Infrastructure Progress
Infrastructure and Our Farm’s First Flowers
June 12th 2022
We are into the month of June on the farm, and just as our last post - much has happened and much is underway. However - it also has been filled with some setbacks that have caused delay in our crop.
May was quite busy and progressive for the infrastructure of the flower farm. We completed a lot of really big and important tasks that allowed us to finally plant out. The most important being that we finally had water.
We decided a while back to have our farm irrigated by our land’s available water. We are located in the wetlands, and the farmland has 2 existing ponds, and an old well. Originally, we intended to use the well, however the well was not very deep (11ft) and did not hold a sufficient amount of water for our needs. Our specialist on the project recommended we use our pond to irrigate the farm. The specialists were through a local well company, C&M Wells, and they installed our pond pump and hydrants. They were incredibly professional and efficient with this project. It was completed in a matter of days. They believe our pond holds close to 100,000 gallons of water. They installed two draws in the pond that feeds to a pipe that run to the pump, and the remaining lines run to our farm plots; one hydrant at the flower farm, another at the vegetable farm. I will never forget the moment our land’s water rushed from the hydrant. After having to rely totally on rain, resulting in suffering dehydrated plants — it was an absolute miracle to have water, and water that was “free” to us.
I think our main concern right now is maintaining healthy water and creating a natural pond ecosystem so that whatever is in the pond and is transferred to our plants is beneficial, or not harmful. That is a top priority for us at this time. This water is precious to our farm; how much we use, and how it’s maintained at the source. It gives us a greater connection to our land, which we both think is really special.
In May, we had big pushes to get caught up on delayed planting due to our lack of water. At this point, seedlings, bulbs, and perennials were able to be planted. This required more infrastructure. We had bulk loads of compost, topsoil, and mulch delivered from a local company. These were wheelbarrowed and spread into rows. Weed suppression fabric was put in place. And the drip irrigation was installed. I say it so simply.. but these were huge projects that took weeks to complete. The flower farm really started to take form once this was done.
We had our Floyd County Zoning appeal at a public hearing, and we were approved for our greenhouse tunnel permit. I stood up before the panel and explained why a greenhouse structure is good for our farming business. It seemed unnecessary for such a simple structure. One of our biggest customers and a resident of our county showed up and spoke in favor for us. It was such a surprise to have a patron show up that it made me cry. We intended to install it right away, however at the point that we had been approved (mid-May), we really didn’t require the greenhouse urgently like we did when we first applied in March. And though we have the permit, we still haven’t built it. We plan to do that sometime soon.
The seedlings were absolutely suffering for having been delayed in planting for so long. This was my first year using soil blocks, and I completely regret that decision for my first year at this farm. I should have stuck to what I knew, and tried a few trays of soil blocks - but instead I went all in on something I was unfamiliar with. It ended up being a tragedy for my seedlings that waited a month and a half over when they should have been planted. Many were lost due to drying trays. Since they were so root bound the soil dried up quicker. Seedlings were flowering nonstop in their trays, which is a sign of stress. I sowed more as a backup for these seedlings. When it came time to plant, these new ones were lost in the field due to high temperatures of May in the hot weed fabric. Additionally, those that lived are stunted from existing stress. It’s caused delays with annuals, and it’s something I feel really ashamed of. I’ve committed myself to a regimen of fertilizing and deep nourishing watering to bulk up these delayed seedlings. It’s slow but it’s working. Though the annual field may look sparse, the ones that survived my unintentional death traps are growing taller everyday. I also intend this month to purchase plugs of different annuals to make up for the ones I’ve lost and to get back on track.
The best part about my farm right now are the ROSES!
Our roses are looking phenomenal considering the wet season we’ve had thus far. Again, I’ve committed myself to a strict regimen for these as well. I am babying the heck out of them to make sure they’re off to a great start. This means constant deadheading, scheduled feeding and fungal control, and inspection for pests. I’ve already had aphids, caterpillars, and Japanese beetles…. the game is on! Aphids seem to have faded for now. Caterpillars are sneaky pests that hide on the undersides of foliage and eat the leaves in a matter of days. If I see holes on a leaf, I must turn over each leaf on the plant and dispose of the pest. And my first Japanese beetle was on a rose the other day. I really hope it was an anomaly — these are some of the WORST pests to have in the garden. They absolutely ravage cut flowers and are killed naturally by hand removal into a soapy bucket (*cry emoji). Fungal control is absolutely essential right now. Some are doing really awesome with minimal to no issues (varieties Distant Drums and Honey Dijon) and some varieties are taking a big hit.. (Roald Dahl, Lichfield Angel). It’s been challenging to deal with the black spot fungus on these varieties and I assume may remain so in our climate.
Beyond the to-do lists for the rose field - I am just ENAMORED by each rose that blooms. A lot of them are new to me - and feels like a present each time one opens and I get to see it and smell it in real life. Each is just more beautiful somehow than the next. The colors, the shapes.. They’re each so unique. I already have some in my rose garden that I’m seeing as potential hedge roses in my expansion plans.. (Jubilee Celebration, Golden Celebration). They still continue to bloom their first blooms, and some haven’t flowered yet. And many of the transplants have shown their beloved, familiar blooms again.. (Heritage and Eden).
We tried at bees… and it’s not a success story.
We ordered bees, they delivered and Michael and I were SO excited to install them. We did everything we were supposed to and it seemed to be a fairly smooth install. The bees were healthy and curious about the hive and staying near the queen. However, the next day we came out to check on them and they were gone. They even left the queen still in her excluder box with her helpers. It was heartbreaking to lose something you loved and were ready for so swiftly. This process we learned is called absconding, and is very rare. It hurt worse to not know what the cause was. It could be the hive, could be that the queen was not strong enough, could have been a predator.. There’s a myriad of reasons it could be, none of which seemed clear to our extension agent or other beekeepers we spoke to. The day after they left and did not return, we sold the queen to another local beekeeper in need of one. We were happy to at least have helped in that way. And we have not yet tried again with bees.
I turned 30 on May 26th. We decided to have a farm party and invite our family and friends out to enjoy the farm. It gave us a reason to really work hard to cross tasks off the list that weren’t super pertinent, but for the completeness of the farm. This included our rose arches, and farm entrance sign and entrance garden beds. Our entrance sign is INCREDIBLE, and putting it up was one of the proudest moments of my life. It was a moment I have dreamed of. The sign is surrounded by DA ‘Desdemona’ roses and a white flowering dogwood tree. After it was put up, we had even more folks than before slow down to check out our farm. It is such a bold, modern statement piece and we really love it… Another amazing statement piece is the GIANT rose arch at the entrance of the flower farm. I designed this double paneled arch that will someday be covered with yellow DA ‘Teasing Georgia’ roses. Michael put it together. It is just incredible. It’s tall and sturdy, and it was incredibly inexpensive to make as compared to some other ideas I had. Another was added in the rose garden, only this one is smaller and will be covered with white Iceberg roses.
Personally, I’ve been struggling a lot with keeping positive as I wait for flowers that should be here by now. It’s hard to grant myself grace, or give patience to an issue that I’ve worked so hard for and invested so much in. For my first year of flower farming, I should have maybe expected these setbacks. But as someone who has grown flowers successfully for years, it was and is hard to swallow. There are a myriad of factors at play for why we don’t have flowers yet, some I’ve already discussed here. It was a perfect storm.. There were issues with seedlings. Another issue was late planting. Another is that we have about 70% of our plants that require a year or more to grow mature enough to be harvested from. In my mind, it was essential to purchase these perennials and woody shrubs because of this reason. I would have collected them eventually, and waiting would delay having them in the future. Only I should have struck a better balance. I should have been just as invested in my “quick” crops - like annuals, as I was for my long-game crops. It’s amazing how much I’ve learned and wish I’d known when I dove in 6 months ago.
It is hard to believe that less than a year ago, this farm did not even belong to us. We have come a very long way.. Just a year ago, Michael and I were backyard gardeners — happy and content to be doing that. I never would have imagined that the next year would lead me to this.. or that this would be my life at 30! I’ve never been more stressed and busy, but I’ve also never been more proud and truly happy.
-Kristen
