Emily Pack Freight not Farm recently contributed an essay sa 2 Slow flowers Journal summer issue, sharing her philosophy fee on the importance of community connections for sustaining a vibrant cuff flower business that has served the greater Cleveland area for the past 7 years. We invited Emily to discuss her story and her journey with the So far podcast, and I'm excited for you to meet her today. I think our whole mission and, like, the mission of Afraid not as well. I was just trying to get as many local flowers into folks hands. I'm really grateful that I was able just... Start this, but I'm even more grateful to see what the future holds in collaboration and getting other folks with other skills and interest. You know, I hope people feel encouraged just to to ask, you know, ask people in your community, how they might wanna support and you'd be surprised, like, how many people really have something that you might not have that they can be mutually beneficial. I mean, I think Cleveland is really well situated to, like, facilitate a lot of these partnerships too, and that's why I love this city so much. Hello again, and welcome back to the Slow flowers podcast with Debra Printing. This is episode 673. This is the weekly podcast about slow flowers and the people who grow and design with them. It's all about making a conscious choice, and I invite you to join the conversation and the creative community. As we discussed the vital topics of... Saving our domestic flower farms and supporting a floral industry that relies on a safe, seasonal and local supply of flowers and foliage, This show is brought to you by slow flowers dot com. The free online directory to more than 750 flo shops and studios who design with local, seasonal and sustainable flowers and to the farms that grow those blooms. It's the conscious choice for buying and sending flowers. And thank you to our new lead sponsor for 20 24, flower bulb dot eu, and their Us Lilly bulb vendors. 1 of the most recognizable flowers in the world, the Lily is a top selling cut flower, offering long lasting blooms, Year round availability, and a dazzling paddle palette. Flower bulb dot eu has partnered with slow flowers to provide beautiful lilly inspiration, and farming resources to help growers and flo connect their customers with more lilies. Learn more at flower bulb, dot eu. And 1 more cause for celebration today is the eleventh anniversary of the slow flowers podcast The original floral podcast that we've produced and hosted for you ever since our debut, 07/23/2013. That means today's episode is our 570 fourth consecutive weekly program, highlighting the people, farm, flo and flowers of this slow flowers movement. Thank you for supporting this storytelling project for more than a decade now in its eleventh season. From Okay Let's jump right into today's interview with Emily Peck of afraid not farm. The mission of afraid not farm is to grow beautiful, diverse cut flowers and herbs that share stories bring joy and support equitable and regenerative farming. As owner founder, Emily has a passion for systems thinking, and agriculture, both of which led to an apprenticeship in Brooklyn, New York in 20 16. Where she learned how to farm while studying food justice. Upon returning to her deep roots in Cleveland, Emily worked at various farms and then started freight not in 20 17. The land that Freight not resides on was previously steward by her grandparents. Who have been part of the community for close to a century. Freight not farm is located 30 miles east of downtown Cleveland and grows over 100 varieties of annual and perennial flowers and foliage on less than an acre. Using hand scale and regenerative farming practices, the flowers produced and forage are offered through freight nuts, Csa bo case subscriptions, wholesale for purchase by Flo and supply events and workshops let's welcome Emily to the Slow flowers podcast and learn more about frey not farm. Well, hi, everybody. Welcome back to the Slow flowers show with deborah Printing and on until lick today, I'm so excited to welcome Emily Peck of afraid not farm. Hello, Emily. Hi, Deborah. Thanks for having me on. You've bet. We've been talking about this for a while. Thank you so much for joining me. You're based in Ohio. Can you tell everybody a little bit about where you're located and, then I'll will we'll we'll get the big question in which is how did the name trade not come together. Yes. And perch. Yeah. I'm Emily, and I started Freight farm, which is located. I generally say, Cleveland, Ohio, that's the the biggest major city that we have close to us, and we're just 30 miles outside of the city, but we are in a pretty rural area. It's known as New. It's just small town in Ji County, so, you know, north, East Ohio, and we have about 3 acres here, and are on land that my family's been residing on, for 60 years and in the community for almost a hundred years. So we have a lot of roots here, metaphorically and and and literally said my grandparents have been here for a long time. My mom was raised here and in in the house, and I'm in right now. I'm in, my... Grandmother's house, which is next to the farm. I love it. And I was raised in a community a suburb, just a 30 minutes away closer to Cleveland, but would come out here to my grandparents place, all the time. So has really special memories. Yeah. Yeah. So when you were a young, I don't know, teenager or college student Did you ever envision your future life living on the land that had your grandparents had farmed and, like, student getting out of the city and and, you know, creating a life around land and plants and flowers? Or was that part of the part of the vision? Or are you surprised by that? I I'm I'm a little bit surprised. I mean, I think always, you know, retrospectively, you can look back and see kind of the... Stepping stones to how you got somewhere. So it's, you know, it's not the craziest thing in the world, but I definitely didn't seek out, like, this or ever could have imagined. My grandparents built their house on 1 plot of land, and then they had purchased a separate plot that was adjacent to there, where their house was and growing up, it was just 3 acres of grass that they cut actually. It was just a a, big open field. The cutting grass is a big pass time here. And in the the past So... Yeah. Lawn culture is a a real thing. And I really just didn't think too much about it. My sister and I would just run out there and kinda of play, and it was just, like, a wonderful space to kinda grow up in and so it it, you know, they... There's a lot of ag cultural roots in this community, but there wasn't actually a farm there yet. So I really couldn't have even imagine that land ever being a farm, Wow. But I... But flowers and gardening was always in my life. So my my my parents and... My other, you know, maternal grandparents and maternal grandparents. They they all were very into kind of cultivating, flowers and vegetables, like, on a small scale. So that that definitely was instilled in me in a young age. So... Yeah. I love it. Okay. Well, the name afraid not. It was that your idea or did you inherit it? It's a great name. Yeah. Thank you. Yeah. I love it because I do feel like it gets the conversation starting, so thanks for asking. That was a name that I came up with, kind of. I mean, the the term afraid not farm is something or or afraid not, rather, was a term that my grandfather who I resided on this land. Use... He was a real jokes. He loved, like, very pun jokes and there's a punchline to a joke that, honestly, every time I try to tell it, I kinda butcher it, but you can look it up. Everyone can look it up. And because it also has very different interpretations. But essentially, it's... The Punch is afraid not, and he would tell this joke, like, repetitive and new have to manufacture laughter at a certain point. Because you're like, yeah. Get it. I get. We heard that 1 before gram. Yeah. I and it's just like, okay. And then so my grandfather, he passed and several years ago, before I even had the farm, unfortunately. So he wasn't able to, in in physical form c what we have here, but I really wanted to pay homage to him, and my mom actually eu him at his services, and she used that joke as a metaphor to talk about his life and my grandfather and his family had a small business. A grocery business, just down the road for 80 years. Wow. And they... So the. My mom just kind of uses as a metaphor to talk about how he wasn't afraid to kind of pursue that dream and to, you know, travel and to, you know, live his life in like, a a really beautiful way. And so when I was thinking about starting a small business and especially a a farming business in you kinda have to be fearless. So I was like, I want that as a mantra, like always to just be thinking of that when I'm you know, like, running on a adrenaline, like, how am I gonna get through this? You know, be be afraid not. So yeah. And it I just that to mean so many other things too, like, you know, we do weddings and the not And there's a term that's used and we grow flags, and it kind of has this, like, fray, like, look to it, and it's just kinda come full in a lot of ways. So... Yeah. Yeah. It has kinda 2 meanings because you are not afraid. Like, that's a very... Circle That's a very... Like as you said, a sort of a metaphor for just being this intrepid farmer and just going for it. And then, sometimes when things are falling apart, you feel like they're not is fray and unraveling. So I think you you have depends on what what your mood is that day of what you're thinking about? Absolutely. No. That was a really good point. I I honestly hadn't even really thought about that until I was saying it out loud. I was like... Yeah. Sometimes I really am feeling like afraid not. Like, that. And and, yeah. And then we have like, ties on our bo that are literally, like, kind of afraid that and Oh, so little touches into it that that people like to have that connection. So, yeah, I think it's a special name like... It is. I mean, on so many people have just names plucked out of thin air, and I love that there's a story there. Because I feel like you're a storyteller teller and a lot of what you're doing. And what kind of led to me asking you to be on the podcast 2 things. 1 is you recently wrote a beautiful essay for, the summer issue of Sunflower flowers Journal, and I'll pop that up on the screen in a little bit so we can share with people and I'll also put the Pdf link and our show notes so folks can read it. Love love your writing and I love that that worked out. But what led to that, what... As I recall and tell me if I'm wrong, but you had written a I guess in your newsletter, maybe, about this partnership or maybe I saw on your website, but this partnership with these fiber, Farmers and this fiber initiative. My background in textile design so really caught my attention because I'm always interested in what other types of agriculture are flower farmers able to get involved in, and I think fiber sort of, under underutilized. And that's that just led to me reaching out to you and asking to learn more. So let's start there. Can you talk a little bit about what what led to that and what what is the project? Yeah. Definitely. So I think it was probably year 2 and to me starting freight that. I was, like, recently moved back to Cleveland, and I was just trying to, you know, get integrated in the community and and and learn more about what was already going on here and get to know people that had similar values, and I just happened to go to this kind of like, small business, like, specifically, like women in business, meetup up group, and there was these 2 women there that were really passionate and interested in, like, textiles grown and using regenerative techniques and are, they were kind of kind of literally saying my own spiel, but in textile language, and I was saying it in flowers and farming. Yeah. And you just kind of were like, whoa. And, like, I I was like, I have never thought of, like, textiles, like, in that way. And they were like, I've never thought of flowers in that way. And And they were just kind of, you know, starting their journey of starting an affiliate group here, which is an affiliate of fiber shed. So there's fiber shed, which is the starting in California of by Rebecca Burgess and there's satellite, nonprofit and organizations all over the country, and they wanna just start the russ felt by shed version of that. So I kind of was lucky enough to be there kind of as they created that, and they wanted to kinda start launching initiatives with this fax project and fox is what Lennon is made out of, and there is a history of going growing facts in this region, and there is a huge also textile history in Cleveland specifically. So they really just wanted to start to generate energy around getting people to think about where do their tech textiles come from. So they said, do you wanna grow some slack And I was just, like, sure. You know? I was just, like, in the wow my farming career where I was just, like, kinda wanted to try anything and everything. So I was like, yeah, let's do it, and we we decided to grow, like a fifth acre of blacks on the farm. I have this space and it was saying completely a community, like, driven project. Like, we didn't have any funding for it really at the time. So it was pretty much just like, you know, hand scale, like we got compost out here. We spread Compost all by hand. We seated by hand, and then we harvested a few months after that, and it just, you know, brought a lot of people into the conversation, and I've been growing it on some scale ever since just to continue educating people on, you know, the importance of understanding where their text styles come from because almost... There's... Yeah I got a fact check this, but there's almost, like, no commercial styles like, lin... Like, Linen. Right. In the United States. So I mean, anymore. I mean, it at 1 point, there probably was. Right? There's some really awesome. We learned a lot from some folks in Oregon. And, yeah, fiber revolution folks out there. They finally developed. A really awesome seed. But before that, even the seed was all imported as well. So yeah, it's been really awesome to see how it's that's evolved, alongside our flower business over the last few years and how much... How many more people are engaged in understanding you know, the dangers of fast fashion and and being empowered by being able to grow their own clothes, So... Yeah. Yeah. I was just gonna pop up on the website or on our screen, the, the rust belt Linen project because this is... Just just visually, I think it's fun for people to see fiber shed rust belt, which is the organization, and you're kind of a partner then to to them because they're not growers per s. They're fiber... I guess, fiber thousand people. Right? Basically fiber shed, which I'm is now a nonprofit officially, and I'm actually on the board as well now. Cyber chat as an organization is just kind of an aggregate of, information and it helps just, you know, create resources for folks in the region. So they're... We're not doing 1 specific thing. We're just kinda helping support different project, and there's so many amazing growers, and then there's a lot of consumers and and also artisans that want their hands on good products, so it's just, like, we've been trying to connect folks, and not... Yeah. Just kinda break up that isolation Happen, especially when you're in rural spaces. So... Yeah. I see on this map, this density of red dots in the Cleveland area. So if Afraid knot is in here somewhere. Yeah Yeah. But... To look that there are now 52 participants is really amazing, and you're you're obviously listed here. 1 of the... 1 of the growers. What is the... What is the flex? It... You said it's a it's grown by seed? Is it a... A grass or how would you describe it? Yeah. It grows similar to a grass. It's not... In, like, the grass family. But, yeah. Flex itself. It does grow similar to, like, oats or rye or it's a really nice kind of cover crop almost. Okay. Almost like a grain of some kind. Yeah. So I mean black, like, if you ever had fl, and, like, your granola, or you're you're smoothie or whatever It's the same exact seed. Some varieties you can grow that's in can also be for edible and textile use. But the particular Cpus use is typically bread for tech style use. It means that it has a longer fiber. So the the actual plant itself it's gonna be a lot taller and because you want those really long lines of fiber. It's easier to, utilize and weaving and then making the textiles. So... But it grows... Yeah. It grows, like, we basically broad seed really close together. So broad seating. It's just kind of taking a handful of seeds, and I mean, you can get machinery to do it, but we've just done a hand scale, and it's just kind of, like, throwing the seed out there, like you would grass seed, And then you know, you want it kind of to be densely planted so that this the plant grows. Tall and doesn't get out competed by weeds, and it actually has, like, this very beautiful flu flower. And so it's, like, very like, magical mystical when you see this, like, like, because blue is just not a very common flower. Right. I'll just kind of this drift of blue in your in your little metal a fl. I love it. Yeah. So it's just... Unfortunately, it's not really great for as a cut flower because it... The the pedal strap immediately, but really pretty just to see, And I do cut it. Actually, the seed pods are really beautiful. So I cut it and I dry it. So it makes a really lovely dried arrangement. So I do utilize it in flower arrangements as well as, like using the textile. But yeah, after it's ready to be harvested, it goes through a, kind of a intensive processing of, like, breaking it down to become, like, usable fiber. And we've... Gone through all that whole process by hand and done a lot of demos to show people. And, of course, there's machinery to do that. But, right now, it's hard to find folks that will make process like, machinery for, like, a medium scale operation. So Right. We are holding out hope that that 1 day can happen, and then we can, like... Because now we've proven that so many folks can grow it, and it grows well here in this region, you know, now we just have to get that kind of middle part and scale it up a little bit. Yeah. And then we also have, like, folks that really wanna use local linen, but it's, like, there's a little bit of a... Still a gap that needs to be filled there. So... Well, I'll share the link to the, rust belt fiber shed site, just... And along with some of your other partners we're gonna talk about just to show maybe an an idea of resources other people could... Explore. This is not your only collaborative endeavor, though, Emily. You. It's sort of a whole philosophy for how you operate, freight not farm. Can you talk a little bit about how this is all evolved in, like, the last 5 to 10 years. I... I'm... You said that your partners just had a the 10 tenth anniversary of of that business, and you're also involved in that somehow. So I want you to kind of pull it all together for me and for our listeners. Yeah. For sure. Yeah. I like that you said it's our philosophy. That's very much like, our ethos and what we wanna promote. Like, I might have started it, but it's really, like, through a collection of, you know, other folks, like, dreams that this is all can't come to together there and I've always wanted to just bring people into the fold and just realizing this is a lot what I put in the article, but there just that, yeah, You can't do this alone. It really takes a village. And as you mentioned, yeah, My my husband, started a compost business 10 years ago, with some friends, and they just celebrated, their anniversary this last weekend, so Kind of coming off the high of that. I I started my farm 7 years, so I was a part of like seeing their business grow for 7 out of the 10 years, and it's a it's a pretty awesome and convenient thing to have a small another small business in the compost industry, grow grow alongside your farm. They they kinda go hand in hand. So I I feel extremely grateful to have met them early on. And, yeah, Just kind of help support each other, I love it. Yeah. So that... That's 1 as we talked about the fiber shed. What is the... What is the compost business called? Oh, yeah. Of course, it's called Breast Riders is the cup... Is the company name for they... So they haul food scraps all over the city. They, from, everywhere from hospitals to private residences, so they collect all that food waste that's getting diverted from the landfill, and they make it into nutrient rich soil, so they make it into, like, a... A compost, and they also make soil blends for, like, pot mix. So early on in my farming career, I was really struggling with a finding good pot soil as I'm sure so many growers understand that struggle. And a lot of people get it shipped all over the country just to get good soil and have, like, a local source, and it's literally made from the food scraps of the city is a really amazing thing. So I'm super lucky that they've been able to perfect they're blend and I use all their products for my seed starting for my mend, everything. So... So So do your... Do you contribute to the Compost too with your... Whatever your botanical waste is or your you know... Clipping and that worth of thing? I do. Yeah. So III contribute, like, any flower waste that we have. Like, we do have a little bit of a a compost pile on our our space on the farm, but as a lot of farmers would know, Like, that's a whole another like, thing to get into. Like, you can't just, like, throw stuff in a pile. So it's actually kind of a running joke because we have, like, the worst compost file ever. On the... Like, personally on the farm. So we let the professionals do it, and we yeah most of our stuff to to rest fell and then till soil is their their soil brand. And we also, I... As a household, I also contribute my household food waste to them as well. But if we ever have like, a big event or things like that will take excess waste to them. So, yeah. It's really cool to literally be kind of full circle. We... Our waist gets waste turned into something of value, and then we can use that value to continue to create this endless cycle, and then all while you know, preventing it from going from the... To the landfill, which is contributing significantly to greenhouse gas emissions. So Yeah. Super great partnership and good friends and... Wait, were you buying Compost from them and then you met your husband through the the the transact? Or... How did that come about? Yeah. It's basically. Yeah. I are the best you're the best customer. Yes. It's say, yeah, I've had moved back to Cleveland similarly to how I met the folks at rust fiber shed. There's a... As you can see, there's a theme. Breast belt. And we're very well. We're rare are we proud breast. But... And, yeah, that's breast for those that don't know. Is it's just a term to describe kind of the industry that once was here in the city, and we're kind trying to bring that back and pay homage to it. So But, yeah, I met them. I was, like, again, looking for folks to get involved with. Like, I just thought it was... I had just moved from New York City actually that has a lot of amazing compost initiatives. And so when I heard that, like, somewhere in Cleveland, because as you... Like, a lot of people, you know, they move from their hometown and they kind of, like, get dis enchanted by it. And so I kind of when I was moving back. I was like, oh, nothing's gonna be going on here. You know, I'm gonna have to, like, it's gonna be struggle, But then, of course, like, there was just so many vibrant organizations, like, the you know, doing all these things that they were doing in New York city too. So I think people, yeah, under value and appreciate what's going on in kind of the Midwest and the heartland lands and Yeah. Was is really cool. So, of course, I needed good soil, and I I found them and go yeah. I just started to become naturally friends with everybody because we were starting small businesses, and we... They needed support and farmer feedback, and I I kind of was there when early testing, you know, the soil, to see how it's working and And and... Yeah. And then with my husband, it just evolved from there. So Yeah. What's. What what's his name? His name's is Michael. Michael Robinson, and yeah. He's 1 of the c cofounder. But now there... The business is actually a, worker owner, business, and there's 14 or 16, I believe worker owners of, which is about makes up half of their staff. So Wow. He was based. Super passionate about not just making compost, but, making it a space that everyone is treated with equity, and has ownership in the business. So I've really been inspired by that, and I think that also has helped to contribute to a lot of the initiatives that I've started on the farm and, like, be in cooperation with folks and and be collaborative with them. So Well, there's a theme with both the with the fiber project and the, compost project of Regenerative agriculture. So that sort of aligns with how you approach flower farming as well. It sounds like. Yeah. Absolutely. Yeah. I mean, like I said, you just... Can't do this alone, and I just... I'm always seeking out folks that have other skills that I don't. Just... I think a lot of times you can feel pressure to try to do it all and try to be everything, and I think farming especially as despite often being seen as, like an un job it requires so many skills. And but knowing, like, what you're good at and what you're not. Like I said, are not necessarily the best compost. So let's, like, let's help promote these awesome compost and, you know, let's... We don't know what ton about textiles. Let's work with these folks but. I... You know, I have a desire to grow the facts, but I don't have as much time to, like, actually... You know, break it down and process it So let's work with folks that can have, you know, the skill to do that. And Yeah. And then we also have, like, our our collab partnership, our flower, Power club. Yeah. I'm gonna pop I'm gonna pop that up on the screen while. We're talking because this is just another example of you seeking out people to. Kind of I I guess just not have to be a solo, like, you're you're finding people who you can walk us walk alongside. The... What they're doing and, hopefully, it'll you know, fee both of you. So the you I have freight not farm up here on the website, the Cal collab wholesale for Flores. This is what you've been part of. Are you 1 of the founding members of this? That's hard to say. Honestly. I think so. Yes. I think so. Early on early on. Yeah. Yeah. No. III do think I am. Alongside many other folks. So I wanna take too much credit it for the idea, but I definitely was there since the beginning, and I've kind of emerged as a leader for various reasons, mo a lot of to do with the location that we're at. It's kind of in the middle of, like, you know, a dozen different flower farms in our area. So, yeah, This kinda came about, there was a couple different Ohio Meetup groups and... Excuse me I remember that from other regions of the state. Right? Yeah. So we had, like, kind of a winter meetup of folks all over Ohio, and you know, we would just kinda talk. Talk shop and talk crop and, like, you know, share ideas and see how we could help each other and a few, you know, years into that, a smaller group kind of started to form a folks that were in this, like, closer area because those are folks from all over the state, and we started to, you know, want them get together in our our area. So we started to meet and a lot of credit goes to Rosie Stand of field of blooms, who is in our area, and she was seeing the emergence of a lot of other collaborative in Michigan, you know, and in other areas around And I sometimes use the term flower hub, Wholesale flower head. That's sort of... Yeah. For sure. Yeah. Feel like slow flower really birthed a lot of those just in terms of... Creating topics for people to talk about how to, you know, how to do this, because there's no there's no road map. It's it's... Everybody's sort of... It's a ones... It's not a 1 size fits all. Everyone has to tailor it to their area, and it's you know, who the players are, what the what the flower mix is, and who are the customers. Right? Absolutely. Yeah. I think... Yeah, We were all real and, yeah I think the lot has to do with, like, the slow virus community and just I think that has virgin so many small farms, and we, you know, we're kinda... We were all gathered and I'm like, okay, We're all kind of, like these... Really passionate, you know, growers, but we're really small scale. How are we gonna ever, like, be attractive to flo, who need, like, really large quantities of product, and how are we gonna have time to logistically, you know, be able to do deliveries and and invoices and all those things and we're, like, how can we combine forces, and it it took a few years of just talking about that to just figure out what exactly that would look like, but it started off by, like, us just buying flowers from ourselves, And because we always need, like, to supplement flowers, you know, you have a big event, and then you are all of a sudden, you're like oh my gosh, my aren't ready. You know, let me call Patty and see if she's got anything. And so we were already doing that. Most of most of you farmer floors. Then or enough of you that you're... Or was it even just for, like, fulfilling market demand? Yeah. Market demand or even, like a flo wanted something. And mh. We're like, well, this floor. I wanna really keep this contact, but I don't have half of this product to tonight I. Does that makes sense. And something So I it turns out now that it's mostly growers and there's only a few folks that are doing events, but it started off very much of just, like, trying to help each other out and kind of simplify the process of buying from each other. And so I kind of volunteered to be the space to do that, I have a cooler, fortunately, and I'm... Like I said in the middle kind of e distance from folks that are more north and more south of us. And now it's grown into, like, a full scale kind of, flo wholesale, and we also offer retail as well to folks that wanna do, like, Diy weddings. I saw that when I was popping up the website. So you have you have found a balance between a wholesale to Flores and satisfying that retail customer basically. Right? Yeah. We're trying. I mean, I think our whole mission and, like, the mission of Freight not as well is just trying to get as many local flowers into folks hands. So, yeah, thank you for being such an inspiration in that as well, Deborah. Like, I think that's what keeps us... Going. Oh, well, it sounds like you've got a good group. So your freight nod is sort of the the hub where flo come pick up their orders. And prior to that, I guess, farmers bring their orders and it all kinda happens on your property. Yeah. Yeah. Wow. Yeah. Actually, today is drop off day. So as we speak, outside these halls like, our farmers are dropping off their beautiful product, our And after we have, like, sales that go up over the weekend. So force can place orders over the weekend, and then we organize that, 1 of my colleague who leads the website sales katie, Travis of Da, our farm runs all of our online support, And then I run all the kind of, like, actually organizing our orders pulling what we need for the week. And then tomorrow, we, have... Picked up. So forest can come get their orders. And then we also offer, like, on site sales. So we do, like, a market style pop up where for even if they haven't pre ordered, can come, shop, like, what we have, and that's really nice for them to just see visually product, and pick up extras, but it's really nice for the farmers because a lot of times, they have difficulty predicting, what is it gonna be available the following week. So if they they aren't able to do that, They can bring that last minute and still get sales, So it's really nice to see, like, so many small farms growing because we're able to create this market for them. That So... Yeah. What was the year you actually established and in the the current model that, you know, that this led to. So Well, the, like, kind of farmer to farmer started in 20 20, whereas. No surprise. Yeah. We had a plan to, like, do more Flo sales, obviously that year, I think that would have been our official launch year. But as everyone knows about all the weddings, cease to exist. So we just did the kind of farmer farmer. And so I'd say 20 21 is when we really started the model that we have now. So... That's great. That. I don't know. 21 20. That's 334 years. Yeah. Well, Emily, you said you're gonna shoot a little video that we can share at the end of this. So maybe you can point out, like, the area of where... Where the collab takes place. Sure. People could envision it. Is it go from, like, spring to fall? What is... Was... 1 of the what's the length of time in the year that you are offering product? Yeah. We start having product around mid April. We... Myself and a couple of their growers do have tunnels. So we're able to grow some stuff on that shoulder season, and then you know, obviously, Mother's day is a big 1. So we always try to get a few weeks in before that. And then we go usually until mid October. Maybe end of October, and a a lot of our growers dry product, so we usually do, like, a dried flower market at the end. Love it. Yeah. So... That's great. Well, you touched on a lot of these collaborations and the piece that, you wrote. For our current issue of Slow flowers journal. I just wanted to pop it up on the stay... On the page here on the screen and the s the essay sa is in are from the heart department, I guess, every issue we try to find someone to share our personal story. So here is of, the essay we we called farm life, the future of affirming is in community. This photo is of the collab group. Right? Yeah. Yeah. So some folks have, like, literally moved. So not everyone is in the the group anymore, and then we have a lot of new growers. Yeah. You have, like, call growers this year. We gotta get a good group. It's really hard to get you know, a bunch of farmers together when it's actually nice outside So... And you have buckets of flowers to share. Yeah. And this is a really fun event that we did, where we just highlighted, the the product that we had and we had flo come out to a, neighboring farm and just kinda make bo and get to see, like, how quality, you know, what the quality of our product is and help you... And how much variety we have and think it's always a work... Constantly, you know, continuing to educate people on the value of local followers. I page forward a little too quickly, but Here you are with a couple of your team members, and you did talk about the fact that you aren't completely solo. You now have grown to the part point where you can have some... Seasonal help at Freight not. Right? Yeah. This is Jewel and Lexi, and they're incredible. And I'm just so grateful that it is just me alone now and we're really moving into a space where we're all kind of taking responsibility of the farm and, like, working together, you know, not just to do, you know, specific tasks, but really, like, work together as a team and a partnership, to grow the farm because, yeah. I that's how I see the future of where we're going. It's just, like, integrating more voices and you know, I'm really grateful that I was able to start this, but I'm even more grateful to see what the future holds in collaboration and getting other folks. With other skills like I said and and interest and, yeah, Jewels like, has a huge passion for herbs and medicinal and that's, like, created this really lovely addition to, like, our case and and our products and Lexi is works at Great Lakes brewing company, which is a our, like, local brewery, and we've been able to to do beer collaborations with them, which is super fun. And yeah, she's really just super great at connecting us with partners in the community So I'm... III never would have been able to do those things on my own. So, yeah. I just hope that the peace encourages folks to not just get hard on themselves when they feel like they can't do it all and know that what we're up against as farmers and changing climates. Like, it's just... It has to be done with with other people and and and leaning on each other for that support. So I love it. Any of the other things that you... We... You've featured in the story that you wanna touch on that you're still involved with... I mean sure there's, like, opportunities to the point where now you can't even say yes to everything. Right? Yeah. For sure. And I think that I definitely have been strict. Strategic about them. You know, I've just found people luckily that are have similar values and Yeah. That's certain point, you do have to say now, and I think just kinda hone in on the relationships that you do have, But 2 of the ones that I also mentioned in the piece that I wanna highlight or 1, Ohio City farm, which is a urban farm in, that that the city of Cleveland, and they are run by this organization that reset refugees in the city, we're a really big hub in Cleveland for refugee reset. Wow. To folks that work at that farm are newly reset. So folks from all over the world, and they have a beautiful vegetable share, but don't have really room for flowers, So we were kind of in relationship together and talked about doing a our Csa. So we are an add on to their. Vegetable share and their customers can buy flower bo, a weekly in addition to the the vegetables. So that's been an awesome partnership, and then also, some dear friends, Jenny and Andrew of room service, boutique, and now they have a a French cafe that they just opens up and wanted to highlight that because they were really early supporters in in us and helped us launch our Csa program in the first place. And, you know, I I always talked to folks that are starting, like subscription services or Csa to find folks like Jenny and Andrew, because of the deliveries and that the logistics can be a lot of work, but why not partner with folks that care about what you do and also wanna highlight it in their shop, and then also So hopefully get some patrons shipped to their space, and then they can help support that pickup instead of you having to do it all. So yeah. That's really, really amazing. So you have the Csa, both through the... Home goods, restaurant pickup, and then do you also have 1 on your farm or how are you managing all of that? Because it's a big... It is a big lift. Yeah. So we did scale back our subscriptions a little bit this year so we could focus on our wholesale in the club. Yeah. And but in previous years, yes, we were... The the restaurant and Home Goods store. They were a pickup location. Now we're just offering retail bow. To them. But cool. So... Yeah. Which is really nice. And then with our Ohio City farm, they've become our exclusive, like Csa pickup So they have actually 2 locations that folks can pick up from. So again, it makes it really easy on us to be able to just aggregate it through them. So, so we don't actually have any pickup on our farm, and that's kind of by design too because we're a working farm, and we have some really awesome events through the year, but we're not really situated to have, like, kind of that management. So it's nice to have partnerships. Like I mentioned to be able to support that. So... Well, that's that's the theme of this conversation and the theme of the essay that you shared and that It's... Just... It's hard it's hard. Yeah. And no forming is hard. And if you have people who make that journey more enjoyable just because of, you know, feeling that you've got... They've got your back and you've got theirs. It's just also elevate everyone. And, obviously, elevate your community, and sounds like a really beautiful community that you have built and, know, in the Greater Cleveland area. So I wish like they come visit. Sounds wonderful. You're welcome anytime. Okay. We have a late, kids beautiful. It's it's it's a great it's a great space. And I mean, I think Cleveland really well situated to, like, facilitate a lot of these partnerships. Too, and that's why I love this city so much because it it makes it easier to meet people and be able to form these connections, because everyone kinda has this, like, solidarity with each other, and love for the city. So I think it it I think you can replicate this kind of model anywhere, but I think it's been especially, you know, successful in, like, the, kind of smaller city that we do have. Yeah. And I think You know, I hope people feel encouraged to to ask, you know, ask people in your community, you know, how they might wanna us or and you'd be surprised, like, how many people really have something that you might not have that they can be met mutually beneficial or I love it. I love it. Well, we could keep keep going, but I'm gonna let you go because I know you've got a wedding to design for and I didn't know the club was going on today, but I'm site excited to share this conversation, Emily is going to also take a little video, and we'll add that. And then I have so more photos that you shared that we weren't able to use with the your column. So I'll put those in our show notes when this airs s r's podcast dot com. So, best wishes for the rest of the season. And what are you do in your downtime, Emily? What downtime? I don't know when the dried flower season is over. Yeah. Then that's planting season, but no, I like... I mean, I mentioned the lake. I love to go swimming in the lake. I I have 2 very cute cats that I like mine with. I mean, All jokes aside. Like, I think it's... I don't wanna glorify, like, you know, burnout out or working too hard. I think absolutely... Folks need to rest, especially farmers. They can get... As I said in the article, it's really easy to get completely consumed by it, and I been trying really hard this year, especially to, like, separate myself a little bit from that and create better work life balance, But that being said, like, I do love what I do, and I love, like, the folks that I get to interact with. So it it does feel like a lot of times, just such a joy to, like, take on these projects, and work with them, but rest is important and, finding time off the farm and out to work. Is also important. III love, like, kind of doing embroidery and, like, textile work. Actually, I've been really getting into. I wonder. So I've been I've been trying to do that is, I've been trying to relearn what a hobby needs. Well, it's a lifestyle that... So many people aspire to, and so few people can actually follow through on it and and just admire you so much for being honest. And transparent and sharing your story, and I'm excited to share with the broader slow flowers community through the podcast in the video. So Thank you, emily. I really appreciate it. Thank you so much. I have to say, like, I've been listening to the podcast since I started farming, so this is a really... Big honor, and I've, like, been so inspired by so many of the stories that you've told and it's really helped me to get to this point. So I really appreciate it. Thanks. And now you're 1 more voice in that collection. So thank you. We'll talk soon, Emily. Thanks a lot. Bye bye. I. Thanks so much for joining me today. Please visit. Slow flowers podcast dot com to find episode 673. You can watch the replay video of my conversation with Emily and find links to afraid not farms social places. The bonus video includes footage that Emily filmed separately and share with me after our main interview As mentioned, I will also include a Pdf of Emily's with Heart Essay recently published in the summer 20 24 issue of. Flow flowers journal. Thank you to Johnny selected seats, an employee owned company that provides our industry with the best flour herb and vegetable seeds, supplied to farms large and small, and even tobacco cutting gardens like mine. Find the full catalog of flower seeds and bulbs at johnny's seeds dot com. And thank you to the Gardener workshop, which offers a full curriculum of online education for flower farmers and farmer flo. Online education is more important than ever, and you'll want to check out the course offerings at the Gardeners workshop. Dot com. I'm so glad you joined us today. The slow flowers podcast is a member supported endeavor, downloaded more than 1000000 times dot by listeners like you. Thank you for listening, commenting and sharing, it means so much. As our movement gains more supporters and more passionate participants who believe in the importance of our domestic cut flower industry, the momentum is contagious. I know you feel it too. If you're new to our weekly show or a long running podcast check out all of our resources at s flower society dot com. I'm Deborah P, host and producer of the Sunflower flower show, and the So podcast. The So podcast is engineered and edited by Andrew B. The content and opinions expressed here are either mine alone or those of my guests alone, independent of any podcast sponsor or other person company or organization. Next week, you're invited to join me in putting more slow flowers on table, 1 stem, 1 vase at a time. Thanks so much for joining us today. And I'll see you next week.