Killdeer Farms

CURRENT PARANOIA LEVEL: 10. Flower anxiety is a real thing. This week I made my first sale of the season: 70 precious bunches of ranunculus destined for Easter bouquets. This is my first year growing bulbs, and I don't have that many. As they began to bloom, the aphids arrived, and the sun got hot, and the wind blew so hard I thought the buds would rip right off. For two solid weeks, I got down on my hands and knees every day to hand-wash the little plants with soapy water t...o keep the bugs at bay. I loved them too much and their petals got tattered. I loved them less and different bugs came. I pulled all the weeds and fertilized and harvested test batches to monitor in the kitchen. I cried a little and delicatly hand-washed every bloom in the kitchen sink and watched them obsessively like a mother watches a new born. I made my husband check between all the petals with a toothpick. I swear the minute I sell them they'll die. The customers will hate them and will never buy from me again. I'll fail and the farm will fail and I'll be left with this big ugly property and dirty fingernails and a grumpy husband. I go outside and I talk to the flowers and to God and say, please, please grow. Please don’t die. Am I crazy? Maybe. But I know for damn sure I’m not the only one.

LET'S PULL BACK THE CURTAIN. The inner workings of the floral industry are fascinating, and 2021 is going to be an interesting year. I received a number of messages and news articles this week explaining some of the reasons for America’s cut flower shortage. (Did you know there was such a thing?!) This is what I learned: 1) Production in Colombia and Ecuador has been slowed due to La Nina weather conditions. (Remember last week when I told you that imports account for 80% of... the flowers sold in the United States? South America is a huge provider.) 2) Farms were not able to plant all they needed in the fall because of labor shortages due to Covid. And now everyone is home wanting lovely things to make them feel better, and demand has shot up. 3) Limited passenger flights mean flower transport is backed up because the goods often fly in the belly of those planes. 4) Daffodil harvesting in the UK has been impacted by Brexit restrictions on foreign workers. 5) Hard goods like vases are also in short supply due to manufacturing and shipping backlogs. So there you have it! 2021 is the local flower farmer’s time to shine, and we’re doing our best to care for our crops and deliver beautiful blooms to you all year. Please support local farmers by sourcing and requesting hometown flowers!

HOLY COW, WEST SAC LOVES FLOWERS. I was NOT expecting what happened this week. Membership to The Flower Club, our new floral subscription program, opened to West Sac email subscribers on Monday night when we launched our website and we received SEVENTY subscriptions in 48 hours! I’m overwhelmed and over the moon. THANK YOU! I had no idea you all would respond so enthusiastically. There are 30 memberships remaining, and for now, they are open to West Sac residents only. ...Once the season starts and I better understand our capacity, we will likely open up more spots for additional zip codes. So if you’re a neighbor to the farm and you would like to begin receiving weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly flowers delivered to your door, visit www.killdeerfarms.co and let’s get you signed up! Deliveries begin in May and are guaranteed through October.

IT’S A GOOD DAY! I’m not crying, you’re crying! No, actually I’m legit crying in the flower patch because something went right for once and the flowers bloomed and they’re stunning and perfect and I’m so grateful and relieved and hopeful. This journey has been incredibly stressful. It’s back breaking physical labor and I’m not a botanist or an entomologist or whatever the name is for people who study dirt. I’m just a 38-year-old marketing executive that wanted to do somethi...ng more with her life. And it’s happening. I don’t known who needs to hear this right now, but whatever goal it is you’re chasing, DON’T STOP.

SUBSCRIPTIONS OPEN MONDAY TO #WESTSAC RESIDENTS! The info is coming via email, so if you have not yet provided your contact info, click the link in my bio to get on the list! Membership to The Flower Club gets you blooms delivered on the regular plus perks like workshops and farm visits. Space is limited so get those trigger fingers ready. Info coming to an inbox near you on Monday!

WHAT MAKES A GREAT FLOWER ARRANGEMENT? Easy ingredients! There are infinite ways to create beautiful flower arrangements, but for those of you just getting started, you can make the process easier by choosing a few basic elements for your recipe. When building your bouquet, you'll want to consider shape and texture in addition to color and size. First, choose your hero -- the showstopper flowers that catch your eye first, such as a lily or dahlias. You only need a few. ... Then, you'll need your foliage greens to fill in gaps and provide density. Secondary and tertiary flowers are the supporting act. For these, I like to chose a few that offer texture (like love-in-a-mist), and height (like snapdragons). Finally, add some quirky sidekicks like berries or pods. Voila! You are ready to create.

LITTLE FLUFFY KILLDEER BABIES ARE THE SWEETEST PART OF SPRING. Other than the flowers, I mean. (And Yes, a killdeer is a bird, not an aggressive hunting reference.) The little sandpipers have a tough name, we know. But their squawking provides a sufficient morning wake-up call and we have an attachment to them now that runs deep. Killdeer build their nests in bare dirt, exposed to the world and vulnerable to all manner of risk and scrutiny. That’s us. For those of you wh...o know our property, you know how little privacy we have. Our entire operation -- and all of our struggles and failures -- is on display for all to see. Once the killdeer started nesting in the flower patch, we knew it was kismet. We dove headlong into flower farming, and Killdeer Farms was born. Now that it's spring time again, their little nests are hidden all over the property and we have to look out for them like an Easter egg hunt so they don't get run over by a tractor or a mower. Crazy little birds!

WHY ARE THE FLOWERS TAKING SO LOOOOONG. I want them noooowwwww. And I know you want them, too. (If you REALLY want them, head to killdeerfarms.co and sign up for the newsletter so I can email you this month when we launch our subscription reservations.) Here in Sacramento, our growing season is quite long (like early March through October), but it's still very early in the season! It's just us, south Texas and a chunk of Florida that get to produce for so many months. Poor ...Minnesota can't start until late May or June! This is because of our weather zone, which makes sense, right? But not many flowers grow here in the dead of winter. All those pretty flowers you're buying at Trader Joes in January are imported from South America or are grown on an industrial scale in massive climate-controlled warehouses. We don't have flowers yet at our farm because the plants are still just tiny seedlings that I sowed in the greenhouse a few months back. They'll go out into the ground this weekend! (We also have a test patch of bulbs that were planted in the fall as a trial run. All you tech peeps can think of it as my "agile" flower bed. I'm just watching a few dozen anemones grow to see how they behave. So far they have aphids and short stems, so it's a good thing I'm not counting on them for sales!) Hold tight to your vases. We should be in full bloom by Mother's Day!

YOU CAN GROW YOUR OWN CUTTING GARDEN! Spring is upon us and it’s finally time to plant flowers! Here are five easy-to-grow varieties that will produce bountifully during Sacramento’s long, hot summers: 1) Zinnias. Zinnias come in dozens of colors and have a super-long vase life. The Benaray Giant varieties are especially vibrant and produce big flowers on long, strong stems. ... 2) Basil. I LOVE using basil as a filler because of its wonderful smell and long vase life. On the farm we grow five kinds, and Cinnamon is one of the best for its vibrant leaves. 3) Cosmos. An absolute garden workhorse, a single cosmo plant will produce buckets of wispy, romanitic flowers in all shades of pink and white. The love heat and full sun. 4) Lilies. They come in aproximately 4 bajillion colors and textures and are hard to kill, which is how I came to love them in the first place. Check out stunners like the Magic Star Double and Easy Spot. 5) Lilac. Considered an All Star by the UC Davis Arboretum, the Ray Hartman variety is an evergreen native that can be pruned into a small garden tree. For fabulous vase arrangements, choose just a few colors that will work together all season long, and enjoy your time in the garden!

SO MANY CHANGES HAPPENING! Next weekend we’ll start planting and looking ahead to flower time! Our website is nearly ready, and that means it’s almost time to launch The Flower Club, our subscription service with lots of perks (like farm visits and design workshops)! Space will be limited, and the only way to get info is via email. Make sure you’re on the list to receive the 411 this month about subscription signups and details. Click the link in my bio to provide your email address!

The Flower Club from Killdeer Farms will launch in time for Mother’s Day! Get farm-fresh blooms delivered to your door within 10 miles of our West Sacramento farm. West Sac residents will get first dibs when sign ups open later this month! To receive information, sign up to receive our emails at killdeerfarms.co. Sign ups will not be announced on social media, so be sure you’re on the list!

What would you like to get out of a flower club or floral subscription service? There are so many possibilities! Would you like to receive loose flowers you can arrange yourself, or do you prefer a pre-arranged bouquet? Are you interested in floral design workshops, or opportunities to pick your own flowers?... As with a wine club, which provides many more benefits than just a case of wine, a flower club can have multiple aspects too. Help us build the best club we can by letting us know what benefits you most enjoy with your other clubs and services.