Crop planning is a great starting point for putting your flower farm in motion for the season, but how exactly do the planning and reality mesh together?

Mapping out your crops in relation to sow dates and successions is, in theory, the easy part. However, it can begin to get challenging regarding the actual growing bed assignment and, specifically, the flow of those growing beds throughout the season.

Questions begin to swirl, such as:

How do I know what and when to plant in the growing beds to have product all season long?
How do you know what will be ready to turn over when?
How do you even know when a crop is ready to be ripped out and replaced? I mean… I’m still getting some flowers from it…

These are common questions and concerns. You need those rows to stay in production, and when you haven’t gotten to truly experience the various crops with their harvest window and life cycle, it can boggle one’s mind, especially with small-scale growing or new growers.

Wrapping your head around the crop rotation in your growing fields, then adding in the complexity of succession planting cultivars, can be one of the biggest hang-ups to flower farmers in the beginning. Heck, there are never two seasons alike. These concerns can remain a challenge even for the experienced. Over the seasons, though, you get more comfortable with it.

The difficult part about bed layout and rotations is that flower farming is not one size fits all.

Just as it’s impossible to hand over a master crop plan for you to copy-paste, we can’t hand over the rotation of the growing beds either. We each have different amounts of land we’re working with, different microclimates, markets, demands, and life in general: your crop rotation is an extension of your crop plan and is relatively personal to your flower farming business.

With all that said, today, I will go over some basic crop rotations and provide some examples and tips to help keep your brain from spinning out of control! I will do my best to give you a good starting point to jump off of, at least until you get to experience the ups and downs of your growing field throughout the season.

You are the Composer of Your Flower Field

Pulling together your crop plan and getting the field going looks like a musical composition. There are crescendos, decrescendos, and magic happening out there. Still, I also need to keep all the parts moving together in unison, which I guess makes me the cool guy at the front with the stick, keeping everyone on the same beat and bringing in specific instruments at the right time to give the whole piece the most incredible effect!

We don’t have our field in one hundred percent peak production ever. Instead, the goal is to have various highs and lows, meaning crops just starting, crops actively growing, crops that are harvestable, and crops that are ready to be turned over for the process to start all over again.

This can make your head spin as you’re sitting at your kitchen table going through your crop plan, but it’s a lot less complicated than it seems. Once you’ve experienced it for at least one season, this whole thing will begin to click. Since you will also take excellent notes to compile your historical data all season, this process will get easier and quicker in subsequent years.

You got this, and we will help you conquer it right now!

Where to even begin? With the bed hogs!

When I am ready to begin mapping out my growing beds and their rotations for the season, I like to identify my “bed hogs " before anything else.

There are certain crops that I know are “bed hogs.” Nonetheless, we love them anyway.

I first take my growing beds and begin labeling the sheets with all my bed hogs. So, what are these bed hogs? They can be perennial crops such as peonies, thorn-less raspberries, and other woodies, or crops we treat as perennials (but could be treated as annuals) such as dusty miller and eucalyptus.

There are still other crops that I know of, with our current setup and climate, I can’t squeeze any spring crops in before, such as dahlias and lisianthus. These particular cultivars go in the bed mid-spring and stay through the first kill frost.

Lastly, there are varieties I allow to be bed hogs because I know if I plant them together with subsequent successions in a growing bed, I can harvest from that growing bed throughout the entire season. For example, strawflowers produce well all season, but I like multiple successions to cut from since they are bound from a harvest, which allows me to harvest weekly instead of waiting a couple of weeks in between. With the successions planted together, I have the strawflowers all in one location, making harvesting and crop planning more efficient. I also allow strawflowers to be bed hogs because I need more strawflowers since they are my favorite everlasting for many of our product offerings.

Once I have my growing bed mapped out with all the bed hogs, I know how many growing beds I have left to work with for crop rotation throughout the season.

Mapping out the remaining growing beds using the rule of thirds

Now, if you are still trying to understand a plant's life cycle and harvest season, I recommend using the rule of thirds. After mapping out all my bed hogs, I take the remaining growing beds and divide them by three.

This will ideally give you enough rotation for the various seasons with some overlapping (such as late spring harvest into early summer). This is where you can begin to see the flow of the growing beds throughout the season. With the “thirds”, at the beginning of the season, you should have one-third for spring harvest, one-third for summer harvest, and one-third for overlapping/subsequent successions/cover crop/silage tarp... That last third is going to give you some wiggle room.

As the season progresses, so will your thirds, which will shift to one-third summer harvest and one-third fall harvest. That last third can still give you wiggle room or be planted with overwintering crops for spring, bringing it back full circle. Got it?

Spring versus summer is not as simple as that. I know that in spring, I have early spring to mid- to late spring crops. In summer, I know I have early summer through late summer crops. This means that rows will not be ready to harvest all at once in any season.

For example, we have tulips in early spring, and then later, when it warms, we start getting those ranunculus. This also means I know certain growing beds will be ready to be turned over and planted sooner than others. As the rows become available, we like to turn them over as soon as we are able.

Let’s explore the “flow” of the growing beds that we have available for rotation.

Side note: your rotation and timing may look different depending on your climate and frost dates.

Growing with the Flow…

Okay, now you might have a general idea of what is going on in your growing beds, at least for the first round of crops and those bed hogs! Now, we need to start looking at the flow of each growing bed.

Early spring succession flow graphic.jpg

The First 1/3: Spring Harvest Growing Beds

Above is the flow of early spring blooming crops planted in fall or winter. Typically, these crops are done April through May and early June at the latest, which allows us to turn the rows over and get some warm-loving crops in.

For example, by early May, we are done harvesting the tulips and opening up the growing bed to allow us to plant ornamental grasses. Since some ornamental grasses take a bit to get going, I like to get them in the ground sooner rather than later. Ideally, I can begin harvesting grasses in July, such as the frosted explosion.

At transplant time, given that May can be either summer or winter around here, we also have the bed prepped with low tunnels in case we need to protect them. Most of the ornamental grasses, such as bunny tails and feathertop, know I can cut from summer through the first frost; this particular row will not be turned over again until after the kill frost in fall. Ornamental grasses are only one choice we could have gone with as the subsequent crop after tulips.

Since tulips are one of the first crops to finish in the field, I recommend utilizing the growing bed for cultivars that may take a little longer to grow. Celosia (with tunnels), feverfew, and even dahlias (if you don’t mind waiting until mid-May to plant them out) are examples of other candidates that could go into a growing bed that finishes up mid-spring. Of course, if you are in a pinch and need blooms fast, sunflowers are also a solid choice to follow tulips.

Mid spring-early summer growing bed rotation.jpg

Above is an example of the possible flow of a growing bed that we begin putting into production in late winter. These are typically cold-hardy varieties, and we will also utilize double low tunnels to get them going. These crops are usually tired come late May through June.

The example we’re going to use is ranunculus. We typically tuck in our second succession of ranunculus in late winter, at the end of February to the first week of March. We begin harvesting from this round around mid-May, with total production peaking in early June. Once the plants start getting tuckered out, we pull the plants and prep the row in about mid-June, where we can tuck in our second succession of celosia. By the time the celosia is finished producing, we will most likely prepare this row for cover cropping or fall plant.

Now that we have the flow laid out with examples for our spring varieties let’s get into some warm-loving ones!

The Second 1/3: Summer Harvest Growing Beds

Now we are getting into the following third you should have set aside for your warm-loving crops; this way, you can get a jump start on summer without waiting for all those spring crops to finish.

With the first planting of our warm-loving crops, I always have a double tunnel ready to go for them because, come late spring, we can still get freezes that could set back or potentially wipe out our summer crops, and that’s just not fun. Crops planted in late spring and finished mid-summer can be replaced with cold, hardy varieties for fall harvest or a quick crop such as single-stem sunflowers (seeing a pattern with sunflowers?).

Our example for this growing bed is that this particular one will be going into production in late spring, about May.

We’re going to start with our first round of zinnias. I like to begin with zinnias because they are a reasonably quick crop that, depending on the variety you choose, can play either as a disk component or even a focal in a pinch. July can be a wonky time for us, and zinnias have saved us time and time again! We are harvesting these beauties come July, but they are the type of cultivar that is a significant producer and gets tired. When August rolls around, we will have other successions of zinnias in the field, so we can take these plants out and replace them with ornamental kale (under insect netting this year because bugs are annoying) to have to harvest from in the fall after our kill frost.

This is when the season of succession planting is beginning to wind down. The plantings during late spring through mid-summer are ones where you will start thinking as the last sow succession. Mid-June at the latest, I want to have all my warm-loving crops out and planted, especially the ones that take a significant amount of time to reach maturity for harvest. Depending on your crop plan, this planting can be a row turnover from spring or being put into production for the first time during your growing season.

By this point, it will likely be your last planting until frost, or if you are planting a quick crop in early summer, you may be able to sneak in one more crop mid to late summer. Any crops I push to plant out in July through early August need to be quick andht frosts since once mid- semi-handle ligSeptember hits, we have had pretty rough frosts hit us. Single-stem sunflowers are my typical go-to's (can’t you tell?) since they are quick, focal, and can be held in the cooler for two or more weeks.

The example we gave for a late spring or early summer planting is Mahogany Splendor Hibiscus. This variety is relatively cold-sensitive and isn’t typically ready to be harvested until August, and we gather from it until the first frost. Once a kill frost kills the crop back, the growing bed won’t be put back into production until late winter/early spring, and then we begin the cycle all over again!

Utilizing the Last 1/3 of Growing Beds

As mentioned, that last third will give you some wiggle room in your crop rotation. Rows that perhaps need some love with a cover crop, or the weeds are intense, and a silage tarp is required. I also use these rows in a pinch for quick-growing crops such as those single-stem sunflowers or experimental crops. We work with nature, growing a natural product, and all the planning in the world can’t cover every potential event. Give yourself some flexibility with this last third of growing beds.

Some food for thought…

Most of the examples we showed you were a mix of some of our longer-growing crops, giving the growing bed two turnovers that we actually get to harvest from. Our primary growing season is mid-April through Kill Frost, which could be late September through the end of October with field-grown crops.

If you have a longer growing window, you may be able to sneak one or two more crops into that growing bed, especially for quick-growing crops. This will require you to experiment and take notes to determine how much you can push that growing bed's production.

Another note on crop rotation: ensure you give your plants a healthy rotation. If you’re pulling your snapdragons out and thinking with nicotiana, you may want to think twice about replacing them. Certain pests flock to specific shaped cultivars, for example, Snaps and Nicotiana. They are prone to caterpillars, so rotating in Nicotiana after the snaps asks for trouble. Another example is ranunculus, which aphids love, so planting ornamental kale after them in the same growing bed is also causing trouble. Scented geraniums and dahlias are both vulnerable to gall, so planting dahlias where scented geraniums were a previous season or vice versa can cause the disease to spread. If crops are prone to a specific pest or disease, you must consider that while mapping out your growing beds.

When it’s time to say goodbye

Saying goodbye can be hard, especially if you aren’t confident that another crop can carry the weight of the one you are debating pulling out. Your crop plan is telling you it’s time to say goodbye, but the plant is still producing… at least some flowers!

Depending on the time of the season and the cultivar, even if the crop is still giving you some harvestable stems, it may only last for a while. It can be a struggle to decide when to pull the crop out and replace it. Over the years, you will get more comfortable pulling a crop out in preparation for the next round, especially when that crop you are babying becomes a freeloader!

Sometimes, crops just underperform from the gate. This can happen even before you get marketable stems from them, but as that crop limps along, it costs you money and time.

If the plant is stunted, blooming prematurely, diseased, or attracting pests, it is time to say goodbye.
When a crop produces seeds or fades faster than you can harvest, it is time to say goodbye.
If you are spending more time picking off caterpillars, it is time to say goodbye.
Significant disease: it’s time to say goodbye.

When it comes to disease and pests, there are absolutely ways to help the plants overcome them if they are relatively healthy, but if you haven’t gotten a decent amount of stems from them over a month, the plant may be tired, you’ve got a go, and that space needs a fresh cultivar. You want to avoid pests and diseases before moving on to the next healthy crop, which can affect your product later in the season. If a crop pushes out seeds faster than you can harvest the stems, we experience this with scabiosa; it’s better to rip it out rather than waste time tediously harvesting. Some years are just not the years for specific crops. If the plants aren’t thriving or producing usable stems, replace them with another crop.

Saying goodbye to crops can feel counterintuitive, but it is ultimately for the best. Harvest what you can , hold it in the cooler, and get those growing beds back in production with healthy crops.

Perennial Cut Flowers are Your Friends

We have been operating Sierra Flower Farm mostly with limited perennials. I do not recommend this approach, but it is doable if that’s what you’re working with. The house had some perennials at our last property, but not much. Our current property's landscape is relatively nonexistent, especially since we’ve pulled out all the junipers!

If you have the space and it’s in your budget, plant some perennials immediately, especially peonies! Perennials can save you, especially during spring, from potential crop gaps. They will also make your life more predictable overall. Many perennials demand a higher price tag than annuals for less work other than the initial work, maintenance, and dedicated growing space.

Without being able to rely on perennials much, we have found some crops that have saved us over the years, though!

Saving grace cultivars that hold well in storage

Crop gaps can happen with the changing of the seasons. There is only so much planning and planting we can do. We can pamper the plant babies as best as possible, but sometimes the weather, temperatures, and wind just won’t play nice! Oh, the fun unknowns of flower farming!

Specific cultivars have saved us over the years, cultivars that we know we can hold in the cooler to get us through a potential crop gap if we need tons of stems to cover all our orders and when we are beginning to flirt with an early fall frost (with events and orders still on the books). We know we can hold these crops in the cooler, harvested at the correct stage, for a good chunk of time.

Even if you can’t muster up a full walk-in cooler, research and think of a boot-strap-like cooler so you can at least hold over something as needed. A deep chest freezer converted into the cooler, an old fridge set up, a used floral cooler, a trailer converted into a cooler, etc. There are affordable options if that’s where you are in the flower farming journey. There is nothing wrong with starting small and allowing your flower farming business to earn that grown-up cooler of your dreams! To be able to store those stems, you’re going to need something that can keep the stems anywhere from 37-42F, depending on the cultivar. If you want to learn more about post-harvesting and holding crops, I highly recommend the Post-Harvesting of Cut Flowers and Greens book.

Saving Grace Examples:

Tulips
Peonies
Ranunculus
Seeded Cress
Eucalyptus
Heirloom Mums
Sunflowers
Lisianthus
Stock
Strawflower
Statice
Gomphrena
Dusty Miller
Marigolds
Scented Geraniums
Yarrow
Iceland Poppies

Saving grace cultivars that have a quick turnaround

Some cultivars have saved us many times over the years when we faced crop failure or just needed something that had a quick turnaround. Even if they aren’t cultivars, those are some of my absolute favorites (some are, too!) They are good seeds to have on hand in a pinch.

Some fast-growing variety examples:

Single sunflower varieties or branching varieties sown as singles (late spring through frost)
German chamomile (spring and fall)
Calendula (mid-spring and early summer/fall)
Phlox (mid-spring through frost)
Bouquet dill (I can’t stand the smell, but it’s quick and fills a bouquet!)
Saponaria (especially in the middle to late spring)
Bachelor buttons (spring through early summer, and you can plant for fall harvest, too)
Basil (summer to kill frost)
Garden Baby’s Breath
Silene

Also, do you have specific cultivars that happily self-sow for you?

Let them do the work for you if you can afford to give them that space!

Or at least use those volunteers as a guideline to let you know when it is time to sow. It is ready for those crops! It is dead January, and we are seeing German Chamomile all over!

Woo-hoo, you made it to the end of my ramblings!

I hope to help you grasp the crop rotations and the seasons' flow, the different stages, cultivars, and successions so you can begin to enjoy being the composer of your cut flower field! If you were having difficulties wrapping your head around crop planning, this was the last piece of the puzzle you needed to be able to finish mapping out your growing field to have a bounty of blooms all season long.

Until next time, we are looking forward to helping you hand blooms soon!

Jessica & Graham

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Being the conductor of your cut flower field: aka Pulling together Crop planning with rotation