The Flower Growing Process at Barn Blooms
The vast majority of the flowers at the farm are hand planted, from seed, and spend their days being pampered at the farm until they flower. I wanted to dive a little deeper into how that process works here and when it all happens!
Seed starting really begins with buying seed. Each year it seems I have to have the seed order ready earlier and earlier. This year the majority of the seed was ordered in October. Highly sought-after varieties of flowers often sell out in minutes.
Some flowers just are better left to the professional greenhouse growers. There are a few reasons that I might buy in plants that have already been started. They may not germinate well (sprout), or they may take way to long to get to flower and it is more cost effective for me to buy the plant in. Sometimes I also forget to plant certain things and need a quick fix! Even flower farmers make mistakes 😊
Once the seed orders come in, I start organizing the seed by date that it must be planted. I have this handy sticker organizer that I labeled with the months and put the packets in accordingly. It is not a perfect system but works fairly well for now.
Come January, our first seeds get started. Some flowers take upwards of 130 days to mature from seed, so an early start is really important. I get bulk soil in 2-yard sling bags and fill seventy-two cell trays to plant into. I fill trays in our garage and then transport them into the warmth of my basement. There I have a little desk set-up that I seed at.
Each variety of flower has different seeding needs. Some need light to germinate, so you do not cover. Some need total darkness so you actually have to put something over the tray to shield out light until germination. Some things like to be cold before germinating. So, it is really important to know each flower’s needs so that they get the best start to life.
After the trays are seeded and watered, they go under lights to germinate. I have shelves set-up in my basement with lights on timers that run to give the seeds “sunlight.” Because the basement runs a tad cold, I also have plastic sheeting hung from the rafters, essentially making a greenhouse effect to help warm the seeds up. A little heater inside the room does just the trick.
Once the seeds have sprouted up, they live under the lights until it is their turn to go into my little greenhouse. I have a tiny greenhouse outside, but it gets the job done. If I am moving trays and planting on schedule, everything has a home, and nothing gets to overcrowded. The greenhouse gets heated on really cold nights (low 20’s and teens) and vented when the sun comes out. The plants adjust to living outside in the elements, and as I get ready to plant them in the ground, I move the trays outside for periods each day to really get them used to sun, wind, and rain.
Once they are ready to be planted into the ground, I take the trays to their assigned area and hand plant the plugs (baby plant) into the ground. I plant into landscape fabric, burned with little holes. The plants fit into those holes and that helps with weed pressure.
I get asked a lot, well what do you do in the winter? Or you must have a huge greenhouse? Starting thousands of seedlings takes a lot of time and no I do not have a huge greenhouse to grow in. I make my set-up work, and it is far from perfect, but it is cost effective! Hopefully someday soon I can report that I have a big greenhouse to grow in! Also, knowing what each variety of flower needs is really important. You cannot treat them all the same and expect them to grow beautiful flowers. That is why I have been planting some plugs out into the field already, those flowers like the cold! Some flowers will have to wait to mid-May because they only like it hot.
As you can see the plant’s early life is very hands on at the farm. I am watering, checking, and fertilizing these plants multiple times a week. They are the future of the season, and healthy plants = healthy flowers! So next time you see a bouquet of flowers, do not just put a value on that individual stem. Remember the work that goes into growing those beautiful flowers that have lived in my basement, greenhouse, and field for a few months!
I put together a quick video if you want to check it out about growing and seeding at Barn Blooms!
