Flowers?

[Timmy_45]

I had a bit to much beer the other night, was in the proverbial with the wife next morning so duly bought the obligatory bunch of flowers for being an arse. Anyway I digress, it's made me consider the merits of growing flowers commercially in polytunnels. Does anyone know much about this as a business or know where a good source of info would be? I was thinking growing tulips, daffodils, sweet peas, lillys etc.

 

[JP1]

IMHO, you'd be better off buying from one of the many Dutchie flower sellers who buy their stock from Aalsmeer and sell retail.

If you've never been, go see (it's just South of Schipol Amsterdam airport).

30m + blooms sold in about a dozen falling clock auctions sold in a couple of hours and the air freighted all over the World #logisticstoimpress

 

[delilah]

At the other end of the spectrum, but a business model that works nonetheless, tenants of ours:

www.florasgarden.co.uk

 

[Old Boar]

There is a local lady who grows flowers and sells through the Farmers Market, so it does not have to be on a grand scale. There is a perceived market for good old British flowers, country garden style - especially flowers with scent, which most supermarket flowers do not have.
Find your market first and then ask what people would buy by having different pics of flowers and asking for their favorate. Do not try and compete with the sterile roses etc, the full blowsy strongly scented flowers will always sell.

 

[Bury the Trash]

That sounds good, niche,

no way would it be wise to try to compete with the early Daffs and so on....I quite fancy it actually ,would beat chasing around after stock in the mud.

 

[Kidds]

I’ve done it on a small scale supplying our own farm shop. To scale up I would look into supplying other farm shops. I think the same as Old Boar in as much as the old style cottage garden flowers are the way to go.
Dried flowers can be surprisingly popular and a good way to extend your season.

 

[Princess Pooper]

how much do you know about flowers? The ones you have listed have very different requirements.

A lot of the flowering bulbs eg daffs the flowers are a by product, they are making more money on building up the bulbs for sale.

 

[heymrmessy]

We grow cut flower and sell to local farm shops and florists. Through the year we have Chrysanthemum, Dahlia, Sunflower, Statice, Helichrysum, Gyp, Ammi, Aster, Antirrhinum, Clary and some random other bits and bobs to make mixed bunches with like Liatris, Larkspur, Delphinium, Solidago and some other stuff I've forgotten.
It can be profitable, especially the 'everlasting' flowers for drying but it can be demanding on time when you need to pick them!

 

[Kidds]

We grow cut flower and sell to local farm shops and florists. Through the year we have Chrysanthemum, Dahlia, Sunflower, Statice, Helichrysum, Gyp, Ammi, Aster, Antirrhinum, Clary and some random other bits and bobs to make mixed bunches with like Liatris, Larkspur, Delphinium, Solidago and some other stuff I've forgotten.
It can be profitable, especially the 'everlasting' flowers for drying but it can be demanding on time when you need to pick them!

Are you direct drilling? And if so what with?

 

[heymrmessy]

Unfortunately not. Mostly done into modules in the greenhouse then planted out in nets with setting pins!

 

[Kidds]

Have done Asters, sunflowers (japanese pollenless) and Larkspur with a Stanhay precision belt drill with success but can also see the advantage of modules (if you have a module transplanter!)
I would think there'd be folk around there with some to spare/hire. My Stanhay came from pershore a few months back cheap.
With the cost of seed I found the sunflowers better done by hand, 3-4000 seeds don't take all that long.

 

[renewablejohn]

Only sell sunflowers and teasels locally to flower arrangers.

 

[Timmy_45]

I think I'm going to buy a poly tunnel, not too expensive to start with. The wife has a mate who is a florist and reckons they are always on the lookout for flowers. If it doesn't work the tunnel will be a useful bit of dry storage anyway. And somewhere to corale the children into on a rainy day when they're running around like maniacs in the house.

 

[country_gal]

Speaking as a florist I definitely think there is a market for British grown flowers. Granted the flower Auction in Holland is second to none....The varities there are outstanding and they have the perfect conditions for growing large scale. Going and buying direct from the auction is one of my favourite things but I love buying straight of the lorry just as much. However people will support local grown. Anything tropical or unusual is out but for natural/gardeny type orders I know I would personally rather buy local/british gronw....but they are hard to come by round here.

Before I sold my house I grew sweetpeas, alium, liatris spicata, hydrangea,spray roses to sell in the shop (I also had some beautiful variegated holly for making Christmas wreaths.) Customers loved the "local grown" touch. When I get land again I plan to do the same again.

 

[Princess Pooper]

I think I'm going to buy a poly tunnel, not too expensive to start with. The wife has a mate who is a florist and reckons they are always on the lookout for flowers. If it doesn't work the tunnel will be a useful bit of dry storage anyway. And somewhere to corale the children into on a rainy day when they're running around like maniacs in the house.

Don't forget there is a market for foliage as well. My Mum used to do a nice range of little posies of 'cottage garden' flowers, sweet pea bunches etc just growing in the garden which she sold through a local WI stall.

 

[suffolksmallholder]

We had a stall outside our smallholding for five years. The first three years were great & it was extended. The next two were a nightmare with thieving. Even our neighbours suffered. We sold the stall & just supply old regular customers now.
SS

 

[renewablejohn]

We had a stall outside our smallholding for five years. The first three years were great & it was extended. The next two were a nightmare with thieving. Even our neighbours suffered. We sold the stall & just supply old regular customers now.
SS

Thought it was just me that suffered from thieving scum. We had plants growing on the other side of a stream to a public footpath and it was stripped by walkers using the footpath. Even when challenged they would argue they had permission from the owner to collect them.

 

[Timmy_45]

Thought it was just me that suffered from thieving scum. We had plants growing on the other side of a stream to a public footpath and it was stripped by walkers using the footpath. Even when challenged they would argue they had permission from the owner to collect them.

Sad isn't it, I think the days when you could have an honesty box are long gone in most of the country. And I don't really want to advertise or have people coming on site because you never know who they are or what else they might be looking at.

 

[renewablejohn]

Sad isn't it, I think the days when you could have an honesty box are long gone in most of the country. And I don't really want to advertise or have people coming on site because you never know who they are or what else they might be looking at.

Did not realise how many people where poking about until the fitness tracker firm released the maps of there tracker users. Very eye opening going through our polytunnels and across to our field shelters all of which are way off the public footpath.Obviously walkers with trackers are only a small proportion of the public.

 

[Timmy_45]

Did not realise how many people where poking about until the fitness tracker firm released the maps of there tracker users. Very eye opening going through our polytunnels and across to our field shelters all of which are way off the public footpath.Obviously walkers with trackers are only a small proportion of the public.

Don't get me started on that one, the number of members of the public who think that a footpath crossing a farm = a right to wander all over the fields, even into completely different fields.