Cut Flower Garden from Scratch

Ideas are still swirling in my head. Some have actually made it to paper. I feel like I’m making progress but there is still a lot to think about. Since I am direct sowing everything this first year, I still have time. Our last frost date is April 19th, but I also know how time marches quickly, especially when you aren’t paying attention!  We are closer to knowing what plants we want to start with. Most of the seeds are purchased and I’m feeling good about the selections we have made so far. I still have to purchase a few Dahlia tubers and I’m hoping to get that done, at the latest, by the end of the month.

Current plan for the left side of our field.

Now we are focusing on the infrastructure of the garden. I was hoping to stake the garden area this past weekend, but after a beautiful Saturday spending time with family, it snowed on Sunday blanketing everything with a few inches of snow and temperatures plummeted back to the low 20s. I don’t regret spending our Saturday with those that mean the most, but it would have been nice to get the area staked, so we can see if what we laid out on paper makes sense in the field. We will get it done!

Current plan for the right side of our field.

We have decided to use Sunbelt Black Ground Cover for our weed barrier in the planting rows. I’m assuming we will also use the fabric in the walking aisles between the planting rows. We will use drip tape to help with watering. We will only use the drip tape on the planting rows. I will use a hose to water the meadow areas myself until the seedlings are 4” – 6” tall then it should be established enough to survive unless we have a really dry spring and/or summer. We will do 3 rows of drip tape on each 36” row. We bought a watering kit from Dripdepot and also purchased a water timer to help with the watering process.

 Lastly, we have found an agronomist that will help us with soil testing. I plan to pull the soil samples this weekend, weather permitting. I know this isn’t necessarily a step that is required for our first year, but I am a person that likes the foundation of whatever I am doing to be solid and if there is something missing in our soil, I would rather know that up front. After this initial testing, we do plan to soil test, at least annually, in the fall. I do believe the small investment of the test is worth it. Let us know you have soil tested and if you think there is value to doing it!