2026 Dahlia Goals
It is definitely time- Time to get my plans in place for a successful dahlia season. I’ve been tweaking my planting plan for weeks now and I think I’ve about got it. But I’ve also been thinking of some goals for this season. It doesn’t matter where I plant them if I don’t have good goals in place. So here goes:
Goal Number 1: Lower the labor
Growing at a large scale means that every task takes longer. So each year I try to find ways to make it more efficient. Last year we grew more dahlias than we ever had and will do that again this year. So it means it’s really time to inspect every process. Sometimes this means we don’t do things you would do when growing on a small scale. For example, I’m often asked if we strip bottom leaves and well— we used to when it was 1000 plants but with over 5000 now, it’s just not possible. The return on the time spent would not be profitable. It’s a great practice if you can do it, but as we scale certain things aren’t possible anymore.
We left a significant number of plants in the ground this year. So our Spring planting labor should be lower. However, growing a spring dahlia crop means a summer cut back. So the question becomes: Is the labor of cutting back dahlias in mid summer less than planting more from scratch in the Spring? We will have to track our time carefully this summer.
Lowering the labor means we may be able to expand our numbers in the future but first we have to find more efficient processes.
Goal Number 2: Better Pest Control
I think everybody probably has this goal. And it goes in conjunction with number 1- pest control is one of the most time consuming aspects of growing dahlias. A secondary goal is to try methods that are more sustainable and environmentally friendly. One major aspect of implementing this goal will be using the experience we have from previous years on pest attack timing. One advantage of growing in the same climate year after year is that pests become predictable. So anticipating and using pest prevention becomes easier over time. After 10 years of growing on this property, I can tell you when certain pest are going to appear. However, a lot of them come during our planting season- which is 5-6 weeks long. So I’m hopeful with less planting to do this year, that I’ll be able to spend some of that “extra” time on pest prevention instead of reaction.
Goal Number 3: Add in more fancy dahlias!
I gotta’ have at least one fun goal right?? In the 2024 season, we had awful deer pressure and lost a lot of our “fancy” dahlias- the big fluffy ones that we mostly grew for fun or for tuber sales. We grow large quantities of ball types and a lot of formal decoratives because these work well for cut flower production. But I really love fancy dahlias! So I am planning space for about 15 varieties- some new to the farm and some old favorites. So look for some new varieties next fall during our tuber sale!!
What are your goals? Drop us a line via our contact form or send us an email! I’d love to hear about them!
