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Ep. 28 How Creating On-Farm Events Has Created Success For Justine Ludwig
1.7k Plays5 months ago
Have you ever wondered what it takes to transform a traditional farm into a thriving event venue? In this episode, Justine Ludwig joins us to share her story of transitioning Coastal Black from a dairy farm to a vibrant event space, hosting popular festivals like their annual pumpkin festival and tulip festival. Justine's experience highlights the importance of diversifying farm activities, engaging with the community, and adapting to challenges in the farming industry.
Discover the logistics behind creating a safe and aesthetically pleasing event space on a working farm, including considerations for liability insurance and visitor experience. Learn how Justine's innovative approach, feedback from professionals like photographers, and community support have contributed to the success of Coastal Black's events.
Tune in to this episode for valuable insights on flower farming, event planning, and the resilience required to overcome obstacles in the agricultural world. Justine Ludwig's journey at Coastal Black is a testament to the power of innovation, community collaboration, and unwavering determination in the farming industry.
In This Episode You’ll Hear About:
00:02:21 - Justine's Journey: From City Life to Farm Life
00:03:45 - Transition from Dairy Farming to Beekeeping
00:04:49 - Starting the Pumpkin Festival
00:06:22 - Launching the Tulip Festival
00:08:25 - Diversifying Farm Revenue Streams
00:09:57 - Challenges and Benefits of Growing Tulips in Crates
00:12:34 - Soil Management and Composting
00:14:26 - Overview of Coastal Black Farm's Acreage and Operations
00:18:04 - Tulip Festival Visitor Experience
00:23:06 - Impact of Weather on Tulip Festival
00:26:06 - Community Support and Resilience
00:31:04 - Adding New Features to Festivals
00:33:07 - Logistics of Creating an Event Space on a Farm
00:36:09 - Enhancing Visitor Experience with Aesthetic Improvements
00:38:03 - Flexibility and Adaptability in Event Planning
00:39:07 - Consulting Professionals for Event Space Design
00:41:57 - Golden Hour Sessions for Photographers
00:44:24 - Liability and Insurance for Farm Events
Learn More About Justine Black:
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/justineludwig.co/
- https://stan.store/JustineLudwig
- Coastal Black: https://coastalblack.ca/
Sign up for our newsletter: https://thefloweringfarmhouse.myflodesk.com/nlw4wua8s3
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Transcript
Introduction to Backyard Bouquet Podcast
00:00:02
Speaker
Welcome to the Backyard Bouquet podcast, where stories bloom from local flower fields and home gardens. I'm your host, Jennifer Galitzia of the Flowering Farmhouse.
Jennifer's Journey from Gardener to Flower Farmer
00:00:12
Speaker
I'm a backyard gardener turned flower farmer located in Hood River, Oregon. Join us for heartfelt journeys shared by flower farmers and backyard gardeners. Each episode is like a vibrant garden, cultivating wisdom and joy through flowers. From growing your own backyard garden to supporting your local flower farmer, The backyard bouquet is your fertile ground for heartwarming tales and expert cut flower growing advice. All right flower friends, grab your gardening gloves, garden snips, or your favorite vase because it's time to let your backyard bloom.
00:00:56
Speaker
Welcome back to another episode of the Backyard Bouquet podcast.
Meet Justine Ludwig: Tulip Grower and Event Host
00:01:00
Speaker
I'm excited to introduce you to Justine Ludwig, a dedicated tulip grower and steward of Coastal Black, a four-generation family farm located on Vancouver Island in Canada. Justine has not only continued the legacy of her family's agricultural heritage, but has also transformed Coastal Black into a vibrant venue for community events. For over a decade, Justine has been at the forefront of turning her family farm into a gathering place that hosts events drawing significant crowds and revenue, remarkably generating over half a million dollars in just one month from a single event. Her passion extends beyond traditional farming. She is deeply committed to sharing her knowledge and helping others in the agricultural community learn how to create, host, and monetize events on their own farms.
00:01:51
Speaker
Today, Justine is here to share her invaluable experiences and insights on how to turn a farm into a successful event space, the challenges and rewards of hosting events and how to significantly enhance a farm's profitability. Justine, welcome to the show. We're thrilled to have you and can't wait to delve into your journey and learn about your success at Coastal Black. To start us off, could you please share a bit about what inspired you to transform Coastal Black from a traditional farm into a highly sought after and profitable event venue? Thanks for having me, Jennifer. This is so fun. Thanks so much for being here.
00:02:31
Speaker
Yeah, i am I have to tell you, this is actually my very first time doing a podcast. So um yeah, I'm a little bit nervous, but also like just so excited to share our story. So thank you. Absolutely. So interestingly enough, I actually grew up in the city and I'm married into a farm family. So my husband's family has been farming in Vancouver and Maple Ridge in the lower mainland of British Columbia, Canada for over a hundred years and they still have family farms over there and my father-in-law actually brought his family over to Vancouver Island and bought this property over 35 years ago and they were dairy farmers originally.
Family Transition: From Dairy to Honey Production
00:03:15
Speaker
So my husband grew up dairy farming and knew the ins and outs of that industry
00:03:20
Speaker
and what um it looked like to care for these amazing herd of cows, but it is a 24-7 business. And so as their family progressed, um and my husband got older and so did his siblings, his parents said to them, do you guys want to take over the dairy farm? like What are your goals and aspirations? And he was actually really interested in beekeeping. and so Interestingly enough, he started his own beekeeping farm and we have over 500 colonies of beehives. so We're one of the largest producers of honey on Vancouver Island. wow um so That's actually when I met him. That was our primary business.
00:04:01
Speaker
And ah we got married just over 12 and a half years ago, and we have three children. ah My daughter Faith is 11, my son Jack is nine, and my son Weston is five. And so they are now um working alongside of us with our other businesses. They do love beekeeping, but I think they love our pumpkin festival and our tulip festival more, mostly because they don't get stung.
00:04:26
Speaker
But they yeah, they're a lot of our inspiration for starting an event at our family farm. um As many farmers understand and know, farming can be so lucrative, but it can also just have ah so many ebbs and flows. So um one year, 12 years ago, my husband and I were newlyweds and I was newly pregnant with our daughter and we didn't produce any honey that
Justine's Pumpkin Festival and Community Inspiration
00:04:53
Speaker
year. Like our bees, it was just a very cool summer and they didn't produce any honey. And so it's not like we can just go out and buy more honey to be able to serve our community. We had to wait an entire year for that honey to start flowing again and money to start flowing in again.
00:05:11
Speaker
And where I grew up, pumpkin festivals were quite prominent and they were like a really fun activity in our community. So I was a new um member of our community and I was aware of one small pumpkin patch, but they also did like the Halloween theme. So we decided to start a pumpkin patch, but go with more like your fall harvest theme instead. And um that was 12. years ago, we're coming up on our 12th annual event this October. And we've grown it from like about an acre pumpkin patch and a barn with you know some games like pumpkin bowling and ring toss and um a hay maze. Two people can now explore over 20 acres with a corn maze, a jumping pillow, um a 10 acre pumpkin field. We have our winery open. for people to enjoy a glass of wine or cider on our patio or pizza oven. So it's just grown over the years and we've just continued to reinvest into that business with what we make each year rather than going into debt.
Tulip Festival and Innovative Farming Techniques
00:06:17
Speaker
Wow, amazing. And now you have a two-up festival also, is that correct? Yes. So that was put on our hearts years ago as well. my
00:06:27
Speaker
um My dad is actually born in Holland, and my husband's grandparents are also from Friesland in Northern Holland, and the Northern Netherlands, rather. and We wanted to pay homage to our ancestry. so um We had been going to some tulip festivals in the lower mainland of British Columbia, and they were just so beautiful. and I know there's one in Washington State, in Skagit Valley. and We recognized a ah kind of another need on our island and our community. ah you You really have to leave, like by ferry or by airplane to get off our island. And so it does cost quite a bit. And if we can create more events here ah for people to enjoy, they might not have to have that expense. So we started this tulip festival three years ago, and we have seen it all.
00:07:21
Speaker
i um I thought it would be simple enough to just plant tulips in the ground. They're pretty hearty flower. And I would just like, I can't even, I could write a book on like just the first three years alone of how variations of weather changed us um every single season in our direction for this event. It's been quite a journey it sounds like. And what's really interesting going back, the family started as a dairy farm. And as the economy has changed, as times have changed, it sounds like the families had to adapt and find new things to do. It's really interesting that they went from dairy to bees. And I love that you mentioned, I'm sorry that you went through a tough year, but it's a great reminder for us that when we put all of our eggs in one basket with the bees, that was your primary crop and your primary income for the season. So it sounds like
00:08:20
Speaker
from losing that crop that year, you were forced to look outside the box and find it an alternative revenue stream so that literally you weren't putting all of your eggs in one basket. You were diversifying the farm, it sounds like. Very much so. It's funny. I use that expression all the time and I really am trying to encourage more farmers to not put all their eggs in one basket and diversify their portfolio as far as what they're growing for crops. So um my father-in-law is and the owner of the farm and there's the four generations who live and work here. My brother-in-law has his own um custom cut lumber business on the farm. We also have a winery that my father-in-law and mother-in-law
00:09:04
Speaker
own and it all coincides really beautifully with our events. And then they also planted 50 acres of blueberries and we do sweet corn as well. So there's just so many more avenues that we've been able to um utilize at different seasons um and not all the fields are always used at the same time so it's worked out really well so our tulip field is now kind of like a set designated space and that's only because we had to start planting our tulips in crates or trays instead of your conventional way of like
00:09:39
Speaker
plowing a ah section in the in the ground and then putting your bulbs in. And that came from a place when we started in 2021 BC had incredible floods and they were just devastating in the lower mainland. and people lost homes and farms and um and livestock. And it was it was really, I mean, it made news headlines around the world. It was really devastating. um And so in our, even our small one acre field that we were planting our tulips in to start our festival the following year in 2022, that field was flooded. So we had to improvise very quickly and we bought up as many um crates and trays as we could from other farmers that we knew and nurseries.
00:10:25
Speaker
and we brought in I think it was almost a million pounds of soil and we started hand planting all of these tulips and I just remember we were still planting in our barns in December and traditionally you want to plant your tulips in the ground by October. We're zoned seven, eight up here in the Comox Valley. And so our typical first frost is around end of October, beginning of November. We have sometimes had snow earlier on, but it's pretty rare. So we were like scrambling to get these into soil as fast as we could. And then interestingly enough, we put these tulips in our barn and we left them there over the winter.
00:11:08
Speaker
And they just sat on stacks and pallets until we could finally get into that field because then you know once it finished flooding, we had snow. And it wasn't until um end of February, March, that we could actually lay those tulips out in the field itself. And I always said to my husband, I'm like, you're like the Hulk. I was like, you've list lifted a million pounds of soil. like Who can say that? by like laying these trays out and it was actually one of those things that came um it became like a blessing even though it was frustrating because it was a lot of extra work doing it this way and a lot of extra cost we could really design our field the way we wanted to and lay out the trays where we wanted to
00:11:55
Speaker
And then as we were continuing to farm and the flowers were coming up, um we would recognize that you know if one tray had some disease in it or something that didn't look healthy, we could just take that tray out. And instead of it affecting the entire field of or or row of that tulip variety, ah we could really save that that whole variety and ball by just taking it out. So there was a lot of like pros that ended up coming from it. And even though our fields no longer flooding in the fall for the last two seasons, we've still continued to grow our tulips in the trays this way. I think a lot of farmers grow in crates because of the flexibility. And by growing them in crates, you don't have to worry about tulip fire
00:12:42
Speaker
because you're constantly changing the soil location. Do you reuse the soil from your tulips or what do you do with that soil at the end of the season? That's a great question. So the very first year we actually were fairly naive and we had some advisors from Holland advising us and I think they misunderstood how we were growing and maybe translation. and we didn't end up changing out our soil but that year. So the following year, we did happen to notice a little more disease, um unfortunately. So what we have started doing is we have a big compost pile and we are basically like creating our yearly um soil area. So that way in the future, by probably year five, we'll be able to like actually use that soil from the first year. um But now we yeah we have all these like big piles of soil in our back.
00:13:37
Speaker
I sometimes think that our greatest learning opportunities are those mistakes that we make. And we once we learn, we rarely repeat those mistakes in farming. So it sounds like you learned the hard way, but you will probably never replant those tulips in that soil. Again, you'll use it elsewhere, I imagine. Exactly, yeah. And since you have other parts of the farm, that compost, is that getting then used with other areas of the farm after the tulips? It is, yeah. So even just for um my own personal garden, I did raised beds this year and I didn't imagine how much kind like compost I actually had to put into those raised beds. So that's been a real blessing. And then, yeah, as we kind of needed it around the farm for different projects, we'll be able to like put that out. Okay. So let's step back for a second. Let's paint a better picture for our listeners today.
00:14:34
Speaker
How big is this family farm? You have multiple aspects to the business ah with everything from bees to a pumpkin patch to tulips to a winery to a lumber. How many acres are we talking for the family? Yeah, it's just over 400 acres, and so there's about 50 acres of the blueberries, and then we'll do about 50 acres of the sweet corn. A lot of it is still forested in parts of it, um but we're slowly trying to you know be able to
00:15:07
Speaker
ah utilize that space and farm it some more. We really are trying to work a lot with our community and that's why we value these farm events so much because we really feel like people need to know in their community where does your food come from. And how is it produced? And there's a lot of educational components that come with these events that we love. So when people can come out here and we put up you know signs about how your pumpkins are grown or your squash, or um especially even using social media, we can be able to like show people how we pick our blueberries, um whether we're doing them by hand or if we're machine picking them.
00:15:48
Speaker
um and We can be very transparent um about the fact that we're not certified organic. However, we're choosing as a family because we want to eat these berries right off the bush. We're not spraying any harmful chemicals on them either. so It's very important to us that like I can go out there with my children and eat the blueberries right off the bush and know that we've not sprayed any harmful chemicals on them. And we want to be able to yeah be transparent with our community. So that's one of the biggest questions I would say with our berries and produce is like, what do you spray on them? And so even when we planted our pumpkins, we plant them in plastic so that we can control the weeds that way instead of using things like Roundup. Because again, we want to be able to be as um clean as possible when we're growing these.
00:16:38
Speaker
And and this the festivals just give people this great opportunity to also meet us and know where our heart is, um which is to grow these incredible fruits and vegetables, um produce for our community, and also train up another generation who will hopefully have that same passion. And that's actually one of the reasons why we started our our homeschooling with our kids as well as we want them to work alongside us. We want them to, um you know, hopefully they'll want to do this, you know, as well in the future and they'll have this passion just as much as my husband and and I and and all of his ah family before him. So thank you for sharing that. With the 400 acres, that's great to hear a breakdown of you have a lot of blueberries and a lot of sweet corn, it sounds like.
00:17:33
Speaker
And you said it's 10 acres for the pumpkins, is that correct? Yeah, we do about 10 acres for the pumpkins, and the tulips are just about an acre. Wow, so that's a lot of tulips then. Do you know how many tulips you're growing on that acre? Yeah, so we can plant about 25 per tray, so there's about 300,000 tulip bulbs that we plant by hand each year. And what do you do with those tulips? Are you picking and selling those tulips also, or is it just for the event? Yeah, so this is where we're, I would say different in the sense because your event you want people to see them at their most beautiful state is when they're open and in full bloom into like full bloom.
00:18:17
Speaker
And so we actually let them go all the way to the point just before they seed out. And people want to take photos with them. So we have beautiful swing sets there that people can get photo ops with. we My husband's, we call him Paca um or Urdu Paca. That's like grandpa and friece. He is a wonderful carpenter and he's built the cutest ah wood windmills for people to take photos with and bring again. It's like our miniature Holland, our mini version of Holland. So, yeah, they they get to take photos with them. They get to see how they're grown. And then we cut the tops off of them, usually by the before they go to seed or just in around mid-May is for our season. And then all the nutrients will go back down through the stem into the bulb
00:19:07
Speaker
um If you guys remember your third grade science class with photosynthesis, that'll help you give an idea of like how important it is to get the nutrients down into the bulb. Then we'll separate them. In June, we'll be coming up and doing that. so We dump out all of our trains and we have a sorter. and so We can take any of those like little bulbs that have been been producing, I call them like baby bulbs or bulblets. and and we'll go and put them in a different tray out in a separate field with new soil and we were growing those the following year so that they would actually usually produce just a stem but not a flower and hopefully we can continue to build our crop up that way rather than always buying new flowers but with that also said this is going to be our first year where we're selling our own bulbs which we're really excited about
00:19:59
Speaker
And we felt like it aligned really well with our pumpkin fest because everyone, it's funny, is like, oh, we want to buy these tulips right now in May. And we're like, this isn't the time that you want to buy your tulips. Just just wait till September and October. And so we'll launch our tulips then for people to purchase. The bulbs. You'll be selling your bulb bulbs. The bulbs. Exactly. So in May, when people come to your festival, They can look, they can take pictures, but they're not breeding how many flowers with them. We do buy some from a local supplier and so that way they do have flowers that are cut that they can be able to use. And my goal is to eventually get to doing a cut flower garden and for people as well. ah We just haven't gotten to that space yet because I want the field to look so full and have so many variations too of flowers. so
00:20:56
Speaker
um Like, for instance, we also do hyacinths and daffodils. And that's mainly because um we wanted the festival to be able to go a little longer. And those are your springtime's first flowers. And I mean, oh, hyacinths just smell so beautiful. The daffodils, there's so many variations besides just the yellow. There's like beautiful peach tones. and um And then it also works well with our Easter festival. So we always want to make sure that there's flowers for that as well for people to enjoy. Perfect, so tell us a little bit more about the festival. When does it start? is it based I assume part of it's based on Mother Nature, but do you have a set date that you start and how long does it run? give us Paint us a picture of what your festival looks like. Setting the date is one of the most challenging things for us. ah Because it is based on Mother Nature, every season has changed. And now this is um our third year we've finished.
00:21:53
Speaker
And every single date has changed. So this year was our earliest season. And it started in end of March with our hyacinths blooming earlier. Our winter up on the west coast of Canada was very mild this year. And so we did start to notice everything was coming up earlier, which did work well with our Easter event because Easter was at the end of March this year. But the previous year, we actually ended up waiting until um later, almost mid-April. So probably like three weeks like um later than we started this year. And that was, again, just due to the flowers. um I have all my advertising very well prepared in advance. um And all I have to do is basically kind of like go and send out emails to start promoting it and get things promoted.
00:22:43
Speaker
promoted as well as then just start sharing through social media. That's one of our biggest ways that we end up promoting our events. But yeah, it's been a challenge because you don't know when your event is going to end. That's also due to Mother Nature. so in 2023, so just a year ago, it was one of the most short seasons for the tulips. We probably only had about a three-week season, and it rained all through April, and I know they say April showers bring May flowers, and it did. It literally, they brought them out, and they were beautiful, and then it got to, now this is going to be a good
00:23:25
Speaker
ah change for me. So 35 degrees Celsius is I think about 85, 88 degrees Fahrenheit. It got hot really fast. Maybe but maybe it's even 90. It was so hot that our tulips, 95. I just typed in my phone while we're chatting. Thank you. Okay, so 95 degrees in one, like literally overnight in one weekend, and it was the Mother's Day weekend. And our tulips fried. They burned to a crisp. And I've never seen flowers like they fell like the the fall leaves, they were dried up and they just fell on the ground. And I was even crying on Instagram showing this to people because you know, as a flower farmer,
00:24:15
Speaker
you put so much energy and effort into this um this bulb or this flower and um to see it then all of a sudden just you know go because of mother nature and it's something that's totally out of your control. I mean, I wanted to quit right then and there. I was like, that we're done. Two years in, we're not doing this anymore. It's it's one of those things that you, um have you ever heard that expression? You don't quit on a bad day. Ooh, that's a good one. I really had to remind myself of that. like That was a bad and that was a hard day because not only was it hard for us as flower farmers, but we had to then tell people who had previously bought tickets for our Big Mother's Day event. and I mean, we were expecting almost 2,000 people that day that we don't have flowers and we have to offer you a refund.
00:25:11
Speaker
Everyone was so amazing though. um I sent out press releases. I did as much, I don't like saying damage control, but kind of damage control as I could to let people know this was out of our control. We're happy to refund you, but we're still going to have a festival. um And people still came out. They were just curious to even see the the capacity of what happened. And they were so encouraging and supportive with our festivals. We're not just like pumpkins or just tulips. We also have our farm animals that people can visit. We have games and festivities. We have a jumping pillow and a hayride.
00:25:52
Speaker
So there's other things to bring people um joy while they're there besides just like the flowers. However, that is the big attraction. But I must say our community was so encouraging. And so that's what makes you not quit on a bad day. You can reflect you know a couple days later or weeks later and go, oh, something that could have been a nightmare turned out to be a learning opportunity for us to be able to just share even the hardships of what ah farming looks like with our community because it's not perfect. And I think that was actually one of the things that I appreciated the most is being you know on Instagram.
00:26:34
Speaker
and on social media, it's a lot of just showing the good times. And this was an opportunity for us to like really just show the hardship of farming. um And yeah, our community came through for us and it was a real blessing in the end. That's quite an experience. I remember how hot it was because we're here in the northwest Pacific Northwest also and Mother's Day is when I plant dahlias and I lost a lot of dahlias planting them in the heat without I made the mistake of not giving them any water because you usually don't water in your dahlias. And I had a few other factors with some bugs that contributed to the loss of some of my dahlias. But I remember it was almost a hundred degrees here over Mother's Day a year ago.
00:27:20
Speaker
so Mother Nature can certainly throw curveballs, but I think part of the beauty and that people the reason why people probably still came out is because on social media we get to see the pretty side of everything. And everything just looks like you're dancing in a field of flowers and everything's beautiful and being a flower farmer is just this beautiful lifestyle, but to really see the blood, sweat, and tears that go into it and that it's not always sunshine and rainbows. It shows the reality of farming and reminds people that farming is hard and it's it's a true labor of love. ah So I'm glad that you didn't quit.
Resilience in Farming: Overcoming Adversity and Challenges
00:28:04
Speaker
um I love that saying. Can you say that one more time for us? Yeah, don't quit on a hard day.
00:28:12
Speaker
That is such ... You're only allowed to quit on a good day. Go out strong. Usually you won't really want to quit on a good day because it's going well. Yes. Inevitably, whether you have a flower garden or a flower farm, there's going to be those bad days. There's going to be pests. There's going to be heat. I'm going out of town. I'll be back by the time this episode airs, but I'm planning to leave town for a few days after it we're done recording. and last year when I left town or two years ago when I left town at this time, it got up to 118 degrees. And so it's true and right now it shows we're going to be in the eighties, which my irrigation system can handle. But it's just those things that are out of our control where you sometimes want to throw in the towel, but to keep going and pushing through. If you if you can push through those hard days, you're going to come out stronger and not make the same mistakes.
00:29:06
Speaker
You mentioned that you had 2,000 people that normally come on a given day to your two-up festival. How many people show up to your festival? Yeah, so I think this year we had just about 10,000 people. So it varies. um And we noticed this, like if it's been raining a lot, then we get some smaller crowds and then people wait for like a beautiful sunny day. And Mother's Day is always such a big special day, especially for flowers for mom. So that one can get up to about 2,000 people.
00:29:36
Speaker
and And we're slowly growing that festival. So it's a good reminder to us because it's only been our third year. And now our our pumpkin festival, we get up to about 22,000 people coming in a month. And we're only open like on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. So for basically you know just over 15 days of the month, we're open. And to bring in you know that many people, we've ended up um adding parking spots, um like a whole field we have dedicated just to parking now. We've built more infrastructure for bathrooms or coffee shops and things just to accommodate that. We've built more hay wagon rides. or um yeah But it's a good reminder that if you are doing these events,
00:30:24
Speaker
And even for us, that like our Tulip Festival, we didn't anticipate 20,000 people our very first year. Even though we draw that with our Pumpkin Fest, it's still a new business. It's still um a new idea for your community to get used to. And they need to be like, um yeah, just nurtured and and shown this is what it is. and word-of-mouth is one of the best ways to do that and social media has been one of the greatest gifts for us because people share they want to share about it and they want to take pictures naturally so they can take us and so that's where we've just seen the growth over the years so I feel like it will eventually get to those numbers but it gives us that time to also grow with that as well.
00:31:09
Speaker
So just like our pumpkin fest started off small and intimate, we were able to then slowly add something new every year. And that's always our goal with these events is, um and I would encourage everybody if they're doing events on their farm too, is you don't have to have everything you dream of. right away. um It took us 10 years to create our tulip festival after our first festival we did but even our pumpkin festival we really wanted to have a jumping pillow and a corn maze but every year we just slowly added one new thing and that's one of the greatest feedback we get from people is they're like we love that we could look forward to something new and they're like anticipating it
00:31:51
Speaker
So this year actually one of the things we're going to do for our pumpkin festival is I've wanted to do um trellises and we did grow our gourds that way our very first year over top of the fence and they did so remarkably well so we're going to do that and grow them um Kind of like how you may grow your sweet peas or your cucumbers over a trellis. We're going to grow gourds over them and they'll have these beautiful long tunnels for people to just be able to like stand underneath and have these pumpkins and gourds around them to take pictures in.
00:32:24
Speaker
So sometimes my husband gets, you know, something that shoots potatoes or corn. He's like the guy who wants like the fun attraction. And then other times I get the like, I would like this whimsical, you know, trellis built for people to take photos under. ah that's I love that. That sounds so fun. um Maybe you could send me a few pictures that we could include in the show notes to let people see what some of these features look like that you had to your events. Absolutely. I would love to.
00:32:57
Speaker
I love that you said that you did not start out with everything that you had dreamed of. I think there's beauty in starting small and growing. You have less learning mistakes I think to learn along the way. I'm sure there's still plenty of learning mistakes. um I was a wedding photographer for many years, so I worked In the event industry so i know there's so much that goes on behind the scenes can you talk to us a little bit about the logistics of creating an event space.
00:33:32
Speaker
on farmland where you are breeding the public. I mean, for me as a farmer, I grow in an area where it's currently not zoned to have events. My dream is, and most of the listeners know we've been looking for a while, to find farmland. And here it's called EFU Land, which is exclusive farm use. It allows events. And my dream is to have events on a farm someday. But right now, the way my farm is set up, I would have nightmares if I thought about having people because I have tripping hazards. I have tea posts that aren't covered. I have steak landscape fabric stakes that aren't all the way popped into the ground that someone could trip over. um There's bees. i it's just It's not a spot to have people talk to us. What goes into creating a space that you can welcome the public?
00:34:23
Speaker
That's a great question. Yeah, we did start small so it has been able we have been able to like just slowly um add things to the design of the layout and our map, so to speak. So it's given us that opportunity to um look forward to things to add, but also go, how does this already play into what we already have in our space and how will it add value? And I'm really very pro, how can I add something that doesn't cost us too much that I don't have to increase like the cost of my ticket for um our customer? So things like a decoration doesn't add a lot but um of expense for us. However, it adds a lot of value for your customer.
00:35:12
Speaker
When we increased our price just recently, um we hadn't done that in about four years, but we added our jumping pillow. so Rather than making people pay for that individual ticket to you know play that game or do that, we don't really want to do that when we want. We we just want it to be like one Price when you come so that helps to pay for the cost of that but yeah, we've had to kind of over time go oh We were parking people like down in fields um We need to actually create a designated parking area
00:35:45
Speaker
we need you know instead of just bringing in porta potties, we should actually build a proper bathroom for our customers that they'll enjoy. um So we're constantly looking at what is the need and then also what is the value that our customer is going to get out of that. So that's really important. But one of the biggest things we actually get told all the time is how people love when they come to our farm, they don't get dirty. And I know this sounds really funny to say because it's a farm. You expect to put on your gum boots and you know get dirt on your boots.
00:36:18
Speaker
But my husband does a really good job um of laying down wood cedar chips and pathways for people to walk, whether that's through the tulip rows. We actually put sawdust all down those for people so they don't get mud all over their boots. Or, yeah, the wood chips all throughout our pumpkin areas and festivals so that, again, it's just a really enjoyable experience. um You can be able to like hide some discrepancies that way too, like if you were saying you had some um tarps or or black paper that you want to hide. Those are good really easy ways to do that. So nobody even really realizes I think that we grow our tulips and trays because the sawdust is mound up and covers it and you don't even see that. So it looks very natural.
00:37:05
Speaker
instead of like b so these black crates everywhere. So for photos, that's I think a a big thing that people do appreciate as well. So it's those little details. It goes a long way and adds extra value and people take note of those things. um But it's just one of those things, like I said, if you are starting small, you can be able to grow and add those things. And each year, you just have this checklist in your mind of like, oh, right, okay, I have to make sure we do that before we do this. um Or if you're really organized, you'd actually make a list, but... So all of us farmers have time for the list. I do lists on my phone. I have about 600 and something different lists going on my phone when I'm out in the field. I'm like, oh, I'll make a list. I'll come back to that one of these days.
00:37:51
Speaker
And maybe one of these days, I actually will come back to those lists. um So from what I'm gathering, it sounds like some of your advice is start small. You don't have to do it at all. You can you can grow your dream event space. um Be flexible. it sounds like you have it flexible and adaptable. So you have moved parking lots from one spot to another space on the field.
Enhancing Visitor Experience Through Event Spaces
00:38:15
Speaker
You have found ways to switch things up in what you were doing, watching what works and what doesn't work, and then adapting and then making it aesthetically pleasing.
00:38:28
Speaker
because there are things on my farm that aren't photo-worthy, um but it's because it's a working farm where yours you are specifically designing spaces so that they are photo-worthy. so Maybe someone, I'm just saying this because there was this venue. It's called the Orchard Hood River, and it is a beautiful wedding venue ah surrounded by an orchard. And Molly, the owner, was so smart and so brilliant when she built her space. She knew that she was going to do events, weddings specifically, around this wedding venue. She called out all the different vendors that would be involved, and she specifically asked, what would you want
00:39:13
Speaker
in this space to do your job well. So like the caterer has put an input about like a catering kitchen. She called a couple of us photographers at the time out. And we could say, well, for the dance floor, it'd be really great with the lighting to be here. So if you are someone that is a farmer mindset, it might be really helpful to bring out a photographer or videographer and say, if you were coming out here to take pictures, what would you suggest that's it just popped in my head. And so I thought I'd interject that in here because as a person with a photographer, I'm always still, I was a professional photographer for 12 years. So I still have that mindset of like, right now I look at my farm and I go, I don't take a lot of pictures of certain things because it's not photo worthy, but designing it as an event space. If you had a photographer's mindset, you could really get those photo worthy spots that are going to draw the crowds out.
00:40:08
Speaker
That is such a good point and it's interesting that you even said that because the first year we did our tulip fest, I have photographers who rent for golden hour photo sessions in the evenings and that way they don't get any um other people in the backdrops of their photo. and it's very like intimate and I love that opportunity for them. And one of the photographers I became good friends with and she said, can I speak more candid about your tulip feel? I said, absolutely, I need feedback. She said, I know they're in trays, so is it easy enough for you to like change the direction?
00:40:44
Speaker
And I said, yeah. And so she's like, I would do it this direction instead because with the light and the way the photos will um just take, you'll get way more depth than like, she had a lot of reasoning that she shared with me. And I was so grateful for that. And so we changed it up this year. And I would say almost every photographer that came commented on the change of direction. And even our guests gave us that feedback and we're like, oh, it's different this year. We love that you changed that up. It's always something interesting. So having that flexibility and yes, talking to professionals that have that eye that you that I don't necessarily have is such a good key um piece of advice. Yes, i love absolutely. um I love that a photographer was willing to share that with you. and they
00:41:36
Speaker
You were open to hearing that advice and took that advice because literally a small little tweak in the direction something is planted can make all the difference in a photo. And that photo, if it goes viral, can lead to more business for your farm. Yes, no, that's ah that's a great. Oh, ah so so brilliant. I love it. You mentioned you do golden hour sessions. Can you touch on, for anyone that's not familiar with what that is, can you explain a little bit about what that is for a photographer coming to your farm?
00:42:09
Speaker
Yeah, so um depending on the season, um so for instance, this is springtime. Typically golden hour for us is between about 5.30 and 7 o'clock PM. And it's that light that comes in naturally as the sun is setting. And it's the most, but it it almost gives people like a halo effect around their body and makes their body almost glow in photos it can just hit the flowers in this instance just perfectly. And so it's it's one of those things that gives those photos that dreaminess and look. So we chose people or or chose that opportunity for photographers to come during golden hour because I know there's some people who like getting up early and doing sunset for or so sunrise photos, but I'm not one of those people. So we were like,
00:43:00
Speaker
sunset will be so much more beautiful I think and it did it just it hits the field so beautifully and one of the things that we actually offer photographers to just add to their experience for their clients is we have springtime animals that are born each year so each year I've picked a different theme so our first year was our baby ducks and when they were born I would bring out these ducklings and so people would be able to walk around or have these little ducks follow them in their photos or they'd be able to sit there and hold them and it just it creates this different element and experience rather than just sitting in a field of flowers. You now have these families or couples or children that are being playful and and intimate with these little baby animals. So we've done um ducklings, chicks, baby bunnies. I think I also had piglets one time.
00:43:55
Speaker
Oh, how fun. Well, you're creating such an amazing experience, not just for those families, but you're making that photographer's job even easier by giving them something because one of the things it's always hard to pose people or can be awkward depending on how many people you have. But if you have a little subject and then you put it with the flowers, I mean, how beautiful that must be. And I assume you charge. So you close to the public and you charge a fee to the photographer to bring their clients during this time. Is that correct? That is correct, yes. So the field is empty. They can utilize all of the swings and props. We have cute bicycles there and benches. And we also made, oh, they're like, I think this is one of our best sellers and it's so inexpensive. It's bubble, we call it bubble wishes and they make the giant bubbles. And so they're so playful and interactive again for families um and photographers. They're like, these these just make a really intimate, cool experience and they're playful.
00:44:52
Speaker
So that's been a really easy, again, added value to our events or added value to these photographers. That doesn't cost us a lot of money to create. And so we now have to add our tulip festival as well as our pumpkin festival. And so the photographers will choose packages that I have. and different price ranges whether they want to choose the field for about four hours or if they want to book it you know for three consecutive nights because they have a um bigger portfolio of clients so whatever based on their needs and they usually get a discount if they book for like two or three nights versus just one night.
00:45:30
Speaker
Oh, how fun. So if someone's like a photographer could do have a series of mini sessions and you could have a whole bunch of families come. So you're making money off the event and you're getting this exposure of families coming and wanting to come. I'm sure they want to come back to your farm and experience it when they're not all dressed up and trying to look their best to be in these photos. They can then come back and enjoy all that the farm has to offer a second time, hopefully. Exactly. And one of the things we've given to our photographers is a discount code for their family. So they have their own promo code so they can go, you know, thank you for not only coming and getting photos with me here, but we want you to come back and enjoy this but at your leisure and not when you're just yeah feeling all dressed up. So we give them a promo code so that way it cuts a little bit of a discount off of the ticket for them.
00:46:18
Speaker
Oh, I love that. That's so smart from a marketing standpoint to get them back. Now, I don't know how it is in Canada, in the US. One of the things that's going through my mind is the liability of having consumers or um people come to your farm. talk to us how I assume you have to have some sort of liability insurance that's different than traditional farm insurance to have events on the farm. It is different. Yeah. So, you you know, you'd have crop insurance for if something happened to your crop, but our insurance company has been really great at working with us. And before we move forward ah with adding anything new to our event, we always consult them first. And we have to also anticipate that that's going to make our insurance policy go up.
00:47:08
Speaker
So with that, you know we have to go, do we and do we feel like we need to increase our ticket, or can we just suck that up ourselves um as the business owner? And a lot of the times we do because we know, again, what we're going to add in value will just create such... you know whether it's um like happiness and joy for our community, or they're going to then do us a favor and take pictures and try and spread more of this word.
Farm Event Safety and Insurance Considerations
00:47:35
Speaker
A couple of years ago, we had the idea at my husband. This is again, my husband's the guy who's got, we've got to like shoot stuff, we've got to smash stuff.
00:47:45
Speaker
He wants to create something for the dads and you know the kids. And so he wanted to do a trebuchet. And for those of you who are not familiar with a trebuchet, it is a giant catapult that's medieval. And they used to like throw giant rocks, I guess, in boulders. But for us, we thought we would do this as a pumpkin smash. And so people would put this pumpkin in here, and it would launch sometimes, I think, over 80 or 100 feet. and we just go for so long and everybody loved this. Unfortunately due to COVID our trebuchet ended up sitting stagnant for a couple years um because during that season we had to do our pumpkin festival a little bit differently.
00:48:30
Speaker
So we were now allowed to use that, but our insurance was like, okay, we're gonna have to make sure we have coverage for this. Technically, no one's allowed to load their own pumpkin. So we had rules in place and we had trained our staff to make sure that they're very um aware of how to use the machinery properly. And you wanna make sure that your staff feel competent in what they are working with. And also giving that staff member the task only if they feel they are competent on it. and um and Also, we would have them sign basically a liability waiver as well for them to make sure that you know they they're they're making sure they're doing their due diligence and keeping people away. you know We had lines in different places that they weren't allowed to cross and areas blocked off, so no one could get hit by a pumpkin. That'd be terrible. Yeah. so it It's always one of those things that
00:49:21
Speaker
um always on the forefront of my husband and I's mind and we have a great insurance company that we work with here and they are always what we call them. They're like, what is your next idea? What are you guys trying to do this time? And they're really good at working alongside us. So I definitely encourage you before you have events, before you have people um coming on your property to be able to make sure that you have that just for any sort of incidentals. That's great advice. I'm going to put you on the spot here. Have there been any events that you have attempted to do that have flopped or can you think of one of your biggest struggles or hard times of hosting events on the farm? Yeah.
00:50:04
Speaker
who i don't I believe in our second year of doing our pumpkin festival. And again, it's always in those early stages and early years of your business that you're going to, so it just seems like you're going to have way more struggles because you're learning as you're going a lot of the time. And it rained every single day. And we have our winery and we have a barn for people to go undercover and get out of the rain. But we were just noticing like nobody was wanting to come. And I mean, we live on the west coast of Canada. People are like, you put your kids in muddy buddies and you put your raincoat on and you still go out. But I mean, it was like torrential downpour every day in October. And I just remember being out there and thinking like,
00:50:55
Speaker
Is this worth it? And again, it's like the last day in October. we And again, this is actually where we decided we needed a parking lot because that weekend we had 5,000 people come in like wow one, I think it was just one Sunday. And we had people all the way out to our highway and up our road. And our neighbors, our poor neighbors were like, what is happening here? We didn't have the capacity to hold them. And it was like everybody knew October was ending and they wanted to get their pumpkin before Halloween to carve. And they were coming out in droves.
00:51:31
Speaker
And so again, it's in those moments where you're like, Oh, okay, we're, we're still doing something right. They just didn't like the weather, you know, but again, it's a learning opportunity. So we realized how can we increase more space without building more structures? like Because big structures are expensive. So we purchased big marquee tents, and they'd allowed us to be able to have you know an area for people to wait undercover before they got onto their hay wagon ride, where again, they would be undercover. And then you know we were able to add more marquee tents or put our hay mains under another big tent and structure.
00:52:11
Speaker
so if we could be able to just have more areas and really promote that and tell people like there's not much area that you're gonna get wet unless you're out in the pumpkin patch that made people's experience so much better and they now know that and they're not afraid to come out in the rain as much because they're like oh They've got this covered. We're not actually going to get it as wet as we think we are. you know There's lots of undercover space for us to enjoy. So I would say that was one of our biggest challenges to just overcome. But when there's a challenge, there's always a solution. You just have to look for it and be willing to put in the work or the effort um to build that or create that for your guests.
00:52:52
Speaker
That's great advice. I love that. and Yes, putting in the work will always pay off and it looks like it really has for you in your farm. Can you think now that we've talked about a challenge, what is one of your favorite memories of hosting events on the farm?
Emotional Impact of Farm Events on Visitors
00:53:11
Speaker
What comes to mind? there are There are a lot. I would say, actually, somebody shared a story with us. And you know when um people talk about getting Google reviews and personal reviews for your business? um I would say one of the biggest ways we get reviews are just when people walk around and see us and want to talk to us and share their experience. And that's one of my favorite parts about working at our festivals or seeing
00:53:38
Speaker
um our kids working at our festivals. And recently, this lady, she was a caretaker for this gentleman, and she said, I just wanted to tell you that gentleman over there, and he must have been in his late 80s. She said, he wasn't going to come this year to your tulip festival. And I said, oh, i said i'm I'm so grateful he did. What changed his mind? She said, well, last year he came, and he was with his wife. And they had the most amazing time. They just loved walking your gardens. They're from Europe. And so they just this this brought home a lot of memories for them. They were on your swing, and they fell off. And they were laughing their heads off on the ground. And they somebody took a picture of them. And she said, that was the picture that they put on on their on their you know home and framed it. It's nothing glamorous. It's just the smiles on their faces tell this story of a great day.
00:54:37
Speaker
And she said that man's wife passed away earlier this year and he wasn't sure if he'd be able to come back because this place holds such great memories for him. and It made me realize in that moment that we didn't just create a flower farm, a flower festival for people to enjoy. We create these annual events for long lasting memories and for people to come back year after year and they're watching their children grow up here and we're doing that alongside of them. Or there they're remembering a place where their loved one once was and they had a really beautiful day with them.
00:55:19
Speaker
And yet they're no longer here with them anymore, but they could still come back to our farm or come back to this space and and be filled with this emotion and happiness. So that was probably one of the greatest reminders to me when we do have those hard days or those moments when we want to throw in the towel. that there are people who are gonna come to your farm or they're going to take home your flowers. They're going to, you're giving them something so much more than you could ever imagine at the end of the day. And that's what makes it worth it for us. That's what keeps us going. And I think that's what our children working alongside us are seeing. And those stories and those reviews mean more than anything to us.
00:56:12
Speaker
That is really beautiful. Thank you for sharing that story. You are truly creating experiences and memories that these people will cherish for so many years and the impact goes so far beyond just that day. and you don't even necessarily realize, especially if people don't share those stories with you, I'm sure there's hundreds if not thousands more of those same similar stories out there from experiences that have been created on your farm. So, Justine, thank you for sharing that. We have covered a lot today. Before we say goodbye today, is there anything that I haven't asked you or anything that you would like to share with our listeners today?
00:56:57
Speaker
Well, one of the things that I have been transitioning into, and this comes from a place of ah people over the years asking my husband and I, how did you get started doing your events? Or we would love to be able to host workshops. Do you have advice for us? And um I'm always happy to have conversations with with people, but I did really feel like I was needing some more information for people than just my my voice. They need like tangible steps and um and ah and and written down content for them to be able to like go and apply to themselves, to their own business. And so um I've been starting a course to help people learn to monetize their farms through events.
00:57:46
Speaker
And I do know there's people out there who want to be able to have flower farms, or do a beautiful workshop, or teach people about beekeeping, or you know have a Christmas event in this beautiful space, or you know have a lotements and weddings in their beautiful barns. But they just don't necessarily know where to start or like we talked about today, you know the idea of even getting insurance or or vendors or packages put together. And so I spent years putting those things together.
00:58:22
Speaker
And even sponsorship packages to bring businesses in locally um to our community events and promote them as well. And I thought, what if I had a course that people could be able to buy and and then go and apply that and start their own business? That would have saved me a lot of headache. I would have been able to kind of move along, I think, a little bit faster. So I've been working on that and I'm excited to launch that this June. And so it'll be all about how to monetize your farm with events. That sounds amazing. Well, that leads me to my next question is for those. And so this will be airing in July. So we're recording in June.
Monetizing Farms Through Events: Upcoming Course Announcement
00:59:03
Speaker
um So for those that are listening right now that want to learn more about your course or follow you, where can they get more information about you in your course? Yeah, so follow me at justineledwig.co and I'll have that available in my stand store there for you. Perfect. Is that the best place for people to connect with you online then? It is, yes. For now, I'm just keeping it on Instagram. We'll see where I go from there. Perfect, and your family farm for those that want to learn more about the farm, where can they go? Yeah, so you can visit us at Coastal Black on Instagram or our website is coastalblack.ca. If you are looking to see more of our products that we sell or see more about our events or wanting to come and visit us, we would love that. So if someone wants to come visit, your next event would be your pumpkin patch, is that correct?
00:59:55
Speaker
It will be. I have actually been working on a couple events for this summer. I just don't have the dates yet. And again, it's just due to when our blueberries will be ready or our sunflowers as well. I know, sunflowers. Oh my goodness, there's a whole other subject we didn't get to touch on today. Well, We have spent a lot of time chatting today, so I'm going to encourage our listeners to go check out your Instagram at JustineLudwig.co. Is that correct? Correct. They can see your sunflowers there and learn more about the event when it gets closer. That would be wonderful. We're just starting to plant those. Perfect. and I'd love to leave the door open. Maybe we can have you back on and talk about the sunflowers at some ah at a later date. Oh, I'd love that. Thank you, Jennifer.
01:00:41
Speaker
Well, thank you so much for joining me today. Thank you for sharing about how you have taken a four generation family farm and created event space where the public can come and learn about farming and see the beauty of what you are growing. So thank you for opening our eyes to an alternative way to bring revenue to our farms. It's been such a pleasure to chat with you. So thank you, Justine. Thank you for having me. Bye bye.
01:01:11
Speaker
Thank you Flower Friends for joining us on another episode of the Backyard Bouquet. I hope you've enjoyed the inspiring stories and valuable gardening insights we've shared today, whether you're cultivating your own backyard blooms or supporting your local flower farmer. You're contributing to the local flower movement, and we're so happy to have you growing with us. If you'd like to stay connected and continue this blossoming journey with local flowers, don't forget to subscribe to the Backyard Bouquet podcast. I'd be so grateful if you would take a moment to leave us a review of this episode. And finally, please share this episode with your garden friends.
01:01:50
Speaker
Until next time, keep growing, keep blooming, and remember that every bouquet starts right here in the backyard.