The realm of bedding plant production is ripe with opportunity yet fraught with challenges. From selecting the right crop to combating diseases, growers must navigate a complex landscape to find their path to success. This section will equip you with two essential pillars of knowledge that can strengthen your farming ventures: understanding the bedding plant market and the importance of disease resistance.
To succeed in the highly competitive industry of bedding plants, growers must remain responsive to the market's demands, consumer preferences, and emerging trends. The bedding plant market is constantly evolving and is affected by various factors, including seasonal needs, economic conditions, and even current fashion trends in home and garden decor.
The bedding plant industry has seen its fair share of crises, with disease outbreaks decimating crops and causing severe financial loss. Resistance to common diseases is no longer an option; it's a necessity.
In the ever-evolving world of bedding plant production, growers often find themselves at a crossroads, choosing between time-tested favorites and new, innovative options. Balancing the legacy and novel varieties and keeping tabs on industry breakthroughs can make the difference between a thriving and stagnant business. This section aims to guide you through these decisions.
Maintaining a balance between legacy and novel bedding plants can be a strategic choice, impacting your brand identity and bottom line.
Balancing Act: One effective strategy is to allocate a percentage of your crop space to tried-and-true varieties that guarantee a stable income while dedicating another section to newer, riskier options that have the potential for higher profit margins.
As the bedding plant industry evolves, growers must stay updated with the latest trends and offerings. Among these innovations, the introduction of 'Premium Annuals' stands out, promising both cost-effectiveness and efficiency. But what exactly does this term entail, and why should growers consider integrating them into their plant lineup?
Growers recognize Premium Annuals for their exceptional qualities and benefits. They blend traditional appeal with advanced agronomic features, represented by a distinct icon in catalogs and listings.
The introduction of Premium Annuals offers an intriguing proposition for growers. Here's why they are becoming a favored choice:
In an industry as dynamic and multifaceted as bedding plant cultivation, individual experiences and insights are potent tools. Yet, when pooled together, the collective knowledge of the grower community becomes a reservoir of wisdom and guidance that no singular entity can rival. Sharing, networking, and collaborating is not just about camaraderie; it's about refining practices, predicting trends, and continually advancing the industry.
Making informed decisions safeguards your investments and ensures you remain at the forefront of the industry, delivering the best to your customers and stakeholders.
The new Harris Seeds Bedding Plant Catalog isn't merely a list of products; it represents the culmination of deep industry insights, rigorous trials, and feedback from growers like you. And the best part? It's free. With its comprehensive selection and detailed descriptions:
Like all aspects of agriculture, seed production is subject to the same pressures of weather, pests and diseases, logistics, and perishable products. Unfortunately, this can result in situations where new seed crops are delayed, the supply is less than anticipated, or the seed is unable to be sold. These situations are what the industry refers to as late crops, short crops, or crop failures, respectively.
Crop failures can be caused by delays in seed processing due to poor weather conditions or logistical issues like transportation and labor shortages, poor crop yields due to weather or pest pressures, or low-quality products that cannot be sold due to low germination rates or the presence of viruses. Typically these situations are not anticipated and require an industry-wide shift to alternative products with good supply and seed quality.
Harris Seeds recognizes that our growers depend on the quality and reliability of the products they choose, and we want to help ease any concerns about selecting the best substitutes for items that are unavailable.
Review some of our most popular pumpkin and corn short crops below along with our recommended alternatives:
Epiphany is two days earlier than Kate and has a stronger disease package that includes Rust, NCLB, and MDMV. The ear is more slender with more refined kernel appearance and comparable texture and eating quality, though a more balanced sweetness.
A high quality yellow supersweet that matures just after Vision MXR at 74 days, Candice has a slightly shorter and wider ear and excellent eating quality with slightly less tenderness. While it does not carry disease resistance, it offers an attractive husk package and reliable agronomics.
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Through the campaign, which ran for the entire month of March before picking back up mid-April, Harris Seeds has donated 100% of proceeds from their online Sunflowers for Ukraine collection to humanitarian efforts in Ukraine due to the Russian Invasion.
“Hearing what’s been happening and seeing the stories has been heartbreaking for everyone here,” said Kendall Brittingham, Harris’ Marketing Director. “A lot of growers and gardeners come to us for their flowers, so we felt it would be a great fit. It symbolizes more than just a beautiful flower. Now it’s symbolizing the strength and hope of the people of Ukraine.”
The idea for the campaign was generated during a brainstorming meeting, where Harris Seeds’ Germination Lab Manager noted that sunflowers have become the unofficial flower of Ukraine. From there, the campaign materialized quickly and was officially launched on March 10. Since the release of the campaign, Harris Seeds has donated over $20,000 dollars in humanitarian aid.
In May 2022, the campaign took on new legs with the specialized Sunflowers for Ukraine packet which was available on the Harris Seeds app and website. The company donated over $2,000 to Ukrainian humanitarian aid from these packet sales.
Lean farming is a method of running a farming business that utilizes your resources efficiently to obtain the maximum results for the minimum cost. Under a lean business model, farmers identify the most profitable aspects of their business and the ones that are essentially draining money, so they can allocate the majority of their resources towards tasks and processes that create the most profit.
View the accompanying slide deck here. This webinar is part 4 of a 4 part series. Watch the rest of the series here.
The benefits of lean farming are clear: you eliminate waste and redundancies and allocate your funds and labor to the parts of your business that drive the highest profits. However, implementing a successful lean farm takes time, practice, and planning. This post will review the fundamentals of lean farming so that you can implement continuous improvement on your farm and meaningful and profitable growth.
A considerable part of creating a successful lean farm is identifying what your customers value. After all, they are the ones paying you.
A value stream map can help you visualize which parts of your business bring value to your customers and which parts do not. Once you start looking at all of your business decisions from the perspective of adding value for your customers, success will come much easier.
For example, when a lean business person decides to introduce a new product, they do not choose the product and then figure out how to sell it. Instead, they take the time to learn what their customers want and then select the product based on their findings.
SMART goals are almost a household word; these are goals that are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time-Bound. A lean business plan applies the SMART goal-setting philosophy to all projects.
When considering what adds value to your farming business and what does not, remember to evaluate the working environment.
For example, tools that you don’t need take up space and may make it difficult to access the tools you do need. If you also spend money to store and maintain them, you may be better off selling the equipment you don’t need.
Unnecessary tools can cause clutter and make the work environment a less enjoyable and productive place. Removing unnecessary clutter will make your greenhouses and barns easier to move around, and tools are less likely to be misplaced or broken amongst the mess.
A great way to avoid misunderstandings and miscommunications is to standardize operating processes. In doing so, you’ll help ensure critical tasks are not missed and every task is carried out thoroughly. This will also make it easier for your staff to know what is important to you and what they need to prioritize.
An important part of this step is gaining a really good understanding of how your farm works from start to finish. Ensure every one of your workers has this full understanding, too, so that your whole team is committed to the overall functioning of the farm, not just focused on their role.
It’s crucial to measure and evaluate the standardized process to ensure it is effective - it’s not good enough to cross your fingers and hope for the best in business.
This phase is about analyzing your farm and scoping out areas that need improvement. It requires a full diagnosis so you can really look at the root causes of any inefficiencies and fix them.
This does not mean you are doing everything yourself; it is about gathering your team and delegating tasks to fix any issues faster. You might want to use the expertise of your team during this step because they will likely have a good idea of what may need improvement in their respective departments. By really getting your team on board during this phase, you can increase accountability and have more brains creating project action plans.
Once you have established areas in your farm that need improvement during the scoping phase, it’s time to move on to the solutioning phase, where you will determine a plan for addressing the issues you identified.
The final phase of lean farming is the implementation phase where you take the plans you made during the solutioning phase and carry them through to improve your operations.
Can you explain the concept of pulling, not pushing?
In lean farming, you want to create a pull for your customers, not a push. Rather than pushing them to buy your product, which is often a turnoff for most people, create a pull from the energy you create and the value you provide. Create a dialogue with customers and a real connection, and they will in turn want to buy your products.
Should I use a SWOT analysis?
SWOT analysis is a big part of business planning and should be used to complement the project charter. Use it to identify your strengths and opportunities so that you can leverage them more effectively. Your SWOT analysis will also help you to see what weaknesses you have so you can work to identify the root causes and create solutions and processes. The “threats” in your SWOT would-be competitors or a new market that did not have the right customer base or too many farms selling the same products there.
What can I do if the problem is a person?
Again use your five whys to identify why this person may be an issue. Have they received enough training? Am I using their talents properly? Drill down into what process is not working rather than the individual person. Look into those things first.
Is it beneficial to offer leftover produce for a discount at the end of the day or the next day at a market?
Yes, because some dollars are better than no dollars. If you do not sell this produce, then it will go to waste. Most people will want to buy the fresh stuff, but you will get bargain hunters who will appreciate the discounted produce.
Do you have any tips on offering home deliveries?
It just matters how this is implemented within your operating model. Some people are willing to pay delivery costs, but some customers are not. You need to account for the additional logistics and transportation in the price of your product so that it is a profitable venture for you.
What software is good for online sales?
It will really come down to what works best for your farm and your budget. Be sure you do your research and find out what works for you and your customers. Many people use Squarespace and just run their online sales through their own websites.
How do you decide whether to sell products on your farm or at a farmer’s market?
Again, this is where you need to analyze your business.
If you do want people to come out, then you need to make it worth their while to spend a half-day or a day there with the family and make it a real attraction. Ask yourself these questions:
Farmer’s markets are great because people already go there for the purpose of finding fresh produce, and you only need to worry about how much competition you’ll have at the market. It’s also a great place to conduct marketing because your ideal customer base is already there, and you can earn lots of word of mouth advertising.
Both farmer’s markets and on-farm sales have their benefits, and you may find a mixture of the two to be great for your business.
]]>So why do buyers buy? Brian Morgan from Think Deeply, Write Clearly believes that customers buy because they want you on their team; they believe that your products and services make them better. When it comes to farming, your customers buy from you because they see your produce as healthy and beneficial for their bodies.
View the accompanying slide deck here. This webinar is part 3 of a 4 part series. Watch the rest of the series here.
Business advice often focuses on the wrong things. It tells you to focus on Facebook ads and funnels, but those are useless without the right message. In fact, the first thing you should focus on is how you can present your business in a way that clearly shows customers how you serve them and the value your business delivers.
When developing your messaging, remember that customers don’t want to be sold to, guilted, or manipulated into buying products. Instead, customers prefer to buy from vendors they trust, and by cultivating this trust, you can charge the prices you need to earn the margins you want - all without using deceitful marketing tactics.
To get to that point, you need to build a team relationship with your customers. Show them how you are helping them work towards their goals and how you will support them; don’t prey on their fear or try to manipulate them.
As with all other relationships in your life, a healthy relationship with your customer will be built on a foundation of trust that feels genuine. You want your customers to feel like you are on the same team and that you support them towards their goals.
To continue with the relationship metaphor, you need to develop a two-way dialogue with your customers as you would with your spouse, especially when you might disagree. For example, if you only focus on touting the message that organic blueberries are the healthiest berry, then you will only get sales from customers who agree with that conclusion. However, if you take the time to share why blueberries are good for you and really focus on building a relationship with the client, even those who do not agree with your conclusion will purchase from you because they trust you and see the quality in your product.
While you may have sales funnels that can convert sales within 30 minutes, you will never be able to build trust in such a short amount of time. Trust is something that is built over hundreds of points of contact with your customer, showing them that you are part of their team by demonstrating that you act upon their feedback and care about them consistently over time.
Transparency of process is another vital factor in building trust with your customers. People like to see the wizard behind the curtain and get to know the real humans they buy from. They like to know that you are an expert, and they like to see how the things you do adds value to the finished product that they get to enjoy.
Use video to build transparency and trust - your audience will love to see the human faces behind their produce
A powerful way to build transparency is through video. Consistent video posts on social media pages that share how you operate will go a long way to develop trust. Believe it or not, customers will care about soil care if you can show them why it matters to the food they eat.
Think about why you bought the car you did. Likely, it was not because of the hundreds of features and benefits - it was because of the 3 or 4 main factors that really met your needs. For example, you might have picked the car you drive because its wheels were big enough for snow tires and it had 4WD, so it is perfect for when you go skiing.
Likewise, customers will buy your products for 3 or 4 primary benefits. You need to find out what the driving factors are that convince customers to purchase from you rather than a supermarket, and then you can ensure your messaging communicates those factors clearly. For a farm, customers may be interested in your products because your produce is more nutritious, they like to support local businesses, you employ local people, or organic food is safer because of reduced chemical use. The benefit that is most important to your customer is the benefit you want to promote in your messaging.
Many business owners will be reluctant to use social media because it seems like a wasteland of people vying for attention, and they’re not entirely wrong. However, because of that, it is really easy to stand out for doing social media the right way.
Use social media to build your credibility, add value to the customers, and create a space for yourself and really show the benefits of what you produce. If you look at social media objectively, it is 200 words of space that you are given to convince customers why organic food bought from the farm or farmer’s market is more nutritious than that in a supermarket. And when you think about how expensive billboards and focus groups are, you really can’t turn down this free platform.
Use social media to show your customers how your processes add value to the final product they receive.
Stop using social media to compare your followers and post interactions to celebrities. If you went to a conference and spoke in front of a thousand people and got a hundred customers from that, then that would be a massive win. The same goes for social media. Every time you post something, you are giving yourself a chance to speak to thousands of people who are interested in what you have to say.
Influencers like Gary Vaynerchuk really operate on the concept that the more you put out there, the greater audience you will grow. However, when you focus on producing more and more social content, you lose sight of the purpose of your social media page: to add value to your customers and take the time to really give heartfelt information and communication.
If every time you post, you give your audience interesting or useful information, they will be more likely to stop scrolling and read what you write. On the other hand, if only one out of every ten posts is interesting, then they will likely miss the one post that adds value because they can’t see it through the noise you helped to create.
By separating yourself from the noise, you will stand out more than if you jumped on the multiple posts per day bandwagon. You can’t compete with supermarkets that have teams of people dedicated to managing social media websites and posting multiple times a day. Instead, move the competition to a playing field where you have a chance—building a human connection. Show your audience the people behind the business and show them that you are human. This is something that large corporations cannot do.
Today more than ever, people have really short attention spans. Your audience doesn’t want to sort through pages of information about why it is more beneficial to allow food to ripen in the ground rather than at the supermarket or at home. Instead, they want the answer in a short, digestible tidbit.
You can build credibility with sources and storytelling, but know that most people won’t read your posts if they are too long. To combat this, present the key piece of information and then present the next piece of information in the next social media post.
Think of presenting messages in the form of elevator pitches instead. Every word you write increases the obligation for you to make it worth their while. The more time you take from them, the more value you need to give.
The place a lot of businesses go wrong with their marketing is having a short-term mindset. They think, if I spend $1 today on advertising, I want to make that $1 back today. This is an unsustainable way of thinking.
Remember that you are ultimately trying to build a relationship with every contact with the customer and relationships take time. With this in mind, look to add value first and avoid littering every piece of writing with calls to action and sales speak. Doing this will create longer lasting customers that ultimately bring more success to your business.
Remember to use your social media channels to build relationships, and engage with your community to build trust.
Should you include pricing in a post or will it scare customers away?
There will always be places selling the same goods for more or less than you, so the real question at play here is whether or not your price makes sense in the context it’s in. If you create the right context, then you can charge whatever you want. When you do choose to advertise your price, focus on telling the story that will make people willing to buy produce at your price when they could buy similar produce in a supermarket for cheaper.
The trick is to tell this story quickly, to fit into consumers’ attention span. You can’t have pages of testimonials and sales speak because people will tune out.
Can you post just pictures of your farm or should those pictures have thoughtful captions that add value too?
You need to look at the effectiveness of your posts. If your images alone are causing a lot of buzz and causing people to come and buy your products, then by all means continue to post images. If not, then you need to think of the picture as the thing that grabs your audience’s attention and the caption as the part that builds the relationship by adding value.
If you are in doubt, you can always run a-b testing to see what has the most impact.
Should you offer discounts for bulk buying or repeat customers?
If your price is high enough to justify the discount, this technique may be appropriate. You still need to be serving customers, though, and this should be offered as a thank you for their support rather than manipulating them into a first sale.
The danger with discounts is that when you get customers to buy from you for the first time with a discount, they may view your products as not being worth the full price, and they may be unwilling to pay the full price in the future. You don’t want to inadvertently tell your customers that you are not worth the full price.
Can I still add a call to action on a thoughtful social media post?
Yes! Using calls to action such as “Learn more” or “Download this resource” are great ways to drive engagement and deepen your customer relationships. Steer clear of calls to actions that offer discounts or “limited time offers” as those are really salesy and, again, try to get people in the door with discounts.
Do these strategies work in different countries and cultures?
Yes, because humans are humans. It doesn’t matter where a client is from; we are all bombarded with the same tired marketing techniques that feel pushy or salesy. We all long for that human contact. You know, why do you go to a local café instead of a chain one? You long for that connection with the barista or waitstaff; you feel good supporting people rather than faceless companies.
You might think that the common denominator among farmers who struggle to grow quality produce and turn a profit is a lack of passion, farming know-how, or hard work. While all of those are important for sustaining a successful farm, the most common reason farmers struggle to grow their farm is that they don’t treat their farming as a business.
Like any other business owner, you need to be passionate about what you’re doing. Still, you also need to review your profit numbers and cultivate a deep knowledge of your customer base to grow your business. You’ll need to start making decisions based on data such as which crops make you the most money and what pain points your customer experiences so you can adjust your business plan accordingly.
Farmers also need to understand what skill sets they’ll need to hire and what functions can be outsourced so that the right people are in the right roles. This helps ensure your farm is running as well as it can. You’ll also need to develop a succession plan, so your farm continues to serve your community in the future.
This guide will walk you through the critical aspects you’ll need to turn your farming passion into a growing farming business.
View the accompanying slide deck here. This webinar is part 1 of a 4 part series. Watch the rest of the series here.
Your farm needs a business plan. Many people mistakenly believe that their business plan needs to be a large, exhaustive document totaling dozens of pages. Still, it’s more effective to have a one-page business plan.
Consider this: when a potential investor asks to see your business plan, they’re not going to want to sift through a 40-page document. Instead, they want to get a high-level overview of your business that demonstrates an understanding of your customer base, the value you bring, and your growth plan.
Create your business plan to communicate the following information:
If you want your farm to thrive, you need to know exactly why your customers would buy from you instead of another farmer. This could be something as simple as providing convenience for local customers or something as specific as providing guaranteed safety for a young mother who is worried about e-coli or high-quality produce for a host looking to impress their guests. Defining and communicating this unique value proposition is key to creating a solid business plan.
It’s safe to assume that you will be selling your produce to people who live nearby your farm. This will help you to keep the quality high and transport and storage costs low. To build a successful farming business in your community, you need to know everything about your ideal customers near you.
Research the local market before deciding what crops to grow:
Remember, every customer demographic will want and value different things, so focus on the most profitable ones for you. Seek feedback from your best customers and know that you will not please all customer demographics.
Many successful farms look for additional products and services that they can offer to increase customer spend. For example, pumpkin farmers create a rustic day out for the local community, complete with wagon rides and food stalls. This creates a value ladder where there are several add-ons that a customer may purchase.
Add-ons like these may be services or products that you offer yourself or ones that you partner with local businesses to provide. Working with the local community offers a chance to leverage additional networks and provide a more attractive experience for your customers.
When choosing a location to start your farm, picking the right type of property will significantly impact your business’s success and the quality of your produce. Look for the following property features to give your farm the best chance at success:
When possible, outsource jobs that require specialized skills or equipment outside your business’s wheelhouse, such as accounting and construction. Hiring experts for these tasks will usually cost less than hiring and training someone to do the job full-time.
Remember that when you first start your farm, it can take a while to turn a profit, so your first few months may be completely in the red. You will need staff to manage the day to day operations of your farm, so labor is extremely vital, but you can outsource some of the other technical business functions for a fraction of the cost.
When you are ready to hire labor, there are a couple of steps that will help you narrow down candidates to the perfect hire:
Every farm should have these four key financial documents:
Profit and Loss Statement - This is sometimes called an income statement. Every month you will record the money coming in and going out of the business. It will help you keep track of how much you are spending on different categories so you can adjust the budget where necessary to maximize profit.
Balance Sheet - This lists your assets, liabilities, and income to help you keep track of your earnings.
Cash Flow Projections - Once you have been in business for a year or two, you can create cash flow projections that predict how much money you are likely to make every month. They will be based on the income for the same month the previous year and the contracts and guaranteed business you have lined up for the current year.
Enterprise Budgets - An enterprise budget lays out the fixed costs in your business. These will be things like wages for staff, contracts for equipment rental, etc.
There are a number of options for initial funding for your farm. They include:
In addition to the fixed costs of your employees’ wages, you will also need to pay yourself a wage for the work you do in your business. The best way to set your hourly labor rates is to work out what you want to earn in a year and then work backwards. Because it is your business, this can be any number you decide is fair. Some farmers are satisfied with $30,000 per year and maximize the additional profits they invest in their business while some make $100,000 per year.
To make sure you set fair prices, you need to be extremely aware of what it costs to produce your vegetables. From there, work out how much profit you need to make. As a general rule of thumb, 40% profit margin is reasonable for quality vegetables. As long as the quality of your produce is there, you can move acres of vegetables through wholesale.
Wholesale can be very profitable as supermarkets will order large quantities of vegetables from farmers. However, supermarkets are extremely picky about the look and quality of the produce - any excessive discoloration or defects can ruin your relationship with your wholesale buyers.
As an aspiring farmer, you can have all the passion and technical knowledge to produce high-quality vegetables, but if you treat your farming as a passion project instead of a business, you likely will not get flourishing profits for your flourishing produce.
Once you create your business plan, get to know your customer, choose the right location and labor, and learn to evaluate your finances, you’ll be on your way to establishing a farming business that has the potential to grow for years to come.
For more information on starting and growing your farming business, you can hear from expert Michael Kilpatrick in our Masterclass series here.
]]>Plant breeders have worked hard to deliver pepper varieties to the market that are resistant to Phytopthora. Resistance does not mean the plant is immune to the disease, but it will have a greater ability to overcome the pathogen. All pepper varieties listed in this article are resistant to Phytopthora.
Pepper Declaration offers exceptional pack-outs of large, classy fruit. It's vigorous, erect, tall plants provide excellent leaf coverage and a continuous set. The shiny dark green, elongated fruit have eye appeal and are four lobed. High yields have been noted in growers’ fields. An excellent disease package includes resistance to BLS (races 1, 2, 3, 5) and Tomato Spotted Wilt virus, and intermediate resistance to CMV and Phytophthora.
Intermediate resistance to Phytophthora, Pepper Revolution produces large to extra-large fruit and has a strong disease package. Medium tall pepper plants produce good yields of blocky fruit and have intermediate resistance to Phytophthora and CMV, and resistance to BLS (races 1, 2, 3, 5). The medium green to red maturing fruit has good wall thickness and a four lobed shape. Revolution peppers have been noted to have early maturity, concentrated set and good yield ability during cool growing periods.
Pepper PS09941819 is a blocky, green to red maturing bell pepper that offers high resistance to BLS 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and intermediate resistance to Phytophthora. It produces a continuous set of large to extra-large, 3 - 4 lobed, anthocyaninless fruit on medium large plants that offer good foliage cover. PS09941819 has also shown good field tolerance to silvering on the fruit.
Pepper Intruder produces excellent sets of large size fruit that are firm and smooth. This green bell pepper hybrid is mid-season maturing and grows on a medium size plant that offers good cover to the fruit. It is well-adapted for the bell pepper growing regions in the Eastern United States. Intruder pepper also offers a strong disease package that includes high resistance to TEV and BLS (races 1,2,3). It also has intermediate resistance to Phytophthora.
Vanguard peppers offer intermediate resistance to Phytophthora, a continuous set and excellent foliage protection from its tall plants. Its blocky, mostly four-lobed fruit are medium to dark green in color ripening to red, free from silvering, and grade out to extra-large and jumbo sizes. Vanguard pepper plants have exhibited a high yield potential, a low percentage of culls at pack-out, and a uniform and consistent fruit shape throughout the harvest period. Intermediate resistance to Phytophthora and CMV, and resistance to BLS (1, 2, 3, 4, 5).
Pepper Cortes is a long horn type pepper that produces excellent yields of green fruit that ripen red and measure 6" long x 2-1/2" wide at the crown. It carries a great disease package that includes intermediate resistance to Phytophthora. Cortes has shown to be adaptable to all pepper growing areas and has performed well in open field and in protected culture plantings. Also Resistant to TMV, PVY (0,1,1.2), PMV, PYMV.
Green to red maturing, this blocky bell pepper offering exceptional fruit quality, which minimizes culls. Pepper Currier is very dark green and glossy extra large/large fruit. Early maturity on a compact plant that offers great cover, resistant to Bacterial Leaf Spot 1, 2, 3, Pepper Mottle Virus, PVY 0, 1 1-2 and TMV, and intermediate resistance to Cucumber Mosaic Virus and Phytophthora Capsici.
Pepper Turnpike is a beautiful blocky bell pepper that offers resistance to Bacterial Leaf Spot (0-5, 7-9), Phytophthora blight, and Tomato Mosaic Virus. Its thick-walled fruit ripen from deep green to red and measure 4.75" long x 4.5" wide. The 22-26" plants have a concentrated set and offer good protection to the fruit. Turnpike packs a strong punch in the fight against key diseases. Pepper Tarpon F1 With intermediate resistance to BLS (0-10) and Phytophthora, and a more refined fruit shape than Turnpike, Tarpon is a sure performer for the Northeast and Midwest. Smooth blocky dark green fruit are produced in a concentrated set on compact plants. High resistance to TMV.
With intermediate resistance to BLS (0-10) and Phytophthora, and a more refined fruit shape than Turnpike, Pepper Tarpon is a sure performer for the Northeast and Midwest. Smooth blocky dark green fruit are produced in a concentrated set on compact plants. High resistance to TMV.
Have questions about peppers with Phytophthora protection? Leave us a comment.
]]>Throw in words like potassium, sulfur, and carbon dioxide, and it can seem like you in a chemistry class rather than discussing a vegetable garden.
In this post, I want to break down some of the most important nutrients for your plants. Understanding how they are used will help you to grow vigorous, healthy plants.
A macronutrient is a nutrient that a plant needs in large quantities. The word itself can be broken down into two parts: ‘macro-‘ meaning large, and nutrients. Nutrients are chemicals that plants need in order to survive.
In people, some common nutrients include carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, and minerals. In plants, we’re going to talk about nutrients like nitrogen, boron, and calcium.
Don’t get confused and think that macronutrients are large nutrients. They’re small in size; it’s the amount needed by the plant that is large.
We can break macronutrients into two main groups: primary and secondary.
Primary macronutrients are nutrients that the plant needs huge amounts of.
Secondary macronutrients are still needed in large quantities, but not as much as the primary macronutrients. Both groups of macronutrients are important and crucial for plant growth and development.
The other type of nutrient is a micronutrient. These are nutrients that plants need, but they only need in small quantities. Learn more about micronutrients here.
There are six macronutrients:
The first three, nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, are primary macronutrients.
These nutrients are needed in the largest amounts and are critical for your plant’s health. Without these three nutrients, plants will die quickly.
Nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium are also the three nutrients that are found in almost all fertilizers. If you’ve grabbed a bag of fertilizer and noticed the three numbers on the bag, you’ve seen what’s called the NPK value.
These three numbers represent the percentage of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium in the fertilizer. The first number tells you how much nitrogen is present, the second number tells you how much phosphorus is present and the last number indicates how much potassium is present.
For example, let’s say that you pick up a bag of 10-0-4 fertilizer. The fertilizer contains 10% nitrogen, 0% phosphorus and 4% potassium.
Keep in mind that while nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium are crucial for plant health, they aren’t the only nutrients that your plants will need in large amounts.
The secondary macronutrients are also key to keeping your plants in tip-top shape. The secondary macronutrients include magnesium, sulfur and calcium. When your plant doesn’t get enough of a secondary macronutrient, it will show some tell-tale signs to let you know that it needs a little bit of help.
Each macronutrient has certain roles that it plays in plant health.
Plants use a form of nitrogen that is called nitrate. It’s extremely important in plant health since it helps to create strong leaves and foliage. It also helps to produce chlorophyll. Chlorophyll is the pigment that absorbs sunlight, providing a source of energy for the plant to make food.
Phosphorus is used in the growth and development of flowers and roots. A strong root system is key to plant health since water and nutrients are absorbed primarily through the roots. Without phosphorus, plants cannot develop flowers properly and fruit will not set. It’s also been shown to increase the robustness of your plants by helping them cope with environmental stress and cold winters.
Potassium helps to strengthen the plant overall. During early growth, potassium is used to boost plant growth. It also plays a role in helping the plant to retain water and increases drought resistance. Plants with adequate levels of potassium are less susceptible to disease and parasites. Potassium is used to open and close stomata. Stomata are small pores on the undersides of leaves where carbon dioxide is absorbed.
Magnesium is also involved in providing the green coloring in leaves. Magnesium is a building block for chlorophyll, the green pigment in leaves that absorbs sunlight. Without magnesium, plants could not produce this sunlight-absorbing pigment and would not be able to produce their own food.
Sulfur plays several roles in plant health. It can help the plant be more resistant to diseases. It is also involved in plant growth through the production of amino acids, proteins, enzymes, and vitamins. Sulfur is actively involved in the process of seed formation.
Calcium is crucial for developing strong plants. Calcium helps create cell walls around plant cells. Plants don’t have bones to hold them up, so they rely on rigid cell walls to help keep them upright. Strong cell walls also help to protect the plant from disease. Calcium is also required for plant metabolism. Interestingly, plants also use calcium to help them absorb nitrogen from the soil. Without calcium, plants may not be able to take in enough nitrogen.
A healthy plant will have deeply colored foliage, upright stems, and will put on blooms or fruit as expected. Plants that are lacking in macronutrients will usually show you signs that there is something going on. If you know what to look for, you can apply the proper fertilizer or adjust the soil to ensure that the plant can get the nutrients it needs.
There are two issues that can crop up with macronutrients: deficiencies and toxicities. A deficiency is caused by a lack of a nutrient, while a toxicity is caused by too much of a nutrient.
Nitrogen, along with potassium, is considered a very limiting nutrient. Without these two nutrients, plant growth is severely limited or nonexistent. Plants that have nitrogen deficiencies are often smaller, have leaf chlorosis, and a significant reduction in crop production.
Leaf chlorosis is one of the most common signs of a nitrogen deficiency. The older leaves (leaves towards the bottom of stems) will yellow in color. Eventually, if the problem isn’t fixed, the entire plant’s foliage can turn yellow.
Too much nitrogen can burn the roots and tissues of the plant.
A plant that is lacking in phosphorus may not develop many flowers and fruit may not set properly. When the plant is severely lacking phosphorus, it will develop dark purple coloring in older leaves. Older leaves that turn dark purple are an indication that the plant is dealing with a critical deficiency.
Although too much phosphorus isn’t desired, it’s not likely to kill your plant. It will interfere with the absorption of other essential nutrients though, like iron, manganese, and zinc.
Potassium is critical for plant growth and is often referred to as the ‘quality’ nutrient. Potassium can affect the plant’s size, shape, color, and crop taste. Potassium deficiency can show up in a few different ways. Plant growth, root development, and seed or fruit development is reduced in plants with potassium deficiency.
The first signs of plant deficiency usually show up in older leaves. The leaves may look brown and scorched on the edges. It can also cause the leaves to yellow in between the veins. Occasionally, when you flip the leaves over, purple spots can be seen.
Plants aren’t likely to absorb too much potassium, but it is possible. When it occurs, it can interfere with the absorption of magnesium, manganese, zinc, and iron.
Magnesium deficiency shows up in older leaves first. It causes the tissue between the leaf veins to turn yellow. However, it does so in a way that distinguishes it from other types of interveinal chlorosis. A magnesium deficiency will cause the leaf to yellow starting at the tip and working back towards the stem. It can also cause brown scorching on the leaf edges. Plants that are in full sunlight will often have worse symptoms.
Magnesium toxicity is very rare and doesn’t show visible signs.
Sulfur deficiency is another nutrient deficiency that causes leaves to turn yellow. With a sulfur deficiency, the entire leaf will turn yellow, including the leaf veins. Younger leaves are the first to yellow. You may also notice some curling of the leaves.
Sulfur toxicities cause plants to have smaller leaves and stunted growth. It can also cause some leaves to turn yellow and have scorched edges.
Calcium is an immobile nutrient in plants, meaning that it can’t be moved around the plant if needed. One of the most common signs of calcium deficiency is blossom end rot. Blossom end rot is seen in vegetable plants like tomatoes, squash, or peppers. It can be seen in any fruit that develops after a bloom. The fruit will develop a wet, brown spot on the blossom end of the fruit.
Other signs of calcium deficiency include browning and yellowing of leaf tips on younger leaves. If you are transplanting a plant, you may notice a poor root system. The roots may be slimy and dark brown or black.
Proper plant nutrition is key to overall plant health. It’s a good idea to consider the type of plant that you’re growing before choosing a fertilizer. Also, look out for signs of deficiencies or toxicities and remedy them as soon as possible to prevent further disruption.
Written by Shelby of Farminence
However, they aren’t the only essential nutrients that your plants need. Your plants will also need micronutrients in order to thrive.
If we break the word micronutrient down, we can get a better idea of what micronutrients are. ‘Micro-‘ means small. Nutrients are chemicals that plants need in order to survive. Nutrients are essential to proper health and are involved in many of the biological processes. When we put the two parts together, it’s easy to see that micronutrients are essential nutrients that are needed in small quantities.
Don’t get confused and think that micronutrients are small nutrients. All nutrients are chemicals and are very small in size. It’s the amount of the nutrient that the plant needs that is small.
Macronutrients are needed in large quantities and micronutrients are needed in small quantities. Although your plants won’t need much of them, micronutrients are still essential and shouldn’t be overlooked.
There are seven micronutrients, and they all have specific roles that they play in the plant.
The seven micronutrients are:
Micronutrients can also be referred to as trace minerals.
When you’re looking at fertilizers or soil amendments, you’ll want to make sure that you’re getting a well-rounded fertilizer that contains the essential micronutrients as well.
If you were to measure the overall dry weight of your plant, micronutrients would make up less than 1% of the total weight of your plant. Many of the micronutrients are reused in the plant, reducing the amount of the nutrients needed.
Amending your soil with high-quality organic amendments can help ensure that your plants always have access to the micronutrients that they need. Compost and manure will contain many, if not all, of the micronutrients your plants need. You can also use micronutrient blends or foliar sprays to deliver micronutrients to your plants.
The seven micronutrients each have key roles that they play in the plant.
Iron is a key component in many enzymes that are involved with plant processes. The enzymes that require iron are involved in processes such as nitrogen reduction and fixation, energy transfer, and lignin formation.
Lignin is extremely important in plants. It helps to transport liquids and wastes through the plant. Lignin also helps strengthen the plant cell walls, which allows the plant to remain upright.
In legumes, like beans, iron helps to carry oxygen in the root system.
Manganese is highly involved in many plant processes, despite the fact that it’s only needed in small amounts. Manganese activates many metabolic reactions, plays a direct role in photosynthesis, speeds up germination and plant maturity, increases the availability of phosphorus and calcium, and helps to produce chlorophyll.
Chlorine plays a role in some major processes in the plant. Chlorine is used to regulate the opening and closing of stomata in the plant. Stomata are pores located on the undersides of leaves that release moisture. Proper stomata function is critical for a plant’s success during dry periods.
During photosynthesis, plants break down water molecules. Chlorine is needed to help enzymes break down water molecules during photosynthesis. It’s also used to help the plant adapt to changing water availability and transport nutrients throughout the plant.
Boron is involved in the proper seed set for plants. When plants are growing in stressful conditions, like drought or when the plant is dealing with disease or pests, boron can help the plant to set seeds.
Boron is also a key component in cell walls. Plants don’t have a skeleton to help keep them upright. They rely on rigid cell walls to help hold them up. Boron helps to make the cell walls strong.
Of all the micronutrients, zinc is the most limiting. It’s only needed in small amounts but it can have a big impact on plant health. Zinc is required for plants to make proteins and hormones.
Both of these can limit how productive and vigorous the plant is. It’s also used in the creation of plant-growth substances and enzymes. Many of the enzymes that require zinc are used in metabolic reactions that take place during early plant growth.
Copper is involved with several processes in the plant. It’s needed to make chlorophyll. Chlorophyll is the green pigment in leaves that the plant uses to absorb sunlight that is used to make food. Copper also helps to activate enzymes that are involved in many growth processes. Copper is linked to a plant’s ability to produce vitamin A and proteins.
Copper isn’t mobile in the plant, so it’s easy for new growth to develop signs of copper deficiency. Other metals present in the soil, like iron, aluminum, or manganese, can inhibit the plant’s ability to absorb copper properly.
Molybdenum is a nutrient that is required for the synthesis and use of the enzyme nitrate reductase. Nitrate reductase is responsible for turning nitrate into nitrite. Not all forms of nitrogen that are found in the soil are ones that the plant can use. Molybdenum helps the plant to break unusable nitrogen forms into ones the plant can use.
Other metals in the soil can interfere with proper iron absorption. Copper, manganese, and molybdenum can compete with iron to be absorbed through roots. When a plant lacks iron, it often shows a distinct type of chlorosis. The leaves will turn pale green. The leaf veins will remain green and the tissue between the veins will turn yellow. This is usually seen on younger leaves and newer growth. If a plant is showing signs of iron deficiency, the best way to treat it is with a foliar spray.
It’s rare for plants to develop an iron toxicity, but it can occur. When plants have too much iron, they will develop bronzed leaves or tiny, brown leaf spots.
Plants deficient in manganese will develop yellowing in between leaf veins (called interveinal chlorosis). This can occur on either new growth or older growth, but is most commonly seen first in younger growth. Interveinal chlorosis is followed by brownish-black specks on the leaves. The plant will eventually drop the affected leaves. A deficiency of manganese over time can cause slow growth and failure to mature properly.
A high soil pH can limit the plant’s ability to absorb manganese from the soil. Other nutrients, like calcium, magnesium and iron can compete with manganese uptake and can lead to deficiencies.
Plants with manganese toxicity will develop leaf chlorosis. The overall growth rate will slow down and plants will become less vigorous.
Chlorine deficiency causes leaves to wilt and turn yellow. The affected leaves may develop small, yellow flecks. The leaves will eventually turn bronze. If you were to dig the plant up, you’d see stunted root growth and thickened root tips.
Chlorine toxicity will cause the tips of leaves or leaf margins to appear burned or scorched. The leaves may turn yellow, bronze, and split. Overall growth rate is reduced.
The line between deficiency and toxicity with boron is narrower than with other nutrients, so it’s important to apply boron properly. Plants are more likely to have boron deficiencies when the plants are in a drought and the roots don’t take in as many nutrients.
Boron deficiency can create symptoms all over the plant. The tips of roots and stems will die. If you dig the roots up, you may notice that the root tips are swollen or discolored. Plants deficient in boron are more susceptible to fungal disease, causing internal rotting. Different plants will show different symptoms on the leaves, including drying, wilting, yellowing, spotting or even purple streaking.
Boron toxicity is usually seen in the leaves. The tip of the leaf will turn yellow and start to die. The yellowing and leaf death will move from the tip towards the stem.
Zinc deficiency can lead to smaller leaf size. Younger leaves can have wrinkled leaf margins. You may also notice a shortening between nodes due to reduced growth. As the soil’s pH increases, zinc is harder for plants to absorb.
Zinc in excessive amounts can be extremely toxic and will quickly kill plants. Too much zinc can interfere with iron absorption, which can lead to iron deficiency.
Younger leaves will often become dark green and twisted when a plant lacks copper. Leaves may die back or start to develop rotting spots. Plants can develop a condition called copper hunger. Copper hunger creates leaves that are wilted and turn a deep blue-green. If the problem isn’t fixed, the leaves will then turn yellow and curl.
In excess, copper is extremely dangerous for plants. When too much copper is present, signs of iron chlorosis, reduced branching, stunted growth, and thick, dark roots are present.
The type of soil you’re growing in can affect your plant’s likelihood to develop a copper deficiency. Organic soils are the most likely to lack copper. Soils that are composed largely of clay are less likely to be deficient in copper.
Usually, molybdenum deficiency shows up as an overall yellowing and stunted plant. Leaves can have scorched margins or appear cupped or rolled. Thankfully, molybdenum deficiencies are rare. Unlike most other nutrients, as the soil’s pH increases, molybdenum is more easily absorbed.
Written by Shelby from Farminence
These statistics show a significant opportunity for farmers and growers – their customers are shopping for their products online. If the farmer doesn't have an eCommerce presence, customers will be shopping from their competitors.
In partnership with Local Line, an eCommerce platform for food suppliers, we presented a simple path for farmers to start selling products online. Read the article or watch the webinar to get detailed information on how to start up your eCommerce presence.
This webinar is part 2 of a 4 part series. Watch the rest of the series here.
Besides the fact that customers are shopping online, eCommerce also saves you time and allows you to be more efficient in your operations; e-commerce tools provide fantastic functionality that eliminates much of the time that face-to-face business requires. Some e-commerce tools can also automate inventory tracking and product lists, as well as customer payments.
If you're not online, many customers will struggle to find you. Roadside stands and farmers' markets are helpful if your customers pass by and have time to stop or seek you out. Online sales allow customers to find you who may not drive by your business regularly.
Convenience is one reason to be online, but it may surprise you that the average order value increases when customers purchase products online. This is due to advanced AI recommendations and the ease of impulse purchasing.
Selling online helps even the playing field, as many big box stores and supermarkets offer online sales.
When considering a new sales channel, be willing to experiment. You may have to learn new skills or think of new strategies specifically for your online sales. Product diversity is essential for online stores. If you don't have a few different products available, consider working with other farmers or businesses in your community to offer product diversity. You might offer boxes with your greens, carrots, and team up with a nearby deli and bakery to include meats and cheeses too.
Local farmers will often have two customer types who will buy from them.
The experience-based buyer – this buyer values the relationships they build with local businesses and will always prefer to shop in person. They will stand at your market store, have an excellent chat, and ask for more information. These customers are regulars and proud of that fact; they will be very loyal.
The convenience buyer – these buyers do not traditionally buy local food because they value convenience. They want something they can pick up quickly and not have to make a specific trip to a farmer's market on top of their supermarket run.
However, these buyers have been buying more local products since Covid-19 due to the increased convenience of delivery options. If you can provide a convenient shopping experience, you will attract more of these customers.
These buyers are less concerned about the story of your farm; they want to know what products you have available. When you market to these buyers, consider how they are marketed to by traditional retailers. If they shop at Target, for example, they are used to getting weekly email communication. Can you leverage that strategy for your business?
It is all about reminding the customer to place an order rather than "selling" to them. The goal is to have this behavior become ingrained so that customers order weekly from your online store.
Knowing what influences your customers' buying decisions is critical in eCommerce. Consider these user interface options to build customer trust in your online store:
If you are ever wondering if a customer would respond to something or not, put yourself in their shoes. Think about what makes you trust someone enough to buy from them or what has caused you to abandon the purchase before you complete the sale? We're all consumers and know what customers want.
Make your website as straightforward and easy as possible to reduce friction in the buying journey. Avoid causing customer frustrations, which adds barriers to the path a customer takes to make a purchase.
Payment Options. Multiple payment options are vital too. Allow your customer to pay you in the most convenient way, such as credit cards, PayPal, Amazon Pay, etc.
Clear Operating Hours. While a website is 24/7, your business will not be. If customers pick up their products, be clear on times they can do so. Funnel people into convenient times for you, but offer a variety of options. For example, provide pick-up points at your farm, the farmers market on the weekend, or the local community center, as long as customers pre-book their appointment.
The adage, "build it and they will come," isn't true for eCommerce; you have to take an active approach to driving traffic to your site.
Google My Business is where you manage your Google listing – it's what comes up in the search results when someone searches for the name of your farm – and will help drive current customers to your online store.
Especially with organic farms, people want to buy from businesses nearby. They will search for farms nearby through Google before visiting their website to purchase.
What Tools Do You Need to Set Up An Online Store?
Social media is one of the most accessible tools for your online store to attract new customers. It costs nothing to start the accounts, only a time to create and post content. Don't worry about being on every platform – start with the one your customers frequent the most.
The content you post will vary greatly depending on your brand and the platform. Entertaining posts are popular, and they don't need to be hilarious; they can just be amusing. The goal is not to necessarily sell on social media but to use it as a traffic source for your online store.
Keep in mind that social media is not something you can just set and forget. You do need to post and engage with people regularly to get the benefit. A lull in posting or engagement can lead customers to believe your business is no longer in operation.
Aim to create shareable content that is sent to friends and family.
For most farmers, the most challenging part of social media is figuring out what to post. Here are a couple of ideas to get you started.
Join community groups too, and start building connections with local businesses, which will help you foster relationships that might become mutually beneficial in the future.
Use email to keep customers up to date. An easy way to do this is through a "catalog schedule" email, which sends out weekly updates of new products or products coming back in stock.
You can also use email to highlight obscure or unknown products to create demand. Share recipes using the ingredient and show how to prepare and eat them to create curiosity around the new product.
Most farms will have two types of emails in their strategy: marketing emails and relationship/loyalty building emails.
Marketing emails will tell people about new products and aim for customers to buy something from you, while relationship-building emails will add value. Think of these as the soft sell; offer a discount, provide interesting information, or share news about your farm and family. These emails help your customers to feel closer to you.
Mailchimp and Constant Contact are email platforms that are free or low cost, and provide a lot of tools to users.
Even your online customers deserve excellent customer service. The customer service we receive plays a huge role in shaping our perception of the business.
If a mistake happens, fix it quickly and ensure your customer has a great experience regardless of the error. How you resolve issues will help you to stand apart from other businesses.
Have a clear policy that outlines what your employees should do in a particular scenario and how to communicate with customers during a complaint. This ensures your customers experience consistent customer service.
Keep all communication personable and empathetic. Most customers will empathize with you, but be prepared to empathize with customers who overreact. No one likes hearing complaints, but negative feedback allows you to fix issues in your business that you may not have noticed otherwise.
Prevent communication issues by making sure information is clear and visible for customers. For example, suppose you only do deliveries on the weekend. In that case, you need to make sure that it is clear and presented to the customer before they enter their payment information.
Anticipate what may cause customer service options and reduce the likelihood of blindsiding customers with this information after buying the product.
Some people don't launch their online store because they are too busy or worried about things. However, your website will save you lots of time in the long run; you just need to launch it.
Another common mistake is people making their website and just expecting people to find it without putting in any work. You need to promote your website. Start with Google My Business, social media, and letting regular, in-person customers know that you have a website.
How do co-op models work?
A group of local businesses get together (5 seems to work well) to offer complementary products to their customers. They share delivery and marketing costs as well as the profits. It is beneficial for the customers to get their products all in one place, and each business is exposing the other companies to their customer pool.
What is the difference between a website and an online store?
We recommend an online store, as that is where you sell your product. However, it does not necessarily need a website attached. Many people have an e-commerce component to their website. In contrast, others use social media to create connections and engagement and have an online store to purchase the product.
Should I charge for delivery?
Absolutely, because it costs you money to do and the margin for produce is already relatively low. However, if you charge for delivery, offer free pick-up options as well.
Should I display a QR code on my farmer's market stall?
QR codes are a quick and easy way for customers to scan the code and connect with your website and social media right away. We have also seen cards with website information that is included in packaging. Do what works best for your business.
What referral rewards programs would you suggest?
Several people offer store credit or give discount codes to their customers in exchange for referrals. However, these may not be suitable if you have many customers to keep track of. You may need to adopt a more formal program that is easier to track as you grow.
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Harris Seeds and Harris Moran collaborated to discuss 10 different varieties of pumpkins that are perfect for roadside stands and patches.
The best types of pumpkins for your roadside stand are those that will make people stop what they’re doing to look. The standard jack-o-lantern pumpkins are the backbone of your stand, because those are the types people are used to seeing. They will catch customers’ eyes and entice them to pull over.
However, you want to offer a variety of different colors and style to your customers, which is what will have customers coming back year after year to your stand. Plus, it will make your stand look great as potential customers drive past.
Beyond looks, quality pumpkins will keep your customers coming back year after year. Here’s what we’d recommend looking for when selecting pumpkin varieties for your roadside stand.
Crunchkin is a hard-shell pumpkin that is easily held in hand and weighs about half a pound. It has a unique mottled color and a great stem attachment that stays on for a long while. The plant looks a little more like a bush and is very high yielding. This variety is easy to sell past Halloween and is popular as a table decoration for Thanksgiving.
Crunchkin has a great shelf-life as long as you clean them up, and they are popular for families as younger kids can grab them. Many roadside sellers will bundle these in bags of five.
Apprentice is a small, smooth pumpkin with a hard shell. Because the exterior is so smooth, it is frequently used for painting. The small size and strong stalk make it popular for kids because it is easy to hold. Apprentice has a very uniform roundness that makes it favored among customers. It is not often stocked in grocery stores, so it offers a unique choice for roadside stands.
Field Trip has a large, long, strong handle that allows for a bit of rough handling or swinging by kids. It is much bigger than the previous two, usually around five pounds in weight. It’s small to medium size makes it a great choice for children and school visits, since it can be easily carried by its long handle.
Orange Sunrise starts off as yellow and matures to orange, instead of starting green and maturing to orange. It has a bright orange color, weighs around 15 pounds, and has as nice sturdy stalk.
Cronus is the quintessential jack-o-lantern pumpkin and is extra-large, weighing anywhere from 25 -50 pounds depending on how much room it has to grow. It has a nice dark orange color, a bit of ribbing to the shell, and has a thick stalk that is classic for jack-o-lanterns.
These are often the drawcard for roadside pumpkin patches in the fall, so we recommend having them visible and at the front of your display to attract customers.
Miniwarts is a small pumpkin, between three and five pounds. It grows on a bush and has some vivid looking green warts on the fruit. The pumpkin itself is a dark orange, and as the pumpkin ripens, the warts turn from green to orange. By Thanksgiving, the warts will harden and fall off.
This pumpkin is more decorative; since the shell is very hard, it is not recommended for carving.
Warty Goblin is another new variety that seems to perform well in roadside stands. It weighs between eight and twenty pounds and has a hard shell. This will make it tough to carve, so it is more frequently used as an ornamental pumpkin.
Similar to Miniwarts, the warts on Warty Goblin are green when picked but turn orange a few weeks later.
Warty Gnome one has a long, dark green handle. It is a smaller pumpkin, between four and six pounds, and is flatter than your average pumpkin. The wart profile is shallow, so they’re not as pronounced as they are in Mini Warts or Warty Goblin.
Warty Gnome is a yellow with orange stripes and is a great ornamental pumpkin. It is very popular in farmer’s markets as it is easy to carry.
Specter is creamy in color and nice and round with a dark green handle. When you harvest, Specter is bright white, but it fades to a cream within a few days. Specter is also considered to be an ornamental pumpkin because of its semi-hard shell.
It weighs around 17 pounds and has a few shallow warts present.
Lil’ Pump-ke-mon has been on the market for a few years, but it is still very unique. It has a white shell with orange stripes. It has a very sturdy stem and will store well past Thanksgiving.
What is the best way to trim and keep the handles to minimize shrink?
Cut the vine instead of the to help it cure properly and minimize shrinkage. Also, when you clean the stem, wash it with a bleach or ammonia solution. Both of these steps will help the stems stay sturdy throughout storage.
Which varieties are best for pumpkin pie?
Out of the above pumpkins, Field Trip is the best for pumpkin pie, but Mystic Plus is one of the best varieties for cooking. Fun fact: when pumpkin pie is made commercially, it is actually made from Hubbard squash.
What is powdery mildew resistance, and can you mix different resistance varieties in a field?
Some plant varieties are tolerant to powdery mildew and others are resistant to powdery mildew. Tolerance means the plant will grow regardless of the presence of mildew, and resistant means that the plant will fight back against the mildew and prevent mildew from forming. Powdery mildew resistance is measured in grades, so on one end, you will have complete susceptibility and on the other, complete resistance.
If you mix highly susceptible plants in a field with intermediate or resistant plants, then the spores on the highly susceptible plants will blow around the field and might cause higher infection in some of the more resistant varieties.
Will mixing varieties in the same field cause any issues for yield?
No, aside from the above point about powdery mildew resistance, it will not have much of an impact on growth or yield. Plenty of farmers will have multiple types in their field in a season. However, you do need to be aware of the room each plant needs to grow; certain varieties require more room to grow and larger spacing. Failure to do so can lead to an smaller-than-expected fruit.
Are there any pumpkin varieties that are negatively affected by black plastic mulch?
Black plastic mulch is generally encouraged when growing pumpkins because it helps keep the soil temperature warm in cold weather. (The only issue we have noticed is that the heat from the black plastic mulch can occasionally cause issues with pollination). Overall, black plastic mulch is recommended for growing pumpkins.
Which varieties are best for droughts?
Pumpkins generally like dry weather better than wet weather, so unless you have a severe drought, many of these varieties will still produce a high yield.
We’ve been struggling to get the yield we expect from Cronus pumpkins. Do you have any suggestions?
Cronus pumpkins are more sensitive to heat than other types and also require a lot of space to grow, both in row and between row space. The Cronus variety also responds well to vine maintenance and insect and fungicide management.
My Crunckin pumpkins have been light orange with blotches, and my Munchkin pumpkins were bright orange with green flecks. Is this normal?
The green flecks often suggest a high virus pressure, but virus presence does not usually affect sales numbers of the fruit. Look for seeds that are virus-resistant to combat the mottling, and if your color is not dark enough, leave it on the plant a bit longer.
Have other questions? Leave a comment and a member of our team will respond with an answer.
Thank you for your interest in growing hemp! Please enjoy this webinar, presented by ClearSafe Labs and Harris Seeds. The article below is a scaled back version of what you can find in the webinar above.
The genetics of your hemp is key to the overall quality of your crop. Bad genetics will make a great farmer look bad, and good genetics will make a bad farmer look amazing.
When growing hemp, you are producing them for one of four hemp products. There is the hemp flower, the seed, the fiber, and the cannabinoids. Depending on which of the four you are producing them for, you will use a different farming method.
The Cannabinoids are really popular at the moment; labs are getting excited about the different uses there are. But aside from that, none of the four is vastly better than the other; it comes down to your preference for the process and what equipment you have available to you.
When selecting a genetic partner, you need to consider an expert in the type of product you are producing and who has experience in your environment. If the hemp genetics are being produced for an arid, dry climate, then that is the climate that the hemp plants will thrive in. So, you need to know where these genetics are being produced first and foremost.
You also need to pay attention to the claims they are making and the guarantees they are offering. Do they guarantee high germination rates or a certain yield or quality? Do they provide customer service in case something goes wrong?
The strategies and methods you use for growing hemp will vary greatly if you are growing one acre or ten acres, or hundreds of acres.
When determining the best scale for you and your crops, your first thought should be the demand from buyers and the capacity of processors in the area. There is no use growing ten acres of hemp if your processors cannot handle the capacity or if there are not enough buyers.
The type of product you are producing will also play a huge range in determining the scale of your production. Flowers and cannabinoids require a much more hands-on approach and care. Growers typically see a maximum of a thousand or sixteen hundred plants per acre.
The seed and fiber plants are a little more resilient, and the technology is there to automate most of the process. You could see up to four hundred thousand seeds per acre for seeds and fiber plants. All of the products require vastly different amounts of water, nutrients, and attention.
Most hemp farms are somewhere between one and ten acres in size. The big farms are up to a thousand acres and are producing hemp for flower and oil products. Hemp is a fairly new industry, so everyone is still learning and trying out what works best for them. There is no one formula yet.
Before you purchase your hemp seeds for a particular scale, you also need to account for how much you can use technology or mechanics to automate and how many human resources you need per acre. Do your research to find out how much time, resources, and cost each acre will take before you make your purchase.
There are two kinds of hemp seed to choose from: feminized or mixed seeds. Each type has unique advantages and disadvantages that will influence your choice, dependent on your desired scale and end product.
Feminized seeds mean that the plants produced will be mostly female plants. In general, only one out of a thousand plants will be male, so it takes the work out of sorting the plants.
If you are growing hemp to produce seeds and you want to play around with the genetics, then mixed seeds may be more suitable. Mixed seeds will allow you to crossbreed the plants and hunt for phenotypes that give the plants certain traits.
Male plants can cause problems for hemp farmers growing flowers or oil products. This is because a male plant can pollinate the female plants, thereby reducing the oil content and the quality of the flowers.
It's important to teach your workers how to identify male plants and pull out when they find them.
Hemp seeds should be grown in the environment they are genetically engineered for.
One of the biggest mistakes hemp farmers often make is growing hemp on uneven land with divots or gullies. This produces pockets of moisture where some of the plants will be growing in conditions they were not made for. Where possible, try and grow hemp on a flat, even surface.
Similarly, you need to ensure your genetics match the climate for your area, especially in regards to the length of your season. If you choose a plant that has a long flowering time, but you have a short season, you are going to struggle to produce a good quality plant.
Also be aware of your capacity for growing and processing hemp. If you do not have sufficient dry storage for the hemp once you take it off the field, then you are wasting energy and money in growing excess plants. If you are growing for flowers or oils, you will need to provide supports for the flowers as the plant itself will not be able to support the genetically modified flowers. Use whatever support structures you have available. Many hemp farmers use trellising.
Use the genetics of your hemp plants to inform your decisions and preparations.
Growers have the most success starting hemp seeds when they use heat mats or heated beds. It is so vital to keep the roots warm because that will promote a strong and healthy root system.
We use under table heating for the first three days; then put the seeds on a heated bench with a humidity dome for another three days. After that, we will add a little more air into the system by lifting the humidity dome a little so it can breathe. All in all, the plants get ten days of heating. Any fluctuations in temperature can shock the root system and prevent growth later on.
Hemp plants, especially clones really thrive in hot, humid environments, similar to a rainforest. We recommend combining a heating mat, humidity dome, and gentle misting to create an environment of 100% humidity for their seeds and clones.
When the plant is still young, you want to create a sterile environment for it to grow. This is where materials like jiffy plugs and rockwool will give you the best results. If you start the plant off in soil, it is likely to have bacteria present that will be harmful to the plant during its early growth.
Rockwool is fantastic during this early stage because it allows hemp farmers to use rock salts, nutrients, and hydroponics. The disadvantage of rockwool is that it is a one-time use kind of product. You cannot compost it or reuse it like soil.
After this young growth, you can either keep the plant in rockwool or you can choose to plant your hemp plants in soil. Soil is advantageous because it provides all the necessary nutrients for the plants, and you only need to water it. The soil does need to be healthy and enriched with nutrients to really nourish the plants. If the soil is not enriched enough, the flower will smell like hay and will be a substandard product. Really invest in good quality soil for your hemp crops to ensure a high-quality end product.
Light is another key factor in growing hemp. If you are growing your crops inside or in a greenhouse, you need to create a smart lighting system for your crops.
When you have your hemp plants indoors, you have complete control over the environment and can really optimize your crops by controlling the amount of light they receive.
You can now find horticultural lighting systems that incorporate a sunrise and sunset cycle. This will expose your plants to different light spectrums and wavelengths that would be present during sunrise and sunset. These lighting systems have been shown to really benefit the plants and new research is being undertaken to see what the optimum lighting is.
During the vegetative state, the plants prefer light in the blue spectrum, but in the flowering stage, the plants prefer red, pink, and purple light spectrums. There is a lot of research going on in the industry to figure out optimum lighting conditions and how best to deliver those to the plants.
A good way to tell if your plants are getting enough light is by looking at how compact they are. If your plants are not getting enough light, they will stretch out looking for light, and the distance between the nodes will increase. If your plants are getting enough light, they will be short and compact.
Hemp farmers are limited in what kinds of pesticides they can use on their crops. Choose the pest control substance that works best for your needs, budget, and the types of pests you get in your area.
We spray our plants preventively for pests. Once a pest problem takes hold, it is often too late. A good tactic is to switch up your product every three days to prevent the insects from building up a tolerance to your pesticides. Do be careful which products you mix, though.
Use a misting spray or an atomizer to spray your plants; ensure that the spray gets onto the underside of the leaves because that is where the bugs usually are. The spray also needs to get into the soil to get the larvae of some of these pests. So the application method is just as important as what pesticide you choose.
Hemp flowers are one of the most popular crop types because they are easy to monetize based on current demands. When growing hemp flowers, the important characteristics you need to focus on are:
A large part of the success of your hemp product will rely on not just growing it correctly but processing and packaging the flower correctly. The key steps are:
Some people may grow their crop for both flower and biomass. This can be beneficial, but the flower really gives the cannabis product its high oil content, so if you package just the biomass, it can seem like a lower quality product simply because it is missing the flower.
Hemp is an emerging market, so many people are pedaling false advice and products under pretty claims trying to cash in on a new market. You really need to take new advice with a grain of salt and do your own research to determine if there is merit or not.
Bonus: Looking for a cost-effect method for drying hemp? Check out these DIY Hemp Drying Floors from Hops Harvester >
You can plant your crops using seeds, clones, or a mixture of the two. Here are the main benefits of seeds and clones to help you decide what is best for you.
The team at Clear Safe Labs were kind enough to answer some questions from our community.
You need both male and female hemp plants for hemp fiber. Neither will have a huge impact on the quality of the fiber, instead, focus on the amount you’re watering it and what size crop you have.
Most farmers will benefit from selling their products to a wholesaler. A wholesaler has the business relationships with the distributors and brokers. Some farmers have found success marketing their own biomass, because they have been in the game long enough to have the business connections. Ultimately, you need to do what is best for you because at the end of the day, the main thing is that you sell your product. The more people out there selling your product, the more you will be able to move.
There is no general answer for this, unfortunately. Things like the size of plants, style of your field, distance from your house will impact the manpower greatly. Also, the degree of automation you have for daily processes like watering will also impact this number.
Most people use a crew of four or five people to maintain one or two acres on one field. You may need additional hands for harvest.
Visit a reputable hemp genetics provider. Clear Safe Labs have access to a few strains that are doing well across the country as well as strains specific to upstate New York. They also have contacts in the industry that may be able to help.
CBD oil is a massively oversaturated market at the moment, and it wouldn’t be wise to go all in. You should experiment with an acre or two and really learn the processes, and see what scope you have before you start investing in the equipment and large acreage. So, try out hemp growing for CBD oil, but make sure you don’t bite off more than you can chew.
]]>If you've shopped for seeds at some point, you've probably noticed that you can buy the same seed in a different form. Some seeds are available as organic, untreated, treated, raw, pelleted, and more.
What do all these seed forms mean, and are they safe to plant?
]]>What do all these seed forms mean, and are they safe to plant?
Below are the most common seed types on the market. All the listed treatments are completely safe for planting and eating the vegetables grown from them.
Treated seed has a coating around the seed to protect it from specific seed- or soil-borne pathogens, improving it's germination rate and seedling health.
The treatment may be hot water, chemical, or biological, depending on the pathogen involved. Treatment is applied under controlled conditions, in a commonly recognized fashion, at the manufacturer’s recommended rate.
Treated seed is usually a bright color to help growers easily distinguish it from other seeds. Seed treatments typically breakdown in the soil within 10-14 days.
Some of our seed packages are labeled "DO NOT USE SEED FOR FOOD, FEED OR OIL". The seed itself is not edible, however vegetables and fruit grown from treated seed are most certainly safe and suitable for eating. In fact, many commercial growers use treated seed in their vegetable and fruit production since it improves the performance of the seed and seedling. Much of the non-organic produce in grocery stores and farmers' markets is grown using treated seed.
Insect Guard treated corn seed is treated with Cruiser, a protectant with numerous benefits.
1. Protects against flea beetles up to the five true-leaf (V5) stage, lessening transmission of Stewart’s Bacterial Wilt.
2. Minimizes stand loss due to wireworm, seed corn maggot, and other
secondary pest damage.
3. Provides contact and systemic protection.
4. Pre-treated seed provides efficient and easy-to-use seedling protection against insect pests. Please note, does not protect against corn borer or earworm.
FarMore® treated pumpkin, squash, and melon seed provides broad-spectrum protection against soil-borne disease, as well as early season protection against striped cucumber beetles.
Filmcoated seed has been coated with an inert, food-grade material for easier handling and flowability. When treated seed is filmcoated, the filmcoat helps the treatment adhere to the seed.
Certified Organic Growers: Filmcoat ingredients are not OMRI Listed.
Untreated seed is clean and has not been treated using any chemical, biological, or physical method. While untreated seed can be grown under organic conditions, the seed crop was not grown under Certified Organic Conditions.
Untreated seed is a popular alternative to organic seed.
Certified Organic Growers: Untreated seed may be allowed in Certified Organic production, provided that a comparable variety is not available in Certified Organic seed. Check with your certifying agency for approval. Pellet ingredients for pelleted untreated seed (product numbers ending in 11-02) are not approved for use in Certified Organic production.
Seed in its “raw” form, comes in from the parent plant, is clean and has not been treated using any chemical, biological, or physical method.
Organic seed is clean and untreated, and it was grown and harvested under Certified Organic conditions. Organic seed is allowed for use in Certified Organic production.
Many home gardeners use organic seed for their vegetable and flower gardens.
Pellet ingredients for pelleted organic seed (product numbers ending in 11-03) are NOP approved for use in Certified Organic production.
Pelleted seed has been coated with an inert material in order to increase the seed size for easier planting.
Small seeds, such as lettuce, are frequently pelleted to increase the size of the seed, allowing growers to have more control over where the seed is planted.
The trick to germinating pelleted seed is to keep the soil moist, but not soggy. The water will either dissolve the coating or crack it open, allowing the seed to sprout. If the pelleted seed doesn’t get enough water, the coating remains intact around the seed, preventing the seed from accessing water or other essential nutrients.
To ensure an even higher rate of germination, use a plastic dome or sheet over the top of your trays to better maintain a humid environment. Certified Organic Growers: Pellet ingredients are not OMRI Listed. Pellet ingredients for pelleted untreated seed (product numbers ending in 11-02) are not approved for use in Certified Organic production. Pellet ingredients for pelleted organic seed (product numbers ending in 11-03) are NOP approved for use in Certified Organic production.
In multi-pelleted seed, the pellet contains more than one seed. One pellet will create multiple plants.
Primed seed has been primed for easier germination, through a physical processes like steam treatment or through chemical treatment.
Certified Organic Growers: Priming processes vary by seed type and supplier. Contact us for more information, and check with your certifier for guidance on using primed seed.
Fibrous “tails” have been removed from seeds for easier handling and flowability. This may be achieved through either a physical or chemical process.
Certified Organic Growers: Detailing processes vary by seed type and supplier. Contact us for more information, and check with your certifier for guidance on using detailed seed.
Have any further questions for us about seed treatments? Drop them in the comments.
Halloween is the second largest consumer spending holiday and fall agritourism is booming. Create more opportunities to build sales for your fall market with these best-selling pumpkin varieties.
]]>Gladiator's improved disease protection and grower-preferred fruit size have made Gladiator the number one variety of growers across the country. Raised next to other varieties in field comparisons, Gladiator shows improved homozygous intermediate resistance to powdery mildew. The round, deep orange fruit have moderate ribbing and measure 13" wide x 12" high. Gladiator’s long handles are thick and firmly rooted to the 20 to 25 lb. fruit. Vigorous, semi-vine plants produce good yields of these classic, attractive pumpkins that are uniform for size and shape. US Patent 7,166,772.
Kratos offers growers a large handled pumpkin with intermediate resistance to powdery mildew that matures 2 weeks earlier than most of our other large fruited varieties. Strong vines with a semi-vine growth habit produce 20-30 lb. fruit that have a flat-round shape, medium ribbing, and large, firmly attached handles. The fruit have a medium-dark orange color. Good yield potential has been noted on Kratos in our test plots.
Field Trip is an appropriately named variety for anyone catering to school tours at their farm market. Field Trip produces 5 to 7 lb. fruit with deep orange color, moderate ribbing, and distinctive, long, well-rooted handles. The attractive, flattened fruit are the ideal size for children to carry from the field and then home from school. Semi-vining plants have intermediate resistance to Powdery Mildew.
If you're growing for wholesale or you need a beautiful medium to large size pumpkin for retail sales, then Zeus is the variety to choose. Zeus produces big yields of consistently sized, round fruit, which have large and firmly attached stems. Its rich, dark-orange color and medium ribbing give it real eye appeal. The strong vines have a semi-vine growth habit and intermediate resistance to powdery mildew and ZYMV. Zeus is the perfect pumpkin for those looking for a 45-50 bin count variety.
If you have been impressed with our Lil’ Ironsides but you were looking for a larger fruit, then Iron Man is the pumpkin variety for you. Iron Man produces round to globe shaped, 3 to 4 lb. fruit that measure 6 to 7" in diameter. This is a hard shell variety that is great for painting, and it also has a dark orange color and strong, well-proportioned handles. The hard shelled fruit store for months and have tolerance to Fusarium and Phytophthora Fruit Rots. Iron Man’s vigorous full vine is tolerant to powdery mildew. Patent 7166772.
Aladdin is known for it's dark orange fruit that tip the scales at 25 to 35 lbs. set near the crown on vigorous semi-full vines. The 12" wide x 15" tall fruit have moderate ribbing and large handles that are firmly rooted into the fruit. Aladdin’s intermediate resistance to powdery mildew allows you to produce high quality, large fruit that command top dollar at your roadside market or on the wholesale market.
Vigorous bush plants produce good yields of 5 lb. round-shaped fruit that have an attractive burnished-orange color, slight ribbing, and large firmly rooted handles. The fruit are approximately 7" in diameter and have a good weight for their size. Because of Cannon Ball’s good shelf life, it makes a great item for painting and school tours. Intermediate resistance to powdery mildew. U.S. Patent 7,166,772.
If you like Magic Lantern, try Magic Wand. This improved variety offers Magic Lantern’s great color and uniformity, plus a larger, more firmly rooted stem. The 15 to 25 lb. dark orange fruit have good ribbing and a round to flattened shape. Magic Wand has a larger vine than Magic Lantern, but it carries intermediate resistance to powdery mildew. Refer to the pumpkin chart for spacing recommendations.
Rhea pumpkin makes a great compliment to its larger brother Cronus. Large vines, which have intermediate resistance to powdery mildew, produce good yields of 20 to 30 lb. pumpkins. The fruit have a flat-round shape, a rich dark orange color, and strong, thick, dark green stems. Rhea has well defined ribs, great eye-appeal and excellent uniformity for shape. This pumpkin variety is a hit for roadside stand or wholesale sales.
There are hundreds of amazing pumpkin varieties to choose from but your specific situation will determine which variety is the best for you!
Are you a new cut flower grower struggling with putting bouquets and arrangements together? Betsy Busche, a talented cut-flower grower from Spongetta's Garden, shares her foundational floral design principles, so you can be putting together professional bouquets in no time.
]]>Let's talk about getting creative with floral design. Design isn’t a talent; it’s really a set of skills. Here is a set of design principles that guides the choices we make. We must condition ourselves to ask a series of questions about the materials we are working with and where they will ultimately be used. As designers, the decisions we make when placing the flowers control where people will look.
This questioning process is especially helpful when something isn’t working. Our local elementary art teacher tells her students that “You will know when your eyes are happy.” Sometimes it means cutting an inch off a stem to settle it in better or adding an airy element to tie the color scheme together. A bouquet does not have to be perfectly symmetrical nor all the stems exactly the same height. In the physical process of twirling and placing stems, things shift, especially when one flower is heavier than the others. I’ve learned to let that be a natural part of the process, and the bouquets still look beautiful in the sleeve.
You May Also Like: A Beginner's Guide to Selecting Flowers and Finding Your Niche for your Flower Farm
When it comes to floral design rules you've heard, throw them out the window and experiment with what works. This year, I’ve discovered the use of gladiola as spikes in late summer bouquets because they are so grand and beautiful. This has been quite a journey for me and transformed my thinking. In college, I occasionally helped in a local flower shop to prep for weddings, mainly unpacking and conditioning roses. Even though the work was repetitive I liked it, but I hated the flowers. It was always roses, perennial baby’s breath, and leather leaf fern for weddings and sprays of gladiola for funerals. I questioned it once and was told, “That’s what sells.” I walked away thinking I would I never be a florist because flowers are boring.
Fast forward many years to when I spent a summer helping at a vegetable farm stand. They had a field of zinnia, snapdragons, and delphinium, and this is where I unlearned many of my flower stereotypes, but I still only cut the glads full stem and sold them as singles or in bunches.
This year has been challenging weather wise. The summer perennials all bloomed in July, so these were my spikes for August. I had ordered 500 mixed glad bulbs because I thought I should have them available as singles at the market, and I split them into a couple of planting successions. The first week they bloomed I sold two stems and I brought the rest home. It was my friend’s birthday, so I bunched together some brown-eyed susans nestled in some sunflowers and added yellow glads for spikes. The bouquet was huge and dramatic, and everyone loved it. The next week I made a bucketful for market and they sold out. When my 14-year-old helper said glads look like giant orchids, I realized that there is a generation out there that speaks a different flower language. Since then, I have been cutting them down and using them in all sorts of combinations. Customers under 40 are drawn to them in bouquets in ways I never expected.
]]>As more and more professional growers turn to flowers as a cash crop, they're looking for where to begin, not only with what flowers to grow, but what should they actually sell. Bouquets? Arrangements? Design services?
One of our experienced flower growers, Betsy Busche of Spongetta's Garden, shares some insight on how she found her niche in the ever growing flower market.
]]>One of our experienced flower growers, Betsy Busche of Spongetta's Garden, shares some insight on how she found her niche in the ever growing flower market.
The difference between a bouquet, which is a variety of flowers quickly gathered together and sold without a vase, and an arrangement, where flowers are carefully placed in a vessel, is important. The difference in price between a relatively cheap bouquet and a more expensive arrangement reflects the labor involved. But as farmers, we tend to undervalue our design skills and charge less for that labor.
When I first started, I tried to do everything. One year, I grew hundreds of mini-vegetable varieties for making snack packs. Another year, I brought bunches of herbs to market. Three years ago, I realized I needed to completely focus on flowers, and growing almost 100 varieties kept me busy enough. I took an entrepreneurial course through a local community college, and this helped me focus even more.
Flower farming is very popular, so to find my place in it, I needed to develop a specialized market of my own. For me, that is flamboyant mixed bouquets sold in the greater Utica area.
We all need to narrow our focus to a working plan, but everyone always asks, where do I start? Beyond sunflower and zinnia, vegetable farmers exploring cut flowers should direct seed orlaya, bupleurum, larkspur, and bachelor button (centaurea) as soon as the ground can be worked and then focus on transplanting tender annuals in the first year, such as cosmos, celosia, gomphrena, statice, amaranth, and ageratum. From there, they can add perennials, biennials, and more complicated annuals in smaller bites each year.
One of my “products” is Fill a Vase. My customers drop off a vase and I use it to make the flower arrangement. I charge for my time and materials just as a florist would. This led us to work with a local ceramicist to create refillable vases. Husbands love this because it is easy and they trust me to create with their partner in mind. I also keep a calendar of birthdays and anniversaries and send out reminders. I have built a relationship with these people and know their favorite colors, and I imagine the space that I’m filling.
The purpose is important, especially when making arrangements. I ask myself questions about where it is going to be displayed. If it’s a kitchen island, every single angle is going to be seen, but if it’s a mantel, the arrangement needs to be wide and dramatic from the front. The colors need to reflect the mood of the space. Sunflowers really don’t enhance a Victorian decor the way lisianthus do. That said, something as simple as a marigold can play into any of those moods depending on the flowers surrounding it.
My designs for the week start to take shape when I’m cutting. I might have an idea in mind as I go into the field, but as the stems go into the buckets, I start to see the moods and colorscapes form. This is where crop planning is important.
In my first year, I planted mixes of everything, but it was too chaotic. I overcompensated the next year with just one or two colors of each variety, but it got boring. I keep a commentary on what works each season, including the conditions.
At this point, I am only growing three colors of Benary Giant Zinnia: lilac, wine, and coral. I find that pink is a trap crop for Japanese beetles and salmon and carmine fade as the flowers develop. I love white and salmon Oklahoma zinnia, yet I still buy the Queeny Lime series as a mix every year.
I have favorites when it comes to statice, too. Pale blue, apricot, rose, and white are all I need.
Last year I only grew carmine gomphrena, but it quickly became monotonous, so this year, I gladly welcomed a mix. Colors are personal and a big part of what sets us apart from each other. It’s a journey to figure out what works best. Each season I intentionally add a half-dozen varieties to the plan as experiments to keep my designs fresh.
The availability of traditional flower categories fluctuates across the seasons. For example, there are many more spikes in spring and early summer, but fillers are harder to find in spring. Crop planning is really important to ensure that the bouquets are balanced and easy to put together. On bouquet-making days when everything fits together, I can whip out 30–40 in an hour or so, but when I have to think about which flowers to put with others, it can take several hours.
As far as crop planning, I always try to have a large amount of something reliable for each week; I planted feverfew and dianthus in June with a large patch of Solomon seal for filler. Everything else falls into place around these crops. Figuring out how many plants I need for how many weeks is crucial. For example, 40 plants of five varieties of feverfew will get me through about four weeks, from June into July. Unless it was this year when they all bloomed at once. Going into September, we are depending on tender annuals to fill all the roles. Succession planting into mid-July helps supply the prettiest blooms even as we get near frosts.
One of the most frequent comments I hear at the market is that my yard must be beautiful. My customers think I have a perfectly manicured English garden. The reality is that whenever something blooms, I cut it. Everything is planned for ease of production. We plant into black plastic strips, cover the paths with rye seed, and use a weed eater to keep it under control.
We live on a small lot in the middle of a village, so my friends and neighbors have graciously allowed us to take over their dormant gardens. I found myself driving in circles, so I split the gardens into seasons to lessen the commute. All the gardens except the spring garden are fenced, but irrigation is a challenge at all the sites. I succession plant as much as possible for a continuous supply through the frosts.
There are two specific colors that I struggle with: bright yellow and classic red. For me, they just do not sell well, so I don’t intentionally plant them. One year, I had it in my head that I needed lots and lots of yellow, so I planted 120 yellow statice plants. They looked spectacular in the field, but I only used about 60 stems because their garish tone did not work with anything. My eyes were not happy. We brought bunches to market every week and dried bundle after bundle, but I finally declared that I hated it. There are still bushels of dried bunches in the corner of my studio. I love pale yellow and the golds of rudbeckia and sunflowers, but I have learned not to order marigolds, statice, zinnia, or dahlia in bright yellow. My relationship with red is the same. After one season of prolific red Oklahoma zinnia that did not sell, no more. Pink is also tough to try to sell week in and week out. I still plant it but in small patches for an accent color.
]]>The cut flower business is booming – many say it’s the best way to make profit as a grower, and we hear time and time again how revenue and margin has dramatically increased when vegetable growers start including cut flowers into their product lineup.
]]>Growing a new crop can be a bit daunting, though, so we’re hoping to ease the load by sharing stories from cut flower growers about how they got into the business and the most important lessons they’ve learned over their years of growing.
Martha Parker of Nanny’s Sunshine and Blooms has been growing cut flowers for a few years now. Here’s her story.
I was lucky enough to grow up on a farm, and despite the hot and dirty days, I knew it was something I loved doing. My career after college took me off the farm but I bought a 5-acre property as soon as I could. After I retired, I seriously started thinking about growing for profit.
The first thing I did when I retired was to take a Master Gardener class through the state of North Carolina. Even though I was a farm girl, that class gave me the confidence to proceed with the idea of growing for profit. The class not only provided me with knowledge, but also exposed me to the many resources available through our state extension services. (You can find your state’s extension here)
This is a great time to grow. There is so much information available through the internet and social media forums. Contacts that can be made with other growers who are willing to share their expertise. Loving Harris Seeds' new Professional Growers Facebook Group by the way!
I feel that there are three aspects to consider when starting a cut flower business.
My first two years were focused on whether or not I could grow the flowers. I did lots of research on how to grow cut flowers and kept seeing the advice of starting with sunflowers and zinnias. I am a great believer in not reinventing the wheel, so that was what I concentrated on and found success.
I really did my research and knew my flowers. Especially when I was just starting out, it was much easier to grow flowers that were native to my area. Even today, I still focus on native genera, although I may start to experiment as my business grows.
Another thing that has been really helpful to me is to mix up my colors and variations to match the change of season. I mean, there are so many sunflowers to have fun with.
One area that I need to improve on is record-keeping of what I plant where and in which field. Some flowers haven’t done as well as I would like, so I need to keep better records of what I planted and where.
Lastly, I pay attention to what my customers like, not necessarily what I like.
Next season, I plan to expand into cool weather, hardy annuals based on research from Lisa Mason Ziegler, who is another great resource for cut flowers. Right now, I don’t have a tunnel or greenhouse, and growing cool-loving flowers will get me into the local farmers markets with product as soon as they open in spring, instead of having to wait for the sunflowers and zinnias to mature. I think it is important to have a presence at the market right from the get-go.
As you start planning for next season, it’s a good idea to make a master calendar for succession planting to ensure you’ll have a steady supply of flowers throughout the season.
More > The Comprehensive Guide to Sunflower Sales
How you harvest is just as important as growing those flowers. Harvest at the proper time of bloom for your particular flower, usually early morning or late evening, and make sure the plant is well-hydrated post-harvest. Use sharp and scrupulously clean cutters or knives.
Before each cutting, I wash all my buckets, rinse them with bleach, then fill with cut plant food. Flowers go into the buckets as soon as they have been cut and their leaves have been stripped. If not harvested properly, the flowers will have a short vase life which can turn away repeat customers. I also make sure buyers know the importance of how to take care of the flowers once they get them home. I have vase-life instructions pinned to the top of my Facebook page.
Next season, I’ll be investing in a flower cooler to cut down on some of the cost of lost flowers that bloomed too early to sell as a quality product.
This past year, I put a lot more effort into marketing my cut flowers. I went from selling at one familiar market to two unfamiliar markets. Surprisingly, both have been better than the original market, and both have surpassed my expectations, especially in this crazy COVID year.
Investigate the markets; look at the costs associated with the markets (and don't forget to include travel). If you try a new market without much success, don’t be afraid to move on. However, give it time, as it takes folks a while to try you out sometimes. Each market is different, and what sells in one market may not sell in another.
More > Where To Market Your Cut Flowers
I also strongly urge you to only sell the best flowers you have. It might be tempting to sell an inferior product to save losses, but my experience has shown that a quality product is the way to go. Quality ensures repeat business.
I am not tech-savvy but have found resources and support to take that big step. There is no doubt in my mind that a social media presence can make a big difference in sales at local markets. When customer after customer says “I saw your flowers on Facebook,” I know it works.
So far, I have concentrated on selling at a local market because I love the social interaction that comes with meeting customers in my community. I am ‘the sunflower lady’ and proud of it.
After listening to customers and other growers, I plan to expand in areas outside of the market, such as growing for events, selling to florists, flower CSAs, and maybe even doing farm visits with photo opportunities.
2021 is the year in which I will be really concentrating on the business aspect of cut flowers. I know I can grow a quality product and have had success marketing, so my next step is to start paying more attention to profits.
I suggest you do your research but then jump in. Start small, but nothing replaces experience. Don’t be afraid to fail. Keep notes. My phone is full of things I think about while working in the field or while I’m at market. If you don’t write it down, some of those brainstorms will be lost. Look around at what others are doing who are successful or learn what not to do from those that are not. I have loved my small success and am really excited to be thinking about next year!
You can find Martha at Nanny’s Sunshine on Facebook. All photos are courtesy of Martha.
Harris Seeds is excited to offer varieties from the Eazyleaf® assortment as a part of our lettuce program.
]]>Harris Seeds is excited to offer varieties from the Eazyleaf® assortment as a part of our lettuce program.
The Eazyleaf series is made up of lettuces that are considered “one-cut” varieties, meaning that with a single cut, you can harvest the same crop for either loose-leaf or whole head sales.
The key feature that makes this possible is the narrow leaf attachment and high leaf count of Eazyleaf varieties. A single cut just above the base yields uniform leaves that separate easily into individual pieces ready to be prepared for salad mixes, while a cut at the base of the plant allows harvest of the whole head. This gives you the flexibility to harvest for different markets without much adjustment to your harvest and packing process.
Compared to lettuces traditionally used for salad mixes, the Eazyleaf varieties deliver more texture, flavor, volume, and shelf life, a feature that customers are sure to notice, especially after being kept in the refrigerator for a couple of weeks. For growers, Eazyleaf offers a wider harvest window from improved field holding ability, and higher yields per bed from the high leaf count and dense heads. Another benefit is that the Eazyleaf lettuce assortment is available at a more economical price point than other one-cut varieties currently available on the market.
Harris Seeds offers 6 Eazyleaf Varieties which include:
Brentwood - This Red Tango type is an excellent choice as a mini head or one-cut harvest. It is widely known for its light green center to dark cherry upper leaf gradient. This Easyleaf lettuce works great in a salad mix, especially when paired with its favorite partner, the Ezrilla. Its large leaves have a glossy and smooth texture with wavy characteristics. With high resistance to bolting, this Eazyleaf type holds well in the field at any point during the year.
Ezrilla - Wait for the entire head to mature, or pick individual leaves with this Green Tango type that features a superior loft and vibrant green color. This speedy growing Eazyleaf type has dark green leaves and a sweet blanched center. Its serrated leaves are an excellent choice for anyone looking to add volume and crunch to their salad mixes. This unique option has a strong resistance to bolting and disease, making it an adaptable lettuce choice for any time of year or region.
Buckley - This Eazyleaf variety is known for its flavorful leaves. The Buckley is a Red Oakleaf type with dark maroon coloration and lobed leaves. This lettuce has leaves that grow in a tight rosette with a lengthened stem. Buckley lettuce works well when mechanically harvested as a full head or when handpicked as baby leaves. They are suitable for year-round production and grow quickly. Create a lively salad mix when you pair these beautiful Buckley leaves with Hampton lettuce.
Hampton - This shiny Green Oakleaf type is a flexible lettuce variety with dark green leaves that's suitable for year-round production. It has a high leaf set, which makes it great for mechanical or hand harvesting. As a premier example of Eazyleaf lettuces, these are beautiful, easy-to-harvest plants that produce voluminous leaves perfect for any mix. When fully mature, this lettuce type produces a high yield of equally sized leaves.
Ezbruke - Whether at a market or on a plate, this Eazyleaf variety's colors will attract eyes. They are known for their radiant red outer leaves and deep green inner leaves. The Ezbruke is mini red romaine that provides large deep red leaves on a small open plant habit. Their leaves typically measure about 7 inches long. This lettuce will produce a successful harvest year-round for either a one-cut mix or whole head.
Stanford - This Red Butter Romaine is a cross between a butterhead and romaine with exceptional flavor. With this combination, this lettuce has the benefit of the taste and texture of a butterhead and the upright growth of romaine. Its dual coloring of deep cherry and green provides a healthy look and colorful contrast for any plate. With its significant tolerance to bolting, this Stanford is easy to grow and harvest, making for a great-tasting salad.
All these varieties have high resistance to numerous races of Downy Mildew, as well as Lettuce Leaf Aphid, Lettuce Dieback Complex, and Tomato Bushy Stunt Virus.
All 6 Eazyleaf varieties are offered as organic seed, both in raw and pelleted forms, with the pellet also being certified organic.
The seed lots have also all been tested for Lettuce Mosaic Virus, which can be transmitted by seed. This is noted on these varieties by the “MTO” listed after the name, meaning “Mosaic Virus Zero”. So you can be confident that any variety with MTO in the name will be free from seed-transmitted mosaic virus. This will not protect the plants from Mosaic virus that may be transmitted by aphids in the field, however.
Lettuce prefers loose loams and organic soils with good drainage, and while it is not required to rotate beds after harvesting a crop of lettuce, it is often recommended to encourage healthy soils and pest-free crops. To maintain consistent harvests throughout the season, succession planting about every 2 weeks is a great approach. Consider how much product you need and how frequently you plan to harvest when planning the scope and timing of succession sowings.
Often growers will direct sow their salad mix lettuces, but with Eazyleaf we recommend sowing into trays and later transplanting into freshly tilled beds for best performance. This will ensure a uniform stand and greater yields per bed than direct sowing, particularly because the transplants will have a head start over any weeds that may be germinating in the bed, and because Eazyleaf varieties can take longer to reach full size than other varieties.
Plan your bed spacing based on the type of product you wish to harvest. Tighter spacing will result in smaller heads but greater total yields per bed, while wider spacing allows room for larger heads, good for whole head harvests. In our trials, we typically use wider spacing so that we can observe the full habit of the plant. In doing this we have seen the Tango-type Eazyleaf varieties, Brentwood and Ezrilla, reach a diameter of 9-10 inches at full size.
Eazyleaf lettuces will reach full size in about 55 – 60 Days. Depending on your preferences and market needs you can harvest before full size, keeping in mind it will give you smaller heads and lower weight yields per bed. As an example, Stanford, the Red Butter Romaine, will often be harvested early as a mini head to serve certain markets.
Eazyleaf varieties are also suitable for both cut and come-again and single harvests. For repeat harvests of loose-leaf product, cut 1-2 inches above the base of the plant, leaving enough core and leaf to allow photosynthesis to continue and encourage re-growth.
For whole head harvests, cut at the base of the plant. Regrowth will be limited, but the head will remain intact.
Eazyleaf lettuces perform well with both mechanical and hand harvesting. Mechanical harvestability gives growers the option to mechanize their entire operation from start to finish– sowing, planting, harvesting, and processing. In turn, hand harvesting gives growers more flexibility to harvest product as they need it for their markets at that moment, be it whole head or loose-leaf, and reduces the amount of usable leaf left in the field.
Another feature of the Easyleaf assortment is exceptional performance in warm climates and hot summers. They are slow to bolt and do not become bitter in the heat, even after a second cutting. Ezrilla and Buckley are two of our favorites when it comes to heat tolerance. Bitterness in lettuce is most often seen under stressful conditions like drought or high heat and when the plant begins to age. Varieties that are tolerant to heat and slow to bolt are often also slow to become bitter.
]]>Whether you’re just getting into the cut flower market or are looking to make more profit as a cut flower grower, sunflowers are one of the most profitable genera. They’re well know, well recognized, and well-loved by customers. We’ve put together a comprehensive sunflower sales guide to make the most of your selling season.
]]>Local Farmers’ Markets are an ideal consumer outlet for selling cuts as single stems, pre-bunched, or as custom-designed market bouquets. Many growers also find success with roadside stands or “You-Cut” options. Another avenue is a cut flower subscription (CSA), that supports the locally grown movement and florists seeking locally grown cuts during the key growing season.
More --> Where To Market Your Cut Flowers
If you’re a beginner cut flower grower, start small and select a few easy-to-grow varieties. Keeping it simple is a practical approach that allows you to gain experience with your crops and your market. We recommend starting with popular cut flowers that can be sown directly into the field, like Amaranthus, Sunflowers, and Zinnias, eliminating the need to start plants indoors.
Looks and size are certainly one important factor when choosing sunflower varieties, but growers should also look at pollen-free vs pollenated and single-stem vs branching options.
Modern sunflowers are bred to be male sterile, or pollen-free, to help foster extended vase life and a nice clean appearance of flower heads that wholesalers and florists have come to demand. Growers looking for a lower cost point find success with the sunflowers with pollen.
Popular pollen varieties: Soraya, Ring of Fire
Popular pollen-free varieties: Pro Cut Series, Sunrich Series
Single stem varieties are best for high-density plantings and are programmable for consistently beautiful flowers on tall stems. Succession planting will be needed for continuous harvest throughout the season. Branching varieties produce multiple shorter stems over the season, ideal for mixed bouquets and roadside sales.
Popular single stem varieties: Pro Cut Series, Sunrich Series
Popular branching varieties: Copper Queen, Gold Rush, and Goldy Double.
With more diversity in the “look” of sunflowers, maximize your sunflower sales by selecting varieties based on the sales season. Spring sales focus on pastel or light shaded petals combined with light colored disks, the Pro Cut White Lite and Sunrich Lime for example. As you move into summer, the warm brown disks with brightly colored yellow or gold petals take over the marketplace, such as the Sunrich Orange or Vincent Choice. For fall, choose flowers in warm shades of burgundy, maroon, or bi-colors, all with very dark brown centers, like the Helios Flamer or Pro Cut Bicolor.
Choose a spot with plenty of sun, at least 6-8 hours a day and well-drained soil; sunflowers will thrive in areas with long, hot summers. A few weeks before you plan on planting your seeds, prepare your bed by loosening the soil about 2 feet down and 3 feet across. Sunflowers aren’t too finnicky, but they do have long tap roots that need to stretch out.
Sunflowers tend to thrive in slightly alkaline soil with a pH of 6 to 7.5, but will do fine in a pH outside that range. They are, however, heavy feeders, so the soil should be rich with nutrients from either compost or manure.
More --> Test your soil
Seed can be sown directly in the field or pre-started indoors and transplanted 2-4 weeks, although we would recommend sowing them directly into the field. Plant sunflowers after the danger of frost has passed.
The soil should maintain a temperature of 70° or higher and the air should be 55° or higher. Sow seeds ¼ - ½ inch deep and they should germinate in 4-8 days.
If you have trouble with birds picking at your sunflower seeds, use bird netting to protect your crop.
Single stem varieties are best for high-density plantings to produce tall stems, while the branching types produce multiple shorter stems over the season.
Many growers are looking at seeds per acre. However, with cut flower sunflowers, we generally do not plant in that scale. Use this fantastic calculator from Omni Calculator to figure out the plants you need per the space you want to plant. For growers looking to plant branching types who just want a large block of color use our ‘Seeds Per Acre Chart’.
Continual harvest can be achieved by succession planting your favorite varieties every 7-10 days. For a second option, choose varieties with different maturity dates and plant at the same time to minimize your plantings to every 20-25 days (See variety suggestions below).
Once the plant is established, water deeply, yet infrequently, to encourage deep root growth. We recommend watering once a week with several gallons of water.
Sunflowers also should not be overfed; overfertilization can cause the stems to break and be too thick.
Taller species of sunflowers (5’ and above) may need support. Bamboo stakes work well for any single-stemmed plant that needs support for a short period of time.
Sunflowers are generally pest and disease free, although they can fall victim to downy and powdery mildew. Choose varieties like Pro Cut Gold Lite DMR and Sunrich Orange DMR that are disease resistant.
Once the petals have just begun to open, it’s time to harvest. Harvesting flowers mid-day can lead to flower wilting, so plan on cutting your stems in the early morning. As long as you’re gentle with the flowers and keep them in water, they should last up to a week at room temperature, although keeping them in a cool area will ensure they last longer.
Once your flowers have grown and are ready for harvesting, you’ll want them to last as long as possible for your customers. Here are our best recommendations to increase the vase life of your sunflowers.
Each marketplace is slightly different based on location, and the type of market, and the grower should also take into account the labor and materials needed for production. Stem length, and quality can also change pricing, growers who harvest at the proper time, store in a cooler, and treat the product well, generally can charge more as the product will last longer. Surveys given to flower farmers across the country show pollen-free sunflower wholesale pricing between $1-$3 and retail for $2-$5.
Have more sunflower sales tips we should include? Drop us a comment!
More Sunflower-Related Content
Cut flowers have boomed the past 5-7 years, and many vegetable farmers are seeing significant increases in their profits when they pair a cut flower bouquet with their vegetable offering. Let’s say you want to branch out your cut flower business even more – where do you begin to market this new product? For over 15 years, Michael has worked his way around the farming and cut flower industries to expand their knowledge for a solid foundation in the Specialty Cut Flower Marketplace. Join Michael as he shares his best tips for where to market specialty cut flowers.
]]>Let’s say you want to branch out your cut flower business even more – where do you begin to market this new product?
For over 15 years, Michael has worked his way around the farming and cut flower industries to expand their knowledge for a solid foundation in the Specialty Cut Flower Marketplace. Join Michael as he shares his best tips for where to market specialty cut flowers.
Many growers don’t realize cut flowers’ potential when it comes to CSAs. Not only can cut flowers compliment a vegetable CSA, but there are cut flower-only CSAs and flower clubs that are subscription-based. On a weekly or monthly basis, consumers receive a beautiful, curated bouquet of cut flowers from your farm.
Subscriptions can be promoted to restaurants, homeowners, offices, salons, B&B’s, and more and make a unique birthday, anniversary, or holiday gift.
From Michael: “We had an opportunity to offer our shares alongside a fruit and vegetable CSA from a nearby friend with good success. Be sure to select the right number of selling weeks to fit your growing season that will also allow you some flexibility.”
Location is the biggest deciding factor in how successful a roadside stand will be; a busy street versus a low traveled country road can make a huge difference in terms of sales and profits. Once you have a suitable physical location, create an inviting stand with a clean and attractive appearance.
From Michael: “Our cut flower farm shares property with a vegetable farm, and we found we had better sales if both of us had a well-stocked stand. When the vegetable side of the stand was not well-stocked, we saw our flower sales decrease as well.”
Just like berry farms in the summer and apple farms in the fall, many cut flower farms are offering U-Pick cut flowers. Growers provide a flat-rate container for customers to fill or offer a certain number of stems for a set price.
This allows growers to get familiar with growing and managing flowers, while not yet having to take on the cutting and arranging responsibility. Sunflowers are a perfect option for the beginning cut flower grower U-Pick option since they’re popular and easy to grow.
Locally grown flowers are in high demand as brides, grooms and event planners seek out our product. If you have an eye for design and the patience to deal wedding parties and event planners, event florals may be a good sales avenue for you.
While incredibly rewarding, keep in mind that this avenue can be very time consuming when you account for all the planning, designing, and set up of the flowers. Make sure you are giving yourself enough wiggle room through your pricing structure.
A lower maintenance option is to offer buckets or bunches of loose flowers to the D-I-Y customer.
As cut flowers grow in popularity, so does the desire to create spectacular bouquets in consumers. Some cut flower growers who excel in design are offering local classes to customers looking to up their own bouquet game. The class fee includes all the materials the attendees need to create a beautiful bouquet of their own – including flowers from your farm.
Farmer’s markets offer many opportunities to vegetable farmers and are finally starting to gain traction in the cut flower market. Some growers use a farmer's market for marketing their product and building relationships, while other growers, especially those who focus on sales to florists, may use the farmers market to move large quantities of flowers or move flowers that don’t quite make the florist-level quality of cut.
Retail florists have the consumer channel, but sometimes need a hand when it comes to flower supply. Local growers can offer a quality and variety of products that many florists would love to work with but don’t have easy access to.
From Michael: “While it can take some time to build up the necessary relationships with florists, we found that by servicing two to three florists in a day we could make more money than sitting at a market for 4 hours a week. The key to selling to florists is quality and consistency.”
Wholesale florist generally require large quantities of similar product. For a farmer with limited time, this allows you to move a large quantity of product fairly easily. However, this marketplace will bring you the least amount of money per stem compared to the others.
SunPatiens can tolerate full sun far beyond that of most New Guinea varieties — they thrive on it! Plus, the thicker petals and durable foliage are less disease-prone, and their sturdy stems withstand high heat and humidity, rain and adverse weather conditions. Plants are easy to grow for both growers and gardeners. Once the transplants take hold in containers, gardens, or landscapes, they thrive and provide a palette of color from spring all the way through a hard frost.
In addition to loving the sun, what makes SunPatiens so darn popular? Consider the following:
This workhorse series is ideal for landscape professionals and home gardeners, and it is the only series available from all five of our liner grower specialists.
There aren’t many plant brands that customers recognize by name alone. SunPatiens is one of the few! While the popularity of the series is primarily due to the product itself, the support that accompanies the series plays a vital role in its value proposition. Growers can visit the Sakata Ornamentals website for resources that will help produce and market the series. Also, be sure to visit the stand-alone SunPatiens website for consumer-based information and guidance to promote your product to your customers!
Two categories of SunPatiens fit all the garden market niches:
The full range of colors of compact SunPatiens flowers include:
The top five sellers in this group are Electric Orange, Fire Red, Royal Magenta, Tropical Rose with variegated foliage and Classic White.
Compact SunPatiens are bred for strong retail appeal and a smaller habit. They offer the best habit for multi-pack, high-density production. Produce in 306's, quarts, gallons and hanging baskets for landscapes, containers and hanging baskets. Fully finished compact varieties grow from 16 to 30 inches tall and 14 to 20 inches wide.
Vigorous SunPatiens varieties have the following color options:
Our top five sellers in this group are Lavender, Pink Kiss, Red, Tropical Orange with variegated foliage and White with variegated foliage.
Vigorous SunPatiens offer excellent branching with strong plant vigor. They are ideal for cooler regions and excel in landscapes or super large containers where plants need to fill in space quickly. Offer them to your customers in premium packs and 4- to 6-inch pots for transplanting. Vigorous varieties grow from 18 to 34 inches tall and 16 to 21 inches wide.
To put a popular rumor to rest — SunPatiens are NOT available from seed! If you’re advised they are or see SunPatiens seed available online, don’t believe it! SunPatiens varieties are produced from vegetative cuttings that plug & liner grower specialists root. All of Harris Seeds liner grower partners offer this fantastic series through our Plug & Liner program, which is a strong testimony to their performance and demand.
SunPatiens are ideal for selling in full bloom from early spring throughout the summer and into late fall.
Though you will not find SunPatiens protected by patents and trademarks, restictions apply. As such, Sakata Ornamentals alone authorizes greenhouses and growers to prepare and propagate SunPatiens from cuttings. Rooted liners can be found at Plug & Liner Grower Specialists, including our favorites Raker-Roberta's, Gro ‘N Sell, Mast Young. Four Star Greenhouses and Pleasant View Gardens. From liners, a 4- to 5-inch container will need five to six weeks to finish, with 6-inch and gallon pots requiring seven to eight weeks; an 8-inch container needs 9 to 10 weeks, while a 10- to 12-inch container will take 10 to 12 weeks. When potting plan on one plant per 4 or 6-inch pots, and 3 plants for 12-inch hanging baskets. Choose peat-based, well –aerated plant medias with an optimum pH range of 5.8-6.2. At a young age avoid excessive irrigation. Feed with a complete, balanced fertilizer at 200-ppm nitrogen. SunPatiens grow well under a wide temperature range. Establish the crop at an average temperature of 64-66° F. Once established, optimum temperatures range between 68-85° F during the day and 60-64° F at night. Lower temperatures are possible but will prolong crop time. Provide good air circulation at all times. Maintain relative humidity below 70 percent to prevent diseases such as Botrytis or Myrothecium. Optimum light level is 5,000 foot-candles. Apply light shade only if light intensities cause greenhouse temperatures to exceed 85°. Growing at lower light levels will reduce the number of flowers and increase internode stretch. As flowering can be delayed, it is also not recommended to pinch, and pinching also results in a low horizontal branching pattern.
That depends on where you grow them! If you grow them indoors or in tropical climates, you can likely keep them as perennials. However, if you grow them in colder climates, they will likely grow as annuals.
As their name suggests, SunPatiens grow the most blooms when exposed to sunlight. However, they can grow well in either sun or shade! If planted in the shade, the soil should be nutrient-rich and well-drained.
If SunPatiens are not in your product line-up, there’s still time! Get in the game and order your rooted liners from any of our plug & liner grower specialists. You won’t be disappointed, and neither will your customers!
]]>The Mirai® Sweet Corn seed breeding lines have been a popular choice for growers. In recent years, production challenges, seed crop failures and the seed no longer being produced by the supplier have made it increasingly difficult for Harris Seeds to source the high-quality Mirai® Sweet Corn seed that meets our valued customers' expectations.
To guarantee that only the best quality sweet corn seed is available for your production, we've made the difficult decision to remove the Mirai® Sweet Corn series from the Harris Seeds product line. We hope to re-introduce this series with confidence in the future, and we'll let you know when that happens.
To assist you in this transition, recommended substitute sweet corn seed varieties are described below. We hope you will find these suggestions helpful as you plan your next growing season, and welcome your questions or concerns regarding this change.
Developed in Illinois, Mirai® Sweet Corn seeds are augmented supersweet varieties with exceptional sweetness. The varieties were initially marketed in Japan, where producers named the sweet corn seeds “mirai,” which roughly translates to “taste of the future.” Mirai® Sweet Corn varieties gained in popularity for a time, but have now been replaced with newer varieties, as is typical in the industry and happens over the span of about 10 years.
Below is a list of the best substitutes we provide for each Mirai® Sweet Corn variety so you can continue growing and eating great-tasting and high-quality corn.
Sweet Corn Natalie F1: This rust-resistant white has premium eating quality. The plant grows to 6 feet with 8 to 8.5-inch ears set at 24 inches and 16 to 20 pearly kernel rows.
If you've come to enjoy the Mirai® 315 bicolor, here are some quality substitutes:
Sweet Corn Raquel F1: Raquel produces large and well-filled ears at 8-8.5 inches with 16 to 20 rows of sweet-tasting kernels. It also has excellent yield potential and field holding ability.
Here are some adequate substitutes for the Mirai® 301 BC variety:
Our main substitute for Mirai® 160 yellow is Sweet Corn Vision F1 , and its flavor and tenderness are genuinely visionary. The plant grows clean and sturdy at 7 feet tall with 8-inch ears set at 24 inches. The ears are filled to the tip with 16 or 18 rows of glossy yellow kernels.
Harris Seeds works to support all kinds of growers. Whether you care for a home garden or operate a commercial farm, we're here to assist you with all your seed-related needs. Since 1879, we've supplied vegetable and flower seeds and plants and supplies to hobbyists and professionals alike.
Whether you're interested in replacements for Mirai® Sweet Corn seeds or want to shop our organic seed selection, you can rely on Harris Seeds for premium quality and service. Feel free to explore our credit options to see how easily you can finance your selection with us — using top-grade, farmer-approved seeds doesn't need to be expensive!
To learn more about Harris Seeds, contact us at 800.544.7938 with any questions you may have.
Recommended substitutes for Sweet Corn Mirai 421W:
Sweet Corn Natalie F1
Recommended substitutes for Sweet Corn Mirai 315 BC:
Sweet Corn Rosie F1 and Sweet Corn Nirvana F1
Recommended substitutes for Sweet Corn Mirai 308 BC:
Sweet Corn Raquel F1
Recommended substitutes for Sweet Corn Mirai 301 BC:
Sweet Corn Caliber XR F1, Sweet Corn Flagler F1, and Sweet Corn American Dream F1
Recommended substitutes for Sweet Corn Mirai 160 Y:
Sweet Corn Vision F1
Recommended substitutes for Sweet Corn Mirai 130 Y:
Sweet Corn XTH1273 F1, and Sweet Corn Candice F1
Kristen Andersen is the Vegetable Manager at Harris Seeds and GardenTrends. She has a Master’s Degree in Plant Breeding and Horticulture from Michigan State University and a Bachelor’s Degree in Plant Science from SUNY Cobleskill. Kristen comes from a multi-generational farm where she developed a passion for agriculture and gardening.
I can remember the conversation vividly. Michael Tomb, an Upstate NY native, long time gardener, passionate photographer, and Rochester horticulture history buff, came up to the table to talk about his families close connections to buying seed, from Harris Seeds, since the 1950’s. He reminisced over the pole beans, and tomatoes his family grew up eating that they sourced from Harris. It is always joy to hear about historical connections to the Harris Seeds legacy.
After a stroll down memory lane, Michael showed me some of his work. It was truly inspiring. What started as a hobby has now turned into his business. Michael is a self-made photographer, and gifted artist that doesn’t work with normal materials to create masterpieces. He uses plants to bring out beautiful displays of what he calls “Celestial Vegetables.” After he showed me some of his work, I knew that I wanted to partner with this passionate and talented gardener. That is when I planted the seed to collaborate on a catalog cover. He was over joyed. Over the next few months, we got to learn and grow our plan to create one of the most beautiful catalog covers ever printed.
When the day came, the plan was simple. Collect as much produce, flowers, and plant material as possible, and let the creativity flow. I sourced produce from local growers in the Rochester area of varieties that Michael had on his wish list. I got most of his wish list, and so much more. I brought so much produce that he couldn’t contain his excitement and immediately started working on the art. What came after was magic. He created 3 of the most beautiful displays of vegetables, flowers, and herbs I have ever seen. Next came the hardest part; selecting the cover!
We held a vote, and the winner was selected. The catalog cover that won was the first of his creations over the two day span. “Glass Gem Star” was the name of this vibrant art piece. The other two created are called “Zinnia Star of Okra” and “Fennel Flower Sun.”
It was an honor to work with someone as talented and passionate about his craft as Michael is. The prints are available in various sizes on his website for purchase, including other art pieces Michael has created over the years. Check them out at https://www.studiomichaelino.com/.
We hope you like this year’s catalog, and hope it also inspires you to see the beauty in nature and possibly create your own art from materials you grow on your garden or farm.
The 2018 trials season has begun, and the Harris Seeds team is busy planting and maintaining our vegetable and flower trials. This year we have a cucumber trial in our high tunnel in Rochester, NY which includes 9 different cucumber seed varieties. Two rows of cucumber seeds were direct sown at the end of May into black plastic mulch at a spacing of 18 inches between plants. The cucumbers are watered daily with drip irrigation that runs beneath the plastic mulch, and fertilizer is added to the irrigation water 1-2 times per week. The cucumber plants have grown several feet since May and have begun flowering, so our team has begun training the cucumbers to grow vertically on string trellising. This type of training system allows more plants to be grown in a smaller space and encourages the fruit to be straight, which is especially good for longer cucumber varieties with a tendency to curve.
For some tips on training and pruning cucumber plants in a vertical planting system, watch the video below!
]]>Topics in the various segments will include culture, variety selection, planting information, & marketing tips for maximizing profits and getting the most out of the fall season. Click here to view our full selection of pumpkin seeds.
These segments will be short and informative. If you have additional questions, feel free to contact us.
Our Top 5 Large Orange Pumpkin Varieties
These Industry Leading Powdery Mildew Protected pumpkins make our top five list for the most common go to varieties for growers. Whether you sell wholesale or roadside, these varieties will have you covered! Classic ribbing, large strong rooted handles on rich dark orange fruit excel in overall performance resulting in a crop you can count on all the way through harvest and sales.
#1 Kratos Pumpkin
Kratos offers growers a large handled pumpkin, with intermediate resistance to powdery mildew that matures 2 weeks earlier than most of our other large fruited varieties. Strong vines with a semi-vine growth habit produce 20-30 lb. fruit that have a flat-round shape, medium ribbing and large, firmly attached handles. The fruit have a medium-dark orange color. Good yield potential has been noted on Kratos in our test plots.
#2 Cronus Pumpkin
Cronus pumpkins are produced on a large, vigorous vine that has exceptional yield potential, as well as intermediate resistance to powdery mildew. Its fruit weigh 25-60 lb. and have an attractive dark orange color, well defined ribs, and a consistent blocky/round shape. Its exceptional handle is long, dark-colored, well rooted, and has high dry matter, which leads to less stem shrinkage after harvest.
#3 Gladiator Pumpkin
Its improved disease protection and grower-preferred fruit size have made Gladiator the number one variety of growers across the country. Raised next to other varieties in field comparisons, Gladiator shows improved homozygous intermediate resistance to powdery mildew. The round, deep orange fruit have moderate ribbing and measure 13" wide x 12" high. Gladiator’s long handles are thick and firmly rooted to the 20 to 25 lb. fruit. Vigorous, semi-vine plants produce good yields of these classic, attractive pumpkins that are uniform for size and shape.
#4 Secretariat Pumpkin
This large handled, dark orange pumpkin has a slightly flattened shape. The medium-large vines have intermediate resistance to powdery mildew and are very productive, bearing multiple fruit per plant. The exceptionally large handles will receive attention at roadside stands and U-Pick pumpkin patches.
#5 Ares Pumpkin
Ares' extra-long, thick, and firmly attached stems really set it apart from the other tall pumpkins on the market. The dark orange fruit average 22-28 lbs., are very uniform for size and shape, and have excellent ribbing. Ares pumpkins are produced on vigorous vines that offer excellent yield potential and intermediate resistance to powdery mildew. We urge you to add this tall, strong warrior pumpkin to your offering this season.
At Harris Seeds, we record the seed size, shape, and seed count per pound for every lot of sweet corn we receive. We also determine the recommended planter plate numbers for each lot. Sweet corn seed can be round or flat, medium or large, and the plate needed for a specific lot will depend on the combination of these traits. Round corn plates have a round or teardrop shaped cell, where flat corn plates have a rectangular cell. The genetic type of the sweet corn can also determine if the dried kernels are more shrunken or full, which changes how they flow through the plates.
If you own a limited number of planter plates and would like to order seed that you know will fit, call us before you place your order. We will review our current inventory for the varieties you are interested in growing and help you choose the ones that are compatible with the plates you already have. Be sure to have a list of your planter plates nearby when you call.
If you have already ordered your seed and want to be sure you own the plates you’ll need for those seed lots, we are happy to provide plate number recommendations. These recommendations are printed on the label of sweet corn packages of 10M or larger, or you can call or email us to request the information. Please be sure to include the variety and lot number you would like recommendations for.
As an example of the type of information we can supply, our current lot 41104 of Sweet Corn Rosie F1 has a Large Flat (LF) seed with 3,231 seeds per lb. and the recommended plates for John Deere planters are B17 and B10 and for International Harvester planters are C17 or C697.
Many growers are successful in planting other vegetable and sunflower seeds with their plate planters, especially pumpkins, squash, and gourds. Unfortunately, we do not have the same detailed information on record for these crops as we do sweet corn and cannot provide exact plate number recommendations.
Lincoln Ag Products is a great resource for vegetable and sunflower plate information. Based on their experiences and grower feedback, find some of their plate suggestions below or visit their website for more specifics. Always test above ground before planting in the field.
• Beans: Large Flat Corn Plates
• Collards, Okra: Large Single Drop Sorghum Plates
• Cucumber, Watermelon: Small Sunflower Plates
• Peas: Medium to Small Round Corn Plates
• Pumpkin, Squash: most growers prefer to cut their own plates, see steps below
• Sunflowers: purchase plates specific to sunflower seeds
Another way to achieve your preferred planting rates and seed flow is to cut your own plates to suit your needs. Lincoln Ag Products sells blank plates and offers suggestions for cell spacing. Trial and error will help you find or create plates that are just right for your operation and chosen crops.
Harris Seeds proudly sells Jang and Earthway seeders, plates, and seed rollers. If you have questions about these products, please contact us.
If you are looking to purchase plates for a John Deere, International Harvester, or other planter manufacturer, please contact Lincoln Ag Products. They manufacture planter plates and have great resources available to help you determine what size plates you might need. You can also send them a sample of 10-20 seeds and they will test it in different plates to offer a recommendation.
A commonly overlooked setting on planters is the down pressure springs and seeding depth. Be sure that the seeding depth is set for your soil moisture and conditions to prevent planting the seed too deep. Deeply planted seeds will germinate slowly or not at all. Trial and error will help you know your soil conditions and learn the ideal settings for your planter.
Seed spacing depends on the number of cells on the plate and the sprocket settings. A 16-cell plate will plant 1/3 less than a 24-cell plate. Depending on your planting goals, sometimes it is easier to change row spacing by switching planter plates instead of adjusting sprocket settings. Refer to your planter’s Operators Manual for sprocket settings specific to the make and model.
Questions about seed planter plates for specific sweet corn varieties? Send us a message directly via our online contact form.
Questions about any other vegetable seed varieties? Please contact Lincoln Ag Products.
This weekend I will be traveling about 45 miles from my farm to attend a farm auction in hopes of buying a 5 bottom plow I have my eyes on. I like the Kneverland brand made in Norway. These are traditional moldboard plows that pull very easily and do a good job getting the trash turned under. I have a 5 bottom now that I’ve had for about 20 years. I pull it with my 7120 Magnum. I do a fair amount of cover cropping so I need to turn that top growth under so it can start breaking down. I am assuming the plow will not bring too much because most all the big grain farmers in the area are going to chisel plowing or zone building. Reduced tillage methods have their place but at the same time it is difficult to get a clean seedbed for planting fine seeds or using plastic mulch.
My New Year’s resolution is going to be better organized to save valuable time in the spring. One item on my check list is to spend a few hours replenishing my bolt bin. How many times have you looked for a certain size bolt or nut only to be running to town and getting the right size? So I am making a list and getting my bolt, nut & washer supply replenished before winter is over! I may spend a hundred dollars or so now, but I know how valuable my time is in the spring when I’m trying to get a crop in and rain is coming and I don’t have time to hop in the truck and waste 30 minutes roundtrip to town & back.
As I write this I have already thought of a few other items like some extra lynch pins and clip pins for the hitch pins. Sound familiar? Glad I'm not the only one. I would like to hear from other growers on your thoughts on tillage and how you prepare your soils for planting.
One of the most important aspects of growing is also one of the most challenging: watering.
In all production systems, it is important that the crop receives the appropriate amount of water at the right time and frequency. This can become an overwhelming task to accomplish when working with a variety of crop species at different growth stages as each will likely have a different water requirement.
In certain situations, like when starting seedlings, hand watering will be the best choice; however, watering can be best accomplished using a drip irrigation system in many cases.
These systems are efficient, easy to install, and customizable to meet your specific watering needs.
Irrigation system components vary depending on the growing environment in which they are used. Emitter stakes are a great option for greenhouse or nursery operations that care for a large quantity of potted plants, such as perennials.
In these situations, a network of pipe runs alongside the pots and emitter stakes are attached directly to the pipe with customizable spacing. These emitters can provide a steady drip of water directly into the soil or spray a small area with water droplets.
These options allow for customization of the system to meet specific crop needs and grower preferences.
For field grown crops with high water demands, like peppers and tomatoes, a similar network of irrigation tubing can be used. In these cases, drip tape is most commonly used. Drip tape is a plastic tubing that has evenly spaced water emitter holes along the entire length of the tubing.
It is typically placed on top of the soil, directly adjacent to the base of the plant, and is a great option for use with mulches. In landscaping irrigation systems, button drip emitters are a common choice. These drip emitters are attached directly to the main pipe, with spacing determined by the plant locations.
Drip irrigation systems make it easy to water a large area of plants at once and the emitters deliver a precise amount of water every time, making these systems reliable and easy to monitor. Irrigation systems can also be paired with fertilizer injectors or water timers that can make watering even more efficient and time-saving.
Applying water precisely to the plant root zone minimizes the amount of water lost to evaporation and runoff, reduces the spread of certain pathogens, and limits the water available to weeds.
When installing an irrigation system, don’t forget to include a water filter to prevent sediments from entering the lines and plugging emitters, as well as a pressure regulator and gauge to ensure that appropriate water pressure is maintained.
If water pressure is too high, the system can be damaged; however, if pressure is too low, inconsistent amounts of water may be applied. In larger networks of irrigation line, valves can also be installed to permit selective watering of certain areas or to better manage water use and pressure.
Another important consideration is the soil type in the irrigated area. Areas with lighter soils may require closer emitter spacing or a more frequent watering schedule.
While the initial installation of a drip irrigation system may seem intimidating, it is an investment with the potential for valuable returns and time savings. When properly maintained, a drip irrigation system can last many years and can be easily added to or modified to meet the changing needs of a production system.