if you're connecting where regular
you know we let's focus on local agriculture working with c6 really
involved in staying and culture
we feature area farmers growing grains fruits vegetables
even grapes for wine but what about flowers will tonight be taking a florist
shop and lately
or locally grown flowers are a very important part of what they do
our local farmers provide so much of what we need and want
every day every week of every season of the year
they can do that because they have a years experience
and they're choosing crops well and they can use greenhouses and other
infrastructure to extend the seasons
case in point is here we are in the DEP's a February in winter
and yet we're in a greenhouse growing some beautiful local flowers for us all
to enjoy at LaSalle
Flores in Whitley Massachusetts I grew up doing it I started when I was three
so I've been at this
for almost 60 years now we grew up on the farm here when I was young my
grandfather my both my grandparents were
growing flowers we always been cut flower growers
this is a a green house that was built 1952
in the year I was born it's an old Lord Burnham class
greenhouse in the is 30 feet wide by 125 feet long
and its been growing cut flowers and bedding plants
for a toll-like when I was growing up this was called the carnation greenhouse
and Massachusetts in the nineteen thirties and forties was the leading
carnation growing state in the nation's
and when they learn how to grow old carnations other places
better a the greenhouses in Massachusetts
turned other things when my grandfather built this greenhouse we've got these
old
raised wooden benches that
are perfect for growing cut flowers
freesia are not heavy feeders so we don't have to fertilize them a lot
a they when they start out they like to be a little bit on the dry side
we discovered that you could plant a nice patch in September October November
December
and they would flower in January February March April
and intimate which is the prime
season for selling beautiful cut flowers
freesia themselves are not a strong stems flower
so we have these two layers love
a wire mesh and that a
is able to be raised as the flowers grow to keep them from growing straight
if we didn't have the wire mesh on here as the
but got heavier they would just lay flat on the ground in
turn up and the some and IR
course are yankee ingenuity these sticks are old
tobacco slats that we not and
and you said one of those things that just works for a scene I'll be an old
Yankee myself this year we only played about 20,000
evolves wanna my maid may now marketing
outlets
has gone out of business this year so I was afraid to overproduce
but this year so far the local markets have
really stepped-up palm you know here we're lucky in the valley we've got a
really strong buy local movement
with the helpful up the outlets like Whole Foods
and River Valley market and foster's and those guys
as really allowed us to I'll
to sell a lot of freesia locally we love getting local flowers
thats thats one thing that our cost absolutely
on and the reason that they love it is because not only are they supporting
local farmers and any news or people that they know
especially John Seely everybody that comes in the store
when it reaches here thing you know john was helping know his family thing no its
quality
we can order small quantities and get deliveries more often
and that's really beneficial
my theory is if it's difficult to grow it's probably not going to be real
profitable
so if it's easy to grow and a
it easy for our system then it works for us and that's
what we've found over the years