Episodes

We as growers can get quite fixated on soil and water and fertility. But there's another factor that is so absolutely critical to plants and flower production and that is light, or more precisely photoperiod. We all know that light is the foundation of photosynthesis. What we can sometimes forget is how critical the number of hours of light and dark are to triggering a plant to switch from vegetative growth to flowering. We drill into that in this episode with Dr. Alicain Carlson from Syngenta F...

For anyone focused on building soil health and long-term productivity, cover crops are the most powerful tool available. Research shows that cover crop mixes—rather than single-species plantings—offer greater benefits to the soil ecosystem. When thoughtfully designed, a diverse cover crop mix acts like a self-balancing team, with each species performing a specific ecological role. In this episode, Keith Berns, one of the founders of Green Cover Seed in Nebraska, walks us through the value and de...

Host Jennie Love walks listeners through a clear and concise discussion on how and why to overwinter dahlias in the ground. Save time, money and sanity with no-dig dahlias. Cold is not the enemey to successfully perennializing your dahlias. Moisture is. Tune in to learn more! Mentioned in the episode: Black Dog Flower Farm Dahlia Blog Post Part 1 Black Dog Flower Farm Dahlia Blog Post Part 2 Cornelia Macnamara Flowers in Chicago Metal cages used to support dahlias WANT TO LEARN MORE? Join the...

Dave Dowling is back for this episode. He's a fan favorite and if you haven't already listened to the Everything Tulips episode and Everything Ranunculus episode here, be sure to go back to grab those. Dave is well-known in the flower farmer sphere for his wealth of knowledge and decades of experience in farming and sales. I asked Dave back so he could help me hash out what flowers are viable crops for November sales. I've heard more and more growers talking about skipping summer production in ...

I've long followed the fascinating research of Dr. James White of Rutgers University in New Jersey. He is a plant pathologist with a PhD in mycology. His specialty is "symbiosis research", particularly the impact of endophytic microbes in plant development and behavior. The nerdiest among you will rejoice at a science-rich episode in which Dr. White helps us understand how bacteria and fungus enter a plant as endophytes to help plants defend against stress, diseases and pests as well as provide ...

In today's episode, we are replaying an interview that originally aired on The Flower Podcast, where host Scott Shepherd interviewed yours truly, Jennie Love, about regenerative flower farming. This seemed like a great conversation to include in the archives here on No-Till Flowers. Deep gratitude to Scott for sharing it with us! Be sure to follow The Flower Podcast for more great flora-focused conversations. And there are new fresh episodes coming soon! A few guests got hit with the flu and i...

In this episode, we're digging into organic seed production. Seed saving and breeding are all the rage in the flower farming world at the moment, which is an exciting way to dive even deeper into the world of flowers and get even nerdier. And we all love getting nerdier, don't we? :-) Today's guest, Will Hazard, is the zinnia breeding project lead at the University of California, Davis. Through the SCOPE program -- which stands for Sustainable Crop Production and Enhancement, Will and his team o...

Welcome to Season 5 of No-Till Flowers! It's good to be back!! We're starting off with a fairly personal episode as I share what's changed for me and my health in 2024. This past season was my 17th season farming and selling flowers. There has been a lot of wear and tear on my body, mind and spirit along the way. I would wager heavily that no small business owner understands what they are signing up for at the beginning. Or even many years into it. The first 10 or so years are just holding on fo...

We don't typically dive into business topics on this podcast as I like to keep the focus on regenerative growing practices. But today we're going to go off theme a bit for a special guest. Many of you already know Scott Shepherd, the host of The Flower Podcast. Scott has such a unique position in our industry. He studied horticulture under the likes of Dr. Allan Armitage. His day job in the three decades since has been working in sales at wholesale houses, first in Georgia and now in Tennessee. ...

There are some incredible nuggets of pure gold in this episode. You will definitely want to have a pen and paper handy! Joining me today is Dr. John Dole, cut flower researcher and professor at North Carolina State University. As you'll hear in the episode, John has been immersed in flowers since he was just 8 years old, planting gladiolas at a neighbor's farm in Michigan. Over the decades, he's been a keystone leader for the floral industry, serving farmers and florists alike with his valuable ...

Welcome to Part 2 of a recent interview host Jennie Love had with guest Bryant Mason of Soil Doctor Consulting. If you haven't already listened to Episdoe 37 or Episode 29, stop this one now and go back to listen to those first. In this segment, Bryant helps listeners understand what plant tissue testing is and why it is so valuable for farmers to do. Bryant walks us through a tissue test for stock grown at Jennie's farm, explaining how to read the various nutrient values and make decisions for ...

Guest Bryant Mason of Soil Doctor Consulting returns to the podcast for another lively conversation about organic nutrients with host Jennie Love. If you haven't already listened to Episode 29 in Season 3, stop this one now and go back to listen to that one first. In Episode 29, we introduced Bryant to the flower farming community and we had a dynamic conversation about nutrient balancing in living soils. Bryant, a certified agronomist for organic growers and an orchardist living in Colorado, ha...

Today's guest needs little introduction in the flower farming world. Lisa Mason Zeigler of the Gardener's Workshop is an author, teacher, industry leader, flower farmer, podcaster, and also a good friend of mine. With 25 years of growing under her belt, Lisa brings a wealth of knowledge and passion to everything she does. Lisa has a new book, The Cut Flower Handbook, coming out in a few weeks, which prompted this conversation. But we cover several topics in our chat, including: Changing hardines...

Today's guest needs little introduction in the small farm no-till world. Jesse Frost of Rough Draft Farm in central Kentucky has helped so many of us learn about soil health and diversified small scale production through the No-Till Growers YouTube channel, the No-Till Growers podcast, and his book The Living Soil Handbook. If you've struggled with heavy clay, boggy or compacted soils at your farm or in your garden, this is the episode for you! Frequently I get asked about my recommendations for...

We're back with Season 4 of the No-Till Flowers Podcast! In this solo episode, host Jennie Love talks about regenerative spraying and how to boost the health of your crops with foliar feeding. Learn about the phyllosphere and what easy homemade inputs you can use to reduce pests and diseases with weekly foliar sprays. Mentioned in this episode: Join the Regenerative Flower Farmers Network if you'd like to continue the conversation on this topic. Jennies on-demand short courses for fellow farmer...

Curious about cover crops for a flower farm? Host Jennie Love walks listeners through a clear and concise overview of cover crops suitable for a small regenerative farm and why cover crops are such a valuable tool in the summer time for weed management. Included is a list of favorite cover crops for a small flower farm. Mentioned in the episode: Cover Crop Solutions Chart from Peaceful Valley Deer Creek Seeds Kings Agriseeds Peaceful Valley The Regenerative Flower Farmers Network (find a tran...

Here's Part 2 of my chat with Margaret Parks of Evergreen Growers Supply, an Oregon-based supplier of beneficial insects and microorganisms. If you haven't already, be sure to listen to Part 1 to get an introduction to using beneficial insects in your grow operation. Some important links to go along with this conversation: Evergreen Growers Supply dmvbeneficials.com Cucumber Beetle Trap Japanese Beetle Trap JOIN ME for a FIELD DAY AT MY FARM in Philadelphia THIS SEASON. Register for the April ...

I'm joined in this episode by Margaret Parks of Evergreen Growers Supply, an Oregon-based supplier of beneficial insects and microorganisms. We begin by discussing the big picture pieces of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) as they relate to small scale flower farming. Then we dive into spider mite control with three fantastic beneficial insects. We also touch on banker and trap crops as well as the importance and fundamentals of scouting. Some important links to go along with this conversation:...

Host Jennie Love walks listeners through a clear and concise discussion of what natural farming is and how to begin making natural inputs like JADAM Microbial Solution (JMS). If you've been intimidated by the host of natural inputs talked about in Korean Natural Farming (KNF) and JADAM, this is a great introduction that will demystify the process and get you started. Mentioned in the episode: Registration for the CREW virtual seminar to help you find and manage a great crew for the coming seas...

Guest Bryant Mason of Soil Doctor Consulting in Colorado joins host Jennie Love in a lively conversation about nutrient balancing and soil testing, including key nutrients for better flower production and stem quality. Follow Bryant on Instagram @soil_doctor. Bryant has developed an easy online tool to help you directly to interpret your soil tests and choose natural amendments accordingly. Click here to learn more. Covered in this episode are: The Different Forms of Nitrogen Calcium Phospho...

It's seed starting time! I'd venture to say this is what we growers are live for! Watching seedlings grow in the depths of winter is the best mood lifter. Those of you in the Southern Hemisphere are likely gearing up for your late summer sowings for cool annuals too. So it seemed like a great time to do a deeper dive into seed sowing with my old friend and seed starting pro, Lisa Mason Zeigler from the Gardener's Workshop. Lisa literally wrote the book, called Cool Flowers, on starting seeds for...

Guest Laura Beth Resnick of Butterbee Farm in Maryland joins host Jennie Love again to discuss building and rebuilding a successful farm business over the past decade. Covered in this episode are: - Finding land to farm - Pros and cons of renting versus buying farm land - Funding sources for land and infrastructure - Making infrastructure decisions - Bringing goats to a flower farm - Finding peach of mind and courage in the face of big change and wintertime Mentioned in this episode are: The R...

Host Jennie Love walks listeners through a clear and detailed description of how she has prepared no-till beds at her farm over the seasons. She goes into particular detail about the "deep mulch system" that many smaller diversified farms use for no-till bed preparation. Jennie also discusses her own journey to getting started with no-till farming back in 2018. Water and weed concerns related to no-till beds are also disucssed in this episode. Mentioned in this show: Registration for the 2023 ...

Welcome to Season 3 of the No-Till Flowers podcast! Emma Horswill from Earthenry Farm in Tasmania joins host, Jennie Love, for a lovely chat that hits on several important regenerative farming practices. The primary focus of this episode is irrigation, particularly an approach to it called "pulse watering". Other topics include cover cropping, fertigation, quickly imporving poor compacted soil using regenerative methods, creating a flower farm that's very asethetically pleasing for a you-pick o...