Hello and welcome to today's episode: it's Tuesday 19 August 2025.

Lots of successes over the weekend: the fat hose worked brilliantly to transfer water from the back of the van to IBC1; the fence panels are up around the newly-cleared area and they're secure; there is now a skirt of chicken wire around the fence panels to keep unwanted creatures out; and the dahlias are looking incredible and very big! Some bad news: the new flower hub launch has been postponed until September, and poorly Dolores the duck has been to the vet for treatment: fingers crossed that she will pull through.

I've been reading one of my new flowering farming books like a crazy person over the weekend and have realised just how much I don't know! As former US Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, said in 2002 "There are known knowns, known unknowns, and unknown unknowns." Well, I have learnt a lot this weekend about the 'unknown unknowns'! In today's episode I list many of the things which I didn't know anything about and which have undoubtably contributed to me being in the current situation.

I'll be carrying on with the reading and learning this week and will let you know how I get on in the next episode: I very much hope that you'll come back and join me on Friday.

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Join me on my journey through a year of growing and selling cut flowers in England. I'm giving you the low-down on what it's really like, how I'm getting started, what you do and don't need, what I do when and why, the successes and failures, and just about everything in between. All in real time. With guest appearances from my chickens every now and then.