You might think that celebrating the arrival of February might not mean much, but to this flower grower it is everything. The two most important things are for my psyche is the days will really start to get longer, yay! and hopefully the temperatures will start to moderate because my dirty room is really starting to get kinda full.
Filling up.
The seed racks at the moment are filled with ranunculus sproutings and the first batch of seedlings, the crates in the middle are transplanted ranunculus and to the left which you can’t see yet are the tulip crates.
Two weeks of tulip crates
Patience isn’t one of my virtues, and am I worrying over these babies. Exciting to be sure, but omg, worrying. I just need the temperatures to moderate so I can get them in the greenhouse and out of the dirty room. I am going to need the space for all the flower seedling babies.
So you are asking, I can hear it cause my ears are burning, “When am I going to have flowers?” I am trying my hardest. At this point, I would like to say before the end of February, but all I can say is, “Stay tuned.” When it happens believe you I will be yelling it form the rooftops because I will be so damn excited. But until then, Patience. I am told it is a virtue.
So. When the flowers happen, know that your flowers are being grown responsibly, have almost zero carbon miles, have been nurtured with love and will last so much longer than flowers that aren’t being grown locally.
To tulip time. Ok I will be honest, I check the bulbs almost hourly, and no, that doesn’t speed up the blooming process anymore than getting a tea kettle to boil. It yields complete frustration, but also so much joy of what is to come.
So this is where we are now. The first three crates were pulled into the dirty room last Tuesday, Have a look at where we are….
The bulbs not quite one week out of the cooler.
As you can see, we are making progress. Four more crates come out of the bulb room this Tuesday. The dirty room is going to be very very full if the temperatures don’t calm down a bit. I can’t put them into the greenhouse because the nights are just too cold for them. Even with frost cloth, it will be too cold at night. Can you hear me sigh very deeply?
The ranunculus are also really stating to sprout like crazy, so in another week or two they will be potted up in crates and they will go into the unheated greenhouse with frost protection, and into the very open ended high tunnel. The anemones on the other hand are taking their sweet time, but I’m not stressing, much, because they are putting on good root growth.
I am trying to find a solution for my flower club people for flower pick up this February and March. I have a thought but haven’t checked it out yet, but we have a couple weeks yet. I think. I will keep you posted. At the moment our driveway is a giant glacier, and we look like Antrim Lumber South with all the pile of lumber for the still ongoing garage build. Enter another deep sigh. I will certainly let everyone know what transpires. Fingers crossed please.
I know that everyone is as excited about the tulips and the other early spring flowers that will be available this spring. So. Here we go.
To be a member to the Flowers of Lottarock, It is a cost of $100. It acts as a gift card, your purchase is deducted from your balance. Your card is good for two years from the date purchased. If you empty your card it is easily refillable. Flowers from the flower club can be picked up at the farm on Tuesday afternoons and Friday mornings. You can buy either by the stem, or I will make a bunch up for you, also priced by the stem. If, and that is a big if, I am organized, I will also have bunches pre-made for you to just grab and go. Organization isn’t my best skill, but I am improving. But I like you flower people to show your creativeness and build your own.
If you would like to purchase a card, a check can be sent to Flowers at Lottarock, PO box 35, Hancock NH 03449, please also send along your address so I can send you your card. You don’t need your card when you come because I do keep track for you but sometimes you might like to know what your balance is.
Stay tuned to the blog for details….very important. I will also post on Instagram if you follow me there…..
I leave you of a photo of two years ago of field grow tulips…oh the joy of what is to come.
If you hadn’t noticed, the days are getting longer in the evening at least. We can go out and do chores at 5:15 now and not need a flashlight to see what we are doing. Progress!
Did you know that yesterday was International Tulip Day? I didn’t until all the flower growers that I follow on instagram were wishing everyone happy tulip day holding either their tulips from last year or this year’s crop. Very envious of those with this year’s crop already, but next year hopefully I to will have tulips to hold in my arms on International Tulip day, which is held on the third Saturday of January of you were wondering.
If you are really wondering about it, google it. It is sooooo amazing I am hoping to go next year. This years was cancelled because of you know what, Covid, but hopefully by this time next year it will all be a distant memory.
So what has been happening here at the Rock? Learning of course, watching my tulips which is about as good as waiting for a kettle to boil. Pointless, but must be done. Some of the seeds have geminated and I made the critical decision to move the ranuculus and anemones onto the seed starting shelves in the dirty room because they were doing nothing in the bulb room and it was driving me crazy. I also don’t have to put my coat on every two hours to go into the bulb room to see how they were doing, or not as the case. So the dirty room is just getting dirtier and somehow smaller because until the temperatures moderate, the tulip crates will be brought into there for growing on.
So. My plan is… that the tulip crates will have one more week in the bulb room at 48 degrees, then drop the temps to holding and every week I haul out two or three crates of bulbs to force for sale. So, if I get my math sorta correct….The earliest I will have tulips available will be the week of Feb. 21, or from anytime then on. I hope you all love tulips because I will have buckets of them.
So. By the first week of February, if you don’t have a credit from last year’s flower card you might want to think about getting a flower card to be ready. I will always have them ready but I don’t want anyone to miss out. I will let you know when the time is right. So stay tuned. I will keep you all posted, believe me, I am as excited as you all are for some local farm grown, chemical free, long lasting flowers that haven’t been shipped from overseas.
Until next week, I will be dreaming beautiful tulips. Allie
I know this is a week late but I thought I would give you all a break, especially since not tons has been happening, but it is a new year and new happenings.
My most exciting tidbit is that the tulips are a growing. Have a look at this!
The bulb crates all stacked up
tulip bulbs growth after two weeks in the cooler
Pretty exciting isn’t it? OK for me it is, but fingers crossed that in another 6 weeks I will have beautiful tulips available for you all.
The next exciting thing is that last week I soaked all 500 of the ranunculus and anemone corms and they are now pre-sprouting in the bulb room. At least I hope they are. This is always the nerve wracking, nail biting part for me because the corms are so prone to rot, can’t have them to dry but certainly not too wet. Soon, I hope to have them planted in the high tunnel and into crates in the greenhouse.
Ranunculus and Anemones and a crate of freesias hopefully sprouting.
Seeding has begun. Icelandic poppies, and something else, can’t remember. Then will be the perennials and the cool crops. Meanwhile, while I have nothing to do…
I am taking a slew of flower learning courses. This weekend was mad learning. Four talks on Friday that were on the woohoo of growing flowers, eight talks on Saturday all dealing with the technicalities of growing, that was really good, and today on marketing all the flowers. Thank you to Tom and Suzie who let me sit in their cozy room using their internet for some of the talks because our internet is squirrely this weekend. Of all times, really. I will be so happy to have real internet some year.
Now I just have to register for “Flowering in the Northeast” which is sponsored by UMaine and is really good, and then, a tulip forcing refresher for the course I took last year. This time it will be videos in living color and not just the instructors sitting in their offices talking to us. Then before you know it, I will be flat out and flowers hopefully will be available.
I will have to say, that I am totally thankful for the snow that came the other day because it will act as insulation for the perennials and the tulips that are planted in the ground. They and I are thankful for the added insulation for when the polar vortex pours in this week. Brrrrr.
So. Until next week. Stay warm, and think flowers.
