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Rooted Agritourism — Home & Garden
Rooted Agritourism

Rooted Agritourism is the go-to podcast for rural entrepreneurs building diversified, sustainable, and story-driven farm businesses. Hosted by Dr. Liz Fiedler Mergen—flower farmer, educator, and founder of Sunny Mary Meadow cut flower farm—this show goes beyond blooms to explore the full spectrum of agritourism and value-added agriculture.

Whether you’re launching a U-pick field, hosting farm events, bottling your own products, or dreaming up the next big rural business idea, you’ll find honest insights, real-world strategies, and a whole lot of encouragement here. Each episode blends personal experience, practical tools, and conversations with innovative ag-based business owners who are redefining what it means to grow on your own terms.

From marketing perishable products to navigating burnout, building memberships, and scaling farm income streams—Rooted Agritourism is your weekly companion for building a life and business deeply rooted in purpose, place, and profitability.

Podcast Website: https://www.sunnymarymeadowcoaching.com/rootedagritourism

Podcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rootedagritourism/

Business Coaching: https://www.sunnymarymeadowcoaching.com/

Farm Website: www.sunnymarymeadow.com

FarmerstoFlorists: https://www.farmerstoflorists.com/

Farm Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sunnymarymeadow/

Podcast Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/888196709178852

Copyright: © Bloom & Grow LLC

Latest Episodes:

Interview with Amanda Radke: How trendy marketing buzzwords can be confusing to the general public. May 08, 2023

Show notes

This week we welcome Amanda Radke from rural South Dakota helping debunk confusing labels and marketing buzzwords in the agriculture industry. We talk about how it is confusing to use terms such as sustainable, as that is how farmers have been growing for decades. We talk about the confusion that end consumers get when those words aren’t used, and what exactly those practices mean.

I truly hope that this episode is a conversation starter, and please reach out to either of us if you are confused or need more clarification. It is from conversations like this, that we all get better informed and can learn.

The Soil Quilt book: https://amandaradke.com/collections/books-toys/products/pre-order-childrens-book-the-soil-quilt

Tulips for both cut flowers and in your landscaping. May 01, 2023

Show notes

This week we talk about everything tulips! I talk about the differences in growing them for cut flower production and growing them as a hobby gardener. I discuss how and when I plant them, how I store them, and some of the varieties I order.

Questions? Send me an email podcast@sunnymarymeadow.com

I promised I would include my favorite tool for harvesting them by the bulb in the episode notes: https://amzn.to/40RGqbL

Types of Cut Flowers Apr 24, 2023

Show notes

This episode helps you better understand what the heck it means when someone says “tender annual” or “hardy annual” and many other terms. We also talk about a few things that work well in cut flower bouquets and arrangements, like raspberry bushes, that you wouldn’t normally think of.Not every flower has a great vase life, but they don’t all have to start from seed.

B&G Hustle culture leads to burnout Apr 21, 2023

Show notes

Do you wear your work ethic like a badge of honor?

Hard work and making sacrifices to achieve your goals is important. It’s the stepping stone to getting you where you want to be. But what happens when you get there? Do you just keep climbing? What’s your end goal?

After my husband died, I have taken a long hard look at what my life looks like and decided I didn’t like what I saw. I’m talking about why and how I hit the reset button. I’m here to talk about my “hustle culture” journey and what I’m doing about it from here on out. I wasn’t living the life I want to live. Now I’m chasing contentment & fulfillment while still going after those dreams at a more calculated pace.

Bloom & Grow

How I grow thousands of bouquets on less than 1/3 of an acre. Apr 17, 2023

Show notes

How I produce over 5000 bouquets/year on less than 1/2 an acre.

People are always expecting me to say that I grow on 5 acres or whatever, and they're shocked when I produce this many flowers on such a small space. The secret: succession planting and crop rotation. Knowing exactly the days to maturity and getting multiple harvests from the same ground. Maybe it's flowers that produce all summer long, or it's flowers that are finished early summer and can be replaced by another flower (like a sunflower) that can bloom 50 days from planting.

Questions? email podcast@sunnymarymeadow.com

Instagram: @sunnymarymeadow

Part 2: Deciding when and where to plant my flowers after I bought the seeds. Apr 10, 2023

Show notes

How I decide the timing and location of my cut flowers after I have bought the seeds and plugs. I divided this episode into two parts, and this second part talks about how I decide where to plant things. Is it a premium cut? What are the water requirements? Does it require anything special for harvest? Shade? Sun? Height?

The first part (Ep 5) first part talks about how I make and organize my calendar of when to plant things.

B&G: Lessons learned the hard way on how to talk to someone that is grieving. Apr 07, 2023

Show notes

This is a tough one. After my husband died, I had a lot of people reach out in well-intentioned ways. I give examples of things to say and not to say, and most importantly WHY. Ask yourself: Am I doing this to make the grieving person feel better, or am I doing this to make myself feel better? Treat others how THEY want to be treated.I encourage grievers to give grace (within reason) but also take the initiative to tell people what you need. I know it’s not fair. You lost someone and now it’s YOUR job to tell people what you need. But sometimes that’s what needs to be done.Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bloomandgrow.llc/Email: podcast@sunnymarymeadow.com

Part 1: Deciding when and where to plant my flowers after I bought the seeds. Apr 03, 2023

Show notes

How I decide the timing and location of my cut flowers after I have bought the seeds and plugs. I divided this episode into two parts, and this first part talks about how I make and organize my calendar of when to plant things.

I also shift gears halfway through and discuss what happens when everything goes “wrong” by sharing a story of a massive storm that hit our farm last May and did some significant damage.

https://sunnymarymeadow.com/podcast/how-to-decide-what-to-plant-and-where-part-1/

High tunnels for season extension in cut flowers with Ashley Vail. Mar 27, 2023

Show notes

This week we talk about using high tunnels (or hoop houses) for season extension. Special guest Ashley Vail from Vail Family Farm is here with us talking about Zone 6 and Zone 4 growing. We both use it to extend our seasons for tulips, ranunculus, and other plants. We each bought the same tunnel For full episode notes:

https://sunnymarymeadow.com/podcast/high-tunnels-for-season-extension-in-cut-flower-farming-with-ashley-vail/

https://www.instagram.com/sunnymarymeadow/

B&G: The story behind naming our farm Sunny Mary Meadow Mar 26, 2023

Show notes

Our farm was named Sunny Mary Meadow in memory of Mary Fiedler. It thrives in honor of Josh Fiedler.

When I first met my late husband, it was about 18 months since since his mom had passed away. Around the 2 year mark, I noticed a shift in him. He would get upset about anything related to her, and had unrealistic expectations of traditions he insisted we kept alive in order to maintain her memory. I didn't understand it. I didn't see how it was possible to "be fine" and then suddenly seem to start grieving.

I now know, through my own experience, that grief doesn't have a timeline and it isn't linear. We worked through it together, and I finally understood that the progress of our relationship and talking about someday having children was bittersweet for him. He couldn't help thinking about the fact that his mom never got to be a Grandma -- and she would have been the best.

I learned so much about secondary losses from him, and our conversations of his grief truly prepared me for what was to come -- we just didn't know it yet. Through his own grief, he commented on

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