Episode 86: From Backyard Dahlias to 4,000 Plants: Building Sweet Bloom Farm with Melissa Stewart

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In this episode of The Backyard Bouquet Podcast, I'm joined by Melissa Stewart of Sweet Bloom Farm, a boutique dahlia farm in Battle Ground, Washington. Melissa's journey began the way so many of ours do, with a few mystery dahlias from a garden center and a spark she couldn't ignore. What started as six blooming plants in her suburban backyard quickly grew into 20 varieties… then 50… then 100… and eventually into a two-acre farm growing 4,000 dahlias. In this conversation, we talk about: * Scaling from 600 to 4,000 plants in one season * Why their second year on the farm was their hardest * The soil test that saved their crop * Farming no-till in rocky Pacific Northwest soil * Selling…