Today we’d like to introduce you to Rachel Nafis.
Hi Rachel, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I have been gardening for 13 years. I first started out as a vegetable gardener in North Carolina when I was fresh out of college. In 2012, my husband Chris and I started a small vegetable CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) where we grew vegetables on a vacant city lot in Lemon Grove. This led to an opportunity to raise animals and grow vegetables on a ranch in Jamul in 2013. We had a very difficult time growing vegetables in Jamul because the rabbits and squirrels kept eating our plants. So, we made the difficult decision to quit farming and moved back to the city. Despite our failure, we continued gardening in our South City Heights backyard, and in 2018, I added a row of dahlias to our annual vegetable garden. I was instantly hooked. I had never seen, or grown, anything like those big, ethereal blooms! In 2019, I started Psalter Farm Flowers and hatched a plan to partner with my neighbors and use their yards as farmland. Since then, I’ve expanded to eight residential yards in my neighborhood. I’m proud to provide locally grown cut flowers to San Diego event florists, flower shops, and everyday flower lovers from February through September and make our neighborhood more beautiful and ecologically diverse in the process.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It hasn’t necessarily been a smooth road. One of the struggles I have faced relates to being the sole woman owner and operator of Psalter Farm Flowers. Because I have built my business by myself from the ground up, my partner and I have had to work out childcare issues and household roles during each growing season; COVID made this even more challenging. Our society often makes women feel guilty when they work outside of the home or do anything other than raise children while simultaneously expecting women to work full-time out of the home. I’ve had to find ways to deal with the pressure to somehow work more to keep my farm and business running smoothly and also spend more time with my kids. It seems I can never please everyone. I also have had to talk myself through the various problems that regularly come up on my farm and speak empowerment to myself as a woman, such as, “I am a business owner with earned expertise in this field” and “I am strong enough to do these physically challenging tasks myself.” Every step I am taking now as a female farmer and business owner helps me overcome these hurdles I continue to face.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I am an urban flower farmer, and I grow specialty cut flowers for San Diego flower shops, event florists, and bouquet subscriptions. I am known for growing highly coveted flowers for floral design – poppies, sweet peas, garden roses, zinnias, and dahlias. Most of the flowers I choose to grow are especially rare, delicate, and ephemeral. My farm is located in South City Heights and is unique because I farm in my neighbors’ yards in my neighborhood. This partnership gives my business a relational foundation, rather than merely economical. By farming in my neighbors’ yards, my flower gardens make those formerly neglected spaces beautiful and filled with life. The rows of colorful flowers swaying in the breeze and butterflies flitting about are a natural conversation starter with the people who live there, as well as those who walk through my neighborhood. I am proud that this work of growing flowers has made not only the soil and the local ecosystem better but also the people who live here. People who may have never seen the flowers I grow are able to witness the beauty of plants and the gift of agriculture. While my farm is small, the impact of what I do is not. I feel very blessed to be a flower farmer in my neighborhood; I know what I do matters to the land and the people around me.
So, before we go, how can our readers or others connect or collaborate with you? How can they support you?
The best way people can support me would be to purchase a bouquet subscription from my flower farm. I offer two bouquet subscriptions: either one bouquet a month for the entire growing season or one bouquet every week for a month during each season that I grow flowers (spring, summer, and fall). The bouquets are truly the best of our farm: beautifully wrapped, freshly picked, fragrant flowers and can be picked up in the City Heights neighborhood. Bouquet subscriptions and any other flower orders can be purchased through my website: Psalterfarmflowers.com.
Another way people can collaborate with me and keep up with what our farm is doing is to follow me on Instagram @Psalterfarmflowers. I frequently update our Instagram with stories from life on the flower farm, as well as what is blooming on a day-to-day basis. I love interacting with friends, customers, and fellow gardeners so feel free to connect with me there! Lastly, I will be working with a group of interns through the work experience program at Cuyamaca College in El Cajon for the 2022 growing season. I am excited to see where this partnership may lead and how I can impact future farmers.
Pricing:
- Month-Long Bouquet Subscription (four consecutive weeks): $112
- One Bouquet Per Month for the Entire Growing Season (February-September): $190
- Flowers for special occasion (birthday, bereavement, thank you, just because!): $45
Contact Info:
- Email: psalterfarmflowers@gmail.com
- Website: Psalterfarmflowers.com
- Instagram: @Psalterfarmflowers
Image Credits
Rachel Nafis
