I returned home to my farm in California following an exhilarating three days of learning, furious note-taking, networking and information sharing at the annual Association of Specialty Cut Flower Growers conference Oct. 19-22 in Wilmington, DE. This year’s event drew over 300 participants including growers, florists, designers and educators and I know I’m not alone when I say that the knowledge and insight I’ve gained about how to be a successful flower farmer and grow my business are proving to be invaluable.

Concurrent sessions allowed participants to gain targeted information on either a wholesale/direct sales or an event/design-focused model. In a packed session entitled, “Going Local, Together,” notable designers Becky Devlin of Roost Flowers, Ellen Frost of Local Color Flowers, Polly Hutchison of Robin Hollow Farm and Sarah Ryhanen of Saipua shared their experiences sourcing locally as well as visions for the future of the local flower industry, and then opened up the floor to a flurry of questions from the audience on how best to connect designers with growers.

In attendance were many small-scale growers such as myself, all eager to gain some insight on how to compete with bigger operations and importers when trying to get our product into florists’ hands. I heard the suggestions “specialize,” “find your niche,” “be persistent” and “let your product speak for itself while making it easy for the buyer” echoed throughout many thoughtful answers.

Diane Szukovathy of Jello Mold Farm and the Seattle Wholesale Growers Market presented a history of the co-op’s founding and painted a picture of the success that comes from collaboration among growers. She was clear in stating that its current model was carefully crafted through a long period of trial, error, and compromise, and that its success is owed to just diving in headfirst.

The ballroom was filled to capacity for the main sessions that were not to be missed. John Dole from North Carolina State University presented the results of the ASCFG 2014 harvest trials while we all oohed and aahed over results of exceptional vase life and stem length in this year’s trials; Mike Hutchison of Robin Hollow Farm gave an inspiring talk on the 14 commandments on hiring and managing a farm crew while we all envisioned growing our operations wisely and effectively with robust, dedicated labor; Frank Arnosky of Texas Specialty Cut Flowers schooled us on the ins and outs of greenhouse and hoophouse growing and Dave Dowling of Ednie Flower Bulb walked us through specifics on how to get the most out of growing cut flower crops in these structures; Ellen Polishuk of Potomac Vegetable Farms took on superstar qualities (and became my personal hero) while captivating a room of 300 during a soil science talk.

A few indispensable cut flowers were given their own sessions. Dave Dowling shared his knowledge on extending the peony production season, and Bob Wollam of Wollam Gardens walked us through his timeline of dahlia production, including success in overwintering for early blooms.

Two people were honored with awards. Chris Wien of Cornell University was presented with the Allan Armitage Award for Outstanding Leadership and Ko Klaver of Botanical Trading won the Outstanding Service Award.

Throughout the conference were opportunities, both formal and informal, to pick the brains behind some of the most successful cut flower operations in the business today. Growers such as Jennie Love (who graciously walked us through construction of a time-tested sturdy low-tunnel during a field trip to her farm, Love n Fresh Flowers), Pam and Frank Arnosky, Gretel and Steve of Sunny Meadows Farm, Paula Rice of Beehaven Farm, Lisa Mason Ziegler of The Gardener’s Workshop, and Mimo Davis of Urban Buds have all proven to be incredibly supportive and transparent in sharing their practices and success. The collaboration, mentorship and support offered by the ASCFG is phenomenal. The conference was abuzz with chatter and sharing on timely questions as we all put our farms to rest for winter:

• “What heirloom mums are you trying this fall?”

• “What is your most successful dahlia storage method?”

• “What’s the best use of my valuable heated tunnel space this winter?”

There’s still so much more to learn — I look forward to attending the next ASCFG conference in 2015.

Lennie Larkin is the farm manager at Petaluma Bounty in Petaluma, CA, a nonprofit educational farm that grows food for low-income families, and is in her first year of production at B-Side Farm, specializing in cut flowers for local events, designers and markets. She can be contacted at [email protected].