High Ground Organics

Bright Country Flowers for Your Table

In 2008 we found that we were short on flower-growing ground and turned to Steve's cousin Josh Thomas for many of our CSA flowers. (Josh and his wife Kari have recently taken over the operation of the Thomas Family farm from Josh's father Jerry.) This worked so well that for 2009 we are going to use the Thomas Farm for almost all the CSA flowers. Thomas Farm is certified organic and also grows flowers for farmers markets and to sell to Whole Foods Markets.

The CSA bunches may be single variety bunches (usually for the spring flowers such as ranunculus or sweet peas) or more commonly a mixed bouquet. A typical bouquet includes 5-7 different varieties of flowers, which vary throughout the year. Here are some of the flowers we use:

Spring
Calendula
Larkspur
Ranunculus
Bachelor Button
Dianthus (Sweet William)
Sweet Peas

Summer and Fall
Zinnias
Marigolds
Sunflowers (several varieties)
Lavatera
Strawflowers
Statice
Snapdragons
Foxglove
Feverfew
Dahlias
Shasta Daisy
Ageratum

Why Organic Flowers?

You're not going to eat them, so why bother to buy organic when it comes to flowers? Three good reasons are worker safety, your safety, and environmental health.

Conventionally grown flowers are often heavily treated with pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers. Many flowers sold in the U.S. come from Central and South America, where laws regulating pesticide use are much less stringent than here. Workers who spray, weed, and pick flowers are often exposed to pesticides. Retailers who handle a lot of flowers are also exposed to pesticides and skin-irritating floral preservatives. And you can be too when you bring home your lovely bouquet, smell the flowers, and cut the stems to fit in your vase.

Using organic methods in agriculture is important to the environment no matter what the crop is. Conventional fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides pollute the air, land, and water, and kill off beneficial insects and soil microbes.

Finally, organic flowers complement the vegetables on a diverse small farm. The flowers provide nectar for bees and beneficial insects, drawing them in so they are there when we need them to pollinate or combat pests on our food crops.

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