flower internship

June 21st, 2015 by caitlyn

Little City Gardens is looking for a summer flower intern!

For the past two seasons, we’ve been increasing our flower production here at the farm, especially in the summer months. Cut flowers contribute to the farm’s financial stability and feel like an important addition to the conversation about how urban farming can fit into a local marketplace. Plus, after years of growing primarily greens, herbs, and cool season veggies (which we still grow), we take total delight in watching the farm explode in colors and textures! The dahlia’s fiery colors warm up San Francisco’s foggy gray days.

This 2015 season, our flower production is increasing significantly. We’ve spent the spring seeding, transplanting and tending to thousands of young plants, and as we watch them grow closer to bloom time, we are gearing up for a very busy summer of flower harvesting and bouquet making.

We’d love some help in this experiment, and we’d love to share with you some of what we’ve learned so far! Do you have some free time this summer? Do you want to learn more about small-scale farming, flower growing, and bouquet making? Want to spend time on one of the most beautiful acres in the city?

What we can offer:

  • In-depth explanation of our methods of flower production as we’ve developed them, from soil care, to plant spacing, to crop maintenance
  • Harvest practices and tips
  • Bouquet making basics
  • Continual conversation about the ins and outs of running a small urban farm business, observations about sales outlets, customer relationships and pricing
  • Weekly flowers & veggies to take home
  • Chocolate at lunch, pretty much always

Ideal interns will be:

  • Organized and thorough
  • Excited to learn about flower growing
  • Have a good eye for color and texture
  • Invigorated by hard work and willing to get dirty
  • Able to get up early and spend mornings outside
  • Available one consistent day per week (TBD, likely Weds) mid July – Sept (approx 8 weeks)

Internship tasks:

  • Harvest, trim and sort flowers
  • Help with bouquet making and wrapping
  • Help with cleanup (bucket washing, pruner care)
  • Occasional crop maintenance (weeding, deadheading, fertilizing, etc)

TO APPLY:

Please send an email to littlecitygardens at gmail (subject FLOWER INTERNSHIP) responding briefly to the following questions. Deadline for applications is Monday June 29th. Applicants will ideally be available for 2-3 hours on Weds July 1st or Weds July 8th for a working introduction / interview on the farm.

  • Describe your interest (and/or experience — though none is required) in farming or working with flowers.
  • What skills do you bring?
  • What’s most compelling to you about farming in the city? Why is it important?
  • Are you available on Wednesday mornings July – Sept? If not, what days are you most available? (Please also mention any out of town plans).
  • How long have you lived in SF? What other kinds of things do you like to do?
  • We can’t wait to hear from you!

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