Winter used to be our slowest time on the farm, but over the last few years it has become our busiest. Even though the fields are asleep, there is still a flurry of activity happening everywhere I turn.
I thought it would be fun to share a little peek at what we’ve been up to the past month.
We typically wait to divide our dahlias until there’s some free time in the winter, usually starting in early January. It’s good winter work for the crew since our greenhouse is heated, and it gives everyone a break from being out in the miserable weather.
But this year we changed things up a little and squeezed the dreaded task in before the holidays. The barn where we were planning to store our tubers is still under construction and doesn’t have any heat.
We had to hurry up and divide everything before the temperatures dropped and our dahlia tubers were at risk for getting damaged by the cold.
While we are taking a break from selling our dahlia tubers, we are busy increasing the mother stock of all my favorite varieties for the future. Our collection of Castle Drive, which was just 20 tubers 2 short years ago is now over 2,000 and I’m working on increasing Rock Run Ashley, Lakeview Peach Fuzz, Cupcake and Fairway Pilot the same way.
I’m happy to report all of our mother stock is divided and tucked safely away in the basement until planting time in the spring.
Our shop has been busy shipping out thousands of packages filled with Floret goodies all over the world for the holidays. It is so fun to imagine all of the lives that will be touched by our farm in the coming year.
The team has now turned their attention to preparing for our big January 2nd seed launch. There is still so much to do in order to be ready!
We finally wrapped up shooting the last of the seed variety photos, ending the picture taking marathon with winter squash. The nearly 100 new varieties are being uploaded to the back end of our online shop as I type and you should be able to preview them shortly.
I can’t wait to share all of the new treasures that we’ll be offering in the coming season.
The field is finally asleep and we’re just about done cleaning up for the year.
All of the drip irrigation has been rolled up, the fabric has been folded and all of our supplies are now stored away until the spring.
On the book front, we’ve been making amazing progress and are just about to wrap up shooting the last of the images for the winter chapter.
The manuscript is written and is now being edited before we turn it into our publisher in late January.
This book has been such a joy to create and I hope that all of the love we’ve poured into the project shows. We still have a little over a year until it comes out (February 2020) but we’re finally on the homestretch and it feels really good.
Lastly, I’m starting to map out plans for our new land. One of the most exciting things on the horizon is our new peony patch which includes over 100 unique varieties.
I have always dreamed of having a peony field of my own and now that dream is finally coming true.
It will be another 3 years until we can harvest abundantly, since it takes time for peony plants to establish. Even though it feels like a lifetime away, we’ll be swimming in flowers before we know it.
I will make sure to document the process as we go and share it here later this winter.
I’d love to hear what you’ve been up to this month. If you have a minute, leave a comment below and share something you’ve done in the garden or creatively that you’re excited about!
Andrea Killmer on
Your blog and book are the brightness in grey winter days! I am truly inspired! I have always had a love of colorful nontraditional veggie varieties and squash for decorating. Your blog and book has taken my life in a whole new path! Thank you!!!