How to Build a Six Figure Flower Farm - Interview with Jenny Marks

[@pattymoore8351]

This is absolutely the most helpful intelligent information I've seen in several years of KZbin garden/farmer watching. I just started my own little roadside stand this past summer with good success, but drove myself crazy running to my community gardens and neighbor's yard to pick, having the cart out EVERY day, rain or shine. Oh and yes, I was squeezing in lots of varieties of flowers and filler in addition to 90+ dahlias. It was fun but exhausting. Plus I'm 72, so I don't quite have the stamina of a 30 year old. (By the way, I live 10 minutes from the farmer's market Jenny sells at, and my daughter bought me a stunning ranunculus bouquet there for mother's day! ) Thank you both, Patty Moore

[@CoramDeoFarm]

thank you Patty! I am so glad it was helpful

[@darmuehlhausen5167]

As I have watched your channel I wondered why you grew limited varieties and only sold at your flower stand but according to this information you are doing it the right way! Good for you. 👏🏻

[@jennablorezone8Band9A]

What a FANTASTIC interview, the moment we saw it posted we literally stopped what we were doing to watch it. Major kudos to how you kept it fluid and on topic so effortlessly, please continue to do more. ☺ Thank you Jenny for all of your examples; it gave us serious food for thought (mentally putting ourselves into that situation) in regards to what sales route to go. I keep hearing how florists can be so difficult to work with 🤔. Now I need to learn crop planning to generate $10k per month to start.

[@CoramDeoFarm]

Thank you Jenna! It was such a fun interview to do. Sign up for Jenny’s Crop Planning 101 mini course. Thats a great place to start!

[@danielabodemer168]

One of the best resources for an aspiring flower farmer. Thank you!

[@dianemurphy9772]

So very grateful to you and Jenny for the content in this video. I appreciate the open and honest sharing you both give about the realities of flower farming and the importance of having a business model to set yourself up for success.

[@CoramDeoFarm]

Thank you so much Diane!

[@suelibey5142]

I do love the Johnny's catalog along with all of the others. I don't have a farm...yet, but I'm starting to figure out that growing all the "things" (which I have done for the last 2 years) will lead to burn out and feelings of being overwhelmed. This has been great advice and has given me insight into what I need to focus on to be successful and profitable, Thank you

[@ElderandOakFarm]

I definitely fell into that trap of seeing how many varieties some farms like Floret or Nicole @ Flower hill Farm grow, and then feeling like I need to grow all of those, but I quickly realized that isn't necessary. My first two years I was only making one-off bouquets, I wasn't needing to harvest 30+ bouquets for a market or something, but now that I do farmers markets, I realize that it's also so much easier to harvest and make bouquets when you can look at the 5 ingredients you have, & quickly figure out how many you need of each one for a $20 bouquet, in and still have enough to make 30+ bouquets, ( and not have a ton of one single ingredient leftover) instead of having a field full of flowers, but having to spend hours harvesting and building bouquets and just guessing the entire time about how many of each ingredient you should put into each bouquet in order to have enough for every bouquet. My first year doing farmers markets I realized I needed to scale down even further because I would spend so much time just harvesting everything and trying to make it work to get as many bouquets as I could, and have them still look somewhat cohesive and somewhat similar ingredients. It makes it soo much easier to be able to say "Okay for 1 bouquet I need about 3 zinnias, 3 sunflowers, 5 celosia, 3 yarrow, 3 statice, 3 basil, 1 marigold foliage" My first year I grew WAY too many varieties, & each year I grow less and less varieties, but more of each variety. I still experiment with a couple of the things I've never grown each year, to try to continue to find things that grow well in my area, etc. but I only grow a handful of each of them. And for those things that I really love to grow, but aren't profitable (because I can't get customers to pay what they're worth/need them to (because of they don't see the value or understand why they're so expensive), because they're incredibly too time consuming to harvest/process, or take waay too much labor to grow and care for vs. the amount I'm able to charge) then I grow them in smaller amounts, in my flowerbeds!?!?!? I think flower farmers sometimes forget if there's something they love to grow, they still can! It just doesn't have to be in their flower farm! 😁 Also- I checked out her website, and she does have a ton of great resources! I've already gotten them all emailed to me! Lol!

[@kwhite7688]

This is such a helpful interview. Both of you are fantastic. Thank you!

[@CoramDeoFarm]

Thank you!

[@kathypope3010]

Thank you. This is the part of flower farming that I have been trying to find. I think this is going to help so many people.

[@CoramDeoFarm]

I hope so!

[@TheFragrantBunch]

Great video! I’m hoping to start a flower farm next year and it’s great to hear from an experienced flower farmer 😊

[@apriloestman8304]

We’re in our fourth yr of flower farming our here on the northeastern plains of Colorado, in alkaline beach sand. I totally get what you mean about Dahlias and appreciate that you have the moxie to steer away from them and grow what you know does well in your area. I really enjoy Coram’s videos. Keep up the good work!

[@CoramDeoFarm]

Thank you April!

[@rushellrousseau9197]

In a course at my uni they were telling us about doing market research to find our ideal clients, they said that it would be practical to interview these people. It feels scary to me but I really like how Jenny extended went about it. Like advertising in the spaces that people who are already customers are. Loved this episode!

[@katiesmitherman1722]

Thank you so much for this interview!! This information is exactly what I needed. U rarely c people teaching the business side of farming.

[@jillrenier3194]

Really enjoyed this interview. Totally feel like I’m in the same boat, I want to do this, have freedom, and be profitable lol. Don’t over complicate it. I love these types of videos in the off season ❤️

[@michellesanders2747]

Enjoyed watching this. More people need to talk about the business side of flower farming. It's not all sunshine and roses like people pretend.

[@CoramDeoFarm]

Absolutely agree!

[@vivherman2296]

What a great video! I think everything Jenny said is right on. It'll be hard for new farmers/market growers not to grow all things. Been doing a small rural farmer's for 10 yrs. I sell fairly well....but the bouquet prices are low. They don't seem to want to pay for the beauty!! They seem interested in all the different things I've grown...ask ?'s about stuff. Then move on. My saving grace are my regular customers that come back to see me every yr.I've gone from2 markets to one..my age is catching up.. So..I'm cutting back to 8/10 varieties and I'm raising my prices this yr. I'm trying to figure out where I could place a pop up stand. Couldn't be close..... I'm too rural. I'm market weary, but want to keep doing something. Not a money maker for me..more like a hobby business. Always learning!! Keeps me moving and engaged.

[@melissaschroeder2687]

Excellent interview. I am starting my first year. This information is so helpful. I look forward to the being profitable courses starting in January

[@desertedenblooms]

excellent interview, nice and intelligent , factual ! thank you both for sharing. Thankfully , I had a fall that had me reanalyzing what I could and not do at the age of 65....this took me into a different direction, it took me to a tighter list of what I could, should and would grow. On top of that Im in zone 9a and b, Las Vegas and delighted to find out that many of the flowers loved by many grew here better then those people having " trouble " growing them in their part of the world. I have a quarter of acre, sandy but improved by bunny manure ...getting ready to plant filler and woodies, eucalyptus, white lavender and french tarragon among many more draught tolerant...slowly will go into some flowers but I will start with wood fillers because of the easy of growing and my still healing injury. Sometimes life hands you a curve, you can use to it adjust and make it all work or you can stew on it and allow it to be a set back...if you cant grow for market, it doesnt mean you can grow and sell plugs, plants, etc. So you might not be a big timer but you can make a nice little income and be productive . I feel this course is an excellent direction for many , that like me, got lost. Thank God for my injury it saved me a lot of lost money, time, etc. This course will teach you with out the injury, lol. Be Blessed!

[@kellymeyers6548]

This video was packed full of valuable content! I am so thankful to you for creating conversations and sharing knowledge around the business and profitability aspects of flower farming. I hope this piece of your business will also bring you great success (and profit, of course)! Thank You!

[@CoramDeoFarm]

Thank you so much Kelly! You are so generous and encouraging ☺️

[@BrooksandFawnFarm]

Thank you so much for this interview! There was so much wonderful, useful info packed in here! ❤

[@CoramDeoFarm]

Thank you! I agree

[@EvelynM-vlogs]

I would add that as a new flower farmer, one should decide in advance what percentage of gross income you are going to re-invest back into your business for the following year. Obviously year one does not apply to that, but if done correctly you still should be able to guess what that would be. For example, for year one, I invested a total of $1,000 and brought in $3,000. Each year after that, the investment stayed around $1,000 but the profitability went up (with the exception of 2020 for obvious reasons), lowering the percentage of expenses with each successive year. I am on a small 1/8 acre city lot that includes my house so hoop houses would not even be approved, nor can I use any large equipment, therefore large overhead expenses don't exist for me, nor is it feasible for my business to become full time on such a small land allocation. That said, I am 62-1/2 years old so growth to full time is clearly not one of my goals, however profitability is. Also you just created your second merch phrase "Avoid the Spaghetti" to be added to "Snip, Strip, Bucket".

[@rbrown2746]

Thank you Alex , this is great content

[@CoramDeoFarm]

thank you!

[@Daisy-Hey-Hello]

Great content! Hope for more interviews in the wintertime.. loved it!

[@CoramDeoFarm]

We have some planned!

[@Evi-e6m]

Thank you two for sharing, this was a very helpful video and gave me lots to think about. Just downloaded "5 tactics to starting a profitable flower farm! 😃

[@CoramDeoFarm]

Nice!

[@tetianakolokolova1752]

Thank you for your job! You are an amazing gardener! Blogging and doing your job it is such a hard job, but thank you again for sharing your way of gardening. I definitely goung to do beds with ground cover and use it as a mulch and nitrogen booster! Also, english is not my first language, but your way to speak and your tone are so clear, nice, kind, pleasant! Thank you!

[@CoramDeoFarm]

That is so kind of you to say ☺️

[@carolleimbach6407]

Thank you for this. I am the spaghetti girl. The reason was to see what would grow well in my area. For me, that "grow everything" season last year was useful. I hope to find my sales outlets this year.

[@Samantha-ps2vv]

Thank you so much..this was very informative!

[@stevo4535]

I was waiting for this video!

[@CoramDeoFarm]

yay! Me too honestly

[@angieg958]

Happy New Year!

[@YanickaQuilt]

I am still at the "throw spaghetti at the wall and see what stick" phase 😅😅😅 . I admit that ive been influenced by another micro urban farm (yard) but my goals for next year are to create one to 5 bouquets a week 😊

[@valerieoster8049]

Thank you😊

[@PlantRelated]

This was super super helpful, thank you!!!!!!!

[@CoramDeoFarm]

Im so glad!

[@LauraBlackwelder]

Great questions!!

[@sheelaghomalley5459]

Wonderful thank you ❤

[@gardengirl7446]

❤ excellent ❤

[@angieg958]

Popcorn!! Always Popcorn!!

[@CoramDeoFarm]

✨

[@Whipporwhill]

Can you share which flowers that you dropped from your grow list? Just curious! 🌸

[@CoramDeoFarm]

definitely! We actually made a video about that in November. it is in our library. I think called “flowers that don’t make us money”

[@Whipporwhill]

@@CoramDeoFarm I saw that, thank you! Your guest also mentioned that she also dropped flowers from her production & I'm curious what she dropped. 🙂

[@courtneyvig]

What is a CSA?

[@CoramDeoFarm]

It stands for “consumer supported agriculture” but its basically a subscription service for weekly product

[@lunkerpond9765]

Does Jenny Mark's have a youtube channel?

[@CoramDeoFarm]

No. But she has an active instagram and website linked in the description

[@PlantRelated]

May I suggest you out your farm name in the title? This way when people link your videos on other platforms, people can see your name as well as the interviewee. Ie “- Coram Deo Farm Interview Jenny…” because when I link this video, people don’t see that You’re the one that did the interview and I think it’s worth it and important that they see your farm name more and give yourself credit

[@CoramDeoFarm]

I could do that on some videos but the YT algorithm doesn’t like long titles unfortunately