Claim OwnershipBecoming a Cut Flower Grower
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© 2026 Becoming a Cut Flower Grower
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Becoming a Cut Flower Grower is a raw and honest podcast about growing and selling cut flowers and the realities of what it really takes to build a cut flower business from the ground up.
Hosted by a working cut flower grower, the podcast combines practical insight with thoughtful reflections on the decisions, trade-offs, and rhythms of the work — from production and selling, to confidence, sustainability, and shaping an off-grid business on a tight budget.
Episodes will be useful whether you’re starting out with cut flowers, developing a small-scale flower business, or simply interested in the craft, economics, and rhythm of growing cut flowers for sale.
With twice-weekly episodes, this podcast is an intelligent, steady companion for anyone curious to know what growing and selling cut flowers with intention and care really looks and feels like.
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www.henhillcutflowers.co.uk
123 Episodes
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Hello, it's Friday 20 March 2026. It's been an epic couple of days: yesterday I got a flat tyre on an isolated road in the middle of nowhere and then I found bindweed on the field. On the plus side, my seedlings are doing really well, which is great. Today I had a meeting with my main wedding and event florist - all the details of that in the episode - and she's agreed to be a guest on the podcast so please send me your question(s) for her and we'll tackle them. It's a really grea...
Hello, it's Tuesday 17 March 2026. Lots to tell you tonight. Everything is growing away nicely and I've been busy weeding and prepping the beds. I share everything else that's going on including the jobs on the field I have coming up. The greenhouse is also rapidly filling up with seeds and tonight I'll talk you through how I've been sowing differently this week. The tulip disaster continues and needless to say, I won't be growing them in crates ever again. Even the rats are turning the...
Hello, it's Friday 13 March 2026. Welcome to the episode. Tonight' I'm focusing on my cut flower website. You'll hear about which company I used to make it, who hosts it, how much the hosting costs per month, where I buy my domain names, which domains I buy, why it's so much easier to make a website these days (no coding required), how I get started when I don't know where to start, using photography to make an impact, making it personal, why it's crucial to optimise a website for mobil...
Hello, it's Tuesday 10 March 2026. Tonight I'm talking about how I'm sowing my sweet pea seeds and share some techniques that save me time and money. Every penny (and second) counts when starting seeds because it directly impacts the cost of producing each flower stem. And this of course matters when I'm aiming for profit. I discuss the soil blocker that I'm using (link below for the one I have, not an ad) and I'm wondering if you've tried the new 'Snail' technique that everyone on instagram ...
Hello, it's Friday 6 March 2026. I started sowing my annuals today and it felt so good. I have been putting it off (no idea why) and I really did just need to get started and I instantly felt better. In tonight's episode I talk about how I did it including how I got on with soil blocking: this is a new method for me so it will be interesting to see how the seeds get on. Let's hope nothing eats them. There's a lot growing on the plot at the moment, particularly the weeds. Wow, they have sudden...
Hello and welcome to Tuesday 3 March 2026. It's March! At last! Spring is finally here. Tonight's episode is a real reflection on how I'm feeling about beginning year 2 of my cut flower enterprise and it's really not what I thought it would be like. So I'm talking about my current mood and all the thoughts I'm having about the plot, including not having enough greenhouse space, not enough bed space, why I haven't even started my seeds yet and all the support I really could do with at the mome...
Hello and welcome to Friday 27 February 2026. You join me on the plot today for some thoughts about what's going on this week. I'm not quite myself this week and I think it's my hormones again so I talk about this a little bit. If you're feeling a little bit "off" then this may (or may not) resonate with you, and if it does, you're not alone. Today's Plant Profile Series continues with Hazel: a wonderful shrub for long straight stems of very useful and desirable foliage. It's a super-ea...
Hello, it's Tuesday 24 February 2026. I have lots of news from the plot to tell you in the first part of tonight’s episode including planting my new perennial plugs, removing nettles from the old nigella bed, and tidying Kylie’s room plus more. I also started to make a dead hedge with apple prunings, which I’m very proud of. In the second part of the episode I’m sharing all the prep work involved in getting my greenhouse ready for seed sowing including cleaning the glass, replenishing t...
Hello, it's Friday 20 February 2026. In tonight's episode you join me on the plot where it's windy and rainy (at one point we even had sleet) and the hens make a guest appearance when one of them scared themselves and then frightened all of the others. I'm talking about what's happening on the plot right now including all the new growth I'm seeing, the plants which are still fast asleep, or in the wrong place, or have just been put in the right place but not actually planted (sorry, phlox). I...
Hello, it's Wednesday 18 February 2026. Happy Shrove Tuesday for yesterday! Today I'm talking about a Floret video I saw on instagram about using a rich potting mixture for sowing seedlings rather than just a plain seed compost: it's really interesting and Erin shares the recipe if you want to take a look. I've always used a nutrient-poor compost for germinating seeds and had excellent results but I'm fascinated by what Erin is suggesting so I'm going to try it, see what happens and report ba...
Hello, it's Friday 13 February 2026. Are you superstitious about Friday 13th?! I hope it was a good day for you. In this episode I continue talking about pricing. I talk about how I did it in 2025 as a year 1 grower including the market research I did and the places I hunted for prices, how I worked out my costs of production (and what I didn't record) plus I share with you what this actually meant when I grew my Cosmos last year. I contrast my Cosmos data with that of my Hazel, which I didn'...
Hello, it's Tuesday 10 February 2026. Today's episode is a big one and it's all about pricing. It's such a hot topic: everyone wants answers and so I thought I'd share my experiences of it. I'm covering the nitty-gritty details including why pricing properly matters, what information you need to calculate the cost of producing stems (and how you do this), how I do the sums, all the elements growers have to consider, margins for wholesale and retail customers, the importance of market research...
Hello, it's Friday 6 February 2026. The stats are in: we've had a lot of rain. According to the Met Office my region of the UK has had 188% of its average rainfall in January. It's no wonder I have been grumpy this month: missing days of work and nothing doable on the field. On the plus side I have collected a lot of rainwater but I'd swap that for some dry days. In light of this I'm discussing the impact of flooding and waterlogging, what makes it worse and action we can take, includin...
Hello, it's Tuesday 3 February 2026. Another wet week! In today's episode I realise that I don't have enough growing space for all the annuals that I'm planning to grow, which is a problem. I have come up with a solution and hopefully you'll agree it's a good one (although the chickens may not approve). I discuss my seed sowing plan in great detail including all the calculations I have made and the reasons behind them. I'm playing it safe with the dates. The formulas behind the numbers ...
Hello and welcome to Friday 30 January 2026. Tonight I'm talking all about the magic of compost. I absolutely love making it, talking about it and using it. Given the price of compost these days, it's so much better to make my own plus it has the added benefit of being tailored to my soil conditions. So I talk about how to make simple compost bays, what to add (and what to avoid), turning it (or not), covering it (or not), plus the importance of using the right compost for the right plants (a...
Hello and welcome to (a very wet) Tuesday 27 January 2026. The disasters are coming thick and fast this week (and it's only Tuesday). There is endless rain, my car window has broken (again), and something has eaten a third of my tulips. To console myself I've just made a gloriously rich and decadent tartifette and will worry about the calories in the spring. Tonight I have two epic chats for you: the first concerns the recent news that the Church is considering a ban on floral foam and import...
Hello, it's Friday 23 January 2026. The laptop is back and normal service has been resumed so today's episode has the proper introduction and music, phew. However the audio quality isn't brilliant at the beginning so apologies for that. It does get better about five minutes into the episode so maybe I did something silly with the microphone. Tonight I'm talking about photoperiodism: what it is and why it matters to cut flower growers. I have been looking into this recently so that I can treat...
Hello, it's Tuesday 20 January 2026. Tonight’s episode sounds a little different because there’s no introduction or music because my laptop is at the repair shop and I’m having to upload this episode in a completely different way. Since last week’s episodes I have received lots of really great questions from listeners about my seed sowing plan so I thought I’d answer these in this episode, including the point of a financial goal, how planning now makes things easier when it gets busy, and how...
Hello, it's Friday 16 January 2026. My seed/crop planning is still in progress and just when I think I've cracked it, I discover more things that I need to work out. So I have been drowning in a complicated spreadsheet this week as it has poured down with rain outside. I've also ordered a new wall calendar plus thousands of sticky dots to stick on it. And I've realised all the additional data that I need to collect this year. In the second part of tonight's episode, I continue my Plant Profil...
Hello and welcome to a rainy Tuesday 13 January 2026. Lots of things going on at the moment including a broken inner car door handle, more rain than I thought possible, outrageously elevated hormone levels and getting into the Alpine spirit with home-made Tartiflette. Crop planning started in earnest today and I'd like to share my thoughts with you on this episode. I started out with an enormous list of plants I planned to grow (which needed revising down to start with) and ended with a...
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