Julia Keel

Full Keel Farm

Julia is the co-owner of Full Keel Farm in north central Florida, a small farm growing specialty cut flowers for florists.

Julia’s love of agriculture began with a summer job in New England and eventually led her to Florida, where she studied plant-soil interactions in grazing lands at Buck Island Ranch and completed a M.S. in Soil & Water Science. Julia is passionate about formal and informal teaching; she has presented at national conferences, lectured on grassland ecosystem services, mentored research interns, co-instructed an undergraduate course on the ecology of invasive species at the University of Florida, and been an invited speaker at flower workshops and seminars on the topic of warm climate flower production.

As a flower farmer, Julia embraces the complexities of her warm, humid climate, developing crop plans based on temperature, photoperiod and soil type. She enjoys the challenge of adapting production methods to Florida, and is willing to take risks with timing, spacing, and crop choice to evaluate their suitability and profitability in tunnels or the field. She hopes that sharing details about her crop selection and production methods will help new farmers with some of the challenges of growing in this climate.

Show Notes

  1. It’s important to find florists in your area that value local product.

  2. Julia found working with wholesalers was really helpful, especially outside the regular area she sells flowers.  These bigger cities might have fewer growers because of the urban challenges.

  3. The limited chill hours in her growing zone caused her to focus on growing more annuals.

  4. I’m glad to hear of another grower that is incorporating the release of beneficial insects.

  5. The Paper Pot Planter has made a big difference in her time management and planting processes.

  6. I was glad to learn more about growing Spray Larkspur, Didiscus, and her Delphinium crop.

  7. It’s important to choose the right tools and give yourself time.  Learning to grow really good flowers takes time, give yourself the grace as you get better.