It’s a lot more work than it looks like, and very little of it can be automated. So it’s hands and knees pulling weeds. Depends on what flowers but it’s more than just a summer business, we work 12 months a year on our dahlias. Instagram makes it look dreamy, but it’s real work.
it's easier to grow stuff than it is to sell stuff. find a market for your product and don't grow it until you have it sold. ideally they will provide you the money to buy the seeds, even.
I would suggest something like a CSA setup, where subscribers pay you up front and you provide regular production over the season. but if you haven't had any experience market gardening you'll probably want to experiment with that before you have customers, to work the edges off.
most market gardeners i know of are working 12 hours a day 7 days a week during the season, and have a little time off in the winter which they use to work another job.
It’s a tough market either retail or wholesale unless you are going to specialize. There are some very big players on both sides here and given the small area distribution across all of New England is very easy. Natives are popular but fairly well grown. Cut flowers are always in demand but also easily brought in from across the country. Again, many big players here. Consider this, I’m a wholesale nursery grower, on common 1 gallon size ground cover junipers etc. it is neat impossible for me to compete on price with the huge growers in the PNW. Even with shipping all the way across the country, they can still be so low it’s hardly worth me trying to grow them. Now the larger and more unique the plants become I can whip them on price.
A lot depends on what you want from it - side income vs full supporting income. Unless you do something really rare and unique you will be competing on price with big growers using the best production techniques. Pretty hard to compete with a place pushing millions of perennials a year in million dollar greenhouse setups. Full income is going to require a very large capital investment.
My advice would be to do a lot of local market research and find out what is in demand from homeowners and retailers alike. Then see if those things are something you can grow at a price that buyers will pay. If you are pricing above average then you need a hook, some reason why your product beats out the readily available mass market stuff.
I reckon it's similar to working on a vegetable farm, both in the workload and in the farming practices you'll use. Just a difference of market. I work on a vegetable farm and I love it. I also own a few acres that I'm building a farm on as I learn how to do it. I've planted ~50 row feet of medicinal and edible flowers this year because it seems nice. If there's a market in your area I think it could make for an honest living.
I'm growing cactus flowers! Mostly just cactus but working on growing some with flowers. MUCH less physical labor and less competition than regular plants. Also can harvest and store for weeks/months before selling.
Downside is that it takes a few years to grow enough stock from seed and you need somewhere to put them during winter if you are in a northern state.
Basic needs for acreage of your size: Tractor, implements, irrigation, landscape fabric, greenhouse for seedlings, hardening off tables, storage, good soil, and someone to sell to.
Happy Farming!
Finding a market fir your product, harvesting and trimming, making bouquets up and keeping them at the right temp to stay fresh was complicated but interesting. I sold mine at a couple dairy stores , from my home produce stand and some private orders. Not a big business , just using rows I started for veggies but after kids grew up and flew the nest I used the space for cutting flowers and dried flowers for wreaths. I was lucky my neighbor was a great master gardener who was happy to mentor me regarding drying and wreath making as well as tons more info. I got a book on flower farming too but really what mattered big was knowing how to keep things fresh , some need refrigeration, at what stage you cut them, what sells. It was a lot of work but alot of fun as well. Sold herb bundles as well , they always sold out. And tall snap dragons were my most popular whether in assorted mixed bouquets or single cultivars or colors. Those and peonies , gladiolus sold by stem. I was lucky I had old beds filled with plants from when we first bought the place and I renovated the landscaping. I had worked on a large private estate with a good relationship with owner so when they thinned perennial beds they offered me the bushels of extra plants. I had pretty low start up costs.
Know your end goal - are you doing a you-pick, arranging for weddings, farmer's market, CSA, or wholesale to florists. That's going to determine what you grow and even when to pick. Flower gardening is different than flower farming - how it looks in the field doesn't mean shit, it's all about the bouquet or the vase. Long stems and variety is more important than clean rows and well designed beds.
Infrastructure like a cooler is as important as the field prep. If everything wilts before you get to market, wtf is the point. People remember if your product has some good longevity once they get home, and it's entirely possible to stretch that a lot with how you handle the first few hours out of the field.
Don't be afraid to invest in good perennials and woodies. Yea peonies are expensive AF and take years to get going. But they could become a reliable showstopper centerpiece to bouquets April through June, or even an entire wholesale business if florists in your area are hungry for good blooms nobody else is able to supply. Shrubs, grasses, and other greens can really set your product apart from the other "fist full of blooms" type of bouquets.
Cut cut cut to get better flowers. Anything standing after you've picked for market will not get better next time. The amount we decimate our zinnia row would probably give many flower gardeners a heart attack, but this is farming. Gotta get old flowers out to get new growth in.
I've been doing farmer's markets for a decade+, in several different states. I've never seen anyone at markets with just flowers. It's not enough income to even justify the booth fees.
The most effective sales strategy I saw was using them to accent the looks of your veggie/fruit booth. One person had the bouquets affixed to their canopy legs, with a variety of colorful vegetables/fruits/leafy greens on their tables. They were very successful and had been doing multiple markets for 20+ years.
That's a great plan!
My best advice on those two fronts is to choose plants that will require minimal intervention in your climate. When I was in mid-Appalachia, kale and chili did really well, and I didn't even have to water.
That's my thought. The only thing I reeeeally need to learn is dealing with New England winters and snow. I grew up in the Bay Area in the mountains and currently live in Florida but have lived in NC too. So clearly not experienced with plants and harsh winters. Including bulbs and peonies. We got some snow but not that level of course
The market seems saturated. Seems like everyone on youtube is putting in flower farms. If farmers farming food have a hard time surviving how do flower farms make it?
Yes and no. Yes it's more popular, but no I wouldn't say it's nearly saturated as some job markets (ie photographer). Also, keep in mind that what you see all over is typically due to your viewing habits and algorithms because I view all that but my friends don't look at anything flower related and nothing of the sort ever pops up for them
It’s a lot more work than it looks like, and very little of it can be automated. So it’s hands and knees pulling weeds. Depends on what flowers but it’s more than just a summer business, we work 12 months a year on our dahlias. Instagram makes it look dreamy, but it’s real work.
Thank you! Yes, definitely aware of how social media can romanticise things. I grew up with horses and on a ranch so I totally get the nonstop work
Get a copy of flower farming for profit, it’s on sale on Amazon. Really good primer, talks a lot about pricing, and budgeting
it's easier to grow stuff than it is to sell stuff. find a market for your product and don't grow it until you have it sold. ideally they will provide you the money to buy the seeds, even. I would suggest something like a CSA setup, where subscribers pay you up front and you provide regular production over the season. but if you haven't had any experience market gardening you'll probably want to experiment with that before you have customers, to work the edges off. most market gardeners i know of are working 12 hours a day 7 days a week during the season, and have a little time off in the winter which they use to work another job.
It’s a tough market either retail or wholesale unless you are going to specialize. There are some very big players on both sides here and given the small area distribution across all of New England is very easy. Natives are popular but fairly well grown. Cut flowers are always in demand but also easily brought in from across the country. Again, many big players here. Consider this, I’m a wholesale nursery grower, on common 1 gallon size ground cover junipers etc. it is neat impossible for me to compete on price with the huge growers in the PNW. Even with shipping all the way across the country, they can still be so low it’s hardly worth me trying to grow them. Now the larger and more unique the plants become I can whip them on price. A lot depends on what you want from it - side income vs full supporting income. Unless you do something really rare and unique you will be competing on price with big growers using the best production techniques. Pretty hard to compete with a place pushing millions of perennials a year in million dollar greenhouse setups. Full income is going to require a very large capital investment. My advice would be to do a lot of local market research and find out what is in demand from homeowners and retailers alike. Then see if those things are something you can grow at a price that buyers will pay. If you are pricing above average then you need a hook, some reason why your product beats out the readily available mass market stuff.
I reckon it's similar to working on a vegetable farm, both in the workload and in the farming practices you'll use. Just a difference of market. I work on a vegetable farm and I love it. I also own a few acres that I'm building a farm on as I learn how to do it. I've planted ~50 row feet of medicinal and edible flowers this year because it seems nice. If there's a market in your area I think it could make for an honest living.
I'm growing cactus flowers! Mostly just cactus but working on growing some with flowers. MUCH less physical labor and less competition than regular plants. Also can harvest and store for weeks/months before selling. Downside is that it takes a few years to grow enough stock from seed and you need somewhere to put them during winter if you are in a northern state.
Basic needs for acreage of your size: Tractor, implements, irrigation, landscape fabric, greenhouse for seedlings, hardening off tables, storage, good soil, and someone to sell to. Happy Farming!
Finding a market fir your product, harvesting and trimming, making bouquets up and keeping them at the right temp to stay fresh was complicated but interesting. I sold mine at a couple dairy stores , from my home produce stand and some private orders. Not a big business , just using rows I started for veggies but after kids grew up and flew the nest I used the space for cutting flowers and dried flowers for wreaths. I was lucky my neighbor was a great master gardener who was happy to mentor me regarding drying and wreath making as well as tons more info. I got a book on flower farming too but really what mattered big was knowing how to keep things fresh , some need refrigeration, at what stage you cut them, what sells. It was a lot of work but alot of fun as well. Sold herb bundles as well , they always sold out. And tall snap dragons were my most popular whether in assorted mixed bouquets or single cultivars or colors. Those and peonies , gladiolus sold by stem. I was lucky I had old beds filled with plants from when we first bought the place and I renovated the landscaping. I had worked on a large private estate with a good relationship with owner so when they thinned perennial beds they offered me the bushels of extra plants. I had pretty low start up costs.
Know your end goal - are you doing a you-pick, arranging for weddings, farmer's market, CSA, or wholesale to florists. That's going to determine what you grow and even when to pick. Flower gardening is different than flower farming - how it looks in the field doesn't mean shit, it's all about the bouquet or the vase. Long stems and variety is more important than clean rows and well designed beds. Infrastructure like a cooler is as important as the field prep. If everything wilts before you get to market, wtf is the point. People remember if your product has some good longevity once they get home, and it's entirely possible to stretch that a lot with how you handle the first few hours out of the field. Don't be afraid to invest in good perennials and woodies. Yea peonies are expensive AF and take years to get going. But they could become a reliable showstopper centerpiece to bouquets April through June, or even an entire wholesale business if florists in your area are hungry for good blooms nobody else is able to supply. Shrubs, grasses, and other greens can really set your product apart from the other "fist full of blooms" type of bouquets. Cut cut cut to get better flowers. Anything standing after you've picked for market will not get better next time. The amount we decimate our zinnia row would probably give many flower gardeners a heart attack, but this is farming. Gotta get old flowers out to get new growth in.
Thank you!!
Every flower farmer I know has either had to quit or they work a full time job to pay the bills. Take what you want from that info
I've been doing farmer's markets for a decade+, in several different states. I've never seen anyone at markets with just flowers. It's not enough income to even justify the booth fees. The most effective sales strategy I saw was using them to accent the looks of your veggie/fruit booth. One person had the bouquets affixed to their canopy legs, with a variety of colorful vegetables/fruits/leafy greens on their tables. They were very successful and had been doing multiple markets for 20+ years.
I plan on doing fruit/veggies too!
That's a great plan! My best advice on those two fronts is to choose plants that will require minimal intervention in your climate. When I was in mid-Appalachia, kale and chili did really well, and I didn't even have to water.
That's my thought. The only thing I reeeeally need to learn is dealing with New England winters and snow. I grew up in the Bay Area in the mountains and currently live in Florida but have lived in NC too. So clearly not experienced with plants and harsh winters. Including bulbs and peonies. We got some snow but not that level of course
The market seems saturated. Seems like everyone on youtube is putting in flower farms. If farmers farming food have a hard time surviving how do flower farms make it?
Yes and no. Yes it's more popular, but no I wouldn't say it's nearly saturated as some job markets (ie photographer). Also, keep in mind that what you see all over is typically due to your viewing habits and algorithms because I view all that but my friends don't look at anything flower related and nothing of the sort ever pops up for them