One of the most humbling careers an individual can pursue is agriculture. Flower farming
is still farming, and farming is very hard work. No matter how much you plan and try to make
everything play out perfectly, there is always something that is out of your control. At the Good JuJu
Austin Flower farm, we wholeheartedly believe that all of our behind the scenes hard work is
more than worth it for our 100% Farm Fresh Bouquet bunches and when we see the smiles our harvest brings to our customers we continue to agree that it is more than worth it…
You may be wondering, what goes into flower farming and how is it all that different from
typical agriculture farms. Flower farming is actually one of the pillars of both the American and international farming industries. All different types of flowers
are imported from nearly every corner of the globe to Texas and the rest of the United States. The Netherlands are famous for their wide
variety of tulips while Ecuador is one of the leading exporters for roses. Over 90 percent of the
flowers imported overseas are sold directly to wholesalers, florists, and other large outlets. The
flowers that are imported from farmers on the other side of the world tend to be fairly durable
and can withstand travel. On the other hand, there are many types of flowers that are too
fragile to survive the shipment. These flowers that have to be grown and sold locally are known
as specialty cut flowers. The Good JuJu Austin Flower Farm works hard to farm the most beautiful flowers, working hard every day to bring the freshest and most unique floral
pieces to market every week. Some of our favorite specialty cut flowers that we are currently
growing on our property include Amaranth, sunflowers, strawflowers, zinnias, dahlias, Roses, and more. We wish that our day-to-day flower farming responsibilities could only consist of skipping through our lanes of colorful,
blooming flowers but, truly there’s a lot more work involved. Since we are based in Texas, the majority of
our flower farming requires us to get down and dirty in the extreme Texas weather. To
harvesting and carrying buckets, to weeding and deadheading the freshly cut flowers, it can be
pretty exhausting work in the heat. Professional flower farmers do not spend their days in
climate controlled greenhouses. They are out in nature and the elements working hard day after
day. For some people, this may not sound appealing at all. But on the other hand, people are
always looking for excuses to get out and enjoy nature.
The Good JuJu Austin Flower farm will travel to study flower species in the world in the search for more flowers that will grow in Austin Texas. It’s appreciating
all of the beauties and wonders mother nature has to offer. We discovered that flower farming was a great
way for us to get in tune with nature’s flowers every single day. Flower farmers become extremely in tune
with the weather, the sun, the rain, the frost dates. They connect with the soil, the flower starts, and
the insects that help their farm thrive and grow. Flower farmers need to know everything about
their flower growing environment. It has helped us appreciate the smallest things in nature, like insects
that pollinate our fresh flowers, to the larger aspects like a gradual change of seasons. Several
studies have found that being outside, enjoying nature, and being around fresh flowers have a lot
of positive effects on someone. There is an excellent quality of life that just cannot be achieved
if you spend your entire day indoors, especially if you are missing our farm fresh flowers
on your desk.
We have found that flower farming for the farmers’ market is our favorite way to spread
joy and appreciation for the world’s natural beauty. There is something about flowers that
touches people like few other things in the world. Flowers can mean so many different things for
so many different occasions. They can bring someone joy or hope, or show them gratitude and
appreciation. The Good JuJu dream was born with the goal of spreading joy and
beauty around Austin. We immediately started
flower farming for the locals and discovered that the flower farming community spread more
positivity than we were aware. The flower farming community in Austin is tight knit, often sharing
weekend afternoons at local farmers markets as well as professional market and production
advice. We were able to connect and collaborate with several specialty cut flower growers both
local to the Austin area and located all over Texas. The flower farming community’s
are welcoming and supportive. Flower farming first hand has helped us educate ourselves about the flower farming
process.
That being said, the Good JuJu Austin Flower Farm’s vision when it comes to flower
farming is nothing short of revolutionary. Every aspect of our flower production and sale process
is unique. Our plants begin their journey at our five-acre homestead. On the property, we have
dozens of custom made, concrete flower beds to host our seasonal flowers along with even
more rows of different Roses. We decided for our first season of growing, our efforts would be
best spent planting a wide variety of different flower types. We planted several rows of roses in
half a dozen different colors. In the warmer months, our homestead was filled with beautiful
blooming Sunflowers and bright Marigolds. Now that the winter is upon us, we have expanded
into bright Snapdragons and Amaranth of with deep color. We have worked long and hard to find
some of the most unique seeds that will reap beautiful flowers that cannot be found anywhere
else in Texas, and we are proud to grow some of the most uniquely colored and exotic flowers
in the Austin area. To ensure our customers only get the best of the best when it comes to their
flowers and custom bouquets, the Good JuJu Austin Flower Farm is diligent and proactive when
it comes to supplying our flowers with the best nutrients possible. Our seeds begin
their life in organic soil. It seems a bit backward to preach appreciating the beauty of nature
while participating in actions that destroy it, so we decided to completely eliminate the use of
pesticides and poisons on our property. To help our plants thrive, we make compost made from 100% of our organic
waste. We like tompair these green friendly flower farming actions with a paired with minimal waste irrigation systems. The actual growing process varies from
flower to flower. Growing dahlias for example, is quite a lengthy and difficult process. Before
even being planted in the ground, the dahlias seeds require the perfect temperature soil, damp climate for four to six
weeks to germinate. After the seeds germinate, they are able to be planted in a highly controlled
environment until it’s spring. It can take between four and five years to master dahlia farming. We believe that for our flowers to look the best,
they need to be treated with and given the best care possible from start to finish.
All of the time and energy put into specialty cut flower farming is more than worth it when
we see our efforts pay off with our happy customers. The cuts and bruises from the farming and harvesting
process seem to vanish when we see how happy our flowers make our local Austin
community. Specialty cut flower farming is a fantastic way to connect with nature and your local
community. We look forward to every weekend where we have the opportunity to engage and
share some “Good JuJu” with new local flower enthusiasts. It is very satisfying to see the fruits
of our labor displayed in our festive farmers market flower truck after a week of hard work. This is only
the beginning of our journey in the local specialty cut flower business, but we have grown to
love it in more ways than we could have ever imagined.