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A Sustainable Farm
When I’m asked to describe Passalongs Farm, I often say that it is a no-till, regenerative, sustainable, net zero farm and business! These are all descriptors that I’m very proud to own, but it sounds like a lot of jargon to you or maybe you think I’m just trying to pull the marketing wool over your eyes. These are words that people like to throw around, after all, and in some cases pretty much anyone can make these claims with no real changes to their farming practices. I’m not trying to greenwash. Let me explain. No-till farm Regenerative agriculture Sustainably grown, sustainable business Net Zero
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How to plant dahlia tubers
I’ve sold dahlia tubers the past couple of years as a way to supplement my winter income, as well as to share these amazing flowers with fellow dahlia lovers! It took me a while to figure out the best way to store them (and in fact, it’s a work in progress!) but as my stock of tubers has grown and I’ve gotten better at propagating them, I’ve found that sharing the love is the best way to go! Some people are old hands at growing dahlias, but for those of you who might be new to them, here’s a short guide to planting: Plant at the right time of year.…
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What is a Flower Share?
A Flower Share, also known as a Flower Subscription, also known as a Flower CSA (CSA=Community Supported Agriculture), benefits both consumers and growers. A Flower Share is a weekly or monthly “share” of locally grown flowers, paid for ahead of time, provided (either through pickup or delivery) on a set schedule. The consumer gets the freshest of seasonal flowers delivered to his/her/their door and knowledge that what they are receiving was grown locally, using sustainable practices, on a small farm. Most flowers sold in the US are imports from countries with dubious employment practices, lower standards for safety, including a heavy use of pesticides, fungicides, and herbicides to meet…
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2020 in Review
2020 was weird. I’m going to assume that all of you have been going through it, too, so I won’t summarize the massive impact covid has had on all aspects our lives last year, but for my little farm it basically boils down to two main phases: PHASE ONE of 2020: ALL IS LOST AND THIS IS GOING TO SUCK! The weddings got cancelled, changed, and moved, so I was certain that I would make no money in 2020. I started my farm in earnest 4 years ago and within 2 years it was clear that wedding florals would be the best way forward for me in terms of a…
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2020 Flower Failure Report!
I don’t think I’ve ever documented my growing failures before, which is funny, because there have been A LOT of them. I think I’ve been embarrassed and I haven’t wanted my clients to think I’m sloppy or I don’t know what I’m doing. But when I think about it, I doubt my clients ever see the end result of these growing failures, since if I’m flowering a wedding or creating a custom bouquet I will do everything I need to – including purchasing wholesale flowers or from other farmers – to get them what I’ve promised. With that in mind, I’m hoping documenting this stuff will help other growers –…
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Farm, flowers, and work work work work work work…2019 in review
2019, for me, was a year of work! Which is not a bad thing! If you’re doing work you love, you’re hardly working, am I right? Maybe. This was a year of exponential growth here at Passalongs Farm. I almost tripled my wedding work. I more than tripled my growing area. I built a studio that had electricity, air conditioning and heat!! I stopped doing farmers’ markets (mostly) but doubled the flowers I sold by the road. I hired people to help me! (That was a big step.) I put more money into my farm, but bought more product elsewhere. I started a reflowering project, where I re-made flowers from…
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Who knew? 2018 in review!
Last night I was at a New Year’s Eve party with friends I hadn’t seen in person for a couple of years. We moved to Massachusetts in 2015, and so while most my North Carolina friends and I stay in touch via social media, many of them I usually only see once a year, if that. Here’s the cool thing, y’all: every single one of them told me how beautiful my flowers were, how much pleasure they got out of seeing the bouquets, and many of them also said: WHO KNEW? Who knew you could do that? Who knew you had that business in you? I didn’t. I hadn’t. But…
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Putting the farm to bed for the winter…
October is kind of a bittersweet month, no pun on bittersweet, that gorgeous, noxious, invasive vine intended! October means frost, which means the end of most of my flowers, including the dahlias, ageratum, and zinnias that populated so many of my fall-themed bouquets and arrangements. October means the end of my summer farmer’s market. October means I only have a few more weeks to make sure everything I want to overwinter has its best chance of making it. This means lots of digging, planting the stragglers, mulching, snipping, and covering. October means apples and pears the various jams and butters I make. October means wildcrafting wreath making supplies and dried…
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Year 2: flowers I’m loving, flowers I’m not
This is half a note to myself for next year, half a blog post! Now that I’m smack dab in the middle of year 2 of my little flower farm, I’ve developed some clear favorites and discovered some flowers that simply were not worth space or money. Some are too fiddly and not very impressive, some are kind of ugly, and some simply aren’t worth the bed space. Plants I grew this year that I could do without: delphinium. I know! It’s gorgeous! Its blooms make a nice flower crown. But in the kind of arrangements and bouquets I’m doing right now it’s too tall to use effectively and it…
