May Updates
It feels like May has gone at the speed of light - maybe because we’ve been so busy! Settle in with a cup of coffee, it’s a loooong update.
This month started with moving all of the seedlings and dahlia cuttings out to the greenhouse to begin the hardening off process. Hardening off can’t be skipped with seedlings and baby plants - this allows them to get used to temperature, wind and other weather conditions that aren’t replicated in a growing room. I harden mine off by putting them in morning sun (part way in the shade if I can) and increase the hours spent outside, and the amount of sunlight they get, over the course of 5-7 days. They spend the nights in the greenhouse, until the night before they are planted, when they’re outside for over a 24 hour period. While they might get a bit stressed out during this process, it helps them acclimate better to planting and keeps them healthier in the long run! Losing seedlings at the planting stage is heartbreaking, and hardening off helps to prevent that.
I began planting out after this stage, using every spare moment to get the seedlings into the ground. It felt like an insurmountable task at times, but having everything planned out in advance helped a ton! I always start with a solid garden plan, so I know where plants should go based on sunlight needs and how tall they get. For instance, I’m not going to plant 5-6’ tall branching sunflowers on the east side of a bed of lisianthus. The lisianthus would be shaded out pretty instantly, ruining their growth!
The prepped weed fabric was a lifesaver. While there are still weeds in the beds here and there, they are diminishing rapidly as the seedlings establish themselves and their growth chokes out the weeds. Most of my time weeding is spent on the lisianthus bed as they grow very, very slowly. Now the pathways are another story - I will never be free of weeds.
The middle of the month saw an amazing thing happen - our tulips hit prime blooms right in time for Mother’s Day! Thank you to everyone who supported us by buying an arrangement; we sold out, and I’ve already ordered bulbs for next year. It was an absolute joy to deliver the tulips to everyone, and I loved hearing your feedback as you enjoyed them throughout the weekend. Tulip bulbs are ordered in April/May, planted out in October… and then we wait to see when they’ll pop up. Having them come right in time for Mother’s Day was a gift, and my fingers are crossed we hit the jackpot again next year!
As soon as the tulips were out of the ground, they were replaced with cosmos - which are already sending out blooms! I usually don’t see a cosmo bloom until mid - June, so it’s nice to see that our plans are coming to fruition.
Right after Mother’s Day, I began getting the dahlia cuttings and tubers into the ground. I have around 1400 total dahlias, comprised of both cuttings and tubers. The cuttings needed immediate staking and drip irrigation as soon as they get into the ground - it feels good to have that part taken care of! The tubers will not get drip irrigation put in until they start sending up shoots. Dahlia tubers hate getting wet, and if they do, there’s a big risk of rot. I keep the cuttings and tubers separated in order to water appropriately. Now I’m checking them twice a day to finish off that work! I was pleasantly surprised by a dahlia sending up a bud, but it was a good reminder that they all need to be pinched. Pinching certain plants helps in the long run, by creating multiple shoots which then means more flowers!
It feels good to say that everything is now planted, and we’re on to the watering, pinching and staking phase. I’m also starting the clean up of washing buckets, crates, pots and seedling trays to get ready for the next round.
Soon, SO SOON, we will be harvesting buckets of flowers to share with you all!
Laura
