The Floret Farm Journal: July 2025

I’m so excited to share that the third episode of The Floret Farm Journal is now available to watch! After months of preparation and planting, all of the breeding varieties are finally in full bloom, and the selection process is underway.

In this episode, we focus on:

The Floret breeding program and the work of growing out, selecting, and documenting all of the new varieties of zinnias, celosia, dahlias, and now cosmos.

The color matrix, an experiment started last season in which we made more than 600 individual hand crosses to better understand how different traits like color, form, and size are inherited in zinnias.

The practical side of breeding work, including the gross reality of working with blue bottle flies, which we use as pollinators in our small hoop houses and “flysolations.”

TIMESTAMPS:
00:00 Opening
03:47 July Farm Tasks
04:56 Irrigation System & Challenges
06:29 How the Breeding Program Started
09:44 Breeding Routine & Selection Process
18:40 Chris’s Zinnias
22:16 Color Matrix Experiment
26:03 Using Flies as Pollinators
30:02 Pollinators at Work
33:46 Closing

You can find helpful resources and additional details about what’s featured in this month’s episode in the blog post linked below.

THE FLORET FARM JOURNAL: JULY 2025:
https://www.floretflowers.com/the-flo...

After watching, I’d love to hear what you enjoyed most and what you’d like to see more of in the future. Please take a moment to leave a comment (we read every single one!). Your feedback is so important to us as we film this new series.

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