The flowers have finally taken off! With the drought of April, things were slow-going at first, but with May came the rains and that led to a bounty of blooms.
In May, I was able to form a partnership with Postpartum Support Charleston. Every week, several buckets of surplus flowers are delivered from the farm to Medway Community Garden on James Island where new moms get together, form friendships and arrange bouquets. Those bouquets are then donated to different locations, including the Pink House, their Beyond Delivery Program and My Sister’s House.
June has been a wet month (much like May), which can bring it’s own set of challenges. Since everything is grown organically, every time it rains, any topical treatments- like insecticidal soaps or fungicides- are essentially washed away. Unlike chemical treatments that work systemically. This is a real challenge, but I am working hard to keep the pests and diseases at bay as best I can. I’ve been seeing lots of wasps buzzing through the field, so I am hopeful they will help in pest control (they eat the caterpillars) as well. I have been continuing to seed indoors so I will have replacement plants as I inevitably lose some over time too.
The early spring “cool season” flowers that were thriving in the shorter, somewhat cooler days are starting to fizzle out this time of year. But the “warm season” flowers, like sunflowers and zinnias, are thriving. Deliveries will include fewer of the pastel colored snapdragons and nigella and more of the vibrant and bright zinnias, scabiosa and sunflowers in the next months.