Hmmm ... so I started this post in February and we are now June... time flies when you're having fun! Below is a peak at my overwintered and brought back to life dahlia tubers...
While this still may technically be Winter, there is much planning (and purchasing) for the later part of the season on this flower farm. We've just ordered 37 dahlias and 27 mums for our summer and fall flower harvesting. While those numbers may not sound like much to more established flower farms, this is a huge time and financial investment for us. I ALWAYS start (or order) more flowers than I have space to put them in the ground... and these babies will be arriving in mid-April at the time of our projected last frost date. Hopefully that ground will thaw out so we can get some more beds dug!
But this is an investment that we hope will help grow our business. If taken care of properly, we can dig up the dahlia tubers in the fall, overwinter them, and divide them in the Spring, and likely we will have more than we started with. So those 37 dahlias can be twice (or more) the next year! The more we learn about growing specialty cut flowers... well we always need to learn more. This was our first year overwintering dahlia tubers and we're not so sure we were successful. Our storage area may have gotten too cool and dry. So for now we have taken them out of their hiding places and have potted them up and are patiently (or not so patiently) waiting to see if there might be some life left in them. Hopefully these southwestern facing windows will start to warm and work their magic... and hopefully our little munchkins will keep their hands off!
And .. update... first dahlias coming out now....
But this is an investment that we hope will help grow our business. If taken care of properly, we can dig up the dahlia tubers in the fall, overwinter them, and divide them in the Spring, and likely we will have more than we started with. So those 37 dahlias can be twice (or more) the next year! The more we learn about growing specialty cut flowers... well we always need to learn more. This was our first year overwintering dahlia tubers and we're not so sure we were successful. Our storage area may have gotten too cool and dry. So for now we have taken them out of their hiding places and have potted them up and are patiently (or not so patiently) waiting to see if there might be some life left in them. Hopefully these southwestern facing windows will start to warm and work their magic... and hopefully our little munchkins will keep their hands off!
And .. update... first dahlias coming out now....
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