Get the Dirt~ Soil Tips for Growing Beautiful Cut Flowers

Planting soil is the foundation for a healthy, beautiful garden. Before you can even dream of your first harvest of cut flowers you want to make sure your soil is prepped and ready for seeds and seedlings. Not all dirt is created equal. But you already knew that! The needs of the plants you intend to grow, as well as the region you are gardening in will determine what kind of soil mixture will be best for nourishing your cut flowers.

 A good quality planting should contain the following ingredients:

• Nitrogen to promote leafy, green growth. If nitrogen content is too high, it can delay flowering plants and vegetables. 
• Phosphorous for encouraging strong root systems and helps increase fruiting.
•  Potassium for overall plant strength and flowering. 

 

  Raised Bed Gardening 

  When my raised beds were first constructed I filled them with an organic horticultural mix that I order in by the yard from our local landscape supply company. It comes premixed with the ingredients listed below and goes by the name, Horticultural Mix. Other companies might call it Premier Soil Mixture.

•  Peat moss – Neutral, nutrient rich peat, excellent for retaining moisture
•  Organic Compost – Neutral, high organic, nutrient rich compost
•   Top Soil – Variable PH naturally occurring loam material, with valuable nutrients 
•  Sand – Neutral medium, excellent for creating a soil that will drain excess water and allow air and roots to pass through it 

*Another option is to mix your own depending on how much ground you are preparing. I recommend testing your soil first to determine how much you'll need of each element. 

At the end of the season, I top off all of the raised beds with a layer of dried leaves where they are left to compost over the winter months. Come springtime I remove the driest leaves from the top. Using a shovel, I turn in the decomposed leaves to add more rich organic matter to the soil prior to planting my first seeds of the new season.

My established borders always get a top dressing of rich compost material such as DE-composed leaves, grass clippings, and some composted top soil straight out of the chicken run. ( make sure it has had a chance to soak into the floor of the chicken run for a few months before adding it to the garden) I generally spread this mixture on top of any area that is cleared and ready for planting new perennials or shrubs. Once the area has been covered dig it into the area about 6- 8 inches deep.
 

Early June border

 Be aware of your climate, how much rainfall you get and the content of the soil your are working with and make adjustments from there. Pay attention to the growing needs of each plant and beyond that, give your plants lots of love and care and cross your fingers for beautiful blooms. Whether you're planting acres and acres of flowers or farming your garden like me, there's will always be surprises!

Garden Notes~ South- Eastern Massachusettes Succession Planting Tricks And Trials for Cut Flowers

Raised beds planted in Mid-March - late May

 We're having a heat wave this week with temps in the high 80's so I'll be hiding out inside most of the day until I can get back out to the garden this evening . 

I want to talk about my experience with succession planting today. With 13 4 x12 raised beds I was able to experiment planting seeds and dahlia tubers at different intervals this season with a goal in mind of having enough cut flowers in one season to sell at the Farmers Market and provide flowers for one or two local weddings. 

 So far so good! Two farmers markets down and one wedding to go! 

Until the season is actually finished I won't have a true sense of how my plans worked out but I can tell you how it's going so far.

 Here in Eastern Massachusetts we have a fairly long growing season which goes from Mid-March - November. This is pure gardeners heaven for someone who cut her gardening teeth in the clay packed earth of the high desert of Northern Nevada. If you've ever planted a tree in a hole you dug with an auger ( auger is slang for small jack hammer ) you know my joy!

Our last frost date is Mid-March and the first is somewhere in late October/early November. 

Here are my plantings and planting dates for the 2015 growing season.

 Mid-March- late May Plantings: dahlia tubers, and gladiolus corms

Dahlias

Mid-May Plantings: Bakers Creek Rare Seeds ( sown direct )

  zinnias, cosmos, cockscomb, sunflowers,  

Mid-May 

 Snapdragon and  dusty miller annual packs purchased at my local nursery.

These plantings filled 8 of my 4 x 12 raised beds and have provided all of the flowers for my floral work this season. Thus far I've created 70 32 oz mason jar bouquets from the first planting.

Cockcomb

This is my first time growing Cockscomb and it us such a fun plant to grow. The flower head just keeps changing and getting bigger every day. I've been using them in my arrangements in the early stages of blooming and they're perfect for added pops of bright color and interesting texture.

Cockscomb and Senorita Pink Zinnia in the rear bed. 

Sunflowers and cosmos

We didn't finish construction on the other 5 raised beds until early July. I had hoped for a late June second planting, but went ahead with the early July because I wanted to see how long it would take for those seeds to germinate and flower.

Senorita pink zinnia

5 rows of zinnia seeds in a 4 x 12 raised bed

The second planting of zinnias ( last weeks photos ) is coming along and have grown  even more since these photos were taken and the plants have formed buds! It's looking like I'll have flowers for September as long as the weather cooperates. Living near the coast we are subject to coastal storms and high winds so keep your fingers crossed we don't have any of those until after my last wedding on September 26th. I'm learning the realities that farmers have been dealing with for centuries. We can't control the weather but I'm willing to gamble!

This patch of zinnias are all reds and oranges. Perfect for fall flower arranging!

Farmers Market Bouquet 

My grab n go mason jar bouquets have been a hit at the Farmers Market this season. People really like having something table ready and they make great gifts too.