Farm Flower Happenings
Spade & Plow’s late summer/early fall flower harvest is in full swing here at the new Gilroy property.
Boy, oh boy, are we loving all these bright colors! As we’ve expanded our growing operations to 40 acres, we’ve also tripled our flower production to a whopping 3 acres. As expected, the growth has come with many new challenges. Like, learning how to install and tie trellises (solution: serious arm strength), and trying to convince squirrels why they should stop eating all of our delicious organic produce (it takes more convincing than you’d think!).
Even still, we’ve found ourselves with buckets upon buckets of flowers to share with friends. Thanks to our sales team, we’ve been super stoked to grow partnerships with new outlets, like New Leaf Community Markets and Golden Roots Kitchen. We’ve even begun a weekly ‘make-your-own bouquet’ station at the Mountain View Farmers Market. Mixed into these beautiful bouquet bundles are a slew of both new and old flower varieties from the farm. Check out what’s poppin’ below and feel free to give us a holler if you want to see anything new on the planting schedule for 2022!
New Variety Favorites of 2021
Dahlias
Our prized possession of the year, these babies will produce hundreds of extra bulbs for next year. Be on the lookout for the first ever S&P Dahlia bulbs for sale at the 2022 Transplant Sale!
Zinnias
Our newest and most favorite addition to the zinnia beds this year is our “Oklahoma Salmon” variety. This zinnia is cute and pink, about 2 inches in diameter. They have made a perfect addition to our bright summer mixed bouquets.
Monstrosum Strawflower
They sound like crunching paper but are stronger than they look! A farm favorite, these are being used both in bouquets and dried for winter wreaths
Cupcake Cosmos
Light and airy, these cupcake layers make everyone smile, both inside and out (pun intended). We’re proud to be one of the few growers in the area with cosmos, and plan to do even more cupcake varieties next year.
For Eating:
We’ve been upping our game by growing a lot of edible flowers this year. Restaurants around the Bay Area are using these to spice up their dishes and cocktails. You can also find these at our farmers markets and on rotation in your C.S.A boxes. Put ‘em in tea, garnish your salads, or make a simple syrup! Anise hyssop, marigolds, and pineapple sage are amongst our most robust and prominent summer selections. Be on the lookout this fall for a tropical pointy red flower- that’s the pineapple sage at the peak of its growing cycle! The red flower petals on these are also edible and great for garnishes or cozy fall tea. If you miss them while they’re fresh, don’t worry! We’ll be drying all three of these flavorful flowers for the first ever Spade & Plow loose leaf tea.
For Drying:
We’re prepping for the winter this year and hoping to amp up your holiday parties with some beautiful dried floral wreaths. This is another first for Spade & Plow and we’re excited to share our creations with you. Currently slated for the drying racks are fever few, lavender, strawflower, and all sorts of bright statice colors. More to come on the drying and wreath making process- stay tuned this fall!
