July on the Farm: Rest, Reset, and Prepare
July is a month of transition here at our farm. We suspend our bouquet services because it’s hot, and we need time—time to take a break and visit with friends and family, time to catch up on the chores we can’t tackle when harvest is in full swing, and time to prepare for the glory and floral abundance that arrive in late summer and fall.
We close the farm the week of July 4th. Many of you are on vacation, the heat is rising, and we’re ready to take some time off, too. It’s always a week we look forward to after the busiest stretch of the flower season. We spend it visiting my husband’s family in Virginia, where a reunion happens over the holiday weekend, along with some dear friends who live nearby.
Irrigation Adventures
After the break, July farm work happens at a slower pace. We encourage all our employees to take vacation this month, so we work with smaller crews. The heat is something we take seriously, so we’re usually out of the field by 11 a.m.
Irrigation valve not shutting off properly due to a worn out diaphram
This past week, I started by checking all the irrigation. I’d rather get soaked in July than in January! Some parts of this job are pretty straightforward—like replacing diaphragms in the valves. Others feel like a scavenger hunt.
When we cleared the cool season plants out of the hoophouse, it was easy to see where we accidentally cut the drip line. The spray was obvious and simple to repair. But there still wasn’t enough pressure in the line, which meant another leak was hiding somewhere.
It took me about an hour to spot a small puddle just outside the hoophouse—right where there shouldn’t be any water. I started digging into the damp soil with my hands and finally uncovered a tiny hole gnawed into the hose, a vole’s calling card. It felt like finding a needle in a haystack! The repair was easy once the problem was isolated, and we’re happily back to full pressure now.
Summer Plantings and Fall Preparations
Dahlia Peaches under shade cloth
When temperatures climb above 90 degrees, many plants slow down as much as we do. Some go dormant, and the cool season annuals fade away. That frees up bed space to plant again.
Right now, we’re planting second and third successions of annuals, shifting into fall colors—zinnias, cosmos, celosia, and sunflowers.
The perennials get cut back and fed, giving them time to refresh for fall. This includes salvia, veronica, and the early season dahlias.
The fall dahlias and heirloom chrysanthemums are all planted. To help the dahlias cope with the heat, we cover them with 50% shade cloth, which lowers the temperature by 10–15 degrees and keeps them in the 70s–80s—right where they thrive.
The mums will be pinched this month to encourage branching and more blooms per plant. We’re excited to finally be growing these at scale and so grateful for the ACRE grant that helped us get here.
We’ll be incorporating these special flowers into our late summer and fall subscription bouquets and hope to offer something new in late October through early November, when the mums will be the stars of the show.
Fall Subscriptions Are Coming Soon
Our fall subscriptions will start in mid to late August. If you’d like to have fresh, beautiful flowers delivered right to your door as the seasons turn, you can sign up anytime on our website. We’d love to bring a little of the farm into your home.
We’d love to know your favorite ways to beat the summer heat!
Happy Summer,
Linda
P.S. Thanks to all of you who made it out to the farm for one of our events in June. We loved seeing so many of you during the Ag & Art Tour and at our Growing Dahlias classes. Your support and enthusiasm mean so much to us.