First Bloom Farm is planning for the 2011 summer growing season (next year!) in Simsbury. As such, FBF is toying with the idea of offering a Flower CSA subscription for pickup at the Simsbury site on Wolcott Road. What would this mean for a CSA member? For a set price, you would have weekly beautiful fresh flowers in the summer & be supporting local agriculture!
Interested? Good! Let me know by sending an email to maggie@firstbloomfarm.com. I'll keep you posted on planning, pricing and details!
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Thank you for visiting with NOFA!
Thanks to all who visited the Community Farm of Simsbury, and the First Bloom Farm growing field. I enjoyed seeing new faces in the field. Some of you may join us next year- who knows!?! If anyone has flower questions that they didn't have answered (or thought of later!), please don't hestitate to contact me!
Sunday, August 22, 2010
So, how's it growin'?
Finally, RAIN! A rainy day is a great chance to catch-up on inside work, and maybe take a few pics between raindrops. Here are a few *very* fresh pictures from the field of flowering, and yet-to-flower crops!
A chance meeting at Billings Forge Farmers' Market....
with photographer Lynn Damon led to some fantastic photos! Dare I say these may be even more beautiful than the real thing? Love the light in these pictures... To check out more visit Lynn at www.lynndamon.com/blog/ .........thanks, Lynn!
Keeping it Local with Sarah Worden Natural Design at Market
Sarah Worden Natural Design and First Bloom Farm teamed up to share a booth at the Litchfield Farmers' Market. Sarah spent a morning picking flowers at the farm in Simsbury, and arranged the flowers later that day. I brought my bunched cut flowers and met Sarah at Market...The result: a beautiful summer display! To see more of Sarah's work visit her at http://www.sarahwordennaturaldesign.com/
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Sunflowers March into Flora & Fauna, Litchfield CT
This morning, FBF delivered beautiful summer sunflowers to Flora & Fauna in Litchfield. The flowers will be available today, and this evening for the Date Night event in the center of town! Stop in at Flora & Fauna for a great selection of gift and natural products for home & body, and much more!
Take a look at their blog at http://www.floraandfaunallc.blogspot.com/ , also on Etsy.com (Etsy.com=very cool!)
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Contact FBF for Availability Lists
Florists, event designers and wholesalers may contact me directly for an availability list. See www.firstbloomfarm.com for contact info.
Availability list are faxed, or e-mailed on a weekly basis by early Monday morning. Keep in mind that orders are on a "first come, first serve" basis. Availability may change quickly!
Availability list are faxed, or e-mailed on a weekly basis by early Monday morning. Keep in mind that orders are on a "first come, first serve" basis. Availability may change quickly!
Visit the flower field with NOFA on Monday August 30th!
First Bloom Farm is one of the incubator farmer plots featured at the on-farm workshop on Monday night 5-8pm, August 30th. FBF field will be open for viewing. Also discussed will be growing practices and farming challenges.
Interested? To register (you must register!) contact the Ct NOFA office or see their website at http://www.ctnofa.org/ and look for the "On-farm workshop: Incubator Farm Project".
Interested? To register (you must register!) contact the Ct NOFA office or see their website at http://www.ctnofa.org/ and look for the "On-farm workshop: Incubator Farm Project".
Sustainable vs. Organic Flowers- what's the difference?
Okay. For those of you who wonder why some flowers may be called "organic" and other sustainably grown.... Here's the difference as I see it:
Organic. At the Simsbury site where all of the annual flowers are produced First Bloom Farm follows strict organic practices for production- this includes organic fertilizers, organic pesticides and field materials. This extends all the way to post-harvest practices (what happens between field cutting and customer), holding the plants in pure well water , or using OMRI* approved treatments. Flowers and herb fillers, started with "Organic" seed may then be called "organic". Here's the tricky part...not all productive cut flower varieties are available from an organic source. These varieties, cannot be labeled "organic" even though they were grown with the same "organic" practices. It would not be "legal" for me to label these items as "organic"... confused?...
Sustainable. I like this word. To understand it requires a sense of trust, perhaps a leap of faith and knowing your producer, me, Maggie at First Bloom Farm. "Sustainable" is the word FBF can attach to all of the other annuals grown at the Simsbury site. These crops were started from non-organic seed or tubers (in the case of Dahlias) and were grown using the same "organic" production practices. Sustainably grown. No one owns the word sustainable, you cannot be fined for using it improperly, and it encourages you ask, perhaps start a conversation with me, the farmer. Sustainable, I like it.
As I see it, my goal as a producer is to provide the highest possible quality product, choosing the best cut flower cultivars. I choose responsible field practices regardless of labels. If you want to know how I grow, ask. I love cut flowers and am happy to discuss them with anyone!
*What's OMRI? The national certifier for organic stuff... Visit http://www.omri.org/
Organic. At the Simsbury site where all of the annual flowers are produced First Bloom Farm follows strict organic practices for production- this includes organic fertilizers, organic pesticides and field materials. This extends all the way to post-harvest practices (what happens between field cutting and customer), holding the plants in pure well water , or using OMRI* approved treatments. Flowers and herb fillers, started with "Organic" seed may then be called "organic". Here's the tricky part...not all productive cut flower varieties are available from an organic source. These varieties, cannot be labeled "organic" even though they were grown with the same "organic" practices. It would not be "legal" for me to label these items as "organic"... confused?...
Sustainable. I like this word. To understand it requires a sense of trust, perhaps a leap of faith and knowing your producer, me, Maggie at First Bloom Farm. "Sustainable" is the word FBF can attach to all of the other annuals grown at the Simsbury site. These crops were started from non-organic seed or tubers (in the case of Dahlias) and were grown using the same "organic" production practices. Sustainably grown. No one owns the word sustainable, you cannot be fined for using it improperly, and it encourages you ask, perhaps start a conversation with me, the farmer. Sustainable, I like it.
As I see it, my goal as a producer is to provide the highest possible quality product, choosing the best cut flower cultivars. I choose responsible field practices regardless of labels. If you want to know how I grow, ask. I love cut flowers and am happy to discuss them with anyone!
*What's OMRI? The national certifier for organic stuff... Visit http://www.omri.org/
Farmers' Markets Schedule Summer 2010
For most of the season, FBF has been selling to florists, event designers and at the farmstand. Now FBF will be selling direct to the public at farmers' markets in central and western CT!
This Saturday 8/7/10, 10 am -1pm, First Bloom Farm will be sharing a table with Sarah Worden of Sarah Worden Natural design at the Litchfield farmers' market held on Woodruff St near the center of town. We will have fresh cut arrangements by Sarah Worden as well as simple bouquets.
This Saturday 8/7/10, 10 am -1pm, First Bloom Farm will be sharing a table with Sarah Worden of Sarah Worden Natural design at the Litchfield farmers' market held on Woodruff St near the center of town. We will have fresh cut arrangements by Sarah Worden as well as simple bouquets.
For directions visit http://www.litchfieldhillsfood.org/
Thursdays beginning 8/12/10, 11 am- 2 pm, FBF will be at the Billings Forge Farmers' Market on Broad Street in Hartford, CT. We will have bouquets, and loose flowers from the Simsbury Farm field! For directions visit http://www.hartfordfarmersmarket.org/
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)