Author: Allie

It has been quite a week here at the flower farm. Spring rocked in and I am sooo happy about that. I know, it is still March, and we still have to go through April, but things are a happen’en in the garden and I am loving it.

I am now on a weekly seeding schedule, which means that every Monday is seeding day. We started out slowly with the cool flowers but now we are ramping it up a bit and we are starting to rock and roll. Am I ready? As ready as I will be I reckon. I have seeds, compost, Pro-mix, heat mats, grow lights all lined up so I have been practicing with my soil block making so here we go.

I had moved out all the trial cool seedlings into the little greenhouse to cool off. The are keeping the ranunculas and the anemones company, but yesterday I got them into the actual garden beds. All of the Icelandic poppies are in the high tunnel, the stock, snaps, flax and bachelor buttons have been planted into the bed. I had to. I have what I think is a mouse feasting on all the greens. I have lost half the stock, the bachelor buttons have been well pinched so they should have excellent branching thank you. We have tried trapping, but it is wily so tonight we will try spinach and sprouts as bait. The creature seems to be craving greens so we will go that route and see what happens. Argh! I couldn’t figure out why I wasn’t counting as many ranunculas as I had been. They are still there cause I checked, but the critter has eaten all the tops. Sooo frustrating let me tell you.

While I was out in the garden checking on things as I do at least 12 times a day, because you never know, something might emerge from the earth this hour, I heard a buzzing, and if this works, I have a video of the witch hazel in full bloom absolutely covered with happy honey bees. This will be my first uploaded video so we will see how this goes. Didn’t work. I will try to post it to Instagram tonight. Try. The operative word. Instagram acct is Flowers at Lottarock.

In two weeks membership to Lottarock Flowers will be opening for the season. Many of you have a balance left, many of you don’t. If you have any questions email me at flowersatlottarock@gmail.com and I will fill you in. The membership is $100, and is good for two years. It works like a gift card, so when you come to get your flowers, that total is deducted from your balance. This is so exciting, and I look forward to seeing you when the flowers start, stay tuned.

Until next time. Allie

It has been a whirlwind week here at Lottarock. Emphasis on wind. It has been crazy windy this week, gust up to 45 mph, blowing over trees, blowing around anything that isn’t fastened down. And with today’s wind it is ushering in low temperatures of 12 degrees, and that isn’t including the windchill factor. So here is a quick look at my beautiful witch hazel that is in full bloom and looking just oh so nice, because tomorrow morning my guess is that it will be pretty toasted. Those lovely flowers do withstand the cold, just not 12 degree cold.

Between gale force winds, we have had some amazingly warm days that have melted lots of snow. The flower beds are still covered in snow, but the edges of the garden areas, where the daffodils and tulips have been planted are all open, and if you look closely, you will see green daffodil shoots poking through the mulch. No action on the tulip beds, but I have only just taken off the Christmas wreaths that I had put on when we had that warm spell back in January.

In the little greenhouse in cool seedlings are hardening off, (I need to cover them tonight), and the anemones and ranunculas are all hanging in. If you look closely, you will see the little ranuncs poking through. I have counted about 25 at the moment, not bad I reckon. I was thinking that they were going to be a total bust. At least I have growth so far. But as usual, time will tell. It is very exciting to see all this growth happening though.

This week will be spent getting ready for the first big seed push that happens in two weeks, but I need to sit down with the plot plan and figure amounts and where they are going. No, I haven’t done that yet. Hopefully those seedlings will be getting in the ground, and we will measure up for deer fencing because during the winter they nibbled off the flower buds of the lilacs. I certainly don’t need they noshing on my beautiful flowers when they start to come into production. You would think that I wouldn’t have deer with two dogs, and maybe they wee just doing walk through grazing but better be prepared.

I leave you with what is to come. Tulips from last May. Until next week. Allie

Like the swallows of Capistrano coming back in spring, the rocks at Lottarock are also coming back. Finally the rocks are reemerging from underneath all the snow. Having the rocks reemerge and mud. I can’t think of a better thing, outside of the color green and flowers of course.

I only have a few more weeks of slow time before things really start to rock and roll here at the farm. I made a map of the actual annual flower space and have figured out that I have 1700 square feet of growing space just for the annuals. That is not including all the spring bulbs and the perennials that have been planted so fingers crossed, I should have plenty of flowers this spring. I always say fingers crossed because when one deals with Mother Nature one just never knows.

I have bumped up the experimental cool crop seeds that I planted at the beginning of February and man dear they are looking good. Once I got them transplanted it was like they have grown overnight. I am still learning about soil blocks, but they are certainly easier to transplant into cell pacs and into larger soil blocks than any other method that I have used before. I am hoping to get them planted into the high tunnel by the end of this week. That is the plan anyway. I still have to get irrigation out there to get the beds watered before planting. The water line to the barn is still frozen, so I will have to run a hose out of the dirty room, through the garden to the high tunnel to get the beds and later seedlings watered, then at the end of watering, drain all the hoses and take them inside so they don’t freeze so I can use them again. A good way to get my steps in. At the moment, the seedlings on deck to be planted are snapdragons, stock, bachelor buttons, Icelandic poppies and some dianthus. Not large numbers of anything, just wanting to see how this goes. I am certainly looking forward to this though.

The next batch of cold tolerant crops gets seeded tomorrow, then around the 20th of March the big seeding starts to commence. That is when things start to get really exciting.

I still am not sure about how the anemones and ranunculas are doing in the little greenhouse. I am seeing growth, and this is where patience is vital. Tomorrow because it will be above freezing all day, fingers crossed I will drag out the hose and water the beds. Only time will tell, and believe you me, you guys will be the first to know if I see good things happening. This is what I am waiting for so impatiently.

Until next week, I leave you a lonely flower bud. Allie

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

So here we are at the eve of February 1. The light is really starting to change, it is up earlier and now we don’t have to do barn chores so early because at 5:30 it is still light. What a blessed thing that is. Now my gardening fun begins. Seed sowing! One of my most favorite tasks, watching the smallest little seed sprout in a matter of days, and in a few months create such beauty. I have always enjoyed working with seeds, back in the days of the old Woodman’s I would be sowing seeds up in the old seed shed at the top of the hill, In CT I was in charge of all seedling production from calculating starting dates to transplanting dates to getting them on the shelves dates. In Australia I was also sowing seeds, from seasonal color to Australian native seed, so seed work and I go W-A-Y back.

I am going to try something new this spring. I have been studying and I am going to have a go at sowing a trial batch of cool flowers. I will sow them tomorrow to be planted out in the garden around March 15 and we will see how it goes. I was looking at old photos of the gardens and lot of snow is already gone. Although I have no control over the amount of snow in the gardens, I can melt a bed with black plastic, and warm the soil enough to get the seedlings in. It will be mid March so it should be doable. Wouldn’t it be really great to have early stock, snaps and larkspur to go along with the spring bulbs? Talk about a spring bouquet!

I am trying a new seeding method this year as well just to challenge myself some more. I am going to try soil blocking. Here Ivan is posing with the soil blocker.

This is supposed to speed up the whole seeding process. Each block gets one seed, and there will be no more transplanting out into 806s, the little six pac’s that you buy at the nursery. Not only is this to speed up the process but it is supposed to make stronger seedlings because the growing medium is better, but I will also be eliminating plastic which is even better. Although I do recycle the cells pacs every year it sure would be good not to have to use them at all.

Also to be started tomorrow are the ranunculas and anemone’s. They didn’t get very good care at the end of their season last spring so I am not sure how they will do, to be completely honest.

But I figure nothing ventured, nothing gained. If they don’t show any swelling after being soaked for a few hours, I more than likely won’t bother to plant them. The really sad part is when I went to order some last fall they were sold out. That would be such a real shame because they were so early and so beautiful. Follow the blog to see how thing are going. I will be more organized this year, or I will try to be more organized.

The good news? I still have some dahlias that are looking OK. I am checking them weekly now. It will be interesting how many dahlias will be sold out when I go to put my order in this week. Lots of growers that are selling their tubers are sold out in a matter of hours after going online, so I will be making my list tonight and placing it during the snow we are supposed to be getting on Tuesday.

If you know of anyone who would be interested in locally, sustainably and lovingly grown flowers have them send me their email and I will get them on the blog and newsletter list. There is always room for more flower lovers. They can send me their address at flowersatlottarock@gmail.com and I will get them on the mailing list. Spring is coming and I don’t want anyone to miss out. Anything else? Ahhh, I will leave you with this last photo to whet your appetite of beauty to come.

Until next week. Allie

What a boring title, but what else is there to say. It is bloody cold, the goats, donkeys, dogs and chickens are not happy. Especially with the wind, but I keep telling them that spring is on the way. Granted, it is still seven weeks off at best, but there is a power of positive thinking.

I have been reading the book Cool Flowers, and did a webinar, the first of many this winter I might add, so I am hoping that spring will come earlier because of my new found knowledge. I know. Spring happens when she wants to arrive, but sowing seeds and planting them outside in a bed around March 15 is nothing but gasp! Stay tuned.

So my classes are going well. I was planning to be in the background with the NE Flower Growers Conference that is virtual this year, you know, just listening in, gleaning info , but crap, I have to really participate. I even have homework. Suck it up Kerwin. You can do this. Although being a wallflower is so much easier.

But getting back to the first zoom thing I did last Wednesday, I did glean a few things. I was not the only one that had problems getting their dahlias to bloom. This also happened to seasoned growers. I sigh deeply. I wasn’t just me. And I wasn’t the only one that was hugely worried about water, or the lack of to farm my flowers. And the most important message delivered last week is that people really do want flowers, they are important and not a luxury item. Especially this last year, and probably this year hopefully. It brings life and beauty into lives and now more than ever that is needed. I will try to price my flowers to bring joy to everyone.

Seeds are rocking in, although with our lovely USPS not as fast as they used to. It is a good thing I ordered early and hopefully I will have everything by the time I start sowing seeds in early February. The kitchen cooking island is covered with sowing schedules, calendars, catalogs with growing info, post-its and everything else to get me organized for the upcoming months.

So I leave you a photo of last year of what is to come. Till next time. Allie

One would think that even on these cold and mostly cloudy days that this flower farmer would be sitting around twiddling her thumbs waiting for spring, but you would be oh so wrong. Seeds have been ordered and some have arrived and some I am still waiting for to be shipped. Dahlia tubers will be ordered this week. I am checking the remaining of last year’s tubers almost daily and I think, fingers crossed that they will be OK. What a blow that was to find a third of the stored tubers mush. Off to the compost they went. More exciting varieties will be ordered.

Speaking of exciting varieties I might have gone a bit nuts ordering flower seed. I have lots of new varieties that I am going to try and of course many of the old tried and true favorites. The seed sowing schedule has been printed and I am gathering last year’s sowing notes. I am also signed up for a webinar this week on growing cool flowers so if I can get some of that knowledge under my hat I might have a larger selection of flowers available in the spring. It is all very exciting.

I am also signed up for a virtual “Flowering in the North Series” through U. Maine, a total of 6 nights in six weeks. I hope my brain will be able to handle all of this info. Two years ago I went to the same conference and came home with my brain a buzzing. If nothing else, it will make winter zip by even faster.

In the meantime, I walk the gardens, keeping my fingers crossed. I was getting worried about all the exposed beds where the snow had melted and where I had some tender bulbs planted and this fall’s crop of peonies, so I took all the Christmas wreaths that had been dropped off for the goats to enjoy, and l placed them over the raised beds to give added protection.

I also want to thank everyone that called for me to pick up their Christmas trees for goat entertainment. As you can tell, this was taken back when there was no snow.

Until next time, Allie