"Mid-September means that we are nearing the end of the flower season, for us here in British Columbia, Canada. The colder weather means that the flower production really starts to decline. Yet we still have lots of flowers blooming at the moment, and we are doing everything we can to extend the season as long as possible," says Serina Colbeck of the local 2.5 acre flower and vegetable farm called You Can't Eat The Grass. Watch the video below to see a tour around their farm and how they are dealing with the upcoming frosts.
"It is almost freezing already"
Serina mentions that at night the temperature is already down to 1 degree Celsius (33 degrees Fahrenheit), meaning that it is almost freezing. "I expected all of our flowers to get frosted and killed. Luckily, there have been no patches of frost on our farm yet. But that really means that any day now, I can wake up, and all of the flowers can be gone. So far, we are still able to produce over 30 bouquets per week from our flowers, despite the colder weather, so we have no shortages yet."
Extending the season
In order to extend the season, they are focusing on different flowers that will do better throughout the colder weather. For example, they recently added sedum perennial plants so that they can have late Fall filler plants, as these are fairly frost-tolerant. "Unfortunately, our zinnias, which is one of our largest producing flowers during the Summer, is now starting to get some diseases because of the colder weather. Yet the slower production is in line with the slower demand in September, so that is fortunate. Instead, one of our biggest showstoppers during the Fall season should be our dahlias, as they thrive under cooler temperatures. Unfortunately, we have many grasshoppers spreading diseases, so the dahlias aren't doing as great as we would want them to."
For more information:
You Can't Eat The Grass
http://www.youcanteatthegrass.com/