Welcome to K. van Bourgondien, a place where you’ll find the highest-quality products for all your flower-farming needs—including the old-fashioned garden gladiolus.
First and foremost, you simply can’t expect your flowers to thrive without a strong foundation of good-quality soil.
Here at the farm, I take great pride in building from the foundation up—and with that comes long hours, time and dedication. I like to refer to it as the “ole” ways of gardening!
Composting is the key to success in gardening, and I’ll get back to that—but, for now, let’s plant some good, old-fashioned glads.
I like my rows laid out in threes, each dug to a depth of 4″ and pretreated with a fish/seaweed blend. Besides compost and matured chicken manure, everything is pretreated with this blend. It gives the bulbs/corms a substantial head start, providing healthy roots, stronger stalks and profusely brighter blooms.
Now, this is a healthy bulb/corm of a gladiolus!
As flower farmers, we know what holds an important role in farming: healthy bulbs, tubers, roots and foliage.
Placing the bulb/corm is important to the flower farmer, but we all learn our ways of what works best for each of us throughout the years. Just as I plant in rows of three, you may prefer to plant in rows of five or six.
You learn what works best for your needs, zone and space. I’m here to help get yours performing at their highest level as simply as possible with our shared goal of a bountiful harvest.
OK, here comes the compost. Whether you create your own or purchase it from a reliable source, you’ll want to ensure your glads have the nutrients they require. With this method, the gladiolus are continuously fed throughout the growing season. It also boosts the sprouting process of the bulbs/corms.
Two weeks later, here are the results of the “ole” ways of gardening!
But the gardening doesn’t stop here, flower farmers. When growing glads, take into consideration that if there’s not sufficient rainfall, you should water them deeply once a week.
To offer gladiolus throughout the growing season, plant them in two-week intervals to produce a succession of blooms for those fresh bouquets.
Gladiolus are making a fierce comeback among flower farmers. Folks are seeking the blossoms that graced their grandmother’s garden. Consider a crop today—it’s not too late to get a planting in the soil!
Being a flower farmer comes with the passion of offering the highest-quality blooms for our customers, so we put every step forward to ensure those results.
Happy gardening!
– Pamela Anthony
Beehind Thyme Farm & Garden