The big question is will the groundhog see his shadow tomorrow and when will spring come? Well, whether Mr Phil sees his shadow tomorrow or not, I know that spring will be here in a few more weeks. The tulips are looking good, more crates get pulled tomorrow along with a surprise crate of another spring flower. I can hardly wait, but you probably know that by now.
The other more exciting thing about tomorrow is the day length is now officially 10 hours and now I can start my seeds. The cool flowers will be started and all of the perennials. The dirty room is getting full. I made space today for tomorrow’s crates, and tidied up the space so I have room to move, but it’s going to be crowded and dirty now until May.
i spent three amazing days in Portland Maine for the Flowering in the North conference. My brain, along with everyone else’s brain attending was crammed full of information from growing and everything associated with that, social media, connection with other flower growers, marketing and so much more. I feel as though I am still digesting all the information I crammed in my head. I did get some really cool seeds from a flower grower in VT that has been doing some really cool seed selections and I am looking forward to seeing them in real life. Something you all you local people to look forward as well.
I don’t know what posessed me the other day to look at the temperature in the bulb room, maybe because of this never ending cold stretch but OMG, the temperature wasn’t pretty. Not that it would hurt the bulbs, but I am storing the dahlias in there as well and I don’t want them below 35f. The temp was 36.4. The heater was on, but I just don’t think it is able to keep up so I cranked it up a bit and all os fine at the moment. Then I saw this!
Ice crystals! I re-stacked, or rather stacked the dahlias to be almost under the heater, and I think all is fine. They look good and feel good and that is the important part. I need to check the remote sensor more frequently when we have such a prolonged cold I guess.
I read an interesting article this morning about imported flowers and the few people I forwarded it onto suggested I post the link so here it is.
This makes it all the more important to know where your flowers come from. Most small to medium US flower growers are organic growers or follow organic practices but it never hurts to have a conversation with your flower grower. The same for your vegetable growers. Start a conversation with them. We will be happy to share. I, for one, am not certified organic but certainly follow the organic practices. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask.
I leave you with this image of what is to come. The tulips came from Emily Von Trapp’s flower farm in VT. (she forces 200,000 a year) following organic practices.
So until next week I will continue top dream of flowers. Allie
Now, off to Steve…