So before we dig, I’m making time for dahlia bouquets and trying some different color combinations. I’m usually drawn to pinks and purples, but lately these berry colors have been catching my eye. I love how they came together.
I hope our rainy season holds off just a little bit longer so I can make a few more arrangements.

Many lessons were learned this season. And so much went into these sweet pea seeds. 😅

This is my fifth year growing sweet peas, and I’ve never had an aphid outbreak like this.

There’s no guarantee that leaving the borage and feverfew would have kept the aphid population down. But removing them was one major difference from previous years. Next time, they’re staying to provide habitat for beneficial insects. 🐞

I think the biggest thing with pest control is prevention. Start with healthy plants, test your soil, and release beneficial insects early, while pest numbers are still low. Monitor your plants regularly and take action before it becomes an infestation.

I’ve dealt with mosaic virus before, but never had it spread like this. Aphids can carry it between plants, and there’s no cure. Even after we got the aphids under control, we kept losing plants. That was the hardest part.

Now we’re cleaning and packing seeds, and it feels good to finally be here. I’m so excited to share this harvest with you soon! 🤗

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I owe you all an update! After waiting an entire year to see what the seeds from this flower would grow into, we finally have results... and they’re definitely not what I was hoping for. 😅
Here’s what I’m learning about the genetics behind it...

That original peach color was likely created by several genes working together, and the same is probably true of that really full flower form. What we see on the outside doesn’t necessarily tell us everything a plant carries genetically—or what it might pass on to its offspring.

I’ve removed the singles and semi-doubles, but I’m keeping the fullest plants in several colors. A yellow or burgundy flower may still carry some of the genetic ingredients I need for peach or that really full flower form. And because these plants are open pollinated, pollen from one plant may also be contributing traits to the seeds produced by another.

So next year, I’m going to grow the seeds from each mother plant separately.
That will let me start comparing families and learning what each plant actually passes on. Does one family produce more peach? Does another consistently produce fuller flowers? Or does something completely unexpected appear?

Maybe I’ll never recreate the original flower... but I might create something completely new.
And honestly, that possibility is what makes plant breeding so much fun.

Thanks for cheering on this project!

Ready to start planting? Comment SEEDS and I’ll send you the details.

Fall planting is an important part of flower farming. Some flowers need or benefit from winter cold, while others use those cooler months to establish roots and get a head start on spring.

It also helps spread out the workload. Seed starting and planting get so busy in spring, so anything I can successfully start in fall is one less thing competing for my attention later.

What you can overwinter will depend on the flower and your climate, but here are a few tips before you start:

• A good rule of thumb for transplants is to start the seeds 8–10 weeks before your first frost. This gives the seedlings time to grow into sizable transplants that can go into the ground and begin establishing before winter.

• Foxglove and rudbeckia seeds need light to germinate. Gently press the seeds onto the surface, but don’t cover them. Foxgloves can be sown directly outside, while I prefer to start my rudbeckia seeds in trays in the greenhouse.

• Direct sow poppies where you want them to grow because their roots don’t like being disturbed. Mix the tiny seeds with sand to help spread them more evenly, then leave them uncovered. Poppies can be planted later—direct sow them from late fall through winter whenever the ground is workable.

• Direct sow nigella where you want it to grow and cover the seeds lightly with about ⅛ inch of soil.

• Start sweet peas and lupine in deep cells if you aren’t direct sowing. Both develop long roots and should be transplanted before they become root-bound.

If you’re adding any of these to your fall planting list, comment SEEDS and I’ll send you more information.

Sweet pea planting is in full swing on the farm 🌱 The goal is to get the rest of the plants out by the end of this week (much later than I originally planned, but farming depends on the weather 😅).

I can’t wait to see them bloom again 🌸 Soon we’ll be tying up the rows each week and fertilizing.

They’re a lot of work, but so worth it!

Fingers crossed for a good seed season 🤞✨