Month: February 2021

Tomorrow is the first day of meteorological spring. Yippee! or, bloody well about time. Looking outside it seems as though the snow will never melt, but it is because the rocks are slowly emerging and the mud season is certainly here. I don’t go outside without my barn boots on. it is getting yucky.

So what is happening here at the Rock you might be asking. Well, I have just finished a week long virtual flower growers school. I did learn lots so that is good, my head was normally spinning at the end of each session but that might have been two fold. All the new information and being on the computer but it was worth while and that is good. Tomorrow there is a zoom with a flower grower in New Zealand so not only will I be able to glean things but I can armchair travel as well. Won’t that be exciting? I think so anyway.

Besides me being behind my laptop, I have been busy talking to my first batch of flower seedlings. I gathered a bunch of rain water yesterday for future waterings because I think my tap water might be just a bit rough. I seem to be getting a salt buildup on the soil blocks so I will see if the rain water makes a difference. The first batch of seedlings are really getting big and strong so they will be planted out on Wednesday after Tuesday’s deep freeze so what happened to the ranuncs won’t happen to them.

The second batch of seedlings that were started 1 1/2 weeks later will be planted into the high tunnel. Unless, and this is a big unless, all the snow melts and I can find a garden bed to plant them into.

The ranunculas and anemones that were planted out last week with such hope are not looking their best. Oh this is so sad. That wicked cold night that got down to 12 degrees wasn’t good. They were just too soft, or rather hadn’t been hardened off sufficiently. The anemones are holding their own at the moment, but I am keeping my fingers crossed for the ranuncs. The trials of flower farming, and no matter how much experience you might have, Mother Nature will always have the upper hand. I can only work with her and mitigate what I can. All ten fingers are crossed that they will come through.

I leave you with an image from May 27th last year. This is what I am hoping and keeping my fingers crossed for.

Until next week. Allie

You do know she was at this flower gardening gig from an early age, don’t you? Steve

The weather outside is frightful, but inside it is so delightful….that could be said for the last couple of weeks around here. The weather, well, cold and rainy and a lot of snow days but inside the dirty room things are so delightful. Seedlings are growing, not by leaps and bounds but there is good action.

Quite the growing routine is happening. Every morning while filling filling goat buckets and feeding the dogs, the grow lights are turned on and the plants welcomed. After the dogs get their walk, the seedlings are watered and cheered on. If a batch of seedlings are ready they get moved off the heat mat to the shelving by the windows. If necessary more seeding will happen but the main thrust for the seeding really won’t happen until the middle of March. After lunch the seedlings are caressed and around 9:00 they are told good night and their lights go off.

The ranunculas and anemones are growing so fast they had to get moved to the lowest shelf of the rack to try to keep them cool. I don’t want them to get too soft for when I move them out. In preparation for their move out yesterday I dug out the little greenhouse, where I can get water to it and put snow on the planting beds to water them in. I didn’t want to drag hoses just yet so this was just to take care of some of that extra snow.

Today was such a lovely day, we hauled out the trays of sprouts to get them ready for the big plant. They had a lovely day

Most of the snow has melted, so probably Tuesday will be planting day. Right now they are hopefully safely under a double layer of remay. I will be happy when they are in the ground. I can not believe how much they have grown. If all goes to plan, and I have done my math correctly, I should start to have flowers by the middle of May? We will see.

My week of virtual growers classes have started with a three hour opener tonight, so if this seems a bit rambling, it is because I have had my head in a computer for the last 3 hours. Hopefully I will learn and more important be able to retain what I am learning. Some of it is a refresher from oh way back when, and some of it will be new. Like learning now to use social media to my advantage. Technology.

I leave you until next week of things to come. Allie

Valentine’s day. The day you gift your loved one with a sleep in, chocolate, and flowers. Whoah on the flowers. You say what!? Did you know that most of the flowers for valentines day are imported form overseas, any seas, and are laced with chemicals and preservatives? Ugh. Yes, they will last forever, but you certainly don’t want to put them up to your nose and inhale. Alas, My flowers aren’t close to ready for valentines day, but, there are plenty of New England growers that do have flowers. I know, I am a little late for telling you all this but better late than never, right? If it is always possible, purchase your flowers from a New England grower, they are fresher, usually harvested within a couple of days when you see them in the shop, they will be picked at perfection rather than at the minimal time, and you will be supporting a local farmer. I know it is hard to believe but there are flower growers in New England that are growing amazing flowers even at this time of year when there is deep snow on the ground. Please support NE flower growers!

Aside from that non-paid political announcement, things are a rock’n and a roll’n here at Lottarock. The cool flower seeds are germinating and are now off the heat mats and are now just under lights and it is amazing how fast they are growing. Well, fast to me anyway. when you look at the photos you will say really! Trust me, they are growing. All but the larkspur and nigella, so they got watered and put in a zip lock bag and put outside for a little chilling time. Next week or so they will come back inside and go back on the heat mats. Hey. It’s a learning curve and I am having fun.

You have been following the “saga” of the ranunculas and the anemones, you know, the ones that I didn’t want to think they were going to amount to anything, but what the heck, I will soak them anyways. Well what the heck, they are swollen so I will plant them and pre-sprout them. Well lookey here. Heh heh heh. They are sprouting!!!!

Next month we will be ready for new subscriptions for our members flower club. If you are new to us or can’t remember, it works like this. Each gift card is the value of $100.00. When we open, the hours at the flower shed are Tuesday from 3-6pm and Fridays from 9-12:00. Yes, I have increased the hours. You can purchase a pre-made bouquet or you can buy by the stem and create your own bouquet which is always fun. The price of what you are getting is deducted form your card value. The cards are good for 2 years, and can be topped up at anytime you are getting low. Think of it as a gif card. In fact, if you are looking for a gif for a special person, this would make a perfect gift.

Don’t worry, I will be repeating this often so you do’t have to remember the details. I look forward to seeing you all in the spring, and many new flower club members.

Until next week I leave you with a photo of things to come. Allie

I got your attention, but this post as nothing to do with the superbowl. Just about flowers, and the goings on at Lottarock.

As I sit here and write this it is snowing again. All is good in my gardening world. The plants are all tucked in the earth with a beautiful blanket of snow over them, and I am keeping my fingers crossed that the weather pattern of February will continue.

Since my last post last Sunday I have been busy, busy learning. So much I am getting brain cramps, but so many ideas, I think they are cramping my brain even more. But it is all good and this is certainly the time of year to learn. Long before the gardening season ramps up that is for sure.

The dirty room has been a flurry of action this week. If the sun is out I do my lessons in there, if not, I am hunkered down by the wood stove in the living room. But other than learning, I have been busy. The first batch of cool flowers have been sown, and this includes the dianthus, centurea, stock, snapdragons and a few other ones. Learning curve here. How wet do I make the growing medium? Wicked wet, and it certainly takes practice to fill the soil blocker evenly, but I am getting there, slowly. As soon as I start to see germination I will know that I am on the right track. At least I hope I will be, I am watching them like a hawk. Just ask Steve. But we all know a watched kettle takes forever to boil.

Last week I mentioned about the ranunculas and anemone tubers and corms that I had saved. Well I honestly didn’t think much was going to happen, but I soaked them with the bubbler going for about 5 hours and low and behold, miracles just might happen! They looked good enough for me to take the time to pre-sprout them.

As soon as I get this posted I am finally going to get the dahlia order in. Fingers crossed that there are some left. One of the podcasts I listen to was a dahlia breeder and my biggest takeaway from that was that the bigger flowers are spectacular for events and weddings which are essentially one-off events, and the smaller closed face flowers and the balls are the best for CSA’s and member-only flower people like you, so, the order has been revamped with all of us in mind, because I love flowers as much as you all do.

Spring is getting closer, the dirty room is getting dirtier and I am getting more and more excited. I hope to see you all in the spring, I would love it if you would bring a friend to join the flower club. I am still looking for a name to call all us flower lovers that are members of the Flowers at Lottarock. Maybe as an incentive, I can give everyone a rock! HMMMM.

Until next week I leave you with a photo from last spring. Allie