Would you like ketchup with your fries?
A breakthrough in floriculture, Ketchup and Fries by TomTato is a hand-grafted plant that produces both sweet tomatoes and delicious potatoes. According to a company news release, this product from Britain has made its way to the North American market through SuperNaturals Grafted Vegetables, the founders of the “Mighty ‘Mato” grafted tomato brand.
Above the ground, gardeners can harvest over 500 super sweet cherry tomatoes for snacking, salads and even ketchup. Below the ground, the yield is up to 4.5 pounds of white potatoes for baking, mashing and of course, fries.
Stocking, selling garden seeds benefits floral departments
Spring is on its way — that is the sentiment from shoppers whenever they first see garden seed displays in stores. Garden seeds are a great selling category for today’s floral departments because they produce high margins, fast turns and no initial product investment. Plus, your customers appreciate the one-stop shopping of being able to make their flower and vegetable seed selections while visiting your floral department.
Susan Packard to keynote at IFE in June
The International Floriculture Expo has announced in a news release that Susan Packard, co-founder of HGTV, will be the keynote speaker for the International Floriculture Expo that will take place June 8-10 at McCormick Place in Chicago. The 2015 show will be co-located with United Fresh and the Food Marketing Institute’s FMI Connect and is expected to draw 14,000 attendees.
Eco Fresh Bouquet’s new sponge-wrap system hydrates stems
As the former owner of NYC Farm Chic Flowers, every time I crafted hand-held bouquets for delivery, there was a constant “there has to be a better way,” voice in my mind — that is, a better way to hydrate flower stems of hand-held bouquets other than messy paper towels or chemically based foam wraps.
The major design goals for the desired product included:
• Support the life of cut flowers.
• 100 percent plant-based composition.
ASCFG program draws visitors from 29 states
The Association of Specialty Cut Flower Growers held a Growers’ Intensive Conference at the Georgia Center on the campus of the University of Georgia March 2-3 and it drew 124 attendees from 29 different states. The conference was open to anyone interested in commercial cut flower production or floral design and the two-day event focused on the production and marketing of field and greenhouse cut flowers.
Great Lakes Floral Expo celebrates continued success
Design shows, business sessions and networking highlighted this year’s Great Lakes Floral Expo, “Floral Fantasy.” The annual event, held in Grand Rapids, MI, attracted floral industry members from Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, Ohio, and Indiana. The Michigan Floral Association, which sponsors the event, said that attendance was up 8 percent this year.
Globally Grown, Miami airport celebrate Women’s Day with flower giveaway
On March 6 the Association of Flower Importers of Florida, located in Miami and a member of Globally Grown, partnered with Miami International Airport to celebrate International Women’s Day. More than 150 volunteers from AFIF and MIA handed out over 20,000 stems of fresh flowers to women arriving at the airport.
Women’s Day 2015 presents opportunities
It is amazing what the floral industry can do when we work together. There is no clearer example than International Women’s Day, which was celebrated on Sunday, March 8. This year, Women’s Day matured into a substantial holiday, as American consumers gravitated to the idea of celebrating women with flowers.
Hogervorst to leave FloraHolland
Dirk Hogervorst, strategy, marketing and business development manager at FloraHolland in the Netherlands, will leave the company after more than 25 years, according to a news release.
National Mango Board’s referendum right around the corner
The United States Department of Agriculture is required to administer a continuation referendum for the National Mango Board every five years. This referendum will be held April 6-17. Importers and first handlers who handled at least 500,000 pounds of mangos during the 2014 calendar year are eligible to vote, and all those eligible will be receiving a ballot directly from USDA.