The Fix- For Now At Least

So we have done some work on fixing our drowning dahlias problem. But will wait until next week to complete it. We are in the middle of a heat wave so I’m waiting until that passes to replant.

We dug the rotted dahlias out of the row this week. Didn’t have to take everything but removed about 35% of it.

It doesn’t take long to see that there are no tuber clumps at the base of these plants. They were completely rotted. We did find a few plants that had some small tuber clumps - my guess is that these were rooted cuttings we planted really early. We will replant those once we improve the drainage. We will add compost and probably some gypsum now and then redo the whole field this fall.

I did find we still had a few cuttings of this variety left so we’ll plant those and just fill in the rest with small clumps of Blizzard tubers. The row will still be all white, we’ll just have to label the plants carefully. It’s no fun to have to fix this mid- season but I’m thankful it’s early enough to fix it!

Time to Fix It!

Unfortunately a few rows of our dahlias haven’t rebounded from the 10+ days of rain we had recently. So it’s fix it time!! I don’t enjoy doing things like this mid season but since it’s early enough in the season, we can fix it and still get a crop for this fall.

Here’s my plan:

The situation is this: I’ve got a row of Ryecroft Jan dahlias (beautiful white ball) that are drooping and giving signs that the tubers are rotting.

We are going to cut back the plants, dig them up. We’ll go through the clumps to see if anything is salvageable. If so, we’ll replant those tubers but most likely I think we are going to have to replace. I’ve got some left over Blizzards so I’ll swap those in.

Before replanting, we will dig out the pathways on either side which will raise the bed up some and then also we will add a few inches of compost on top to raise the level of the bed.

Ideal situation in this scenario would be if I had rooted cuttings available to replant with those. The row has some rooted cuttings we planted this Spring and those plants are faring great! They have more roots available to handle the water and haven’t developed big tuber bases yet.

This pic above was taken in the middle of all the rain and shows the row at it’s worst. The dahlias in the foreground have rebounded but over half the row towards the back is still struggling. We might keep part of the row, I’ll see how things look as we dig. Wish us luck! We’ll definitely be doing some major work in here this winter but need to get a “band-aid” on it for now!

Drowning (in) Dahlias

We’ve had just about every type of weather you could imagine for this time of year! Definitely been on the roller coaster ride recently. Over the past week we’ve had at least 10 inches of rain, kinda lost count after that. We are due for some more through early next week too. Needless to say, we have not been planting tubers this week!

But we have been planting lots of cuttings. We’ve been hopping out in between storms and getting our beds prepped. Permanent raised beds are a big advantage in weather like this- we don’t have to wait for them to dry enough to till. So we’ve just ripped out the previous crop, amended if needed and then replanted!

One thing I love about plants is how much they will teach you if you observe them carefully. Midweek after a lot of heavy rain, I went to our offsite plot which has 3 different fields. Two of the fields look fantastic- new dahlia growth after so much rain is beautiful- so clean and bug free! But the third field is suffering a bit. It’s the oldest and has really good soil nutrient wise but not the same set up regarding drainage. So the plants looked like this as soon as the sun came out:

So many of the tops were flopped over. They’ll rebound but I am definitely seeing some drainage improvements are needed in this field. Below you can see where we had standing water. If the water drains out in 24 hours I don’t worry about it. But over all this field is holding too much water around the roots. The beds in this fiels are about at ground level. They don’t have much raise to them.

In the field next door, there are a few spots that hold water in the pathways but the beds are raised up by 6-8” and it’s making a world of difference.

Most likely we will have to redo the other field this fall. Dig everything out and raise the beds up because even those few inches make all the difference.

But despite the drainage issues, the plants are looking so happy. We cut our first stems this week and are looking at a nice flush a week or so from now. How are your dahlias doing this Spring?

Don’t Rush It, You’ve Got Plenty of Time

I’m writing this post as much for me as for you, my dahlia lovers. Don’t rush it. I’ve heard too many tales of woe recently. Tales of underestimating the weather, rushing seedlings out without fully acclimating them and foregoing growing a strong root system, and forgetting to water.

Life is extra chaotic right now, the weather has been VERY extra this year so it’s definitely a time to slow down and be patient.

I’m very guilty of pushing, pushing, pushing this time of year. Once Mother’s Day passes- it’s go time on the farm. A lot of the spring crops are finished and that means we can start ripping and planting dahlias. But this year has been different. We had a delayed start to our Spring crops so some are still going-which means I have to wait. But as I take a moment to calm my impatient brain, I’m seeing the advantage. Waiting means time to grow larger root systems on my cuttings. I don’t feel like the whole field needs to be flipped at once. We can rip crops out as they finish and replant. This gives us time to do it right and pay attention to the plants as they are settling in to their new home.

Now, you may be thinking: “What does that mean on a practical level?”

For us, it means potting up some of our dahlia cuttings to a larger size since they are going to have to wait to be planted. Making sure all our tubers are eyed up with sprouts. Getting all our irrigation and support systems prepped ahead of time.

We are also preparing beds for high heat planting. We’ve had very little rain this Spring so dry and hot has been the name of the game. High heat planting is a little different. For example, when we plant tubers in high heat - over 85 degrees with no rain in sight- we soak the bed down after planting. This goes against the conventional recommendations for planting dahlias but we find that water helps cool the soil. We aren’t watering the bed everyday but maybe twice a week if we have no rain and our temps are getting over 90. This keeps our tubers from cooking in the dirt.

We are also hand watering our rooted cuttings after planting and every day for 2 weeks after. This ensures they get a good start. Yes, we have irrigation on the beds but their roots don’t reach out to where the water is until they’ve settled in so hand watering ensures the cuttings begin pushing roots into the surrounding soil.

I’ve been sitting on the sidelines during this planting season but it’s given me a new perspective. Not being able to move compost or bend down and plant (due to my sprained knee and ankle) has allowed me to see the bigger picture. It’s given me time to think through our processes. Usually I would just get out there and drive it hard to get everything in the ground. But what I’m seeing is that taking the time to slow down and evaluate is giving me much higher success rates— Who knew, right?
But I know there are some of you like me, who just bulldoze our way through life sometimes. So take a beat, step back, evaluate what’s really working. I promise it’s worth it and this fall the rewards will come back over and over and over again!

Mulch Alternatives- for beauty and the bees!

It’s always the edges- this is where the weeds seem the worst and the most annoying! A weed growing among my dahlias doesn’t bother me as much as the ones that grow along the edges. So last year I decided to do something about it.

Now you can always just put down some mulch- chips or straw or even run a bit of landscape fabric closer to your plants. But I saw a greater opportunity here! I began to side plant my dahlia rows. Now that we are perennializing some of our varieties, I figured it wouldn’t be a big deal if we had plants running down the sides.

So here’s what I’ve tried so far- the good, the bad, the ugly (well none of it’s ugly but some just didn’t work!)

Let’s start with what I wouldn’t do again: Spreading herbs- Oregano!

Purple Flowering Oregano side planted alongside some Marionberry Milkshake Dahlias

Flowering oreganos are a great plant to have in your garden and I highly recommend them- just don’t side plant them alongside your dahlias b/c they are more vigorous than the dahlias! The oregano was planted last spring and the dahlias about 1.5 months ago. Once the dahlias get bigger, they’ll compete better but this picture was taken after we whacked the oregano back b/c it was encroaching on the plants and starting to swamp them. I’ll give this oregano one more year after this one b/c those dahlias will be on second year growth— therefore faster and bigger plants. But I wouldn’t do this combo again and don’t recommend it.

I also tried nepeta last year- Walker’s Low to be exact. Great plant— just don’t put it near your dahlias. It spreads and also flops over the dahlias when they are small. But the worst part: it attracts spider mites!! I had one of the worst infestations I’ve ever seen on the dahlias in that row. So we dug all the nepeta out this winter and moved it far away!!

Ok— So what’s working so far! Sedum- I have 5 beds that are side planted with sedums. This is the second year and the plants are getting bigger but I feel like we are still good space wise. Sedums spread a little but not aggressively. They also hold themselves up well without additional support— I think this is important.

Autumn Fire Sedum side planted along Peaches N Cream Dahlias

I do think the variety of dahlia plays a role too— I tried to match my side plant to the size of my dahlia. I don’t think I’d try this with Cafes- those plants are monsters. But Peaches N Cream is not a massive dahlia so this works well.

Geum side planted along side scabiosa

This is geum planted along side annual scabiosa right now but that will be switched out for dahlias once it flowers. Geum is an easily grown from seed perennial. Flowers in April/May- I also think flowering time is important. I prefer things that flower before the dahlias I think I’ve decided. (Sedums excepted). These plants will spread a little but shouldn’t get too unruly and I think will actually appreciate the little bit of shade from the dahlia foliage during the hot summer. I have to admit- I think geum plants are really beautiful- they have a gorgeous leaf shape!

Yarrow side planted along ranunculus

I’ve got two beds with yarrow along the edges. Currently we have the remains of our late ranunculus crop in there but they’ll be switched out soon for dahlias. I really think this combo is going to work well. I’ve been observing the growth rate of the overwintered dahlias and they should grow fast enough to support the yarrow. The yarrow should flower and then be followed very closely by the dahlias. The yarrow forms a nice mat of green foliage during the winter to keep weeds down. I have a feeling this might be one of the best combos yet.

I’ve got some salvia coming to try on another row this year. What are your thoughts? Have you ever side planted anything to keep down weeds? I’d love to hear of any perennials you think would work well!