We’ve seen the Blooming Acres Farm Flower Truck popping up at events around town all summer, so it was high time we chatted with owner Emily Johneas about this adorable new venture! She shares what inspired her to begin flower farming, how she found her 1953 flower truck (and the learning curve involved with driving it!), and more…
Emily Johneas and her 1953 Ford F-100 Flower Truck
First, tell us a bit about yourself!
I’m Emily Johneas. I am the owner and operator of Blooming Acres Farm. I also run a commercial construction company with my husband in my spare time. When I’m not working or out in the gardens, I’m spending time with my countless four-legged friends.
On Becoming a Flower Farmer
Blooming Acres has been years in the making. I first started gardening during my senior year of college. I studied history, and in my senior year I did an independent study course and learned all about the Braceros (thanks to Professor Flores!). The Braceros were the Mexican farm workers that came to fill the labor shortage and work in our fields during World War II. Being a young woman growing up in the suburbs of Long Island, I was so disconnected from where my food came from. To help understand the challenges of the Braceros as best as I could, my husband made me a raised garden bed to grow my first garden. I grew way too much in that small, raised garden bed, but I learned so much. Year after year, our garden slowly expanded. At one point we had so little outside space that we got creative and turned our second bedroom into a grow room!
In 2017 we moved up to Washington County and found our dream home. That’s where Blooming Acres really started to take shape. I started my farming journey by growing heirloom vegetables and some flowers for the pollinators. I fell in love with all the different shapes, textures, colors, and types of flowers. Every year my flower garden expanded greatly, leaving less room for veggies!
From Farm Stand to Flower Truck
Blooming Acres started out as a farm stand. I am so fortunate to have such a skilled carpenter for a husband. He built my farm stand for me to display all my flower arrangements, and I have a great friend and neighbor who has generously allowed me to place my farm stand on her land as it gets a lot more traffic than it would see on my quiet dirt road.
As our farm expanded, I began reaching out to local businesses to do popup events in the community. I was fortunate enough to be a vendor at R.S. Taylor during the Washington County Cheese Tour and the Thursday Night Food Truck Market at The Shirt Factory in Glens Falls. These pop-up events allowed me to meet members of the community and talk all things flowers!
The next step for Blooming Acres was my flower truck, which has been in the works for years. I have seen flower trucks popping up all over the US, and while most of them are mobile florists, I wanted to create the same concept with locally grown blooms. People can expect a rotation of fresh cut blooms on the truck. Our selection changes on a weekly basis. All the flowers on the truck are naturally grown and locally sourced!
The flower truck has been a great way of getting my flowers out into the community. I have received such great feedback - people really love the concept of building their own bouquets and talking all about the ’53 flower truck while they’re at it.
On Finding a Vintage Truck
Initially, my flower truck was going to be an imported Japanese right hand drive mini truck. However, it was quite difficult to get the truck on the road in New York. One day my husband was cruising Facebook Marketplace and found my current truck. We went to go see it in New Hampshire and I instantly fell in love. All of the pieces fell into place and we brought my truck home to New York on Easter of 2021.
It was initially a learning curve with driving the ’53, it was interesting learning to drive a vehicle without power steering and most modern safety features!
On the Rewards and Challenges of Flower Farming
The biggest reward of growing flowers is the ability to share them with the community! I love talking all things flowers.
This year has been my most challenging season yet. This heat on top of drought conditions have been detrimental to my crops. The seedlings that did manage to survive this year were stunted as a result of the hot weather. Luckily, the local flower farming community has been so supportive. I reached out to multiple flower farmers in my area this summer when my flowers were struggling, to try to find sources for local grown blooms. It was very important for me to ensure that the blooms on my truck are sustainably grown and locally sourced. I didn’t want to fill up the truck with the same flowers you would get at the store and wanted to ensure that they weren’t preserved with chemicals. To my surprise all the farmers I reached out to were so supportive and willing to help! My business wouldn’t be as successful as it is this year without the support of Amy at Bark Hill Farm in Hebron, NY- she has graciously opened her fields to me this season.
On the Future
I’m looking forward to connecting and collaborating more with local businesses as Blooming Acres continues to grow! Most immediately, I’ll be at the Drink Pink Event at the Adirondack Winery in Queensbury on Friday from 5-7pm. All of the proceeds of the event are going to Making Strides Against Breast Cancer of the Adirondacks. On Saturday I will be at Northway Brewing From 2-5pm!
