The Great Dahlia Dig of 2021
We had an amazing dahlia crop this season. Once the plants started blooming in August they never stopped until frost. This year we planted 8,000 dahlias in 75+ varieties. Planting them in the spring is a large task however digging them in the fall is an even a greater one. When the frost finally arrived to our farm we were all ready for the change of pace that the fall brings. This was the longest fall we have experienced in our farming career. The first killing frost was in November almost a month later then normal.
The dahlias in full bloom.
On the morning of the first frost we make sure to head out to the dahlia field early before the sun takes the plants away. The flowers are covered in a frost blanket, it almost looks like someone went through and dipped all of the flowers in sugar. It’s really magical to experience a field of dahlias covered in frost. It’s almost as if the plants are giving us one last show before they are gone for the season..
A dahlia bloom covered in frost.
After the frost we wait a few days for the plants to die back and start to go dormant for the winter. In the meantime we are busy formulating a plan and gather our supplies needed to dig the dahlia tubers. We don’t have a piece of equipment to lift the tubers out of the ground, it’s all done by hand.
In years past we would only dig 2 bulb crates of each variety we grow for the next season. Leaving the rest of the tubers to rot in the ground during the winter. This year we have decided to harvest all 8,000 plants and will be having a dahlia tuber sale in early March 2022. You can preview the dahlias we will be selling in our store and we will continue to add to the store as we process and know the quantities we have available. They will show sold out until we open the store in March . We are really excited to share our beautiful dahlias so others will experience the joy these flowers bring.
Our tractor loaded with one variety of dahlias headed back to the barn.
We first cut the plant down leaving the stock about 1 inch high. It is important to cut the stock down for winter storage as it can promote rot if not cut down enough. Then we use a pitch fork to gently lift the tuber clump out of the ground. It is like finding buried treasure as the clump comes out of the ground. The one tuber that we planted in the spring has now turned into a clump of tubers. Each variety creates a different amount of tubers and different sizes. This year our dahlias produced a great amount of tubers. We shake the excess dirt off from each clump and then we take each variety up to the barn for winter storage. The dirt that doesn’t come off will stay on the tubers while in storage for the winter. We only wash our tubers right before we start to divide them. From our experience we have found by leaving some of the dirt on the tuber clumps helps keep them stay turgid during storage.
Dahlia tubers
It took us several week to dig all of dahlias. Everyday we would get anywhere from one row to 4 rows depending on how many hands were here to help. We see a dahlia lifter for our tractor in the future. We always say that dahlias are a year round crop. Even though they are dug and out of the ground the work is just beginning. We are still packing them up for winter storage, they will be stored in our cooler that is turned off for winter. We try to keep the tubers stored between 40-50 degrees all winter, 45 degree is ideal. In January we will start to divide the tubers for our sale and next years crop. This crop definitely is a labor of love and Oh My do we love them!
