Author: Allie

I hope the Easter bunny was good to you all and your baskets are overflowing with chocolate eggs and peeps. We had a sunrise dog walk with all of our canine friends and their humans and enjoyed far too many peeps far too early in the morning. Our favorite peep was the Sparkly Berry, or something like that. All that sugar gave us lots of energy to do farm work today. Yay!

The snow has finally melted in the cutting garden and to be honest, it is a little discouraging to see the amount of rodent damage in the beds. Don’t worry, there are still plenty of spring bulbs, but they did dine well on many of the perennials. I know it is early yet and things are slow so I am not worried, nor should you. You know the adage. An empty space in the garden means PLANT SHOPPING, and new things to try to offer you all the best and most interesting cut flowers out there. Let the challenge begin!

So what is happening on the farm. Well if you didn’t know, Tulips. I will have tulips on Friday, it could be just a few, or…. with the forecasted warm weather, could be a bunch more. The in-ground tulips are looking good. I have been watering them but one just never knows and I have very little control over these tulips. The forced tulips are much easier. I more or less know each week what I will have for you, but the in-ground ones? Mother Nature rules on that one and we all know how that goes. So, as usual, pay attention to the newsletter that should come out the night before or the morning of the open flower shed to keep you up to date.

Speaking of tulips, I have just placed the order for next year’s tulips. Let’s just say that was a brain cramping job. How many for each week? Do the colors blend, are they interesting…then do that again for the in ground tulips, but add Mother Nature into the timing. Oh yes. My brain was cramping. Only 9 months before we know how well I did with my choices. I mean it’s tulips in the dead of winter, how bad can my choices be? Don’t answer that.

This week coming is a big week. The first batch of sweet peas are going to be planted, along with all the perennial seedlings and the second batch of cool flowers into the garden. First the beds have to be prepped. Irrigation hooked up, weed mat down, then plants in, watered by hand for a number of weeks, the hoops for sun and cold protection. That will about do me in I figure. But it is all good. Those flowers should be starting to flower by early June, fingers crossed. Sweet peas, snapdragons, cool crops, the perennials and a new lavender that I am trying. It’s an annual, was grown in a British flower grower’s garden so what the heck. Just a packet of seeds and my time really.

Instead of showing you photos of what’s to come, everything is too tiny, I will leave you with two pics of last week’s bouquets.

Until next week, may you dream tulips and the floral possibilities. Allie

You wouldn’t know it was April these first few days. April fool’s day was living up to its name. A morning of freezing rain and just drismal yuck, only in the afternoon to be fully sunny and the temperatures near sixty. Is this a sign of the things to come? Resiliency must be part of the plan.

The snow is melting and with the rain yesterday I am actually seeing action. The Narcissus are easier to spot, the crocus are blooming in the shrub border, the bluebirds are checking out the nesting boxes and the gardener, holy moly, a whole lots of balls are in the air.

Let’s start with tulips. You know that the tulips were planted mid October, then they sat in the cooler until mid January when I started to haul out four crates a week. Well, tada! The dirty room is now officially empty of crates, and believe me, this is a very weird feeling. Even the dogs are thinking something is wrong here. No tulips to tiptoe around. Didn’t Tiny Tim do a song about tiptoeing around the tulips or was that someone else? Well, no more tiptoeing in the dirty room around the tulips till next year.

Going, last four, going empty, gone last one out the door!

What this all means is this Friday will be the last of the forced tulips! There will be an unfortunate lull for a week or two, but then the farm will be gang busters with tulips again. Hopefully Shelly’s experiment/project will solve this gap problem next year, but I am waiting to see.

Meanwhile, the high tunnel is completely planted, the second crop of stock went in on Wednesday along with the Icelandic poppies. The ranunculus and anemones are looking good, as is everything else planted. As soon as the snow finishes melting in the garden, and the soil has a chance to breath, the first batch of sweet peas will be planted out along with all of the perennials and rest of the cool flowers that all have been patiently waiting in the greenhouse. They are saying “Plant me please!!!”

The first BIG sowing of the summer annuals starts this week. The now empty tulip space in the dirty room will soon be filled with all the dahlia tubers that have been keeping company with the tulips in the cooler and are now feeling lonely so they will get hauled up to start sprouting, then dividing, then planting out at the end of May. Is that a run-on sentence? I feel as though I am a run-on crazy flower grower.

I will let you catch your breath, and I will leave you with this photo of the tulips that went out to grace your homes last week.

It is going to be a cold one tonight they say, so I am off to “put the pajamas on the babies” In other words give them some added protection. So I am handing you off to Steve.

Until next week, Allie

Here we are at week 13. We are past the spring equinox and my how things have changed in just a week. It seems as though the plants are really starting to put on some growth. I know that you probably aren’t seeing the difference, but when you look at these photos, you can actually see green things now. Yes! Those little green specks in a post a few weeks back that you needed to see with a magnifying glass or have a really good imagination can easily see seen with the naked eye. Progress I say!

See. No magnifying glasses necessary.

The ranunculus in the greenhouse are three times this size! Estimated bloom date? For the greenhouse ones, Early May? High tunnel ones? GOK.

Another exciting thing happening is Shelly’s experiment. Shelly, who doesn’t have much sun at her house, asked if I could grow her a crate of tulips that she could put in the yard, almost in full bloom to give her joy, and impress all her friends with her gardening prowess. It was a last minute ask, but I planted up a crate of the last 3 or 4 bulbs that would have messed up my rows. Well, today Steve and I hauled it into the greenhouse….and Shelly, you might have solved my scheduling problem. We will see, I am taking notes, and when the start to show color you can have the crate to put in your garden.

If Shelly’s experiment works, fingers crossed, It just might bridge the little gap between the forced tulips and the in-ground tulips. We will all just have to wait and see.

Like a mad woman, or maybe just slightly crazy, I have been making a list of plants that I need to get this year to round out my garden for available cuts to put in my bouquets and offerings. I am trying to be practical, but ya know…. not always possible, but, that being said, I really like what I have ordered. Hope I have space for everything. The month of May will be very telling here at Lottarock.

Where there is no snow, the daffodils and narcissus are emerging, it sill still be a while before they will be on the offering list, but but when they come…They are always so beautiful, cherry and fragrant. A win on all sides. Can hardly wait.

Meanwhile, seeding continues. The Icelandic poppies will get planted out this week along with the second batch of stock. Everything else I have seeded is waiting for the snow to melt so I can get the beds prepped and planted. My goal for being able to be in the main garden? April 15th. These things can’t be rushed I know but I am slightly running out of space….

So I will leave you with a photo of some of the tulip offerings that will be available on Friday. What will I choose? Hmmm. Will you will just have to wait and see.

Until next week, your flower girl. Allie

Spring is always longingly waited for, but after this week of 38″ of snow, I am so waiting for tomorrow’s arrival. It will be warm? and spring ushers in at 5 something tomorrow night. Yeah!

I know that last week I said I would not have a post because I will be in tulip land. Well, the storm took care of that. We got slammed, and have only just finished digging out what was most necessary. All the tulips, ranunculus, anemone and cool flowers came through fine. Not to be said about our chicken run. As Steve says, this will be the year of re-building. And once the snow melts, that will be first on the list.

But enough of my woes. Let’s talk flowers. The sweet peas have geminated, another sign of spring. I tried an experiment this year and I didn’t soak the seeds which I have been doing for years, but fellow flower people said it wasn’t necessary, so what the heck. Well. Success. So batch one is germinated, and batch two will be sown maybe this week. The next batch of cool flowers is ready to be planted into the high tunnel to keep the others company. As usual, space is rapidly filling up.

The scented geranium cuttings are now off the heat and hopefully adjusting to the temperatures I keep the dirty room at because of the tulips.

Speaking of tulips, I hope you aren’t getting tired of them. My bulb rep might be stopping by on Wednesday. This will be interesting. I am probably the smallest tulip grower he will see in his career, but what I might lack in volume, I make up for in enthusiasm, wouldn’t you agree? In my sleepless moments early this morning…I am thinking how I can bridge the possible gap in tulip production. I think I have it figured out….now we just have to see if it works. Keep your fingers crossed. And, the last two very lonely crates in the cooler will be pulled tomorrow. That means that I have now hauled 34 crates into the dirty room. Yay arm and back muscles.

But seriously, looking at this week’s odd leftovers in the kitchen, aren’t they worth it! i sure think so.

I feel so lucky to have flowers almost every day of the year in my life, and that I have grown them all at Lottarock Farm, and I think all of you for going on this adventure with me.

Until next week. Happy Spring. Allie

All I can say is that I am very glad I have lots of little green things and tulips growing happily because it will be awhile before the snow melts. More snow! Seriously. Just when I think that spring is on our doorstep, good Ole’ Mother Nature decides that another 18″ of heavy wet snow is just what we need. NOT!

Despite the looming snow, things really are happening here at the farm. The tulips are growing very nicely and thank you to you all for enjoying them.

The ranunculus in the greenhouse are growing nicely, and the second batch have finally been planted in the high tunnel.

Along with the second batch of ranunculus that have been planted, the anemone have also been planted out and the first batch of seedling in the high tunnel have joined them. Half the tunnel is full and I still have more to go in, oh dear…space. My constant issue.

The white sheets on the side are the remay, or what I refer to as the plant’s pajamas that I cover the hoops with every evening to keep the seedlings warm, or really warmer.

As you can see, things are a happening here at the farm. My days go like this. Uncover the plants, water seedlings and tulips in dirty room. Check water in greenhouse and tunnel and, if necessary, water. Seed and or transplant, move what needs to get moved. Check temperature and if necessary vent…turn on fans….then around 4:00 reverse the process. Turn off fans, close doors, cover plants and repeat this process daily. I certainly getting my steps in.

As I was closing up this afternoon I was stunned. Look at this.

I will finish this up here. I have to go out and tuck the plants in for the night. There will be no blog next week. We will be in Tulip land and I am sure I will come home with flower stories to regale you with. I leave you with last Thursday’s #windowsillthursday photo.

Until next time. Allie

Here we are in week ten, and time is just zipping by. It was a crazy week, it seems as though most of it was spent shoveling snow instead of working with flowers but Ole Mother Nature is having fun playing with us, and we have to roll with the punches she gives us.

The tulips are at least keeping on schedule. If you can believe this, after tomorrow’s crate pull, I will have only six crates of tulips left in the bulb room! Wow! Don’t worry, this does not mean the end of the tulips is near. Oh no….It takes about four weeks from when they get pulled into the dirty room until they bloom, soooo, there are still going to be plenty of tulips. I would say until June? Because once the forced ones are done, the ground tulips will be coming into flower. That is just an estimated guess. By then the peonies will be rocking on and the tulips will just be a vision of a spring gone.

If Ole Man Winter can stay away for a week I can finally get the high tunnel planted. I have lots of sprouted ranunculus that are ready to go into the ground as well as the first batch of stock, with many more cool flowers to be following in a week or two. The next big seeding is also going to happen this week. More cool flowers and sweet peas! I just love sweet peas. Once I get them seeded into the trays the space will be filled up again. The last of the ranunculus corms will be soaked once the sprouted ones are planted out and these won’t be sprouted. At least I don’t think so. I have to watch my timing. It’s three months from planting to flowering, and they baulk at being hot. Will we be hot in three months time? Only time will tell.

I will leave you here. I have to put the pajamas around the babies in the greenhouse. Until next week. Allie

How can you not love that tulip?

Allie

What is with this weather? Now winter seems to be here. Hopefully by the end of next week the nights will moderate. I don’t mind nights in the 20’s, the plants get covered with what I refer to as their pajamas, but getting down into the single digits and below gets this flower farmer worried. Now my big plan of getting the high tunnel planted on March 1 will have to wait till the end of the week. It’s gotta happen fast because I am really running out of places to put the new seedlings….This time of year, until everything gets planted out is always a growers shuffle. I should write a song, the gardener’s shuffle…

The tulips are going gang busters. This last week’s and next week’s offerings are Columbus, that is the double one, Jumbo Pink, and Tom Puce. All stunning

The long awaited parrot that was supposed to be in last week’s mix will be in this coming batch and though his stems are skinny, (so just a warning), there might be some artistic movement going on is…Prof. Rontgartn.

The second batch of ranunculus are starting to sprout and and anemones are just starting to show life. These flats will get hauled out on Wednesday to harden off before the big planting, then the last batch will get soaked and directly planted sometime mid March? We will see.

I have been busily catching up on creating crop spreadsheets. YUCK! That and catching up on the flower conference I didn’t get to in August. So I am deep in the throes of winter learning while I can because come April 1 this flower farmer plans to be so busy. Steve will have to take up cooking. (An early April Fools joke, Steve cooking).

Until next week, my flower friends. Think tulips. Allie

It is hard to believe but here it is only Feb. 19 and the available space in the dirty room is non existent. The seed rack is full of ranunculus that I am waiting to sprout, transplanted seedlings, seedlings waiting to be transplanted, anemones waiting to sprout, then 12 crates of tulips at various stages to growing on, and tomorrow, another 4 crates come in so you, my flower lovers will have a constant supply of Hancock grown tulips. I guess stacking the trays of ranunculus will have to get stacked somewhere….

The seeding is going really well and I am on schedule, amazingly enough. All the cool flowers seeds have germinated, or most of them have and as soon as the second batch of ranunculus sprout, everything will be planted out into the high tunnel, my target date is March 1. Hopefully on that date, all the cool flower seedlings, the ranunculus and the few anemone will be planted out. At night everything gets covered with frost cloth, and during the days, especially if the sun is out, everything gets uncovered, only to be covered up again at night. And if the weather is going to be really ornery, then two layers of frost protection goes on at night. Gotta protect those babies. At the moment, in the greenhouse, there are only 100 ranunculus planted out in crates, and they too get winter pajamas on every evening. None of the outdoor structures are heated, so they are just being used as season extenders so I can have flowers earlier than many. There is plenty of stress involved with this process, but oh so worth it.

Thank you to everyone who is coming out to Flag Leaf bakery to pick up flowers. I know it is all about the goodies that Melanie creates, but I am glad you are also picking up tulips and I thank them profusely for letting me use them as an outlet. Just to clarify, they are running those tulips through their sales, so if you are a flower club member, your card won’t work. Cranberry Meadow seems to be working for people as well. If you have a card balance just write your name on a Post it Note that are in the cash box letting me know what you took and I will deduct it accordingly. Then, the majority of the most amazing tulips will be here at the farm. Yay, and I must say, it is so nice to see you all again. For all of you new people the farm is at 76 Stoddard Rd Hancock. There will be a sign out at the end of the driveway when we are open.

The tulips on offer this Friday will be the next batch. Week 15 if you really want to know, so they are going to be totally different than the last two weeks. One of the varieties is Columbus which is one that I had last year. It is a stunner.

This is enough of me rabbiting on for tonight. I look forward to seeing you on Fridays. Stay tuned to the newsletter that will be posted on Thursday for details. You guys are the best and I can’t say how much I appreciate your support.

Till next week, Allie

Wow, here we are at week seven and mid February. If this year’s flowers season flies by a quickly as these first few weeks I will need to fasten my seat belt. Between moving tulip crates hither and yon, harvesting and bunching tulips for sale, seeding, transplanting seedlings, transplanting sprouted ranunculus into crates, then today hauling them out into the greenhouse I am getting an upper body work out as well as my 10,000 steps in. No problem. All of this is good. No complaining here, just letting you know what is happening at the farm.

The first Friday of open flower shed with tulips just knocked me out of the park and over the moon. I can’t say enough how much I appreciate your support. Tulips were sent off to Flag Leaf bakery in Antrim, and if you haven’t been there let me just say that their bread and pasties are right up there with the best in the world. Dropping off tulips at Cranberry Meadow Farm (CMF) in Peterborough was also a success, making pick up easier for those flower lovers not in Hancock. That being said, I will still have the majority of tulips available here at the farm. If you really want to pick up tulips at CMF, you will need to let me know so I have an appropriate number of bunches available there. All I ask is that you write on the post-it note (that are in the tea box) your name and how many bunches you took so I can adjust your balance. This is a learning curve for us all so thank you for working with me to work out the kinks.

So onto the best side of being a flower farmer, for me anyway is what is happening at the farm. I have tulips. I am harvesting about 200 a week, yay, and if I must say so, they are pretty damn sweet.

Unlike last year when we had the same old forced tulips until the in ground tulips came in, this year every two weeks will be another four varieties on offer. Not that the tulips on offer last year were bad, it is just that I got bored with the offerings, so I have mixed things up. Each week will be a surprise, even I don’t know what they will look like until I harvest. I can’t wait. Let me know what your favorites are because in another two months I will be having to put my bulb order in for next year. I know, crazy, but that is how the industry works. So far my favorites are the Exotic Emperor, and Lalibela, which is this apricot, yellow, orange OMG single.

The ranunculus that were soaked a few weeks back have all sprouted and are being planted in crates as soon as I can get the tulips out of them. The first three crates were hauled into the greenhouse this morning and I have many more to go. Tomorrow’s soaking will all be destined to go into the high tunnel once they have sprouted. Oh yeah. Things are ramping up. The perennial seedlings have been transplanted into the next size soil block and I am hoping that by the end of next week they too will be able to go into the greenhouse ’cause I am starting to run out of space. Hence the dance of the Greenhouse Shuffle.

Oh right. The blog is going to be coming out of this server, but the newsletter that tells you our open hours and what will be available will still be sent by Google. If you are just happy with the blog and don’t want the newsletter let me know. If you are getting the newsletter and not the blog, check your junk mail. Google. Let me just leave it at that.

If you know of any flower lovers that don’t know about Flowers at Lottarock, bring them along, and if they become addicted, there will be a special treat for you. There can never, ever be too many flower lovers. Now, Steve will fix this for you to read.

Until next week. Allie

It is beginning, the tulips are showing color! I can not even begin to tell you how relieved I am. I tried a new method, did the math, then worried and worried that I had messed something up, but, the first crates of tulips are just about ready for full harvest. The first two bunches go to birthday ladies this week, lucky them, then the rest will then be available for everyone. How exciting is that?!?

I am going to try something new this spring. Please email me and let me know what you think. Cranberry Meadow Farm (CMF) will let me put a bucket or two, depending on the interest, of tulip bunches in their hall. This would make the flowers more available to you, so you don’t have to drive to Hancock. I will still have bunches here, but I would have a set number at CMF available for pick up. Details haven’t been worked out yet, but please let me know what you think of this idea. Send the email to flowersatlotarock@gmail.com or alliekerwin@gmail.com. I generally don’t look at the comments posted on the blog so this is the better way.

What a wild weather weekend this past weekend was. I don’t need a repeat of it for a long time. We raised the temperature in the bulb room to protect the growing tulips and then after taking the temperature of the dahlias, which were reading a temp of 29.9, we lugged all the boxes of dahlia tubers up into the dirty room to protect them from the cold. If anything I couldn’t let those tubers freeze. This afternoon, when the warmer temperatures returned, we lugged all the boxes back down again. While I was down there I gave all the tulips a good drink which should see them through until they all come up to the dirty room to grow on. The good news is that everything looks good, and I hadn’t planted anything outside yet into the greenhouse or the tunnel.

But soon, the greenhouse and tunnel will be planted. The first batch of ranunculus are sprouting, the perennial seeds are sprouting and hopefully will be transplanted into larger soil blocks this week. The growing space shuffle is ramping up for sure and I am going to need upper arm strength to move everything around from now until June. Whoa.

Valentines Day is next Saturday, or wait, this coming Saturday. Ask your dearest for a flower card to get the flower season off to a good start instead of a box of chocolates. I mean I have nothing against a box of chocolates, but don’t you think flowers would be so much nicer, and the flower card will last longer than a box of chocolates. Remember the old Whitman’s Select box that would come in a red ribbon? Ah yes. Those were the days.

Because it is so white out, and we are all longing for some color, I will leave you with some of this week’s floral color. The forsythia I cut about two weeks ago, and the tulips, I cut today. Enjoy, and see you next week.

Enjoy the color, and until next week. Allie