FloraQuest Farm
Sustainable Flower Farming in Redwood Valley
by Jessica Welling
It is no secret that the local food movement has gained even more momentum over the past two years, as we have shifted our lifestyles to find fresh and easily accessible produce straight from the farmer. This focus has poured over into the local flower movement as well. Yes, the local flower movement. Farmer-Florist Jessica Welling of FloraQuest Farm in Redwood Valley started her farm in 2019 with a vision to provide her community with locally grown, fresh cut, seasonal flowers and to scale down the distance travelled from field to vase. She aims to educate folks about the importance of buying local, and to bring awareness to the environmental impact that comes with conventionally grown and flown flowers.
The vast majority of cut flowers purchased in our country are far from locally produced, usually imported from South America. Often laden with heavy synthetic pesticide applications, the blooms are also fumigated after harvest, before shipment, to meet international agriculture inspection standards. The health concerns for the agricultural workers, florists, and retail customers being exposed to these chemicals are important to consider. Additionally, the carbon footprint is immense–flying a highly perishable product with excessive packaging thousands of miles on jumbo jets. With concern for environmental responsibility in mind, the volume of folks entering the world of flower farming in the United States has exploded. Locally grown, cut flowers are typically of higher quality and longer vase life, unique and diverse in variety, and the seasonality of them determines the availability of different cultivars. They are also safe to compost!
Now, imagine the FloraQuest farm at the height of their growing season–a small field of flowers interspersed with native manzanitas and oak trees, buzzing with honeybees and myriad other pollinators. Jessica tends to the farm as the sun rises, harvesting fresh blooms at their ideal stage of maturity to ensure a long-lasting flower in the vase. The heat of the summer sets in, and she returns in the early evening to plant out new flower babies that will bloom in autumn. The time in between is occupied with creating flower arrangements, delivering orders, and being mama to her 5-year-old son.
Jessica’s life as a flower farmer has not always been this organized. The birth of the flower farm plan got off to a rough start. When the idea sparked in September 2018, farm planning began almost immediately, but then a devastating house fire in early November destroyed not only the family’s home and belongings, but the supply of seeds and bulbs purchased for that season. Yet through an outpouring of love and support from the community, Jessica’s dreams were still able to come to fruition that season on a new piece of land much better suited for the project due to its larger growing space. It was truly a silver lining that allowed the farm to proceed.
The farm itself is considered a “micro-farm,” with approximately ¼ acre in production and an expansion on the horizon. Jessica utilizes no-till farming practices that encourage diverse pollinator habitats, increase healthy soil microbiology, and aid in the reduction of atmospheric carbon released from the ground. The goal is to encourage a community of flora and fauna that work in an interconnected system, fostering health and vitality from the tiniest invertebrates and fungi in the soil, up through to the plants, and beyond to the bees, birds, and humans that enjoy the blooms.
Jessica believes that organic, sustainable farming is the only option for her, though it is no easy task. A no-till farming system can involve a great deal of physical labor. New flower beds are carefully aerated using a large broadfork to minimize soil disturbance and preserve the habitat that thrives below the surface. Next, a layer of cardboard is rolled out for weed suppression, erosion control, and as a bonus food source for worms. The final bed prep task involves spreading a generous layer of compost with basic farming tools: shovel, wheelbarrow, and rake. No tractors are used on this farm, just good old fashioned manual work. FloraQuest strictly uses products certified for organic use, sourced locally if possible, which support the health of the habitats that make up the farm.
Timing is everything when it comes to growing flowers. Each variety is organized into a planting calendar that helps determine when and how many seeds to sow throughout the season. Flower farmers normally follow a succession planting schedule in which any given flower will be planted repeatedly at a specific time interval. For example, sunflowers are planted every one to two weeks to ensure a continuous harvest throughout the entire season. Zinnias are sown every three to four weeks because they produce flowers for a longer period of time between plantings. Seeds are often started in the summer and fall for spring blooms the following season, and overwinter for summer blooms. Planting is best in the cooler evening hours to give the flowers a chance to acclimate and reduce transplant shock. Once in bloom, prime harvest time is early morning when the flowers are most hydrated. Every flower has an ideal stage of harvest—some have the best vase life when harvested early in bloom before the petals even open, some as the petals are just beginning to open, and others once they have blown fully open. Juggling the timing of everything can be a bit tricky, but the rewards are a beautiful, consistent flow of blooms.
So, what happens once the flowers are cut? Sustainably-minded farming practices lead to sustainably minded floral design techniques. Many of FloraQuest’s arrangements are displayed in mason jars, which can be reused by both the customer and the farmer. As an alternative to the toxic foam typically used in the floral industry, larger arrangements for weddings and events are designed with chicken wire to hold the stems in place. Hand-tied bouquets are wrapped in recycled paper sleeves rather than cellophane, and no floral preservatives are used. Additionally, any leftover flowers that have been cut from the field and are suitable for drying are used in the creation of dried flower arrangements and wreaths throughout the autumn season.
As a youngster, Jessica learned and enjoyed floral design by helping her mother in a floral shop near Chicago, where she became familiar with boutonnières, corsages, and wedding bouquets. At that time in her life, it never occurred to her that this would later influence her career choice! Fast forward twenty-some years, and she has taken those elements and made them her own in her budding business.
The beauty of creating something from nature is that there are no strict rules to follow. Texture, mood, and a touch of wild characterize Jessica’s designs today. Highlighting the elements inherent in the blooms is what truly brings her floral arrangements to the next level. She believes that flowers speak in their own sort of language. Flowers can bring people back in time and elicit a sense of nostalgia. They go hand in hand with celebrations of all kinds. They can lift moods, bring peace and calm, and show appreciation or empathy. In short, flowers are used to show someone that you care. With all that we have been going through in the past two years, flowers have increasingly become a beautiful way to nurture emotional well-being and psychological health.
In the coming seasons, Jessica hopes to slowly expand the farm to include more flower beds filled with perennials, native shrubs, and annuals. She is always seeking knowledge on how to become a better steward of the land and coexist harmoniously with the natural rhythms of the creatures that live both above and below the soil. Every season involves some experimenting, whether it be with new varieties of flowers, foliage, and grasses, overwintering frost-hardy plants from the previous season, or companion planting different flowers in the same growing bed. Some of her current interests include Korean Natural Farming (KNF), vermicomposting, seed saving, and vegetative propagation of dahlias and heirloom chrysanthemums. There are always new things to learn and improve upon, and FloraQuest Farm is eager to grow, literally and figuratively, with each season in Mendocino County.
FloraQuest Farm was born out of a passion for environmental stewardship, love for flowers, and desire to share beauty and artistic creativity with the community. Engaging and supporting the fieldto-vase model is what builds strength, stability, and health in the local flower movement in our community. Jessica loves to build relationships and interact with her customers directly, embracing the “get to know your farmer” attitude. Like the local food movement, the local flower movement can bring the beauty of nature into our homes in a way that is better for us, the flower farmers, and the world we share.
FloraQuest Farm is currently not open to the public, but their flowers can be found March through November at the Ukiah and Redwood Valley Farmers Markets, by contacting Jessica at floraquestfarm@gmail.com, and through their website www. floraquestfarm.com.
Jessica Welling moved to Mendocino County in 2010 from Florida, where she attended college and had her first farming experience volunteering on an urban organic farm. She enjoys spending time in the great outdoors with her family and friends, and traveling as much as she can.