Goals for flowers, vegetables, expansion and the farmer – it’s just January. And so we begin our fourth year growing in the garden! Reflection on the time passed and invested shows how much we have learned and how our priorities and capabilities have changed year to year.
A Look Back
In 2020, we moved to our property in the fall and began to break ground in the garden during the winter. There was only Youtube inspiration from the likes of Justin Rhodes and Shaye Elliott to educate us, and just the beginnings of people like Jean Martin Fortier and Charles Dowding. In our little knowledge, we scraped the grass off with a bobcat, tilled, threw down compost and planted.
Spring of 2021 was our first snow-mageddon, and a seven year flood. I learned a ton about seed starting and practiced, even if the plants hardly survived transplant. Hearty alliums and sunflowers kept hope alive.
In 2022, we put in a permanent watering system (drip lines and timers), transplanted the flooded blackberries and built a berm to protect the low garden from high water. We also divided our large plot into three, bordered it with stones and built up the soil.We built raised beds and practiced making our own compost. We battled with the wind, purchased some plant starts and started raising chickens. The investment into no-dig methods gave us a huge payoff, and the garden thrived.
2023 had more snow and flooding, and we inherited our beloved arch from our neighbor, “the farmer”. We really began to eat from the garden, which changed all perspectives on food and health, and how we cook and what we served.There were things I already could grow confidently: garlic, onions, carrots, cabbage, peas, blackberries, pumpkins, zinnias and tomatoes. There was still so much to learn.
In 2024, we overwintered our first vegetables, and they survived snow, yet again. We tried interplanting, and succession planting for the first time. We tried new vegetables and started exploring the world of flowers. Learning flowers is like learning a new language. We planted fruit trees, blueberries, strawberries, asparagus, raspberries and more. The grocery store only got our commission for avocados and bananas (and the occasional winter cucumber).
Farm Goals
In deciding what to plant for 2025, I truly had some regrets. I have kept hardly any notes (cough, yes this blog was supposed to support that goal). What were our yields? Which varieties do we prefer? How long are our harvest windows? What did we like to eat most?
These questions have helped me eliminate some things we have grown (Chinese cabbage?), and will hopefully make space for new ideas. New ideas being, namely: flowers.
I am a vegetable farmer to my middle, but I see the opportunity for creativity and entrepreneurship here in our small town with flowers. While I can continue to grow the veg we need, I can stretch myself in this new realm. To put it succinctly, I have one goal: be strategic.
Subgoals include:
- Maximum production (ie. interplanting and succession sowing)
- Document (note harvest windows, seedling strength, amount of production etc.)
- Plant with purpose (minding specifications for bouquet recipes, cold weather protection spacing, harvest timelines, etc.)
I have just began to learn more about farm operations from a local farmer (Everbloom Fields) and online educator, Lennie Larkin. (Flower Farming for a Profit) Between their forms of education, I am able to recognize the gaps in my own knowledge and previous experiences. I also have the goal of understanding marketing and business growth IF, by God’s goodness, He gave me the opportunity to turn this gardening hobby into a real farm. I do have the opportunity to outsource my vegetables locally through a farmer’s market and an HOA, as well as sell flowers in a local coffee shop. Yikes! The enneagram 9 in me is both intrigued and terrified.
Plant Goals
Winter planting for the garden is where the goals are built. You take the scope of an entire year and build it out row by row, month by month, on paper. The goals have to be specific so they can be attainable. Here are mine:
- Spacing & Growth
- Succession Planting
- Cold Protection
- Specific Varieties
Spacing & Growth
I am most limited with what I can grow by the space I have developed. We have 7 rows (30’x3’), 6 raised beds and a newly tilled + cover cropped area (30’x10’). Our row space and raised beds are already partially occupied by some established perennials and overwintered crops. Some flowers are tricky, because while their spacing is dictated by the seed packet, they can also be planted closer together or close to other crops with just slightly lower yields. Celosia, for example, has an optimal plant spacing of every 12-24 inches. 24 inches can promote long side shoots. Celosia planted at 6 inches causes the plant to create tall plants with smaller side shoots. If celosia was one of my main crops, I’d give it the proper spacing. But it is just a filler for bouquets, so I cram them in!
As I’m learning, it seems growing flowers in Zone 8a requires ALOT of fall planted seedlings in order to credit the little cold we do get towards their requirements. Our goals include being strategic to maximize production. So, our spring is short and their space will be planted with warm loving things. Lord knows we get plenty of those days! Spacing may be tight as seasons overlap, but the goal is to produce as much as possible.
What is “Succession Planting”?
Succession planting is the solution for constant flower or vegetable production. Starting seeds every week to two weeks during the growing season keep some plants at prime for a longer period than a singular planting. For example, indeterminate tomatoes can be started by seed as early as the last week of January. An early spring tomato will produce fruit as long as the temperatures remain between 55F at night and 85F during the day. For us, that means April to August. However, there is really a 3-5 week flush of tomatoes between their first flush and their trickle out. Plantings everything two weeks allows that 3-5 week flush to last closer to 8 weeks. The same can go for zinnias, who can struggle with powdery mildew once heat begins. Want plenty of cucumbers for canning pickles or fresh snacking? Succession planting. More sowing, more harvests!
What Needs Cold Protection?
This new idea (to me) of overwintering fall crops for early spring production had me in a pickle. In the fall, we cover cropped the rows of that had no plans for fall to spring. We rotate our row plantings, and therefore have limited area for things that do have to go in. For our goals, we have to maximize our space by strategically planting where cold coverage can be uniform.
Zone 8a also is overly warm right up until Christmas and then drastically cold for a short two months. If you plant too early, things will grow quickly and attempt to bloom or fruit before the cold begins. Wait too long, and seedling won’t be established enough to handle the chill. Coverage is for tender annuals, warm loving perennials and newly established transplants. Specifically, you can research which crops you intend to overwinter and their cold tolerance.
I have crafted “poly-tunnels” that do help increase the temperature during these cold spells. Taking ½ “ PVC pipe and one foot rebar, we create hoops. We’ve used the same 50 foot plastic sheets to cover the hoops attach with PVC clamps for four years. I’ve already made the mistake of planting order… Carrots definitely don’t need to be under the poly-tunnel, but alas, they are neighbor to the lettuce I plan to eat all winter. Still so much to learn. Putting effort into this goal will produce flowers and vegetables earlier in the year.
Goals for Specific Varieties
This too, is a work in progress goal. I have over purchased all my seeds this year to sort through varieties that appeal to me, tolerate our heat/cold and yield a good amount of food/bloom. As a result, I will also be only planting a few of many things. ERROR! Yes friends, this is what they say not to do. But this is where the blessing of hobby farming begins. To me, I will have a backyard full of blooms without the pressure of needing a home for everything I grow. Sometimes, I can grow just to enjoy the process. Sometimes, I get to grow just to look at something beautiful. And sometimes, I can do something for the pleasure of it. Our goals can also include: enjoying the process.
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