How we grow our flowers.
Admittedly, and perhaps ironically given our name, when we started growing, we did not know of terms such as regenerative agriculture, or of the political or racial issues surrounding it and associated practises. We did not, and in some ways still do not, consider ourselves to be part of the agricultural industry, mainly because we are new, small and often have imposter syndrome! That being said, it has never been on the cards for us to grow in any other way than one which embodies ‘land first’ principles. The trouble has come in marrying up how to do this in an efficient and cost-effective way in order to compete in the British flower market.
Due to the number of times we have moved sites, not an active choice but more one of circumstances and opportunity, most of our growing experience so far has revolved around setting up growing spaces.
We do not currently have a poly tunnel or a greenhouse yet, which means we have to fully grow with the seasons. For example, sowing seed at the perfect moment to avoid the need for artificial heat or months of potting on through the winter if they can be direct sown, and therefore choosing suitable seed that will either survive outside through frost and snow, or in the case of more tender varieties, those that will cope with the muggy summers we often have here in Chew Valley and on heavy clay soil. Picking the right varieties and sowing at the right moment means a reduction in seed waste and produces stronger plants. In order for this to be successful though, a lot of our time is spent promoting and talking to customers about what is seasonal in Britain and for how long flowers are available through the year.
Additionally, this means actively not choosing some varieties to grow. Those that will not do well in our soil or climate, or those requiring too much or artificial input. As mentioned, we have muggy summers, often flash frosts, mild autumns and hot and dry springs. Anything that likes dry conditions over winter doesn’t last and anything that requires excessive water in the spring (which is most spring plants) can fall short too.
To help with all of the above we use the ‘no dig’ method, spearheaded by Charles Dowding, to build and maintain our beds. We will not pretend to be experts in this, but in a nutshell this method requires covering the ground with cardboard, compost and/or mulch, to avoid the disruption of the ground below. This preserves the soil structure, reduces UV exposure and water runoff, and enables the retention of water in the soil (spring plants, tick). However, it takes time to establish these beds as ideally, they need a number of months once built to be ready for planting depending on how deeply you have been able to build them, or how well rotted your material is, and how long you want to leave it to kill off weeds below. Alternatively, they need a potential large cash injection if you wish to plant in them straight away as you need to build them deeper, i.e more compost etc. On our small scale, this is fairly achievable with a lot of recycling raiding for cardboard and a smaller investment of manure and then time to let it combine.
Other principles of our practise are those of organic gardening. We don’t use chemicals on our crops and again choose viable varieties that will do well or have a natural defence system. By looking at the garden as a whole and seeing where different varieties will support each other by attracting or detracting pests etc, we aim to establish a garden that encourages biodiversity and succeeds off of the back of nature’s natural defence system plus avoiding polluting our soil.
The biggest thing we have learned is you need to adjust your expectations to allow for nature to have time, trusting it and watching to see what it would do with the space, the good places to grow, the not so good, such as on a slope. It is important to visualise your growing space as a whole, what wants to live there, both flora and fauna, what is missing and why? Then trying to incorporate this into your wider plan of land care. Sometimes this can feel like a token effort when you are trying to make a living and have planned for the plot to do what it doesn’t want to for you!
Over the next few years we will be introducing the rotation of cover crops as another way to give back to the soil, so not leaving it bare and feeding it through the roots of carefully chosen plants. Plus when cut down and left to rot down on the top of the bed, cover crops provide nutrients as mulch. We are also hoping to learn more about how we can use the combination of trees and shrubs to create a more well rounded growing space, calling on the knowledge of permaculture and forest gardens, understanding that to to be truly biodiverse, a combination of roots systems need to connect together, e.g trees, then shrubs, ground cover, perennials and annuals all together. Can you grow a cut flower forest garden? What would that look like and how cost effective would it be?
We also aim to close loops in our practise, i.e to make our own compost for mulching and potting up, saving seed and continuing to choose varieties of flowers that we can dry if we don’t sell them fresh to reduce waste. We did consider growing items such as willow and hazel for the mechanics in our floral design work, however we also believe in community and not doing everything in isolation if there are others nearby who can provide this for us, which in this case there is.
Finally, we turn to those who already know to teach us. Importantly, asking where this information comes from, whose skills are these and honouring those who hold this knowledge. Often indigenous communities from other countries. We are part of community-based groups such as Flowers from the Farm, where these ideas are shared and compared, and more local, self-made groups not just of flower growers, but of grass roots growers, market gardeners and allotmenteers! Also, embracing ourselves as part of the British agricultural industry and learning more about how it works, what others are up to and how they are making it work in our climate for example, small and larger scale. We feel it is important to say that often modern agricultural practises are blasted as a result of individual farmers detrimental decision making. However, it is important to recognise the political pressures that have enabled farming alongside listening to farmers who own the land, have knowledge and skills, equipment and livestock. We mean to say that we wish to better understand the intersectionality of the matter and that this is key to regenerative, restorative practise.