Hello Picking Wild Flowers! This is my 89th blog post! 89th!! That seems crazy. I began this blog three years ago on February 6th, 2016 as a way to journal my thoughts about all things food, fitness, farm and faith related. Overtime it has evolved and is currently a space for me to write about anything and everything!The title for the site came from the song “Pickin’ Wildflowers,” by Keith Anderson. I have always loved the lyrics: “Sneak away for a couple of hours, you and me baby picking wildflowers.” There is something calming and beautiful about the idea of walking through a field of flowers. I realize that isn’t what the song is about… but for me it was about being in a place that makes me happy haha.I loved spending time in the greenhouse at Iowa State University! It felt so calming to walk through a room full of plants and flowers! This is where my dream for growing my own cut flower garden began. It began as an idea that just wouldn’t seem to go away. I made my first arrangement that fall. I carved out a pumpkin and potted some mums. I had so much fun and found it to be very therapeutic. Come to find out, my Great Grandma Ball loved flowers and gardening! I must have inherited the passion. What began as a slight interest soon turned into a fun hobby. I began by replanting dad’s garden bed in the front of his house. I also made a few arrangements for family and friends. But, it wasn’t until I met Tyler that I began thinking about the possibility of growing my own cut flowers. Mom always had a garden growing up so I thought I would probably grow vegetables but it didn’t occur to me to grow my own flowers. Tyler and I began researching. We learned about drip tape, tilling, flower varieties, weed fabric, etc. and that following summer we had our very first cut flower garden. It is hard to believe that we are wrapping up year three. Previously my flowers have been for myself but I hope to sell some arrangements to all of you next year. This site, Picking Wild Flowers, will always hold a special place in my heart, but I think it is time for a change. Picking Wild Flowers is getting a new look! I am in the process of creating a new brand for our flower garden and my personal blog. Picking Wild Flowers is transitioning to Farmhouse Flowers! The idea to create a new brand came from many conversations with Tyler. Where do I see this hobby going? Do I plan to grow the garden or remain the same size? How will the brand reflect the product I am producing? I decided that Farmhouse Flowers better suits my mission. The name came as an inspiration from the family farm. Multiple generations have grown up on the farm. Grandma Ball had her big garden right behind the house. The old farm house has a vintage charm and my goal is to carry that into my arrangements. Josie, Grandpa’s last cow, had to play a special role. You can see her name and silhouette in the logo below. The new website will allow room for growth. 

Blog posts will remain a place for me to journal my thoughts but I hope to focus the topics a bit! The current Picking Wild Flowers blog will remain live until I have the other site up and ready to go. The new logo design is below. Let me know what you think of the new look!

I hope you are just as excited about this transition as I am! Thank you for taking the time to read Picking Wild Flowers! It means so much to me!

 

Good afternoon and happy SPRING! It is officially planting season for our small cut flower garden. I was just looking back on the blog to see if there was a recap I could share from last year’s garden but I did not write one post about the garden! Not one! I am ashamed to say it was a disaster but I didn’t realize there was no documentation of last year’s garden so lets just pretend it didn’t exist… haha I am just kidding but I am not fooling anyone if I say it was a success! Wondering why my first year was so much better? Because last year slipped away from me, between wedding preparation, bridal showers, bachelorette party, Florida, work, and our honeymoon, I had zero time for the garden but third time’s a charm right? I can’t wait to get the garden bed prepped for this year but first we need germination!

We are a little late in the season for seed starting but better late than never. This year we are starting Snapdragons, Marigolds, Cress and Statice indoors with the grow light. March 16th was a beautiful day so we decided to keep the mess outside. Diesel loved rolling around in the yard while I planted seeds.

Both of my boys were there for moral support. As you can see, Tyler was thrilled to have his picture taken haha, I would say Diesel was a lot more corporative for this part. But shoutout to my husband for always being there for me!

I also have Rudbeckia, Sunflowers, and Zinnias to directly sow into the soil. Beyond flowers, we will be planting tomatoes, peppers, lettuce, onions and radishes.  I hope to post regularly about the flower garden. My goal is to showcase a few arrangements and maybe, just maybe we will have enough to share!

I can’t wait to continue learning! Trial and error is the best way to learn first hand and that is exactly what I plan to keep doing.

“A flower blossoms for it’s own joy,” Oscar Wilde.

 

So this happened… we sold the calf that won Grand Champion Breeding Heifer at the Van Buren County Fair! Show Down here we come!

The Show Down is a compile of all grand champion livestock exhibits from five surrounding counties. Each year the top of the top compete for first place from those counties. We feel honored to have a calf representing the Ball Family Farm. A huge congrats to Madison! She worked very hard to get the heifer ready. Often times people don’t know just how much work goes into showing cattle. When Megan and I showed, we woke up at 6, rinsed, dried, and brushed the calves. At night we would walk and repeat rinse. Come show day, the calf is washed, dried, and groomed to perfection. Good Luck next week Madison!

The steer we sold to Madison received 1st out of 10 in his class. 🙂

While we are on a path of good news… lets keep going

Checkout my flowers!!

Zinnias, Zinnias, Zinnias everywhere- red, pink, white, orange and yellow.

Wait for it… we finally have something other than Zinnias. The Snapdragons are taking off like wild fire!

I am so excited to make arrangements with two different flowers! I love my zinnias but  two is better than one!

There is nothing better than flowers fresh from the garden. Okay Okay… vegetables are pretty fantastic from the garden too haha.

And for just for a laugh since that seems to be my mood.

Yep she is yawning… or chewing her cud. Our cows are pretty wild let me tell you.

My teaching moment of the day. What is cud?

A couple weeks ago I wrote a post on ruminant animals called Got Guts . Cows chew their cud (regurgitated food) on an hourly basis. By bringing the hay back up they can re-chew it to then digest it again. Ruminants are able to take grass and utilize the nutrients from it to create energy.

Talk to you again soon 🙂

 

 

The once true saying may be true for my delegate yet beautiful plants. Moving back home in May and getting a late start on the garden put us a little behind schedule but as the corn towers over us during fireworks, our little seedlings will hopefully be knee high.

The summer sun has me glistening literally and joyously. Tyler and I have spent the last few weeks attending weddings (Congrats Autumn and Casey <3), painting and moving into our home (a big thanks to our family and friends), helping Megan and Kyle paint, attending Michael’s trap meet, and beginning my career as the Education Outreach Coordinator for Linn County.

I am jumping in feet first and I can’t wait to share many awesome agriculture lessons, activities, and training events with you. Be on the lookout for future career updates! 🙂 Knee high by 4th of July seems a little outdated but once upon a time it was used as a benchmark for farmers to detect how well their crop was doing compared to years in the past. Today’s technology provides farmers with the access to different strains, genetically modified crops, and precisely accurate fertilizer amounts. 

Plant research: Improving each individual plant.

GMOs: Genetically Modified Organisms or biotechnology helps reduce disease and crop loss.

Nitrogen use: The goal is to improve yields without increasing applications.

Yesterday our indoor starter plants were finally ready to be transported to the garden. If you remember, I started Asters, Snapdragons, and Eucalyptus from seeds indoors. The Asters and Eucalyptus didn’t perform very well but the snapdragons took off like crazy. Here is a photo of the Zinnias 🙂

Not only did we plant the indoor seedlings, but we checked out the rest of the garden. Our drip tape is holding up great! The irrigation system gets right to the roots of the plant without there being water loss from evaporation.   And look at those Sugar Snap Peas!!

I will be eating GOOD this summer… well by the end of July… haha.

 

Between graduation, moving, starting a new job, and planting our garden; I am wasting little time as my new chapter begins. A huge shout out to Mom, Dad, family, and friends for supporting me along the way!

Tyler and I spent two warm and buggy evenings prepping and tilling the ground. We were able to get the seeds planted right before the rain came Wednesday. I sound like a typical farmer 😉 Everything is dependent on the rain.

First we mapped and marked four rows 3.5 X 16 feet. We borrowed a garden lawn mower from Bruce and Linda (Thank you by the way!! You saved us lots of time and energy) to till up the soil. The machine shed was a perfect place for the flowers; the land is flat, close to a water hydrant, and in direct sunlight.

Can you guess what is in the photo above? I can give you a clue… it is not soil. That is right it is manure!! Perks of owning cattle- access to free fertilizer.

Here is a picture of me tilling the manure into the top soil. We are lucky to live in Iowa with such dark and rich soil but after doing some reading on flowers I used manure and Peat Moss to loosen and enhance the soil. Peat Moss is made up of 380 species of mosses decomposed in bogs. Peat Moss holds onto nutrients that otherwise leak out of the soil. It also fluffs up the soil and allows air to flow through.

Tyler wasn’t a fan of my camera, but I had to document our first huge project together! Next is the house 😉 We had a lot of fun being “entrepreneurs,” as dad called us.

The “entrepreneur in me wanted to go big or go home. So we bought drip tape irrigation. Flowers are sensitive to water and too much exposure to their leaves can cause a fungus buildup. Drip tape is more financially and resource efficient, the water is directly accessible to the roots of the plant.

Here is the final project!! Before planting, weed fabric was placed on each row and holes were cut where the seed was sown. This week we planted Baby’s Breath, Zinnias, Sunflowers, and Rudbecia (black-eyed Susan). A few vegetable seeds were also planted where space allowed ;).

Stay tuned for more garden updates!

Anyone else anticipating beautiful garden veggies? I know I sure am! Can I get a woot woot!? I am very anxious to map out my flower garden! Not only do I expect to eat deliciously healthy this summer but I am hoping to surround myself with many bright and colorful arrangements. Last weekend, Ty and I started our seeds! It is official…the season has begun. We are in business and a successful (crossing my fingers) summer begins!

Do you want to start your own flower garden? Are you interested in planting a flower bed? Or are you curious about this new profound passion of mine? Well if any of those pertain to you, keep reading. 🙂

Follow six easy steps to germinate seeds indoors. What is germination? To germinate means to grow and produce shoots after a period of dormancy.

1. Purchase the necessary supplies. 

Items and Estimated Cost 

• Grow light: $50.00
• Trays: $5.00 each
• Seeds: varies
• Seed starting mix: $10.00
• Labels: $1.50

2. Decide which seeds need to be started indoors. 

Depending on the flower, some seeds do best when directly sowed. The seeds that need to be started indoors usually have a longer germination period and are sensitive to the cold. I started Eucalyptus, Aster, and Snapdragon.

3. Add water to the seed starting mix.

The soil needs to be moist, but don’t let the water pool. The soil need to be wet at all times in order for the seeds to germinate.

4. Add soil to the seed cells.  

I bought seed trays that have a hole in the bottom to help with drainage. Fill the tray cells full and don’t be afraid to overfill. The soil will compact when we continue to add water.

5. Create a seed bed. 

Make a small bed for the seeds to lay. You don’t need a special tool for this, just use your hands to make a bed in each cell. By making a place to drop 3-5 seeds we avoid losing seeds when watering. It is also easier to cover the seeds with soil when they are secure in the cell.

6. Place trays under grow light. 

We have had pretty warm days but the seeds tend to be sensitive to cold temperatures. They will still germinate but it might take longer. Ty moved our seeds indoors last night to avoid the chilly spring nights.

Six easy steps right? Starting the seeds indoors is not hard but seeing successful germination is a whole different ballgame! I am so excited to see the seeds germinate. I am crossing my fingers for a successful first trial!

To wrap up this Wednesday post I would like to congratulate Michael and the CCA Trap Team!! Good job Clippers! 🙂