Come on Spring!

March is a month of anticipation…when is the snow going to melt?  When can we get into the field?  Is it going to be a wet spring?  March is also a month of excitement for the season to come and seeing all your plans come to fruition.  As the cold, dark days of winter start to abate, and the snow begins to melt, a walk around the farm reveals early signs of spring.  The birds are becoming more active, the hellebores are about 3 inches tall, and the spring bulbs are waking up under their insulated layer of snow and soil.

Inside, the first round of hardy annuals are germinating, the dahlia tubers are being sprouted for cuttings, and the ranunculus and anemone are being pre-sprouted for an early planting.  All of these things are reminders that spring is coming and before we know it, we will be drowning in a sea of flowers.  I can’t wait!

One of my favorite tasks this time of year is taking dahlia cuttings.  There is something very satisfying about propagating my own dahlias.  All winter long, I monitor my stored dahlia tubers to ensure their survival through the winter storage.  My storage conditions are a little warmer than desirable, so I really need to make sure the moisture conditions are optimal.  Too much moisture and my tubers will rot, too little and they will shrivel and die.  If I have just a few tubers of a favorite variety, I pot them up so I can take cuttings and increase my stock.  This is a fun process and a relatively easy way to get more dahlias for planting without spending a lot of money.

By this time next month, we could be harvesting our first spring flowers!  April’s post will be all about spring bulbs so be sure to check back, sign up for our mailing list, or follow us on social media to learn a little bit about what we grew and how we do it.