- 1). Look over your finances and figure out how much money you can spend on your cut flower production business. Some of the items to think about when putting together a budget are irrigation, land payments, greenhouses for sprouting plants, a processing center, a refrigerated delivery van, a storage cooler, insurance, and labor and fuel costs, especially if your farm is located more than a few miles from your target market. You will also be required to obtain licenses to sell agricultural products from your state USDA office.
- 2). Decide what flowers suitable for cutting you are going to grow. Because you are growing flowers in the field, narrow your choice to flowers that are adapted to your climate and soil, and are not attractive to a wide variety of insect pests. You may need to experiment with several flower varieties before making your final decision. Plan on starting with one or two flower varieties and making them your specialty, and grow your product from there. Always remember that you are competing with wholesalers who grow flowers in greenhouses under controlled conditions and can deliver a perfect product at a very low cost.
- 3). Visit cut flower farms in the U.S. and floral wholesalers who sell flowers to florists. Although you may end up competing with them, you can learn how the flowers are processed and stored. You can also get an idea of how many different products they sell. Visit a florist and ask if you can hang around or even work for free for a few days to see the demands of the florist trade and how fresh cut flowers are handled. Talk to the florist about any concerns they may have about freshness or availability. Learn in what quantities certain flowers are sold. For example, sunflowers are sold in five stem bunches and quoted as a bunch, roses and carnations are sold in 25 stem bunches and quoted by the price of each stem, and snapdragons are sold in 10 stem bunches and quoted by the bunch.
- 4). Locate wholesalers that sell the products that you will need for the field production of cut flowers, such as irrigation and farming supplies, fertilizer, seed and pesticides.
- 5). Secure land for growing and water supplies. One acre of cut flowers takes about 2 million gallons of water for one planting cycle of 75 days if there is no rain. Water quality is very important because cloudy or muddy water will clog irrigation lines and drip tape. Test your soil to find out what amendments you need for optimal production.
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