My Black Thumb Nursery Journal 2/10/2025

Topics:

• 2025 North Carolina Orange County Agriculture Summit

• Root Checking

• Early Spring Pruning and Propagation

Hello, everyone!

I’m so excited to have attended the 2025 North Carolina Orange County Agriculture Summit today. I met many amazing farm owners and vendors, and we had great conversations. The information on preparing your farm for emergencies was incredibly helpful—they shared so many valuable tips!

During the farmer networking session, I was thrilled to meet a couple of cutting flower farm owners. One of them is extremely successful and runs a "cut-your-own" flower farm. I’d love to visit this spring and see her garden in person! In one of the workshop sessions, we discussed growing ginger. I’ve been growing ginger at home just for personal use, but I had no idea how high the market demand is—it was eye-opening!

Today, I also did a root check on the roses growing in the greenhouse. These roses are getting ready for the Winston-Salem Rose Association event next week. Their roots look fantastic, but I think I applied the bloom booster too late, so they don’t have as many flower buds as I had hoped. Still, I’m really happy with how healthy their roots are!

My goal: This should be a standard for the quality of roses. After establishing my farmland, I should use this as an example to check off the roses. What do you think?

I'm very happy with the roots, but it doesn't have many flower buds yet.

I also finally finished my early spring pruning and propagation. It took me about two weeks to get it all done. My husband helped with mulching around the roses, and I’m so grateful for his hard work—he did an amazing job!

The shelves are full. Two friends helped me process these cuttings. We had a propagation party at home with soft piano music and mocha milk tea.

It looks much better in person. The photo doesn't do justice.

She is growing out of this trellis. I can't wait to move her to new farmland later.

P.S. I’ve decided to start keeping a nursery journal. What started as a hobby turned into a side business, then a year-long search for land, and now, I’ve signed the contract to get my own farmland. I’ve come such a long way in just a few years, and I want to document this journey as it unfolds!