Record Keeping
Keep careful records. Record the use of all pesticides. It’s the law and also will help keep up with chemical reapplication times, avoid building resistance from using the same material too much and evaluate what worked and what didn’t. Record the dates when plants went into the field, when cutting began and when the crop finished. These dates will be the basis for scheduling decisions. Recorded observations on the different varieties will help in ordering next year’s seeds. No one could be expected to remember which of eight different snapdragon cultivars performed well and which turned yellow and died. Write it down. Record what sold and how much was earned on the individual crops. Also record what didn’t sell. Dump records are a valuable decision-making tool.
Scheduling
With a little attention to scheduling, the Gulf Coast grower can keep cutting the flower field all year except the coldest months of December, January and part of February. Every inch of space should be in production at all times, either with flowers or cover crops for soil improvement. Succession plantings will keep crops in production for a longer period. Winter crops like larkspurs and snapdragons can be planted in October and again in December. The December planting should bloom several weeks later than the October planting. Sunflowers can be planted every two weeks, lengthening that to three weeks apart in high summer. As the days get longer, plantings tend to catch up with each other so timing between sowings must be lengthened. For the last warm-season crops, try to figure out how long each variety takes to come into bloom and then count back from the first frost date to be sure there is adequate time to harvest before the weather shuts down production. In Lafayette, Louisiana, for example, the average first frost is the last week of November. If sunflowers require ten weeks to bloom, count back ten weeks on the calendar plus two weeks for harvesting. The last sowing of sunflowers must be in the ground by the first week of September.
Scheduling also requires trialing and several years of good records to be done accurately. With accurate scheduling, it’s possible to make a contract with a big buyer for a constant supply. Remember that if the wholesaler is left high and dry with no product for a week or two, he’ll drop the local producer and go back to his big, long-distance suppliers. Good record keeping and scheduling can keep product steadily coming .
Trialing
There are an infinite number of flowers that could potentially make good cuts. Check out what's new in local nurseries. Browse seed catalogs for plants that are tall and are recommended for zones 8 and 9 and for varieties recommended by other producers. Some won't be good for Southern conditions, but there are some gems out there, too. Remember to always do a test for vase life before offering new selections for sale. There are variations in disease resistance and heights even among the established cuts, and it's important to try several different cultivars to determine which perform best in your area. Try to trial a few plants or a half row of something new every season. If it fails but has succeeded elsewhere on the Gulf Coast, trial it again with a different cultivar or different conditions (water more, alter the pH or raise the bed higher to improve drainage).