Offset your carbon footprint on Wren: wren.co/start/youcanteatthegrass1m The first 100 to sign up will get their first month of the subscription covered by Wren for free!
I find it extremely helpful to have a planting guide made. When I order seeds I put the name and when to plant on my planting guide calendar. You could even include the farm chores, it will help you keep track, motivate you to stay the course as they say. Post it on a wall, get a chalkboard anything that will help you remember and to stay on track. Running a business should not be willy-nilly or just in your head. Good luck, God bless
Lol, the problem with seedlings is you also can't be ahead of schedule, because then the plants will suffer from being root bound. They are the ultimate goldilocks- they have to be just right. But also goldilocks has split personalities, because she's the weather, and she's crazy, lol, so its always a gamble
I think I watched most of your videos during the course of this month and all I wanted to say is that I'm very thankful you are sharing tough times alongside those beautiful ones.
I'm so excited for u this season. You have influenced me to become not just have i a veggie garden but a cut flower garden in my small backyard. My goal is to have a bouquet a week. Since I have a small garden, I'm growing Tulips like a farmer. Prosprouting my nuncs and anemones in a wine cooler. I watch ur seed unboxing from each year multiple times and writing down varieties I like. Never heard of Zinnias before but now I'm growing 50 zowie/benariys giant/queen in one tray. Thanks Ian and serena
Well glad you turned this around! With such a large investment in all the seeds and bulbs you gotta get procedures in place. Write down everything you just did and then get it in a notebook. Then set up a planting calendar. If you want flowers blooming by mother’s day count back when they need planted and put it on the calendar. Make a planting calendar and plan for all the tasks that need accomplished. Plan for success. The random frantic behavior won’t help you have a successful year. The question of “do we have dirt” should never come up. It all needs added to your list of tasks that can be done on off times. I love love love your flowers and am in awe of what you produce. As a project manager I want you to tighten up your procedures to reduce stress and anxiety and to maximize all that money you just spent. Also each of you plan to spend a half hour a day in improving your work space. Make it your dream space and identify your work flow choke spots. You are increasing your yields and likely will do more shows. Get going and get ready for when it all starts. (Ex could the kids fold all your bouquet papers early? Make a template from poster board. ) Wishing you all the best and hoping for the best year ever for you!!! Hugs from Ohio! Em ❤❤❤❤🌸🌹🌷🌸🌹🌷🌼
I love that you mentioned all this info! Every time I see a flower farmer on RUclips folding bouquet paper I'm thinking that a ton could've been folded in off season while binge watching Netflix 😅! Or all the seed inventory with plant info/dates could be on excel. I do like seeing their kiddos help them with their workload. It's wonderful they are teaching their kids everything that they are. That's super important too.
Don’t be too hard on ur selves, you guys will get there ur channel has encouraged me to plant flowers this year in pots because we live in a small flat
Ian and Sabrina, there is a new soil blocker available that has been shown to take 2 minutes to make 200 mini blocks. It’s called the Swift Blocker and you can see a demo on Bloom and Gray “Getting Started with Soil Blocks”.
So this comment is all about why do I love this channel and why is it that I tend to rewatch all the vids. Well honestly, I love Serena’s sense of humor totally cracks me up, it’s like chatting it up with a girlfriend and secondly the information is so honest and real no fluff just hey a day in the life and yep the MUSIC!!!! ❤❤❤the beats you guys I just dance along💃🏽💃🏽💃🏽takes me back to my clubbing days here in New York zone 6b I might add lol. Keep up the good work, I am so happy through RUclips you can keep the farm going I totally support this channel.😘😘😘
Oh Serena, I know you will understand. I started my first tray of snaps yesterday: Potomac Lavender. I intended to sprinkle the seeds over a flat, but instead of sprinkling, I accidentally dumped the envelope of 50 seeds in one tiny section. 🤦🏻♀️😭 I will have my work cut out for me trying to separate all of them.
After seeing your cement mixer and watching you mix the soil in a bin with a shovel I remembered mixing soil in one of my highschool classes. My teacher used a cement mixer to mix the potting soil. It was quick, efficient, and required very little physical labor in comparison to mixing by hand. Not sure how the inside of your cement mixer is looking but maybe you can make it a dual purpose machine.
I'm a flower farmer in zone 6 b USA and I find I have to take vacations in October every year around the time of the first frost here. So, I can finally relax after a busy season but then get home in time to dig up the dahlias and plant the daffodils and tulips in November. This works extremely well for me to get my grove back. Or travel in early December when the bulbs are planted and before the Christmas holiday- that is another good time frame to get back in time to start Lisi and Euc and others that take forever. Keep up the good work and yes give yourself grace and take deep breaths
It's crazy how early things start for a flower farm. If you do Christmas greenery stuff, it's easy for the farm to be a 24/7 thing. It was nice to be able to take a vacation this January, but it was only possible because of buying in plugs for lisianthus. I like the fall vacation idea. We will most likely shut down at Thanksgiving going forward, get the bulbs planted. But they early Nov would be a great vacation time
Wow, seeing you and your family planted all those seeds just in the nic of time is amazing. I thought your not gonna make it, but I'm happy everyone helped and made it happen. I'm so looking forward to tge blooms that's gonna pop out on your farm. 😊
Thank you guys for putting out the videos on top of the mountain of work you had to do. I remember when you didn't have comments. I'm so glad you do now. Keep up the great work with a prayer and one step at a time. You (whole family) do an amazing job. Thanks for taking us along.
Glad you're getting caught up. I can't stand being behind, and I can't work in a mess. That's just me. I clean beforehand. I clean as I go. I clean up after. I need that. For the first time ever, my tools are not organized. It's causing anxiety and depression to get worse. Getting my tools reorganized is a pressing need, and I hope I can manage to get it done soon. Ian's got an impressive amount of tools. I don't have even a small fraction of that. Your advice for soaking ranunculus corms is fantastic. Letting us know (and showing us) what looks just right, as opposed to over-soaking, is something I think everyone new to ranunculus needs. Love all the kitty footage. They are so cute, cuddly, and beautiful.
So excited for another flower season! Congrats on getting back on schedule in a hurry. Love seeing you teach your kids about working and responsibility.👍👍😘
Not surprising you’re behind, you have had a lot on your plate. Give yourself some grace. Plants are pretty forgiving. Personally, I would have a huge bonfire of all the dried stuff and just be super selective of what you dry in the future. Hugs to you guys.
We are going to catalog and pack away what we think can sell to florists wholesale, and also get some inventory organized for our markets - we sell them slowly all year long. The rest will hit the compost pile. And exactly, we will only save what really sells next year.
I planted tulips this late last year and all I got was some single leaves sticking out of the ground and that's where they stopped, keeping an eye on them to see if they might have caught up with the properly planted tulips and hoping they got what they needed to do better this year 😬
Tulips need to get a certain number of "chill" hours in order to bloom. I would have been a lot more concerned about planting the bulk so late (after Christmas) if it wasn't for the fact we were getting record breaking cold, which meant that my garage was at freezing, and therefore the bulbs were getting the cold they needed. It's been warm lately, so we will have to see for these scragglers. Worth the test at least, and if they don't bloom I can plant them into the landscaping for future years.
It would be so fun to see you folks partner with another RUclipsr who is an organizer. A fun collab, plus it might give you some good organization ideas (to help avoid inventory issues like losing track of the tulips).
It's crazy how the season can sneak up on you when you live in a colder zone, it can make it such a narrow planting window that you need to hit it can be though. I'm gardening in zone 6a, so similar but not quite as cold as you.
I love watching you celebrate flower gardening. Love watching you walk about your property and handle the earth. I can almost smell it. When you share the joy, it amplifies it. Happy your young family is maturing. Many hands make light work.
You did it!! I knew you could...sometimes life happens and you do get behind. You forget things, you loose things, and then you get back on track. You guys are awesome. Like you said-- you have family and friends,too! Now if you could just get Dusty to dig out some weeds!!!
I would love it if you would show how you planted your bulbs, corms, etc. You briefly showed soaking some, but I’m curious what type of tray or pots you used and how you go about getting them to break dormancy. Do you use a warm room or heating mats? It was great to see how eager your children are with helping out with the business. Can’t wait to see all of your flowers this season!!
Everything I read said do what they did and then cooler put in a cool place 45-55 degrees and let them sprout. So far so good with mine, I partially covered with plastic wrap to keep in some moisture and misted if it got too dry
I strongly suggest making a calendar! That way the dates don't sneak up on you, I do a prep my materials by date, and then the date for planting for each thing, it's a bit of work on the front end but it's peace of mind to see when my deadlines are
You are a highly efficient and powerful couple and know what to do, when and why. You have a master-plan over-all and know what needs to get done to make it happen.. You are super-humans to have so many goals, tasks , and jobs to get it done. ( a mountain of work... one step at a time ! ) Once you get your mojo, you are on-fire !!! Yay for getting your kids to help and trusting them. I love the way that you treat each seedling with care... the Snapdragons who will be mass planted and than teased apart ( true-love). Stress is a motivator for adrenalin . Once again, you are a Super-human couple doing many impossible things in one day. You look like you are on track now and I enjoy watching your seasonal journey. Your passion and love shine through for your soon-to-be flower babies just as the sun will shine. One of my favorite flower type is Zinnias and am super excited to watch your hard-earned progress. I started my Spring garden seeds yesterday and felt some stress , but mostly joy. You are amazing !!! Once you get going....you will be on a roll to your goal. I don't think there is another flower-farm out there with only a small family to get it all done.
Have you guys looked into the "Swift Blocker" ?? I think it'll be a game-changer for you guys! The up-front cost definitely is offputting but the time-savings seems worth it! Especially if you're starting 20+ trays of soil blocks!
So Glad to see you get caught to date. I have a suggestion to earn money in the winter. As home gardeners get get their hands on large Ranunculus and retail stores only offer a very limit varieties; have you thought of doing mail orders for Ranunculus and Anemones? If you set up a order system in the spring before you order them, you can get an idea of if people are interested and how many you need to order; people could also prepay if you want. Then simple mail them out in Nov to Jan. Other then it will take some time to set up, the only disadvantage is you will only be able to ship to Canadians. Yes I really love ranunculus and want to get my hands on more varieties.
We've talked about trying to do something like a seed company, or selling growing packages. Hopefully we can get the farm and everything organized, to free up some time to take on new projects for next year
I conquered snaps seeing someone use a wet tooth pick or pencil (Gardener’s World?). I dump in a white ceramic Ramekin so can easily see a lone stray seed at the edges. Then a wet plastic label tip…..or anything, works like a magnet!!! Truly pulling the seed onto the wet tip of your tool as you slowly approach it. Transplanting tiny seedlings is still too much fiddling for me…. Oddly this is actually easier than that. 👍🏻
I still havent started a single seed this year either! We still have a few feet of snow here but it's definitely time to start some things - especially my winter sowing flowers! Thanks for the reminder 🌱💕
Good work I bought some ranunculus corms for my garden and they are sprouting now. I keep trying different things each year because of you guys. Thanks
I love watching you guys you're working so hard but flowers what you have so beautiful I wish you all the best and the beautiful flowers in summer coming.
Я живу на полуострове Крым (Европа,Чёрное море). Очень нравятся ваши видео. Нравится смотреть ,как вы выращиваете столько красивых цветов и овощей. Я тоже выращиваю песрсики,виноград и много цветов:тюльпаны,розы,ирисы,пионы...)) I live on the Crimean peninsula (Europe, Black Sea). I really like your videos. I like to watch you grow so many beautiful flowers and vegetables. I also grow peaches, grapes and lots of flowers:tulips, roses, irises, peonies...))
Try your hand at growing the tulips in crates so maybe you can harvest those sooner in case your other don’t bloom in time for mothers day. Chill them for now and then start them in April in crates.
Cool to see the kids helping out. :) Sam was up for the challenge, you made it fun, Leah had some serious focus. And Sam's got some serious dance moves. ;) Great job, family!
Sometimes a little anxiety is good to get you to get into kick start mode. See, you got it all done and on schedule too!! Love your little helpers too!
I always feel like I'm behind on the farm with things needing to be done, but I work off the farm too so have to fit farm work in between work shifts. Same with my husband. I think you need a big white board so you can plan better and stay on track!
Ian saves the day with the soil blocks and tulip planting! I'm excited to pre-sprout my corms this weekend! Your gold and orange ranunculus were so dreamy that I had to try and grow some myself :)
When I worked at a greenhouse decades ago, the owners dumped bags of soil in the corner of seedling room with cement floor. Watered, mixed, then scooped into flats. It was relatively fast. I've seen recently a man using a 3" - 4" pvc pipe about 3" long, packs seedling mix & pushes out. Maybe not the best for your circumstances. Serena, you will catch up on seeding. Just keep at it. How about potting tulips in pots to sell? They should have had their chill time out in work station.
I feel very much the Serina in my life. I'm stressed out, wondering where did the time go, and how am I gonna get things on track. Ian anyways just seems chill. I need to borrow him for like a week as an emotional support person or something lol.
Have to drop a comment. ....thank u for not ending it on a cliff hanger like so many others would have. I totally felt anxious and wanted to end the video. But as much as I am personally relieved with the clear ending, I am also so excited and proud that you didn't burrow your heads. You knew the looming crisis and you took action. Probably with a whole lot more yelling and arguments, but nonetheless, you guys did it. It's not just relatable but it's reflection of bussiness/life balance and the psychology overall on how to deal with stress: by... ...knowing the tasks ...matching them to your expectations ...being calm enough to think instead of reacting emotionally ...having a support system and actually utilizing that system into action I'm sure it will help a lot of people beyond the garden world and even small business. But mental health. It wasn't lecturing or preachy in theory. The video is a perfect emotional rollercoaster in action. Congratulations and toasting you guys to a great year!
May I suggest that you contact a local college that has farming classes and see if they can do a semester of Practicum. High schools have vocational classes. You get free help and the students get experience and class credit.
did you put something on the bottom of the crates before planting the tulip bulbs in them (other than dirt, of course)? I've always been curious about planting in crates.
Well Done. Would you be able to share your mixture for the soil blocks. I am going to attempt them next year for my 800 seedlings I do for my own enjoyment. Must seem like such a small amount to you. The brand of the soil bag and anything else you add would be so helpful. All the best for 2023 season. Vancouver Island. ❤
I say this with admiration and affection - how do you NOT have an actual calendared plan? You both seem to work so hard and have such great knowledge, but you are not organized. You really need someone to come in and assist you, even once, in generating a schedule, plan, timeline, an inventory list, all of which could then be digitized and on your phones for daily reminders.
@@YouCantEatTheGrass exactly. You need to take the scheduling out of your head and into a digital calendar /reminder system. It would save you from having to keep all of those balls juggling. When I had a law practice i started using a digital calendar. I now use it for my home and small farm. I have everything in the calendar from time to call the vet, to change well filter, fridge filter, call septic guy etc etc. Once you enter it, you never have to remember again. If the weather changes and you need to bump planting a week just adjust the calendar and it will remind you next week. When the calendar is full you can make adjustments to create a better work flow, all at a glance.
It is impossible to calculate all of the "lessons" your kids are learning simply by helping the two of you start seeds. Most of all, they see (and feel) that their parents love each other!!
What did you end up seeding in soil blocks? I just started this year and I can’t get the watering right. It’s either too dry and they’re dying or they get horrible algae growth! Thankfully I’ve used both methods so not everything is crap but I’m curious if you think some flowers do better than others with them. My basil and alyssum is great but so far most other things have suffered.
Desperately awaiting spring! Just rewatched last year’s seed starting ranunculus video. You had corms that you saved from the year before (2021). How did they do? Were you able to save any this year?
They did really good - I had a few that didn't sprout, but like 85% success. I saved my colorful ones, and am hoping to sprout some soon to have a succession
The potting soil is super light and fluffy, so it takes nothing to stir it. It's mostly about mixing the powdered fertilizer in evenly before wetting it
I have a question do yall have a problem with your soil blocker breaking. I have gone through 3 mini soil blockers within a 6 month span. The flat cross bar that holds it together keeps popping out. Any pearls of wisdom would be very helpful
Offset your carbon footprint on Wren: wren.co/start/youcanteatthegrass1m The first 100 to sign up will get their first month of the subscription covered by Wren for free!
I find it extremely helpful to have a planting guide made. When I order seeds I put the name and when to plant on my planting guide calendar. You could even include the farm chores, it will help you keep track, motivate you to stay the course as they say. Post it on a wall, get a chalkboard anything that will help you remember and to stay on track. Running a business should not be willy-nilly or just in your head. Good luck, God bless
So smart to do it when you order seeds. I waited until they came in and entered the data in batches.
Maybe this is the jump start we all need to get AHEAD of schedule this season! You got this you two! We’re all rooting for you ❤
Lol, the problem with seedlings is you also can't be ahead of schedule, because then the plants will suffer from being root bound. They are the ultimate goldilocks- they have to be just right. But also goldilocks has split personalities, because she's the weather, and she's crazy, lol, so its always a gamble
I think I watched most of your videos during the course of this month and all I wanted to say is that I'm very thankful you are sharing tough times alongside those beautiful ones.
I'm so excited for u this season. You have influenced me to become not just have i
a veggie garden but a cut flower garden in my small backyard. My goal is to have a bouquet a week. Since I have a small garden, I'm growing Tulips like a farmer. Prosprouting my nuncs and anemones in a wine cooler. I watch ur seed unboxing from each year multiple times and writing down varieties I like. Never heard of Zinnias before but now I'm growing 50 zowie/benariys giant/queen in one tray. Thanks Ian and serena
Well glad you turned this around! With such a large investment in all the seeds and bulbs you gotta get procedures in place. Write down everything you just did and then get it in a notebook. Then set up a planting calendar. If you want flowers blooming by mother’s day count back when they need planted and put it on the calendar. Make a planting calendar and plan for all the tasks that need accomplished. Plan for success. The random frantic behavior won’t help you have a successful year. The question of “do we have dirt” should never come up. It all needs added to your list of tasks that can be done on off times. I love love love your flowers and am in awe of what you produce. As a project manager I want you to tighten up your procedures to reduce stress and anxiety and to maximize all that money you just spent. Also each of you plan to spend a half hour a day in improving your work space. Make it your dream space and identify your work flow choke spots. You are increasing your yields and likely will do more shows. Get going and get ready for when it all starts. (Ex could the kids fold all your bouquet papers early? Make a template from poster board. ) Wishing you all the best and hoping for the best year ever for you!!! Hugs from Ohio! Em ❤❤❤❤🌸🌹🌷🌸🌹🌷🌼
We need a project manager to come and whip us into shape, lol
I love that you mentioned all this info! Every time I see a flower farmer on RUclips folding bouquet paper I'm thinking that a ton could've been folded in off season while binge watching Netflix 😅! Or all the seed inventory with plant info/dates could be on excel. I do like seeing their kiddos help them with their workload. It's wonderful they are teaching their kids everything that they are. That's super important too.
@@serenababy6358 😃
Don’t be too hard on ur selves, you guys will get there ur channel has encouraged me to plant flowers this year in pots because we live in a small flat
Ian and Sabrina, there is a new soil blocker available that has been shown to take 2 minutes to make 200 mini blocks. It’s called the Swift Blocker and you can see a demo on Bloom and Gray “Getting Started with Soil Blocks”.
We are looking into it
So this comment is all about why do I love this channel and why is it that I tend to rewatch all the vids. Well honestly, I love Serena’s sense of humor totally cracks me up, it’s like chatting it up with a girlfriend and secondly the information is so honest and real no fluff just hey a day in the life and yep the MUSIC!!!! ❤❤❤the beats you guys I just dance along💃🏽💃🏽💃🏽takes me back to my clubbing days here in New York zone 6b I might add lol. Keep up the good work, I am so happy through RUclips you can keep the farm going I totally support this channel.😘😘😘
Oh Serena, I know you will understand. I started my first tray of snaps yesterday: Potomac Lavender. I intended to sprinkle the seeds over a flat, but instead of sprinkling, I accidentally dumped the envelope of 50 seeds in one tiny section. 🤦🏻♀️😭
I will have my work cut out for me trying to separate all of them.
Were those seeds or fairy dust lol
I did the same thing!
@@funnydudes506 Glad it wasn’t just me at least
Oh gravity!
After seeing your cement mixer and watching you mix the soil in a bin with a shovel I remembered mixing soil in one of my highschool classes. My teacher used a cement mixer to mix the potting soil. It was quick, efficient, and required very little physical labor in comparison to mixing by hand. Not sure how the inside of your cement mixer is looking but maybe you can make it a dual purpose machine.
that's a good idea, I have the same red cement mixer!
Great idea!!!
I really enjoy your channel. Love seeing your farm progress and how you manage the farm.
I'm a flower farmer in zone 6 b USA and I find I have to take vacations in October every year around the time of the first frost here. So, I can finally relax after a busy season but then get home in time to dig up the dahlias and plant the daffodils and tulips in November. This works extremely well for me to get my grove back. Or travel in early December when the bulbs are planted and before the Christmas holiday- that is another good time frame to get back in time to start Lisi and Euc and others that take forever. Keep up the good work and yes give yourself grace and take deep breaths
It's crazy how early things start for a flower farm. If you do Christmas greenery stuff, it's easy for the farm to be a 24/7 thing. It was nice to be able to take a vacation this January, but it was only possible because of buying in plugs for lisianthus. I like the fall vacation idea. We will most likely shut down at Thanksgiving going forward, get the bulbs planted. But they early Nov would be a great vacation time
Wow, seeing you and your family planted all those seeds just in the nic of time is amazing. I thought your not gonna make it, but I'm happy everyone helped and made it happen. I'm so looking forward to tge blooms that's gonna pop out on your farm. 😊
Can't wait!
Your kids are awesome helpers ❤
Not only did you get tulip bulbs you got min storage crates too it's a win win
You guys should get the swift blocker. It makes 200 soil blocks at once. Also, the mindful farmer drop seeder could seed all 200 soo fast!!
I'm hoping to get one this year and to share it with all of you
@@YouCantEatTheGrass Cool, can't wait to watch it! Love your videos!!
I can't wait to see how your tulips turn out
Thank you guys for putting out the videos on top of the mountain of work you had to do. I remember when you didn't have comments. I'm so glad you do now. Keep up the great work with a prayer and one step at a time. You (whole family) do an amazing job. Thanks for taking us along.
You're been here for the long haul, lol. It's crazy to look back over the time and videos and see all the changes
Glad you're getting caught up. I can't stand being behind, and I can't work in a mess. That's just me. I clean beforehand. I clean as I go. I clean up after. I need that. For the first time ever, my tools are not organized. It's causing anxiety and depression to get worse. Getting my tools reorganized is a pressing need, and I hope I can manage to get it done soon. Ian's got an impressive amount of tools. I don't have even a small fraction of that. Your advice for soaking ranunculus corms is fantastic. Letting us know (and showing us) what looks just right, as opposed to over-soaking, is something I think everyone new to ranunculus needs. Love all the kitty footage. They are so cute, cuddly, and beautiful.
Lol, I'm totally a mess person
I imagine having a farm must be so much work, but it looks so appealing to me. I really enjoy your videos. Best of luck for a very successful 2023!
So excited for another flower season! Congrats on getting back on schedule in a hurry. Love seeing you teach your kids about working and responsibility.👍👍😘
Thank you so much!
Not surprising you’re behind, you have had a lot on your plate. Give yourself some grace. Plants are pretty forgiving. Personally, I would have a huge bonfire of all the dried stuff and just be super selective of what you dry in the future. Hugs to you guys.
We are going to catalog and pack away what we think can sell to florists wholesale, and also get some inventory organized for our markets - we sell them slowly all year long. The rest will hit the compost pile. And exactly, we will only save what really sells next year.
I planted tulips this late last year and all I got was some single leaves sticking out of the ground and that's where they stopped, keeping an eye on them to see if they might have caught up with the properly planted tulips and hoping they got what they needed to do better this year 😬
Tulips need to get a certain number of "chill" hours in order to bloom. I would have been a lot more concerned about planting the bulk so late (after Christmas) if it wasn't for the fact we were getting record breaking cold, which meant that my garage was at freezing, and therefore the bulbs were getting the cold they needed. It's been warm lately, so we will have to see for these scragglers. Worth the test at least, and if they don't bloom I can plant them into the landscaping for future years.
Nooo the Tulips I am so worried
Frikin Squirrels ate all mine this fall.. I got some really gorgeous varieties for this year too 😭
@@zarahsgarden2097 I am so sorry
@@zarahsgarden2097 I have enough walnut trees around to keep the squirrels happy but the ground hog is a different story 😪😪
It would be so fun to see you folks partner with another RUclipsr who is an organizer. A fun collab, plus it might give you some good organization ideas (to help avoid inventory issues like losing track of the tulips).
Could you imagine how frustrated the organizer would be, lol
@@YouCantEatTheGrass organizers LOVE digging in to other people's stuff. Watch Cass from Clutterbug some time.
It's crazy how the season can sneak up on you when you live in a colder zone, it can make it such a narrow planting window that you need to hit it can be though. I'm gardening in zone 6a, so similar but not quite as cold as you.
I love watching you celebrate flower gardening. Love watching you walk about your property and handle the earth. I can almost smell it. When you share the joy, it amplifies it. Happy your young family is maturing. Many hands make light work.
Wonderful!
You did it!! I knew you could...sometimes life happens and you do get behind. You forget things, you loose things, and then you get back on track. You guys are awesome. Like you said-- you have family and friends,too! Now if you could just get Dusty to dig out some weeds!!!
If only! Get a job dusty, lol
I would love it if you would show how you planted your bulbs, corms, etc. You briefly showed soaking some, but I’m curious what type of tray or pots you used and how you go about getting them to break dormancy. Do you use a warm room or heating mats? It was great to see how eager your children are with helping out with the business. Can’t wait to see all of your flowers this season!!
Everything I read said do what they did and then cooler put in a cool place 45-55 degrees and let them sprout. So far so good with mine, I partially covered with plastic wrap to keep in some moisture and misted if it got too dry
You can put shading net on the ranunculus planted outside too.
I strongly suggest making a calendar! That way the dates don't sneak up on you, I do a prep my materials by date, and then the date for planting for each thing, it's a bit of work on the front end but it's peace of mind to see when my deadlines are
I know the dates for things - my problem is I lose track of what day it is, lol
The boy is so cute! Hey, that is how I plant seedlings too!
A happy ending that will lead to a great beginning of a new flower season. 😊
You both got this!
Thanks for sharing
You are a highly efficient and powerful couple and know what to do, when and why. You have a master-plan over-all and know what needs to get done to make it happen.. You are super-humans to have so many goals, tasks , and jobs to get it done. ( a mountain of work... one step at a time ! ) Once you get your mojo, you are on-fire !!! Yay for getting your kids to help and trusting them. I love the way that you treat each seedling with care... the Snapdragons who will be mass planted and than teased apart ( true-love). Stress is a motivator for adrenalin . Once again, you are a Super-human couple doing many impossible things in one day. You look like you are on track now and I enjoy watching your seasonal journey. Your passion and love shine through for your soon-to-be flower babies just as the sun will shine. One of my favorite flower type is Zinnias and am super excited to watch your hard-earned progress. I started my Spring garden seeds yesterday and felt some stress , but mostly joy. You are amazing !!! Once you get going....you will be on a roll to your goal. I don't think there is another flower-farm out there with only a small family to get it all done.
Thanks so much 💚
You both work so hard and always get things done. More videos, please.
Have you guys looked into the "Swift Blocker" ?? I think it'll be a game-changer for you guys! The up-front cost definitely is offputting but the time-savings seems worth it! Especially if you're starting 20+ trays of soil blocks!
This video made me anxious of how much I need to do also! It's crunch time:)
Yay! I wish you and all the other viewers a productive and enjoyable growing season!
Great job y'all! Yall are a great team! Good job to the kids too!
So Glad to see you get caught to date. I have a suggestion to earn money in the winter. As home gardeners get get their hands on large Ranunculus and retail stores only offer a very limit varieties; have you thought of doing mail orders for Ranunculus and Anemones?
If you set up a order system in the spring before you order them, you can get an idea of if people are interested and how many you need to order; people could also prepay if you want. Then simple mail them out in Nov to Jan. Other then it will take some time to set up, the only disadvantage is you will only be able to ship to Canadians.
Yes I really love ranunculus and want to get my hands on more varieties.
We've talked about trying to do something like a seed company, or selling growing packages. Hopefully we can get the farm and everything organized, to free up some time to take on new projects for next year
I conquered snaps seeing someone use a wet tooth pick or pencil (Gardener’s World?).
I dump in a white ceramic Ramekin so can easily see a lone stray seed at the edges.
Then a wet plastic label tip…..or anything, works like a magnet!!!
Truly pulling the seed onto the wet tip of your tool as you slowly approach it.
Transplanting tiny seedlings is still too much fiddling for me….
Oddly this is actually easier than that. 👍🏻
I do this with other seeds, but the snaps are just too small for me. You could get like 100 on a wet toothpick I feel, lol
So excited to see the fruits of your labour! Take care guys! ❤️🙏🇨🇦
You've got this!! You can do it! 😊
Lol! That box full of beautiful tulip bulbs! 😍😍😍 Like finding money in your pocket.
I still havent started a single seed this year either! We still have a few feet of snow here but it's definitely time to start some things - especially my winter sowing flowers! Thanks for the reminder 🌱💕
Seeing the snow melts always makes me freak out and think that it's garden time, lol. I'm calm till everything turns brown
Good Morning Serina and Ian. Excited to see the ranunculus 😃
Good work I bought some ranunculus corms for my garden and they are sprouting now. I keep trying different things each year because of you guys. Thanks
I need to get my seeds started, too! Good luck this year!
Thanks, you too!
I love watching you guys you're working so hard but flowers what you have so beautiful I wish you all the best and the beautiful flowers in summer coming.
Thanks so much
Я живу на полуострове Крым (Европа,Чёрное море). Очень нравятся ваши видео. Нравится смотреть ,как вы выращиваете столько красивых цветов и овощей. Я тоже выращиваю песрсики,виноград и много цветов:тюльпаны,розы,ирисы,пионы...)) I live on the Crimean peninsula (Europe, Black Sea). I really like your videos. I like to watch you grow so many beautiful flowers and vegetables. I also grow peaches, grapes and lots of flowers:tulips, roses, irises, peonies...))
You must have a beautiful garden!
Try your hand at growing the tulips in crates so maybe you can harvest those sooner in case your other don’t bloom in time for mothers day. Chill them for now and then start them in April in crates.
We have probably 40 or 50 crates of tulips, lots of which are in a greenhouse trying to get them earlier
We have some in the greenhouse and some in the field to stagger them
Cool to see the kids helping out. :) Sam was up for the challenge, you made it fun, Leah had some serious focus. And Sam's got some serious dance moves. ;) Great job, family!
Thank you for sharing.
Excellent job! I love seeing family working together.
Awwww so so lovely to watch!! Different scale to me and my little allotment in the UK lol Take good care x
I haven’t started my Ranuculus yet either. I do have some sprouting that I missed pulling up from last year. Hoping they do bloom.
Nice! That makes things easy
Sometimes a little anxiety is good to get you to get into kick start mode. See, you got it all done and on schedule too!! Love your little helpers too!
Dealine mode, lol
Your amazing girl! Love the kids helping. You can do this!!!!
You guys are awesome.
I always feel like I'm behind on the farm with things needing to be done, but I work off the farm too so have to fit farm work in between work shifts. Same with my husband. I think you need a big white board so you can plan better and stay on track!
It always seems like everything needs to be done at once, lol. Its never just a little here and a little there, lol
Sooo exciting
Ian saves the day with the soil blocks and tulip planting! I'm excited to pre-sprout my corms this weekend! Your gold and orange ranunculus were so dreamy that I had to try and grow some myself :)
I have 500 of those - the brights make me happy, lol
Great teamwork🙌 I am looking forward to seeing all the beautiful blooms.
Can't wait!
You just have to keep putting one foot in front of the other and eventually you will get there
When I worked at a greenhouse decades ago, the owners dumped bags of soil in the corner of seedling room with cement floor. Watered, mixed, then scooped into flats.
It was relatively fast.
I've seen recently a man using a 3" - 4" pvc pipe about 3" long, packs seedling mix & pushes out. Maybe not the best for your circumstances.
Serena, you will catch up on seeding. Just keep at it.
How about potting tulips in pots to sell? They should have had their chill time out in work station.
First yeah! Love you guys!
Ur kids are funny lol brightened my night 😂
I feel very much the Serina in my life. I'm stressed out, wondering where did the time go, and how am I gonna get things on track. Ian anyways just seems chill. I need to borrow him for like a week as an emotional support person or something lol.
Lol. New business - I rent out Ian
Have to drop a comment. ....thank u for not ending it on a cliff hanger like so many others would have. I totally felt anxious and wanted to end the video. But as much as I am personally relieved with the clear ending, I am also so excited and proud that you didn't burrow your heads. You knew the looming crisis and you took action. Probably with a whole lot more yelling and arguments, but nonetheless, you guys did it. It's not just relatable but it's reflection of bussiness/life balance and the psychology overall on how to deal with stress: by...
...knowing the tasks
...matching them to your expectations
...being calm enough to think instead of reacting emotionally
...having a support system and actually utilizing that system into action
I'm sure it will help a lot of people beyond the garden world and even small business. But mental health. It wasn't lecturing or preachy in theory. The video is a perfect emotional rollercoaster in action.
Congratulations and toasting you guys to a great year!
Thanks! The cliff hanger though is having to wait a bunch of months before we can see them all blooming in the field, lol
wow Ian, the garage clearout looks great! better than my garage for sure!
Thanks 👍
nice accomplishment! 🌱
May I suggest that you contact a local college that has farming classes and see if they can do a semester of Practicum. High schools have vocational classes. You get free help and the students get experience and class credit.
Maybe you should check out the large scale soil blocker from Michigan that @bloomandgray is using in her new video.
Have you considered trying the swift blocker? Perhaps it would help make things even more efficient for you?
I want one so bad, lol. I would totally do more soil blocks if they were easier
Love you guys as always, feeling behind as well but gotta believe it will work out!
You got this!
U still have snow🙏
How nice that the kids are getting old enough to help!! Ha ha Sam.... 'they're so small'! Welcome to the nightmare, Sam.
Thanks for sharing!
did you put something on the bottom of the crates before planting the tulip bulbs in them (other than dirt, of course)? I've always been curious about planting in crates.
The same paper we wrap the bouquets in, just a sheet of that
@@YouCantEatTheGrassthank you!
Loved the video!! 💐
How do you put seeds in the soil block without having the block fall apart and how did you water them without the same result?
That's why Ian is taking so long, packing the holes with his fingers. It's just really hard to get firm full blocks with the mini
Buy a cement mixer for the potting soil. So much easier and efficient.
they have one lol
How did your bells of ireland do? I have heard that they need to be dirext sewn but i would love to do it the way you did. ❤
have you tried mixing the very fine seed in sand then distributing the mixed sand over the flats?
No, but that could help to thin them out, and I know some people do that with direct seeders and fine seeds like this
Well Done. Would you be able to share your mixture for the soil blocks. I am going to attempt them next year for my 800 seedlings I do for my own enjoyment. Must seem like such a small amount to you. The brand of the soil bag and anything else you add would be so helpful. All the best for 2023 season. Vancouver Island. ❤
I just use potting soil. This was pro mix. Make sure it's a fine one, so it doesn't have big chunks. I also add gaias green for some fertilizer
Mix the snapdragon seeds with dry sand. That way, they are not as densely planted.
Good trick
I say this with admiration and affection - how do you NOT have an actual calendared plan? You both seem to work so hard and have such great knowledge, but you are not organized. You really need someone to come in and assist you, even once, in generating a schedule, plan, timeline, an inventory list, all of which could then be digitized and on your phones for daily reminders.
My problem is I know what day I need to plant something, I just lose track of what day it actually is. Time just goes so fast
@@YouCantEatTheGrass exactly. You need to take the scheduling out of your head and into a digital calendar /reminder system. It would save you from having to keep all of those balls juggling. When I had a law practice i started using a digital calendar. I now use it for my home and small farm. I have everything in the calendar from time to call the vet, to change well filter, fridge filter, call septic guy etc etc. Once you enter it, you never have to remember again. If the weather changes and you need to bump planting a week just adjust the calendar and it will remind you next week. When the calendar is full you can make adjustments to create a better work flow, all at a glance.
Thought of you as I was sowing my snapdragons this week.
My condolences
😂
I wonder if you have considered selling floral tea mixes from your dried flowers?
No, that would be a tricky product, because I would have to handle things from the beginning as a food product, and it has different rules
It is impossible to calculate all of the "lessons" your kids are learning simply by helping the two of you start seeds. Most of all, they see (and feel) that their parents love each other!!
What did you end up seeding in soil blocks? I just started this year and I can’t get the watering right. It’s either too dry and they’re dying or they get horrible algae growth! Thankfully I’ve used both methods so not everything is crap but I’m curious if you think some flowers do better than others with them. My basil and alyssum is great but so far most other things have suffered.
Did you know there is a 200 block seed blocker from Swift
I'm hoping to get one this year
I thought the thumbnail was a handful of baby quail 🤣🤣🤣
Desperately awaiting spring!
Just rewatched last year’s seed starting ranunculus video. You had corms that you saved from the year before (2021). How did they do? Were you able to save any this year?
They did really good - I had a few that didn't sprout, but like 85% success. I saved my colorful ones, and am hoping to sprout some soon to have a succession
What happened to the ranunculus corms that y’all saved from last year?
We are going to plant them out in the farm, just not in a greenhouse
@@YouCantEatTheGrass oh ok, I was just curious! I’m excited for what you guys have this year!
have you tried any auger type drill attachment or similar for mixing potting soil easily?
The potting soil is super light and fluffy, so it takes nothing to stir it. It's mostly about mixing the powdered fertilizer in evenly before wetting it
Do you fertilize it right at seeding time? Sorry if I missed that in the video!
It might be time to invest in a vacuum seader.
I wish! I'd need more pelleted seed then
I have a question do yall have a problem with your soil blocker breaking. I have gone through 3 mini soil blockers within a 6 month span. The flat cross bar that holds it together keeps popping out. Any pearls of wisdom would be very helpful
The mini one hasn't broken but I've broken some of the bigger ones. I break things though, so my only advice is don't be like me.
Are the crates fir for the tulips used to keep the voles out?
It will stop voles, and also makes it easy to move everything around and to Lego the garden together