DON'T PANIC: A Business Guide to Small Scale Cut Flower Farming

Listen, I am crap at going to the effort of reviewing books, which pretty much makes me a terrible person because reviews on books are super helpful to the author and potential readers but there ya go, we all have our faults. So this is the first book review I can ever remember giving. That's because it is WORTH my time and my money.This isn't for figuring out how to grow what crops, you have Cool Flowers and Florets books etc. for that. This is for BUSINESS but its not boring, its jam-packed with useful, real world information with actual numbers attached. I found myself thinking "THAT is a great idea!" on every. single. page. Y'all, I am not a mather(its a word now, I just made it up). I am not at ALL logistically inclined. I am a creative through and through and the "business" part of the business makes my head hurt. This, however, was a breathe of fresh air. It wasted none of my time faffing about with "You need to research in your area so I am not gonna give you any info". It tells you the real info in real numbers and yes, with the disclaimer that YMMV but at least it gives us actual hard facts and suggestions on how to alter things to suit YOUR business. It also gives you tons of ideas on not just WHERE to market your flowers, but a step by step HOW. Mind. Blown. Its amazing. I love it. BUY IT.

Great suggestions for any business, not just flowers. Easy to read and follow.

Ok, so I’m only on page 41 but wanted to write this review now because I couldn’t be more satisfied with this purchase. This is EXACTLY what I needed and fills in so many of the gaps that aren’t covered by other cut flower books and guides. I’m devouring all of it and can’t get enough. It’s written so nicely and presented in easy to consume/concise chapters. Laid out in a way that makes sense. I loved the chapter about competition vs community! I can’t wait to get through the rest of it and would loveee to take one of the authors Workshops someday. I haven’t started my growing journey yet but hope to within the next 12-24 months, this book showed up at the perfect time!

The author has a great sense of humor and is thorough. It was a pleasure to read, and I feel more prepared to become a flower farm owner.

I thought the book drove home some ideas I needed to hear again. Had good tips and things to remember. I thought it was worth every penny

It's as if you can hear the author talking to you.

WOW what a great detail book. Everything I was questioning about is in this book... This is MUST if you are starting a cut flower farm... Just wow

Didn’t find this book helpful at all. A lot of this information was common sense stuff that qualified as a “duh” kind of thing. The price was high & the quality of the book was poor- unclear pictures, bad type, spelling errors-looked self published which would be ok if it wasn’t so expensive and had something different to offer. There are other books out ther that offer more for a lot less. This is one more Floret wannabe- start a flower farm, get rich quick. Very disappointing

I really liked that this book offered beginners information to think about. Social Media information was relevant. Pricing information is always hard to find was touched on. A great resource section and planning out your year. I felt that it was worth the money and is a good overview. Nice pictures accompany each section.

Love this book. There is so much useful information. It lays out the good and the bad regarding cut flower farming without being overly dramatic. Beautiful photos as well just for good measure.

This is a fantastic resource for anyone interested in cut flower farming. I appreciate that the content focuses on how to set up the business side of your operation, which I find to be information that is hard to find for those of us just starting out. Also, in our technology based modern world, the book gives tips for social media, websites, digital record keeping, and more. The book does not focus on technical information about how to grow the flowers (there is an abundance of growing resources already available out there.) It is well written and the author’s passion for her work is evident as you read through the chapters. Highly recommend for the small scale flower farmer!

I really like this book. I think I bought it mostly because of the title (Douglas Adams fans get my vote everytime!) and the fact that she's Canadian. But seriously I found it very useful. I have all the major flower farming books and I really enjoyed the focus on the business side of things in this book. Plus, did I mention she's Canadian which means her source information was really relevant to me. So long and thanks for all the fish.

No frills, down to earth flower business information without all the flowery prose and pictures. She just gets down to the highs and lows of growing flowers at a grass roots level, with a ton of helpful advice! Easy to read!