Join me for online classes through Zoom to learn about my flower farming experiences during the last 5 years. I started flower farming in 2015 with just four 100-foot rows and going to a small local farmer’s market. I increased the cut flower field to forty 100-foot rows and changed to selling cut flowers to local florists. In 2020, I also sold to a flower wholesaler.
In Growing Cut Flowers for Profit class, I will talk about what I found I needed to start my flower farming business. I will go over preparing the soil, netting, drip irrigation, silage tarps, pest management, what to grow, where to sell, harvesting, and conditioning flowers. This class would be helpful to anyone interested in starting a small cut flower business to sell flowers to your local farmer's market or local florists or someone who wants to learn more about growing flowers.
In the Growing Dahlias class, I will talk about preparing the soil, dahlia varieties, planting, support, fertilizing, pinching, pest management, digging and dividing, and winter storage. In 2020, I grew over 4,825 dahlias. I grow over 100 varieties of dahlias in my plant zone 7 garden. Dahlias are easy plants to grow and give you beautiful blooms from summer through fall.
In the Growing Dahlias for Florists/Wholesaler, I will discuss dahlia varieties to grow, planting, support, drip irrigation, pest management, harvesting, conditioning, pricing, and delivery techniques. In 2020, I grew over 4,825 dahlias. I sold dahlia flowers to local florists. I also delivered 800 to 1000 dahlias a week to a flower wholesaler.
After the 1-hour presentation, I can answer your questions in this face to face meeting. I will be offering one class on a Wednesday, 1:00 to 2:00 EST and the same class will be offered on a Saturday, 1:00 to 2:00 EST as everyone has different work schedules. I have limited the class to 16 people to keep the meeting small. I hope you can join me! Please make sure you give me your email address as I will be emailing you with the link prior to the meeting and any other details.
Zoom is an easy to use online video platform. You can sign up for Zoom for free. My local county extension office has been using zoom for educational programs and master gardener volunteer education. I find it quite easy to use. You need to have internet connection or be able to use your phone. When you purchase the class, there will be a meeting ID in that confirmation email. Also, prior to the meeting, I will send you an email with the link to the meeting and to remind you of the meeting. Once you click on the link, you should be directed to Zoom where you will open zoom. You can also call in using your phone and enter the meeting id. Prior to this meeting, if you have never used Zoom, you may want to sign in to Zoom free and create a password. Once you have installed Zoom, you can test your speaker or microphone.
You may be able to join from your browser as you will see a link that says if you cannot download or open the application, you can join from your browser. This way you do not need to install Zoom. A web cam is not required for Zoom unless you want us to see your smiling face. You will be able to see me. You can move your cursor to the bottom of the screen and you should see a tool bar. You will be muted to minimize background noise. You can unmute yourself when you are ready to talk. There is a chat where you can direct messages to people or to everyone. You will be able to ask a question there even when I am talking. Make sure you look at the TO: as it could go to a specific person. Type your message and press enter.
You can also use your phone or tablet. Download the Zoom Cloud Meetings app from the iTunes App store. You would click on “Join a Meeting” and enter the meeting ID that was sent to you. Make sure you allow access to the camera or microphone features so we can hear or see you.
I may add more dahlia classes such as dahlia propagation and dahlia seeds (hybridization). I may add more gardening classes such as growing lisianthus and eucalyptus. If you have any suggestions or feedback about time/day or what I could offer, please email me at gardenbeeflowerfarm@gmail.com. Thank you, Paula Fisher.