Final Fall Notes and A Holiday Event!
The dahlias ended their bloom period with an early frost in the middle of October. It is always a bittersweet time because the flowers are so beautiful that we hate to see them go, but their end means that we can shift our focus to our bulb sale and the work needed to prepare for spring.
Once we shift gears and begin this work in earnest, we make a lot of progress on tasks that have to wait until this time of year. Soil tests are done in the fall and beds are amended accordingly before planting begins.
Most of our early season blooms are either direct seeded or planted as small plants, aka plugs, that grow into their space. We are actively working in 78 4x8 beds and working on adding a few more.
Irrigation is also checked for needed repairs while the beds are empty or contain seedlings. It is much easier to see any issues now.
Nigella aka Love in a Mist
As of today, we have gotten all of the cold hardy annuals in place. These are things like Larkspur, Nigella, Bachelor Buttons, Orlaya and Saponaria. The rain we have been getting has really helped with seed germination so things are shaping up nicely so far.
Tuberose
Perennials that have been in place for three years typically need to be divided. You can tell if they stop or slow down producing blooms. Yarrow and Echinacea were done last week. Phlox and Tuberose are on the list for early spring.
Fall is also a great time to plant shrubs and trees. We planted a new hydrangea hedge that I am thrilled to finally have in place. We also planted a pussy willow which was rooted from some of our early spring bouquet material.
The spring bulbs are also in progress. Narcissus has all been planted. The anemone and ranunculus are being soaked and rooted for planting in early December.
So, these last four weeks have been very busy. Our early spring subscription season looks very promising.
Next, we are going to be on vacation for a couple of weeks. This time to see friends and family is something we have really been looking forward to.
A New Event at the Farm
After vacation, it will be great to focus on the current holiday season!
On December 1st from 10:00am – 1:00 pm, we are going to host a holiday market at the farm and you are invited!
We will be doing demonstrations on how to grow Paperwhites and Amaryllis.
We will have amaryllis and paperwhites available for sale as bulbs, forcing kits and ready to go decorations. These make great gifts too. If you have a container that you want to use, bring it and we can help you get it planted.
We will also have Angel Wing Begonia, which is a wonderful houseplant, yarrow for planting in your garden and a few other surprises.
Mary Ann Adams from One Hubcap farm will also be there with her beautiful fresh wreaths.
So take a break and come on out to the farm for your holiday greenery. We would love to see you!
Updates From The Farm
Since it has been awhile since I posted anything, I wanted to let you know what we have been up to!
I hope that you have enjoyed the long cool spring as much as I did! In addition to delivering our spring subscriptions, we’ve been taking advantage of the cool weather all season to get extra projects done at the farm.
Spring Subscriptions
This year we were able to start the spring subscriptions in March, earlier than in years past. Everyone is tired of winter by then and it has been our goal to get flowers to people as early in the year as possible. We added some new flowers to our bouquets, including several new specialty tulips and ranunculus in several colors.
Masks and hand sanitizer were de rigeur on subscription delivery days!
We are wrapping up the final deliveries this week. With Covid in our midst, we all seemed to appreciate the beauty of fresh flowers a little bit more this year. Since we had to be extra careful with the drop offs, I still haven’t seen some of our new subscription holders in person! I hope to be able to meet you as conditions improve.
Thanks to all of you for a wonderful spring season!
The new barn/studio
On-Farm Projects
As you may know, we are transforming the old barn into a new barn/studio. We will have a walk-in cooler for the flowers along with a large work area. There should be room for small gatherings inside, but there is also a large covered porch on the front where we can gather when the weather is agreeable. We’re looking forward to holding some classes/workshops there in the future. I expect that we will have this ready before the summer is over.
The salvage tarp is used to kill the grass where the new beds will go without using pesticides. Darkness and heat can do the job.
We added a shade bed for plants that require little sun. Hellebores and ferns have been planted there and a few other things will be added in the fall. These will be ready for use late winter of 2021.
We are also working on some new beds that will be covered by a new hoop house in the fall. A hoop house is an unheated green house. This will allow us to grow flowering plants over the winter in conditions that will make them bloom over the winter. We’re hoping to have flowers ready by Valentine’s Day 2020.
Hello Summer!
First real warm-season harvest.
Summer temperatures and humidity have arrived! We have been turning the beds and planting more heat-loving summer flowers and foliage. Our warm season favorites are finally getting the conditions they need to thrive. Zinnias, celosia, cosmos, dahlias, rudbeckia, sunflowers and lisianthus are some of what is coming on now.
We are also trying some new warm season growers – alstroemeria, lavatera, bee balm, jewels of opar and Greek oregano. We will see how they do in our heat and humidity!
Where to Find us This Summer
1. You can pick up our flowers at the Lake Carolina Farmers Market or contact us through the website www.purpletuteur.com or through our facebook page to place a special order.
2. I am also working with one of my classmates from Clemson’s New and Beginning Farmer Program to make flowers available at the Soda City Market when it opens again. Once I have the specifics on this booth location, I will send an update out.
3. We also offer bouquets at B79 in Blythewood as flower capacity allows. Follow us on Instagram for announcement of pop-up sales at B79.
4. A few other discussions are underway in an effort to make farm fresh flowers available to you, so stay tuned!
What’s Next?
We have had several requests for a fall subscription offering. We are looking at this now. Certainly, with the prospect of a second wave of Covid 19 in the fall, this may be the best way to get flowers to everyone safely. We will be looking at the feasibility for this over the summer.
Finally, I want to thank you all for your continued interest and support in our small farm. It is our pleasure to bring you fresh blooms and to make you smile. In these challenging times, everyone can use a little joy.
Linda
Transitioning From Fall to Winter
Fall can be a very busy time on a flower farm and ours is no exception.
This year, we had a long, warm fall that let us keep cutting dahlias and zinnias into November.
Behind the scenes, we were busy turning the existing beds, adding new beds, sowing seeds and planting bulbs for the spring crops. It is really important to get this done so that we can bring you flowers as early as possible in the new year. All the beds have been covered with frost cloth to protect the plants through the winter. We have added new varieties and colors to our offerings and are excited to share them with you next spring!
In addition to getting those flowers to market, we offered holiday amaryllis and paperwhites for the first time. Hopefully, some of you are seeing yours in bloom about now!
As we are now officially in winter, we have wrapped all that up and can turn our attention to family and friends! We are happily taking a break while the cold weather sets in and will be unavailable until January 6th.
This has been a great year on the farm and we are so very grateful for all of your support. We could not do it without you!
Wishing you and yours a wonderful holiday season and the happiest new year!
Linda