Here on the farm, we utilise every square foot of land to grow large volumes of high-quality cut flowers and vegetables.
Growing dahlias and other crops close together can maximise your growing space.
When I first started growing flowers I thought I needed acres of land to have a flower farm or cutting garden. I then stumbled on Lean Farming by Ben Hartman and with some simple changes, I was able to grow three times the amount of flowers in a small space. These simple tips can be applied to both flower farmers and backyard gardeners looking to grow cut flowers for personal use.
Tip #1 - Planting Crops Close together
Plants can be grown much closer together than you originally thought. For a 35 x 4 feet bed, in some cases, you could grow over 200 plants. We have five grid spacing categories that we use on the farm:
DAHLIAS, EUCALYPTUS spacing: 45cm x 45cm spacing between plants and 2 rows per bed. In some instances, you can grow dahlias in 30cm x 30cm spacing if you are short on space.
ZINNIAS, SNAPDRAGON, BURLEURUM spacing: 23cm x 23cm spacing between plants and 5 rows per bed. This is a very popular spacing.
SWEET PEAS, NASTURTIUMS, LOVE-IN-A-PUFF spacing: 20cm x 20cm spacing between plants and 2 Rows, with each row attached to a trellis in the middle of the bed.
BELLS OR IRELAND, CELOSIA, AMARANTH spacing: 30cm x 30cm spacing between plants and 4 rows per bed.
LISIANTHUS spacing: 15cm x 15cm spacing between plants and 7 rows per bed. Lisianthus is a fussy seedling to grow but once they get going they produce wonderful flowers.
Tip #2 - Growing Area Preparation & Maintenance
Preparation of the soil, adding amendments, removing weeds and regular fertilising is very important to growing robust plants.
Add compost, soil improver and starter fertiliser to the beds before planting and keep up on the monthly fertilisation schedule. Check out our Dahlia fertiliser
Ensure the planting area is cleared of weeds. Once the plants grow the dense canopy will suppress any new weeds.
Add some sort of weed suppressant to the walkways to help save time on weeding. There are several options if you don't want to use weed membrane fabric. A common alternative is a thick layer of bark or straw.
Installing drip irrigation before planting will save time and water. It's definitely an investment worth considering.
If you are not able to plant a whole bed with the same variety, be sure to plant varieties that have the same spacing requirements and the same amount of days to flower in the same bed.
Tip #3 - Succession Planting
Succession planting will help maximize your growing space. This will take a lot of trial and error but eventually succession planning will reap great rewards. Comment below if you would like to see a more detailed planner for succession planning.
Tip #4 - Plan your bouquet
If you are growing a cut flower patch in your back garden it's important to plan your bouquet requirements. A 35 x 4 feet bed could potentially allow you to make 500 - 600 bouquets. A good combination is 50% filler flowers, 30% disk flowers, 20% focal, spikes and airy flowers.
Focal Flowers: The main flower that the bouquet will be built around. Tulips, Peonies, Ranunculus, Sunflowers, Lilies, Zinnias, Dahlias.
Spike Flowers: Vertical element to the bouquet that will grab your attention. Stock, Larkspur, Foxglove, Snapdragon, Salvia
Airy Flowers: Provide a whimsical element to your bouquet. Love in a Mist, Bachelor Button, Orlaya, Chinese forget-me-nots, Grasses, Scabiosia, Poppy Pods, Nicotiana.
Disk Flowers: these are great for taking up space and filling in holes. Calendula, Aster, Cosmos, Strawflower, Chrysanthemums.
Filler Flowers: provide textual interest and make up a majority of the bouquet. Bells of Ireland, Queen Anne's Lace, Bupleurum, Lady's Mantel, Raspberry Foliage, Amaranth, Ninebark, Basil, and Scented Geraniums.
Thank you for reading...
Please comment below with your questions or gardening plans that you have for 2024. I would love to also hear about any gardening struggles or gardening tricks you may have, that you could share with other readers.