Field & Garden

Today we're sharing a recent Clubhouse chat with special guest Dave Dowling! In this conversation Dave outlines the basics for getting started with bulbs, perennials and woodies as cut flower crops. This is a fast-paced discussion with lots of questions from the audience, so you may want to listen more than once to soak it all in!

Dave's 6-week online course, called Bulbs, Perennials, Woodies and More, has its annual enrollment window open right now in 2022, June 9th-13th. Click here for more details and to register for the course! Click here to watch our other recent live discussions!

Are you on the Clubhouse phone app? Join Lisa's club, called Flower Farming, to be notified when she schedules new chats! We're live on Clubhouse on Wednesdays at 1pm Eastern, or you can listen to our chat replays anytime inside the app.

The Field and Garden Podcast is produced by Lisa Mason Ziegler, award-winning author of Vegetables Love Flowers and Cool Flowers, owner of The Gardener's Workshop, Flower Farming School Online, and the publisher of Farmer-Florist School Online and Florist School Online. Watch Lisa's Story and connect with Lisa on social media!

In this episode Lisa and Dave Dowling discuss how we can expand our flower farming businesses by adding new crops. They talk about what you could and should add, the various ways to grow these plants, and how Dave's online course can help you make these decisions now and for many years to come.

Links & Mentions

Dave Dowling's online course, published by The Gardener's Workshop: Flower Farming School Online: Bulbs, Perennials, Woodies, and More!

Request Dave's Webinar Replay: Peony Planting, Harvesting & Selling

Podcast: Everything Tulips with Dave Dowling & Jennie Love

Purchase Wholesale from Ball/Colorlink

The Field and Garden Podcast is produced by Lisa Mason Ziegler, award-winning author of Vegetables Love Flowers and Cool Flowers, owner of The Gardener's Workshop, Flower Farming School Online, and the publisher of Farmer-Florist School Online and Florist School Online. Watch Lisa's Story and connect with Lisa on social media!

For this episode I check in with my friend and student Nicole Pitt of Flower Hill Farm. Nicole farms in Boonville, New York on the land of her childhood (and current) home. A former TV news reporter/anchor, Nicole is now in her fourth year of cut flower production, selling through a CSA and to florists. In this interview we talked about how she got into flowers, the challenges faced as she grows her business, and what the future may hold for Flower Hill Farm. Nicole's story demonstrates how investing in education and applying it to your business's needs as it grows can be the foundation of success.

Links & Mentions

Flower Hill Farm: Website YouTube Facebook Instagram

Dave's online course, published by The Gardener's Workshop: Flower Farming School Online: Bulbs, Perennials, Woodies, and More!

The Field and Garden Podcast is produced by Lisa Mason Ziegler, award-winning author of Vegetables Love Flowers and Cool Flowers, owner of The Gardener's Workshop, Flower Farming School Online, and the publisher of Farmer-Florist School Online and Florist School Online. Watch Lisa's Story and connect with Lisa on social media!

In this episode, I sit down with my good friend Dave Dowling to cover the basics of growing peonies. For home gardeners, we cover where and how to plant them, when and how to fertilize, watering, deadheading and fall cleanup. For commercial growers, we cover varieties to grow for profit, purchasing tips, environmental conditions where they thrive, weed prevention, spacing & bed prep, disbudding, when and how to harvest, and conditioning tips.

Links & Mentions

Dave's online course, published by The Gardener's Workshop: Flower Farming School Online: Bulbs, Perennials, Woodies, and More!

The Field and Garden Podcast is produced by Lisa Mason Ziegler, award-winning author of Vegetables Love Flowers and Cool Flowers, owner of The Gardener's Workshop, Flower Farming School Online, and the publisher of Farmer-Florist School Online and Florist School Online. Watch Lisa's Story and connect with Lisa on social media!

In this recent Clubhouse chat Lisa covered all the basics to get you started with Celosia, including variety selection, seed starting, harvesting and conditioning. Here are some of her highlighted picks:

Best Celosia for Drying: Cockscomb Cramer's Mix

Most Popular with Customers: Cockscomb Spring Green

Most Productive: Cockscomb Orange Red

Sign up: TGW Free Weekly Farm E-Newsletter

Are you on the Clubhouse phone app? Join Lisa's club, called Flower Farming, to be notified when she schedules new chats!

The Field and Garden Podcast is produced by Lisa Mason Ziegler, award-winning author of Vegetables Love Flowers and Cool Flowers, owner of The Gardener's Workshop, Flower Farming School Online, and the publisher of Farmer-Florist School Online and Florist School Online. Watch Lisa's Story and connect with Lisa on social media!

What is the price we pay by skipping the groundwork? My journey through two decades of learning has brought me some key pieces that help stabilize the craziness of business.

• Why am I in business?
• Do I have a plan?
• What is my risk tolerance?
• How to slow or stop the craziness.

Links & Mentions:

We're excited about our partnership with the Growing For Market Magazine! A tremendous resource. Use the coupon code: WORKSHOP to get 25% off any subscription.

Sign up to receive our weekly Farm News!

Jillonmoney.com

Book: Fail-Proof Your Business by Paul Adams

Book: The Flower Farmer by Lynn Byczynski

Book: The New Organic Grower by Eliot Coleman

The Field and Garden Podcast is produced by Lisa Mason Ziegler, award-wining author of Vegetables Love Flowers and Cool Flowers, owner of The Gardener's Workshop, Flower Farming School Online, and the publisher of Farmer-Florist School Online and Florist School Online. Watch Lisa's Story and connect with Lisa on social!

Greg Peterson is the founder of The Urban Farm, a food-growing educator, a permaculture enthusiast, writer, and the creator of The Urban Farm podcast. Here, Lisa and Greg discuss how he became involved in the green living and sustainability movements, how his small urban residential plot in Arizona gradually became a sustainable food-producing powerhouse, and his recent move to North Carolina with his partner, Heidi. Shared philosophies emerge, including the importance of consistency and committing to a goal in business and in life, plus the importance of knowing where our food comes from and playing an active role in producing our own food. Links & Mentions The Urban Farm: Website Facebook Instagram Twitter

The Urban Farm Podcast

John Lee Dumas, Entrepreneurs on Fire

In Season Cut-Flower Farm on: Facebook Instagram

Rainlog.org - crowdsourced rainfall tracking site from the University of Arizona

Yoga with Heidi: [email protected]

The Field and Garden Podcast is produced by Lisa Mason Ziegler, award-wining author of Vegetables Love Flowers and Cool Flowers, owner of The Gardener's Workshop, Flower Farming School Online, and the publisher of Farmer-Florist School Online and Florist School Online. Watch Lisa's Story and connect with Lisa on social!

Today's episode features a recent interview with Dave Dowling and one of his course students, Tim Pierce from Running Hills Farm. Tim and Betsy's Wisconsin farm has seen dramatic growth in the past couple of years, and Tim shares how they have been putting Dave's teachings into practice on the farm. There's a lot of great information in this discussion, including some "hacks" for dealing with weather fluctuations in cooler regions. The live interview was originally streamed on Facebook and YouTube, and Tim had prepared some slides of photos that you'll hear him referencing during the chat. A link to the original interview video that includes the photo slide show is listed below.

Links & Mentions

Running Hills Farm: Website Instagram

Dave Dowling's online course, published by The Gardener's Workshop: Flower Farming School Online: Bulbs, Perennials, Woodies, and More!

Purchase from Dave at Ball/Colorlink: wholesale perennials for cut-flower production

Join our networking Facebook Group: Florist-Farmer Connection

View the original interview (with slide show)

The Field and Garden Podcast is produced by Lisa Mason Ziegler, award-wining author of Vegetables Love Flowers and Cool Flowers, owner of The Gardener's Workshop, Flower Farming School Online, and the publisher of Farmer-Florist School Online and Florist School Online. Watch Lisa's Story and connect with Lisa on social!

In this episode, I sit down with my good friend Dave Dowling to discuss the top five mistakes that people tend to make with perennial cut flower plants. Whether you're a home gardener or a commercial cut-flower grower, Dave offers tips for avoiding these common perennial planting mistakes:

1. Not having weed management practices in place. You can't use chemical treatments on perennial beds, you'll need physical methods of weed prevention that match the growth habit of the plant (clump-forming vs. spreading).

2. Planting a perennial in the wrong place. Pay attention to the particular sun and water needs of each plant and place them in an environment where they'll thrive. Recognize that there are some perennials that you will not be able to grow on your property due to environmental conditions.

3. Planting the wrong variety. Did you know that there are different varieties of perennials produced specifically for cut flowers? Make sure you're purchasing the correct varieties that grow tall for cut flower production, not the dwarf varieties that are grown as bedding plants.

4. Not having a watering plan for your perennials. While most perennials, once established, may survive a drier season, they probably won't thrive and may not flower at all. Perennials need regular irrigation to achieve maximum flower production.

5. Assuming that perennials are less work than growing annuals. Perennials have their own maintenance requirements, including weeding, watering, and fall cleanup. Some perennials need to be dug up and divided every few years. Some are short-lived and need to be replanted every few years.

*PRO TIP* For a decent volume of cut-flower production, Dave recommends planting at least 25 plants of each variety of perennial that you want to grow. If space is limited, planting a handful of perennial varieties in larger volumes is better than planting just a few plants of more varieties, which won't yield enough of any one thing to sell.

Links & Mentions

Dave's online course, published by The Gardener's Workshop: Flower Farming School Online: Bulbs, Perennials, Woodies, and More!

Published by the ASCFG: Postharvest Handling of Cut Flowers and Greens

Purchase from Dave at Ball Colorlink: wholesale perennials for cut-flower production

The Field and Garden Podcast is produced by Lisa Mason Ziegler, award-wining author of Vegetables Love Flowers and Cool Flowers, owner of The Gardener's Workshop, Flower Farming School Online, and the publisher of Farmer-Florist School Online and Florist School Online. Watch Lisa's Story and connect with Lisa on social!

I first "met" Dee Hall in the pages of the home and garden section of my local newspaper. It was a pleasure connecting with her and hearing about her urban micro-farm called Mermaid City Flowers, located just across the bay from me down in Norfolk, Virginia. In this interview, Dee describes how she came to be a specialty cut-flower farmer, her current business model, and what she sees for the future of her business. We talk about her feature in the book Black Flora, and her involvement in a new group called the Tidewater Flower Collective. I'm so excited for Dee and all that is yet to come for her!

Links & Mentions:

Mermaid City Flowers: Website Facebook Instagram

Slow Flowers Society

Book: Black Flora

Tidewater Flower Collective: Facebook Instagram

On-Demand Course: Collectives 101

Rooted Farmers

The Field and Garden Podcast is produced by Lisa Mason Ziegler, award-wining author of Vegetables Love Flowers and Cool Flowers, owner of The Gardener's Workshop, Flower Farming School Online, and the publisher of Farmer-Florist School Online and Florist School Online. Watch Lisa's Story and connect with Lisa on social!