Dave Dowling is back for this episode. He’s a fan favorite and if you haven’t already listened to the Everything Tulips episode and Everything Ranunculus episode here, be sure to go back to grab those.  Dave is well-known in the flower farmer sphere for his wealth of knowledge and decades of experience in farming and sales.

I asked Dave back so he could help me hash out what flowers are viable crops for November sales.  

I’ve heard more and more growers talking about skipping summer production in favor of focusing on the shoulder seasons, myself included. The summer heat can flatten you.  And summer sales tend to drop off as everyone goes on holiday.  And after a whole season of training customers to buy from you, it’s a shame to just drop them at the first frost. 

Here in the northern Hemisphere, there’s tremendous opportunity for brisk sales in November, if you have some infrastructure like a high tunnel or greenhouse.  Retail sales reach a near fever pitch as customers realize cold weather is setting in and they’ll soon be without their local harvests.  Thanksgiving can be a big floral holiday here in the U.S..  Wedding florists are still quite busy too in November as many couples have opted for a shoulder season date to either save a little on the budget or to also avoid that damn summer heat. 

The problem is that usually we just think of mums when it comes to end of season sales.  And even with all the specialty and heirloom varieties available to growers at the moment, mums alone don’t make a bouquet.  Weather you’re selling at farmers market, doing weddings yourself, or selling wholesale to florists, you need a more diverse product mix to grab interest and bigger sales. 

Dave and I go over a list of 10 late fall crops that can be harvested for gorgeous November bouquets and a really nice injection of cash in your bank account right before winter.  Be sure to have a notebook handy when listening so you can jot down the particulars of each.  For easy reference, here are the 10 crops we discuss (NOTE, these are crops grown in a tunnel/greenhouse): 

1. Stock
2. Flowering Cabbage/Kale
3. Snapdragons (Group 2 or 3)
4. Sunflowers
5. Lisianthus
6. Lillies (LA Royal Sunset and Callas) 
7. Alstromeria
8. Mums
9. Celosia
10. Eucalyptus

 

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