Bloom Check Sustainability

Bloom Check Sustainability

American Grown Bloom check CA Grown Cut flowers Sun Valley Sustainability

Sun Valley just made a change that is good news for you, good news for your flowers, AND good news for the environment--we have officially switched over to Bloom Check.

Okay, so what is Bloom Check? Bloom Check a certification program all about sustainable farming practices in the US.  More specifically, it the gold standard in the sustainable certification of fresh cut flowers and foliage.

For retailers and consumers, it means the flowers you buy are grown under the highest standards for flower production, cultivated with respect for the land and dignity for the people who work it.  You are buying the best--and kindest--flowers that America has to offer.

For us, the flower farmer, it means we've met the most rigorous standards for growing flowers in the US.  We have gone through an extensive audit to ensure that we are using best practices with regards to water use, air and soil quality, wildlife protection, as well as societal impacts on our team members and community.    We have earned the right to wear the Bloom Check badge of honor on our (flower) sleeves, and we wear it proudly.  

Look for this sticker/logo on the flowers you buy

So, what are these rigorous standards? 

To ensure objectivity, the standards, accreditation, and audits for Bloom Check are conducted by a third-party certifier, Protected Harvest.

Protected Harvest is an independent, nonprofit organization which judges sustainability based on nine different production management categories: field scouting, information sources, pest management, field management, weed management, insect management, disease management, soil and water quality, and storage.
 

Not only that, we must stay below a certain number of toxicity units per acre.  Highly toxic pesticides are prohibited, and earth-friendly biological methods (good bugs vs. bad bugs) are encouraged.  Also, each handler of the crop must undergo a chain-of-custody audit that follows the crop from field to retail.  This extra step ensures that ALL levels of flower production (including storage, packing, and transportation)  is done as sustainably as possible.

Yellow Sticky Tape as non-invasive bug control

How is Bloom Check different from other sustainable certifications?

Origin matters!  Bloom Check is specifically designed for flower farmers in the United States, giving you the assurance that your flowers were not imported from another country on an air freighter or big boat.  Moreover, because Bloom Check is specific to American Grown flower products, the farms must also adhere to regulations put forth by the USDA, EPA, CDFA, State Water Board, Coastal Commission, and more  This gives consumers an authoritative guarantee from Protected Harvest and tens of regulatory government agencies that the Bloom Check flowers you buy are sustainably grown, with no shortcuts.

Sun Valley has always practiced sustainability, but changing our certification to Bloom Check helps us exhibit our practices with pride (and a stout guarantee). Sustainability is innovation, and our efforts to rework energy use, recycle water and soil, and take care of our employees is not only good for the environment, it's good for business.

When you buy or sell our Bloom Check-certified blooms, you can feel good that they are not only gorgeous in their appearance but also good for the earth and the future.

Walking the Oxnard Color Farm

Walking the Oxnard Color Farm

American Grown CA Grown dahlias Lady Aster Oxnard Sun Pacific Bouquet

I recently took  a trip to Southern California to visit our Oxnard Farm, which is always a treat.  Our farm world in northern-located Arcata is mostly tulips, lilies, and irises, so I love to experience the other flora that is also part of the Sun Valley Catalog.  

Red Asters, Green Solidago, and yellow button pom

Our Oxnard location allows us to take advantage of every flower's growing cycle, so while its grey and cold in Northern California, we are able to use the climate of Oxnard to extend the season of our warm-weather flora.  The specific crops we grow in Oxnard are often picked when they are showing full color (which differs from here in Arcata).  This means the lucky pickers, packers, and bouquet-makers get to fully experience the world of color they are creating.  Last week I got to see it, and now I am here to introduce these beautiful blooming images onto you. 

Enjoy and be bright!

The Hoops

The Dahlia hoop houses reward you with some beautiful sights of intricate petals that seem to be infinitely unfolding.  These are featured in many of Sun Pac's winter bouquets and are also available in consumer bunches.

 

Below are purple and red Matsumoto Asters; their cheerful vibrancy never fails to disappoint.  Normally, asters are a late summer/early fall variety, but with our organized hoop house program, along with Southern California's moderate temperatures, our blooms are able to flourish year-round.   

Asters paved the way for their close relatives, Pom Chrysanthemums (aka Poms) a relatively new crop that is doing spectacular (but I'll let the flowers speak for me)...Right now is the season for mums, as they need short days and long nights to flower and show their colors.  Their many-layered, warmly hued petals bring a long-lasting brightness to any vase.

 

While we do grow Zantedeschia (Calla Lilies) in Arcata during the summer and fall, we had some healthy new plantings in Oxnard hoops that look like they are going to grow up to have beautiful blooms come January, and I couldn't resist snapping a shot of the sprouting leaves in the sunshine.

 The Bouquet Room

After walking through the hoop houses, I entered the world of Sun Pacific Bouquet, a bustling and bright world of bouquet-building.  This was one week before Thanksgiving, and the season was evident in the colors on the tables.

Sun Pac Work Table

Lilies, Solidago, and yellow button poms

Lovely Liatris

Long stemmed flowers ready for a bouquet.

Thanks to everyone in Oxnard who let me get in their way to take these photos!  And, remember, grey skies don't mean a thing when you're staring colorful blooms in the face.  See a flower you haven't experienced yet? Be bright and be bold--try something new, and bring the world of color home with you this winter!

Rosehips: Autumn's Darling

Rosehips: Autumn's Darling

American Grown bees CA Grown fall arrangements Fall Colors Lady Aster Rose Hips roses Willow Creek

Rosehips: the plant of a million uses.  Well, maybe not a million, but its reputation as a great source of Vitamin C precedes it by centuries with ancient and modern use in tinctures, jellies, wine, and more.  Take a walk down your local grocery tea aisle and you'll be sure to find some herbal rosehip tea.  

However, rosehips are not just for flavoring foods, they are also for spicing up bouquets.  And in the world of Sun Valley, rosehips are through and through a fall specialty branch!   

 
So what exactly is a rosehip? Is it a rose or isn't it?  Scientifically speaking, the rosehip is the swollen ovary that contains the rose seeds.  It is the "fruit" of the rose.  If you cut open a rosehip you will find it is full of reproductive seeds.  
 

Rosehip bloom being pollinated

Rosehips develop on wild roses as the petals drop off.   These wild roses may not look like the "traditional" roses you are accustomed to, but they are indeed classified as roses (and aren't they pretty?).  The species of Rosa we use are specifically bred to create big, beautiful hips, which is why the regular rosebushes in your neighborhood will not produce anything quite like them. 





We grow these plants at our inland Willow Creek Farm, which is located 45-minutes away from coastal Arcata.  This canyon in the hills provides an ideal climate of early springs, hot summers, and an extended autumn which gives rosehips plenty of time to mature.

Rosehip blooms in summer

We prune our rosehip bushes down to the ground every winter, and then we wait.  As the weather begins to warm in late winter/early spring, they begin to grow back  and by summer, the flowers are blooming and the bees are buzzing.  We maintain bee boxes from a local keeper on the farm, so the bees are happy and our rose hips are happy!

Bee Box with protective wires to keep the bears out!

Once the flowers are pollinated, the pink bloom falls off and the seed pod (the hip!) begins to form. 
 
We harvest rosehips as early as August and as late as Christmas, and the month of harvest determines the color of the berry. Early in the season, they start out green; as they progress, they begin to resemble Fuji apples--partially green with reddish swirls; then they develop a beautiful reddish-orange hue and finally, a saturated cherry red. It's almost as if they know what colors are fashionable per season and act accordingly!   

Rosehips in Autumn

We have been growing and testing rosehips for many years, and have found that one variety in particular, called Amazing Fantasy, produces the strongest berry in our climate. Once cut, Amazing Fantasy Rosehips can keep their color, shape and luminosity for several weeks.

Our strong rosehip program is bolstered by the fact that agricultural restrictions forbid the importation of fresh rosehips into the United States.  We are proud to be one of the few producers of this truly American Grown crop,  and you too can feel good when you support this important agricultural movement.

Design wise, rosehips are extremely versatile and fit into the fall and winter color palette perfectly.  Check out the dramatically beautiful autumnal arrangement created by floral designer,  Pieter Landman.  You can see how they add texture and a punch of focal color.

The "Dress This Nest" blog also featured our rosehips in a great DIY-tutorial in flower arranging.  Once you get started, you'll see that perhaps there ARE a million uses for rosehips!

Blue Flower, Blue Planet : Earth Day 2015

Blue Flower, Blue Planet : Earth Day 2015

#americangrown #USGrown Blue Iris blue planet CA Grown Earth Day 2015 Sustainability

Earth Day was first conceived in 1969, in reaction to a massive oil spill in Santa Barbara that ravaged the California coastline.  At the time, there were minimal protections for our blue planet, and accidents of this kind were common.  Community organizers, along with a senator from Wisconsin--Gaylord Nelson--pushed for an environmental teach-in to be held on April 22, 1970.

On that day, the influence of the earth and nature had particular significance; millions across the United States participated in the celebration of our blue planet and the collective concern for its conversation and preservation.  Years later, this day was brought to international attention, and now over 190 countries celebrate and recognize the beauty of our shared Earth.

Official Earth Day Flag

 Earth Day led to the creation of the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the passage of the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts.  Now, the United States boasts some of the strongest environmental standards in the world--especially here in California.

And here in California, Sun Valley has been doing its part to nourish and give back to the planet.  This is especially important since our products (aka beautiful flowers) come straight from the Earth's rich heart.  To demonstrate our care and respect for the land we use, we seek to utilize sustainable farming practices.  To minimize unnecessary waste, we use an environmentally friendly steam-sterilization technique to recycle our soil, while also employing the practices of crop rotation, integrated waste/compost management, and energy-efficient greenhouses.  We use bicycles to get from hoop house to greenhouse to field to office, which is friendly for the land and for our bodies.

We were the first flower farm in California to be certified by Veriflora, an agricultural sustainability and eco-labeling program which ensures that we meet America's most comprehensive sustainability standard.  In short, we try to live symbiotically with the planet that, in turn, gives us our gorgeous lilies, tulips, and irises.  

And what better way to celebrate the iconic beauty of the Earth than with a flower?  Here at Sun Valley, we are commemorating Earth Day with our Iris.  It is a refreshing and pure symbol of what clean air, land, and water can achieve—a blue flower from, and for, a blue planet.

This Earth Day, look around, feel the dirt, smell the air—find yourself something of this planet to enjoy.   Bring some earthen beauty home with you and celebrate with our Iris, grown with the earth in mind.

Mother's Day ~ Let's Get It On!

Mother's Day ~ Let's Get It On!

#americangrown #LetsTalkFlowers CA Grown Dubium Matsumoto Asters Mother's Day Ornithogalum Tulips

"Let's get it on!"

When Marvin Gaye sang these immortal words he must have been thinking about Mother's Day in the floral biz.  All throughout Sun Valley, the energy level is rising and everyone is feeling the vibe. It’s going to be a wild few weeks until we hit May 12^th.  We all know Mother's Day is crazy for flower growers, but did you know it is also the single day with the most long distance calls of the year?

So what crops are we still flush with?

Matsumoto Asters, White Dubium and of course, Tulips. 

Hot Pink Matsumoto Asters

Time to celebrate MatsuMania 2013!  Our Sun Valley Matsumotos are known for their bright colors, big blooms and tall sturdy stems. The red, purple, pink and lavender colors are all coming in strong.  The weather changed just perfectly at our Oxnard farm this spring to provide us with a bumper crop.  Gerrit in Oxnard is responsible for growing this epic crop, now all of YOU need to come through and find a home for these beauties. 

Red Matsumoto Asters

I feel like Matsumotos are often one of the unsung crops of the farm.  We are known for our impressive tulip production, year round Telstar iris production and our jaw dropping lilies.   It seems these unique flowers live in the shadows.  This is not the case right now, Matsumotos are standing up, so you better take notice.  They are also bursting out of our bouquet department, have you checked out these bouquets, let us do the work for you!

White Dubium progression

Two weeks ago I wrote about Dubium Ornithogalum, imagine Star of Bethlehem on steroids.  We have an abundance of the white variety, which is perfect as a focal or in a supporting role in your Mother's Day designs.  This plant is really well known in horticulture circles, and you will often see this as a potted plant in garden centers or supermarket floral departments.  We have been getting a really positive response from our customers on this crop as a cut flower, it is definitely an up and coming "cut" flower, and will add a little spice to whatever you use it for.  One of its' outstanding qualities, is an almost freakish vase life.  These plants are native to arid regions of Africa and the Middle East. They survive three weeks and beyond, after the blooms start to open in a progression up the stem.  You could give your Mom a big bunch of these with some greenery for Mother's Day, and still be enjoying them at Father's Day!

 

"The secret of success is consistency of purpose" -Benjamin Disraeli (1804-1881, British Prime Minister)

Consistency of purposesums up the Sun Valley Tulip program.  Our soil grown, greenhouse tulips maintain the highest quality year round.  We strongly believe that offering a consistent, dependable product is the key to return business.  Whether you are a wholesaler selling tulips to florists or a mass marketer selling tulips to the general public, if you sell poor a quality tulip you are poisoning your next sale.  When a customer is buying from you they are already committed to the sale, however, the next sale is what you should be thinking about.  Consistency creates return business, better relationships, and in the end, builds your customers trust.

  

Is there anything more valuable or precious in business than your customers trust?

Hyacinth Heaven

Hyacinth Heaven

CA Grown Hyacinth Hyacinth House Hyakinthos Jim Morrison photosynthesis Sun Valley Floral Farm The Doors

Here hyacinths of heavenly blue, shook their rich tresses to the morn.

                                                      - James Montgomery, British poet born in 1771

January brings one of our favorite flowers to market. On our Arcata, CA. farm we have started harvesting big numbers of Hyacinth. Folks all around the farm seem pretty jazzed that it is Hyacinth season, so I headed out to the hoop houses to see what all the hub-bub is about.

As I poked my head into each house, trying to find the hyacinth, I saw big green tarps stretched out over black crates. My curiosity led me to enter the hoop house and pull up a corner of the green tarp. There I saw dozens of tiny green sprouts poking up from the soil, it was warm in the hoop house, but it didn’t have much of a flower smell.  The tarps are one of our secrets, we use these so that the hyacinth will grow taller.

Keeping the Hyacinth warm and toasty.

Talking with hyacinth fans, the first thing they mention is the fragrance. This surprised me, since it seems all through the floral industry people really connect visually to flowers first. Not that the scent isn’t a big factor, but you always see the flower before you smell it, unless you are in a dark room, or have your eyes closed (try this at home!).



Baby Hyacinths

Leaving the hoop house with the tiny sprouts, I entered the next one, where the green cloth had been removed, and the hyacinths were big, stout and mature. I slid the door closed behind me, and stepped into a warm fragrant paradise. WOW, what an amazing olfactory experience! So rich, yet not over powering, I started taking deep breathes to saturate my senses. The other part of the experience was the warmth, it being January in Humboldt County the temperature outside was about 45 degrees, windy and the air held a very sharp chill. This hoop house was a moist 80 degrees, with the heavy floral scent, I felt like I was in a tropical rainforest… maybe in Fiji. Was that a monkey bat I just heard? This was a sensory 180 and it was completely intoxicating. 

Fields of Green

The rows of green stems vary in shades, from dark green to near yellow. This is because the bulbs have been planted then rooted for 16 weeks in a dark cooler, within three days of being moved into the hoop house these sprouts will be dark green, as photosynthesis increases.  Some stems were just starting to show the clusters of bell shaped flowers which will soon develop stunning color and pungent scent. Others were just ready to be pulled. As they mature, the hyacinths don’t get “picked”, they get “pulled.” Our team gently pulls out the entire plant, making sure to leave the bulb attached. This will keep the nutrients flowing to the flowers, even after it has left the ground. We also do this with our soil grown tulips, however, with the hyacinth, we core the outside of the bulb off, and keep the center.  When your box of Hyacinths arrive they still have whitish stems, these are really not stems they are the bulb, so don't cut this off.   The bottom of this white bulb is called the “basal plate” and left on will double the vase life of the flower.

Here is the process of getting the hyacinth from the ground to the cooler:

Just Picked Hyacinth

Crates get stacked into the Bunching Warehouse

Team member Keith "coring" the Hyacinth

Team member Efyenia grading Hyacinth, by color and size.

Sun Valley Hyacinth, buddled and sleeved. 

A beautiful CA Grown Bouquet of fresh Hyacinth, ready for market.

 The back story of the hyacinth, like most myths, has a few different variations and is always a bit sad. According to Teleflora.com:

Legend has it the origin of hyacinth, the highly fragrant, bell-shaped flower, can be traced back to a young Greek boy named Hyakinthos. As the story goes, two gods – Apollo the sun god, and Zephyr the god of the west wind – adored Hyakinthos and competed for his attention. One day, while Apollo was teaching Hyakinthos the art of throwing a discus, Zephyr, in a jealous rage, blew the discus back, killing Hyakinthos with a strike to the head. Apollo named the flower that grew from Hyakinthos’s blood hyacinth.

In modern culture, the legendary rock band the Doors featured a pretty gloomy song titled “Hyacinth House” on their last studio album “LA Woman”. This song is not for the faint of heart, and is a very dark inward look into Jim Morrison’s mind, as he dealt (unsuccessfully) with the stress of his rock star lifestyle and the demands put upon him. Rock and Roll historians speculate that Morrison used the myth of Hyakinthos as an allegory for his inner sadness...I like to think Jim just liked the flowers.

From the “Language of Flowers” these colors can tell very different stories.

•HYACINTH General - Games and Sports; Rashness: Flower Dedicated to Apollo

•HYACINTH Blue - Constancy

•HYACINTH Purple - I Am Sorry; Please Forgive Me: Sorrow

•HYACINTH Pink - Play

•HYACINTH White- Loveliness; I'll Pray for You

Call your Sales Rep or talk to your wholesaler about getting some of fragrant colorful Hyacinths and check out our great Hyacinth Resource Page for more information and care and handling instructions.

Ahhhh, Hyacinth heaven,