https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-TDDV7okIE
Amelia Ihlo of Rooted Farmers (left); Leah Ducey (and family) of Spring Wind Farm and Garden State Flower Cooperative (right)

The spring flower season is warming and today I have invited two guests to share about crop pricing strategies and selling through wholesale flower hubs.

You'll meet return guest Amelia Ihlo of Rooted Farmers, an online platform for flower farmers and a Slow Flowers Podcast sponsor, and New Jersey-based flower farmer Leah Ducey of Spring Wind Farm + the Garden State Flower Cooperative.

We'll learn more about Leah's path to flowers, what she grows and how she has developed a marketplace with other growers at the Garden State Flower Cooperative. And Amelia will share about some of the new tools and programs that Rooted Farmers has developed to help growers with pricing seasonal cut flowers.

Spring and Fall Crops at Spring Wind Farm

Past Episode featuring Amelia Ihlo and Rooted Farmers:

Episode 438: Rooted Farmers: A New Online Marketplace for Selling and Buying Local Flowers

Episode 494: How does Rooted Farmers’ marketplace work? An update from founder Amelia Ihlo and insights from farmer-florist Haley Billipp of Eddy Farm and Connecticut Flower Collective

Rooted Farmers Resources:

Sample: Rooted Range Flower Pricing Tool

https://vimeo.com/785440846
Short Video Tutorial

More Resources from the Rooted Farmers' Blog:

Blog posts:

Farm Finances: Dig Into Expenses

Data & Analytics: A Crash Course

The Results Are In: 2022 Year in Review

$75 off Rooted Farmers promotion for Slow Flowers Members

About Leah Ducey & Spring Wind Farm:

Spring Wind Farm is a family farm run by Brian and Leah Ducey with their children Cole and Niamh. We both come from a long line of farmers several generations back and are eager to reintroduce the farming tradition to our children.

The beauty at Spring Wind Farm

Leah has always loved being outside and after working on a flower farm in high school had a passion for growing flowers. She studied Horticulture at Cook College, Rutgers and worked on a Lily Breeding Project, in addition to her research she started a 1/4 acre cut flower field at the Student Organic Farm. Leah and Brian moved to Ireland for a while and when they came home Leah took a job teaching high school biology and sustainability. After 10 years of teaching they found a farm where they could both pursue their agricultural interests with their young children. 2018 was Leah’s first season back in the flower growing field and out of the traditional classroom. Leah loves to grow unusual varieties and loves the design aspect as well. The best part is working with kids in the field, Cole and Niamh are amazing helpers!

Leah's glorious foxgloves at Spring Wind Farm

Brian also studied Horticulture at Cook College, Rutgers and spent several years working in the turf grass industry. Brian transitioned to a role running a local high school Agricultural program and he is responsible to making all of Leah’s wild ideas fly! Brian is the farm’s irrigation specialist, builder, tamer of wild spaces and he can make a mean bouquet. We look forward to future agricultural endeavors on the 20 acres we call home.

Find and Follow Spring Wind Farm on Facebook and Instagram

Find and Follow Garden State Flower Co-op on Facebook and Instagram

Find and Follow Rooted Farmers on Instagram

News of the Week

In this week's news, check out our May Slow Flowers Society Newsletter - which just dropped on Monday. You'll find links to new stories, events, resources, and special promotions for our Slow Flowers Community. We're gearing up for the Slow Flowers Summit in just seven weeks, we're getting ready to celebrate American Flowers Week *June 28-July 4* AND we just announced a special lecture and workshop taking place this coming September with Royal florist (and past guest of this podcast) Shane Connolly!