Whether you’re looking for a better version of an existing cut flower, or something totally new, check out these options. We will cover the best of the ASCFG Seed, Perennial, and Eucalyptus Trials, and sample a few new perennials and woodies to help you find your next money-making cut flower or foliage.

Scaling up your flower farm involves a plethora of challenges: financial risk, big decisions, problem solving, and trusting a far-off vision which may not be your current reality! In this presentation, Luke and Jenny of Tiny Hearts Farm—who grew their business from 1 to 30 acres in a few years—discuss scaling your marketing and crop production in tandem, developing the necessary infrastructure and equipment, and taking calculated risks by embracing a spirit of adventure!

What could be the solution to urban decay, violence, and poverty? If you said “flowers”, you guessed correctly! This talk highlights how flowers arebeing used in some of the toughest neighborhoods on the south side of Chicago to bring hope and color to long downtrodden communities.

Are you an experienced farmer ready to step up your succession planning game? This talk is for you. Join Lyndsay as she dives into the foundation of crop planning for profit. She will share her steps to creating a successful crop plan that works for your unique farm. Go beyond the basics and discuss goal setting, and sales projections, and create a production plan that leaves you confident to tackle the upcoming season.

Learn how Little Farmhouse Flowers has incorporated a streamlined, easy to manage on-farm composting system to methodically prepare their own clean compost and planting media, saving the business significant overhead and lowering the carbon footprint of the operation substantially. Linda will talk about her composting machine, open source plans and grants available for similar machines, challenges associated with starting this kind of program. composting recipes for flower farmers, and how she’s been able to provide a valuable service to her community in the process.

Fresh, local, winter grown tulips. Is that possible in Vermont’s erratic zone 4 winter climate? For Emily of von Trapp Flowers, that was the question she was determined to find the answer to 15 years ago. Through a lot of experimentation and trial and error she soon found the answer to that, not only was it possible, but for this seasoned flower farmer winter grown tulips would be the game changer for her business that would allow her to become a year round flower farmer. Emily will share about her experiences growing tulips during the off season, and explain why this cool crop does so well, and is in such high demand during the stark winter months in Vermont and throughout the country.

High risk comes with high rewards, as well as losses. Anna Jane will break down the cost structure, profit margins, and realistic elements of growing flowers in crates through the winter months in zone 6b, Rhode Island. She’ll go into detail on the flower varieties, planting schedule, techniques, and expenses of adding winter crate growing with heat to her farming practices. This study session is targeted for experienced growers who are seriously considering adding this intense growing season to their workload

Face-to-face time with some of your favorite ASCFG Supplier Members. Cash bar and appetizers. Here are just a few and the list is growing!

American Takii
A-ROO Company
Ball ColorLink
CT Greenhouse
Express Seed Company
Farmer Bailey
Flamingo Holland
Johnny’s Selected Seeds
Leo Berbee Bulb Company
Onings Holland Flower Bulbs
Raker – Roberta’s Young Plants
Sakata Seed
Spring Meadow Nursery
Zabo Plant

Three ASCFG Board members will demonstrate their versions of building a bridal bouquet—or a fancy market bouquet if you don’t do weddings. Linda, Bailey, and Janis have made hundreds of bouquets and each has a similar but slightly different techniques. After a short explanation of their styles, they will simultaneously get to work and the bouquet battle will begin. When the bouquets are completed, the audience will applaud-vote their favorite to receive the victory flower crown. 

Starting on about one-sixteenth of an acre, and now growing on seven acres, Grace has fine-tuned her production and business-driven decisions so that she can take the summers off: all of July and the first half of August. Learn she made it work without having to “Do it all—all the time.”

Time is your most limited and valuable resource, and you want to make sure you’re making the most of each hour of the day. While retail sales can command the highest price, they also can take the most time. How do you evaluate whether it makes sense to sell wholesale to florists or retail? In this session, we’ll dig into some actual numbers from a flower farm in California to see how to analyze the numbers and make these kinds of decisions for your own business.

Are you tired of spending money on water and power bills to sustain your flower farm? Learn how one farm turns Mother Nature’s challenges into strengths that has propelled their farm to sustainable success!

Learn how Brooklyn-based farmer-florist Molly Oliver adapted her event-centric business to an e-commerce based, hyper-local subscription service at the height of the Covid-19 outbreak in NYC in April, 2020. Molly will share the basics of her Seasonal Flower Project structure, how the project has evolved from weekly whim-based sourcing to strategic planning with local farmers, and how the service is succeeding in growing the local appetite and appreciation for seasonal flowers.  

Sarah will highlight some bouquets from their 26-week bouquet subscription; talking about their ingredients and what they do in the garden, the design studio, and a little bit of marketing to make it all come together. She’ll also show a few bridal bouquets and break them down the same way—highlighting the seasonality of the ingredients as well as the design elements. She’ll also share some tips she’s used as a farmer-florist to streamline the process of booking weddings and how to have really happy clients.

Amanda and Robert to hear how the Farm Service Agency (FSA) and Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) can be useful tools in your farm’s success. We will discuss how to contact your local service center to determine what services and programs are available. FSA topics will include establishing records, crop assistance and loan programs. NRCS discussion will include developing a conservation plan to address your farms resource concerns. Learn how you can utilize our resources to improve your soil health, reduce soil erosion, improve irrigation efficiency, nutrient management and reduce energy use, amongst other topics. A brief amount of time will be left at the end for farm or site specific questions individuals may have.

Jenny Elliott and Luke Franco, Tiny Hearts Farm

Sarah and Kenny Macalpine, Two Birds One Stone Farm

Bailey Hale and Thomas McCurdy, Ardelia Farm & Co.