10/08/2026
Fall is flower planting season in the Sacramento Valley.
Last month, students in our Flower Farming Fundamentals class at Sweet Mabel's Farm in West Sacramento learned tips like these from instructor Elle Huftill-Balzer:
🌼 Plant while the soil is still warm. Warm soil helps roots establish before the rains and cooler weather arrive. Elle aims to get her overwintered flowers in the ground between Sept 15 and Oct 10 on her farm. Earlier can be too hot, and later gives plants less light and warmth to get going before winter.
🌼 Let the weather guide you. A hot September or early rain can shift your timing, so watch the forecast, not just the calendar.
🌼 Know what to direct sow and what to transplant. Some seeds do better sown right in the bed, and others are better started in trays so you can control their conditions. In fall, try direct sowing hardy annuals like larkspur, bachelor’s buttons, poppies, and nigella. Transplant starts like snapdragons and calendula.
🌼 Plan your planting to include focal, filler, texture, and greenery. Think ranunculus, snapdragons, nigella, scabiosa, and grasses.
🌼 Give your beds some love. Work in compost before you plant. Elle also adds rice hulls to her heavy clay soil to loosen it up and improve water and air flow, and saw a big improvement once she did.
Stay tuned for our next workshop with Elle for more flower farming tips. See what’s coming up: https://landbasedlearning.org/cfa
