From zero to flower farm...how 2024 went from a small garden idea to a flower paradise!

Alright, Im going to kick this off by coming clean, I have an issue, and I'm certain I'm not the only one who does this. I have what I call "I can do that syndrome." While it's not an official diagnosis and probably not a real condition, I tend to think this way about nearly everything. You might assume it's nice to have such confidence in myself and my abilities, but that's definitely not the case. I simply just find everything appears easy and I'm blissfully unaware of the true difficulty or whether I'd even enjoy doing it. This mindset leads me to try anything that seems remotely interesting. But I'll put a positive spin on this and instead of saying I'm impulsive, I'll say I'm actually just really adventurous.

Why am I sharing all of this with you? Primarily, I want to connect with people and truly convey how Onken Farm has evolved into what it is today. I announced a giveaway for our upcoming tuber sale, which drove significant traffic to our website and I think one of the greatest aspects of discovering excellent farms for seeds, tubers, fun and educational content is learning about them and how they got their start! For us, my "I can do that syndrome" led us to the wonderful and beautiful world of flower farming. I genuinely wish I had discovered this passion earlier and it all began with this dahlia field:

Beyond The Broken Willow Dahlia Field. Located in Fennville, Mi

Isn't it breathtaking!?!? Here are my adorable kids gathering flowers in that field:

In 2023, we visited this beautiful field for a U-Pick. I met Casey, the owner of Beyond The Broken Willow, and I couldn't decide what impressed me more: her enthusiasm for dahlias or her amazing field! Those flowers had a profound impact on me! I went home and began researching dahlias, quickly formulating a plan for a small flower garden with 15 dahlia plants. Throughout the winter of 2023 and into the spring of 2024, I immersed myself in information about dahlias and the flower business. I don't just mean YouTube University (which I definitely attended!), but also books and courses on dahlia care, cultivation, viruses, diseases, and everything related to farming them. I also enrolled in, seed starting courses, cut flower farming courses and, most recently, a web design course so I could get this cute site up and running. I also purchased WAY more than 15 dahlias and planted WAY more than just dahlias but that chat is for another day.

Throughout all this excitement, there was the lingering thought in the back of my mind that this might be just another endeavor I start and then abandon, as I have done in the past. Starting a flower farm isn't cheap or easy. Dahlias, for example, are costly. If you're on the hunt for the "unicorn" dahlias AND buying for plant quality, you're spending a significant amount per tuber. For those expensive tubers, you want the best fertilizer and pest control, but you also want options that won't harm beneficial insects and pollinators, so you invest more in environmentally friendly products. Then there's the stress of things beyond your control, like Mother Nature. Some days she's your ally, providing just the right amount of rain, and the next, she's your adversary, sending a storm with 40mph winds that flatten an entire section of cress! (true story). Despite all these challenges—cost, hard work, and the stress of working with perishable products—we discovered we genuinely enjoy it and I discovered something I didn't want to quit. Not just me though, my husband too! He enjoyed building the flower stand, raised beds, and setting up the greenhouse and he enjoyed all the time spent driving our tractor. The kids got in on it too! Harper has fun helping at the farm markets and Henry LOVES seeing the pollinators come visit. The dahlias have even inspired him to research becoming a beekeeper! It quickly became clear, flower farming was the direction we wanted to take the farm.

So here we are, after a phenominal first growing season. Gearing up for our first dahlia tuber sale, planning for our next growing season and talking expansion in the years to come and it feels great!

We would love to get to know you more too, please say "hello" in the comments section and tell us where you are from! If you are a fellow flower farmer, gardener or just a flower lover??i'd love to hear from you!