Stress Strategies

A few weeks ago we talked about stress and burn out. I challenged you to find one thing that you could do to mitigate the effects of stress and burnout in your life. Today I thought I would share some of my “things.”

No particular order here, just how it comes to mind—

Physical activity. My activity of choice is yoga. Do I go as often as I’d like- No, but I do it some. That’s the important part and more often will come eventually. My doctor keeps advocating that I need to begin lifting weights and I do. But I know that September and October are hard times for me to add new habits so I will take to it this winter. Awareness of the busier periods in your life is important. Don’t try to overdue, especially during those times.

I’m a relaxing type of yoga person—that’s why I chose it. You won’t see me at the high level classes- but a mellow flow- that’s my thing. Yoga helps me sort out all the aches and pains that come with farming.

Community time. I am a very goal oriented person and I am often guilty of being so focused on accomplishing my task that I don’t take note of who is around me or what’s going on. Just nose to the grindstone. I’ve had to become very intentional about setting up time with friends. I do like being around people but I’m also totally ok with my own company. But I do know that I need the encouragement and support of my friends and they need my encouragement too.

Relaxation. This is different depending on what I need. I like to read fiction books- WW2 fiction is my favorite. But I also love a good TV binge if there is something worth watching. BBC’s Gardeners World is the ultimate relaxing show. Can’t tell you how many times I’ve fallen asleep during it. Not because it’s boring but it’s very soothing! I’m not a nap during the day person but I’ll sit and read quite often when I need to rest.

Social activity. I’m a homebody, I enjoy where I live- even though I work here too! So I’m not always inclined to leave. But occasionally it’s a good thing, even just for the change of perspective. I do enjoy going to the movies- when it’s a good one! I also really like a good dinner with a friend. Not really a big groups type of person.

Celebration. This one is easy— but you have to remember to do it. Recently I came across a to do list I had written for this past summer (like front and back of a page). I started to throw it out but then began to look at it and I was amazed at how much we had accomplished these past 3 months. I decided to keep it! The sense of accomplishment was so encouraging. Stopping to celebrate when you finish a task may seem trite but it really helps feel like you did something and helps to overcome the stress and dread of that never ending to do list that comes with farming!

Gardening. Not being in my field but in my veggie garden. I finally built myself a small raised bed veggie garden this year. I love it. It’s fun exploring at the end of the day— seeing what has become ready to harvest. Delicious too! It’s nice to have a space (without expectations) to play in the dirt!

Say No. Recently this has looked like saying no to myself. A downside to being an entrepreneur is learning that just because you can doesn’t mean you should. Or that you should right then. Later may be okay but business owners are constantly fighting the shiny object syndrome. I am learning how fulfilling it can be to specialize in something rather than do a million things half heartedly. Also, you gain time and mental space by not putting so many things on your plate. There is only so much time in a day. And we shouldn’t be spending such a large portion of it working!

So just a few things that I do to mitigate the effects of stress in my life and prevent burnout. What do you do?

The Two Biggest Mistakes Beginning Dahlia Growers Make

You spent all winter stalking websites for that elusive tuber and drooling over the gorgeous pictures. Then spring came and you planted your tubers but now it’s August and it doesn’t seem to be working out like you dreamed right?

It’s pretty common to feel like you missed the mark when trying something new. For some reason, we have this expectation of getting it perfect the first time. This is totally unreasonable and if we are honest with ourselves, we know we shouldn’t be beating ourselves up over it! So let’s just take a moment and acknowledge that we are beginners and first timers make mistakes. And that’s perfectly OK!

When it comes to dahlias there are two mistakes that everybody makes. And full disclosure here- it took me more than a year or two to really master these two things. (Translation: give yourself time and grace)

Mistake #1: Support! Dahlias just like people need support. Beginners often forget to support or think about it too late. I was always in the too late crowd.

There are different methods: If you are growing a small number, then stakes or tomato cages work well. If you are growing for production then I recommend horizontal netting or using the Florida weave method (Google this if you don’t know what it is- you need to see a video to understand it). If you grow in a 3-4’ wide bed- then go the netting route. Stakes should be 5-6’ apart down the row and make sure they are sturdy. I recommend rebar or fiberglass or very thick wood stakes. I’m not a fan of wood stakes in my heavy clay soil- they just rot by the end of the season. I use all rebar. Also make sure you are capping that rebar somehow so you don’t poke an eye out during harvest.

If you grow 1-2 plants wide in long rows, then the Florida weave works well. Tying dahlias in on wide rows has never worked well for me - too much room for them to move around. But if you grow long rows, 1-2 plants wide then tying dahlias works great! You can also use netting on skinny rows too- you may just have to cut the width of the netting to size.

Last thing about support— You need to do it pre-emptively. If you are using a stake or tomato cage, then install it after planting your tuber. If you wait until later, you may stab your tubers as they are growing/multiplying under the ground. For netting, I put it on after I pinch my dahlias. It’s easier to pinch if the netting is not in the way.

Mistake #2- Food and Water! Dahlias are hungry plants and beginners don’t realize how hungry they are— think teenagers on a growth spurt kind of hungry! They need lots of water once they begin setting buds. Make sure your soil is draining well but daily water is necessary if you live in a hot climate for sure.

Weekly feeding until about the end of September if you want a regular supply of blooms- especially if you are growing for production. You can foliage feed, fertigate if you have an injector, granular, or liquid poured at the base of the plant. I’ve used all of the above except the fertigator (One Day, One Very Happy Day!)

Granular feeds are easy and I used to use them a lot before I began planting in fabric. The important part about granular feeding is that you need to water it in. I got to be a pro at getting my granular feed spread right before a tropical storm would come through. Granular is nice too because it can be time-released depending on what you use so it’s good for those who want to spend a bit less time on feeding their plants.

Foliar feeding is definitely one of the most common and also easy to do. You can put it in a bottle and spray if you are doing a few plants. Or get a backpack sprayer— this is what I recommend if you grow for production. I love mine. I use the My 4 Sons brand- Battery powered, reasonable price, charge lasts forever!

Liquid applications work well- although probably better on a small scale. Large scale liquid applications would need to go through fertigation— One day I’ll have one!

So what to feed with? Ideally you took a soil sample before planting and amended accordingly. This gives you a base from which to start. But when is life ever ideal?

In general, dahlias need a complete fertilizer when they are growing (before bud formation) and a fertilizer high in phosphorus and potassium when they begin to set buds. I really like Neptune’s Harvest brand- they work well and are easy to find. Also Alaska Morbloom 0-10-10 is really good for the bud/flowering stage. Most fertilizers that work well for roses or tomatoes are suitable for dahlias too. They have similar feeding needs.

Most likely if your dreams are not materializing, they just need a little TLC. Go stake those plants this weekend. Make sure they are getting plenty of water and give them a nice meal. They’ll reward you with gorgeous blooms as the weather begins to cool this Fall!

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Dahlia Planting Dates for Hot Climates

A few months back I asked for a bit of help from the growers of the Warm Climate Dahlia Growers Group on Facebook. I asked them to share their growing zone, general geographic location and planting dates. I’ve compiled them into a spreadsheet that gives an overview of planting dates for Zones 6b-10b.

You can view the chart below. As always, consider your unique climate and also your last frost dates. If you’d like to contribute to the data, please send me an email via our Contact page.

Thoughts on Stress, Burn Out......

Recently I’ve heard (and had) many conversations about burn out. Burn out physically, mentally, emotionally.

And the strange thing is that we all seem surprised… like this shouldn’t be a thing. But let’s stop for a minute— We as a collective human race have been through almost 3 years of a pandemic, tumultuous political circumstances in our country, and very extreme weather situations this summer. So why do we act like we are super heroes who can just charge through and come out unscathed?

It’s time we cut ourselves some slack!

I’ve come to accept something recently that I’ve known for a long time but have been resisting for many years. The level of productivity that I expect of myself is not reasonable or most importantly sustainable.

This realization began back in spring of 2018. A few things happened: the honeymoon period of farming wore off. The honeymoon period is where you make the excuse of “I love this work so it’s okay that I put in 14 hour days.”

My extended family (mine and my husbands) began incurring some life altering health issues. There were multiple times that spring that I seriously considered going back to my old life of being a graphic design freelancer.

I began searching for the elusive “balance.” It took me a little while to figure out that it doesn’t exist. Balance would mean that we are able to place equal attention on multiple things at once. Ask anyone who has ever tried to multi-task how well that works.

Priority is a much better word. At a specific moment in time, where do you place your priority? What activities do you value enough to give them your precious time and attention?

It’s a continuous lesson I think. Especially if you are an optimistic type like me- we always over-estimate what we can accomplish. I remember working a 14 hour day many years ago- I was building raised beds and hauling compost for a new field on the farm. I didn’t quite finish the project but started right up again the next day. I didn’t last 5 hours!

And after I recovered, it occurred to me that I’d be much more productive if I worked the same number of hours but split it between 2 days— I spent as much time recovering as I did working because of the one day of overwork. This led me to begin examining my work habits, hours, and how I was spending my time on the farm.

I set a goal to work no more than 9 hours a day during the busy season and only 6-8 during the winter. And let me tell you—- it’s taken a long time to get there! It’s downright hard to convince yourself that you can run a farm on a 40 hour week.

Can you do it by yourself? No, not unless it’s a very small farm. But setting goals like this caused me to evaluate every single task on the farm. I had to prioritize the things that would contribute to the bottom line of the farm. I also realized I would need to hire help (which has been so amazing!).

I also set a goal to take a day and a half off on the farm. This was hard— I had to physically leave my farm at first to take the time off. I knew if I stayed on the farm, I would end up working. But overtime, I began to look forward to that day off- to the fun I was going to have. I began to see how much more productive I was when I rested my body and my mind.

Now it’s become a habit to not work on the weekends. I can sit on my back porch and read a book and stare at my field and not feel guilty or like I should be working. I allow plants and seedlings to be watered but that’s it. I do have an employee who does the weekend harvest for me. There are some flowers that have to be harvested daily/every other day. Having an entire weekend has allowed me time to rest, have fun and feel excited when Monday morning rolls around.

If you work a 9-5/M-F type of job, you may think this sounds crazy but this is the life of a farmer and a lot of self-employed people. We have an insane drive and this causes us to overwork. But it’s not sustainable. And at some point you burn out.

Any you know what? Even when you are taking regular breaks and days off- you can still burn out or get stressed out. Because our bodies aren’t machines. There is no magic formula that we can honor to run at peak efficiency all the time.

Realizing that my body is going to ebb and flow in it’s energy levels has been a game changer. And it’s not always related to the amount of sleep or time off. Being aware of your stress triggers and the symptoms that your body manifests is sooo important.

This awareness is how we can catch ourselves before we reach burn out. But in all honesty, trying to make sure we take care of ourselves can cause stress too. Eating right, exercising enough, sleeping well, getting enough social interaction— it could be a full time job just to manage that in your life.

Because having the awareness of what I need to avoid burnout is a bit of a double edged sword, I’ve begun focusing on one thing at a time until it become habit. It comes back to those priorities again. We want our lives to feel balanced but we have to realize that we do constantly make choices based on our priorities.

Hopefully you aren’t feeling more overwhelmed at this point. If so, try starting a list of what makes you happy— what things in your life make it worth getting up everyday. What activities, forms of exercise, or groups of people do you want to give more time to?

Choose One.

Just one- and work on it until it become a habit. Something that is so ingrained in your life that you would feel the gaping hole if it ceased to be. Then you move on to the next thing and overtime, you take your life back from the unrealistic expectation of productivity that is etched into our minds.

So what one thing are you going to choose?

What's Eating My Dahlias- Part 2

Dahlias are gorgeous! Unfortunately all the bugs think so too. Let’s talk about how to deal with some of the most common pests: grasshoppers, thrips, tarnished plant bug (TPB), cucumber beetles, and leafhoppers. These methods work well for the home gardener and small scale grower. I use organic pest control methods. There are plenty of other options out there but I choose organic on our farm so that’s what you’ll find covered here.

Let’s start with the most full proof pest control method: Prevent the pest from even touching your dahlia. This is accomplished by the use of organza bags— you know the kind they use for wedding favors.

These work extremely well for a cut flower operation or cut flower specific garden. They block everything from getting your blooms. However if you are enjoying your dahlias in a backyard garden style setting, you may not want to look at “dahlia lollipops” all the time. Kinda’ diminishes the joy of it.

Grasshoppers are the hardest to control in my opinion. There aren’t many organic sprays that will touch a hard bodied insect. The best control for a grasshopper that I’ve found is attracting birds to your garden. Birds love to eat grasshoppers. Adding a water source, even a small one, is a great way to attract birds.

If you have chickens, even better- they will devour them. Just make sure your plants are big enough to take a little chicken abuse. Usually grasshoppers don’t become a menace until the plants are blooming so at that point, allowing chickens into your dahlia patch can work. I used to use this method a lot until a fox got all our chickens.

Botanigarde Maxx is the only spray I’ve ever encountered that will kill a grasshopper and even it’s hit or miss— Grasshoppers move quickly so it’s hard to get the spray on them. If grasshoppers are a serious issue for you, consideration of the organza bag will have to be done. It’s the most effective method for grasshopper control.

Thrips are an annoying nemesis when it comes to dahlias. Timing is one of the best methods I’ve found for dealing with them. In my climate, thrips are a bad issue from mid- May to mid summer. Then they die back and aren’t found in high infestation level numbers. Thrips are probably the number one reason I don’t grow early season dahlias. Organza bags are reasonably effective against them but thrips are so small that they can get inside the bags sometimes. Various sprays will work on them and keep the populations under control but having perfect light colored dahlias is a challenge during thrip season. If you need dahlias during thrip season, stick with brighter colors- thrips are more attracted to whites/light colors.

A pyrethrin spray or a spinosad spray is a pretty effective tool against thrips. I highly recommend alternating what you spray. Also one round of spraying won’t cut it, it’s something you have to do regularly during the pest’s season.

Tarnished Plant Bugs and Leafhoppers - these 2 can be controlled by the same method. The yellow sticky trap is my best friend. Now— don’t freak out. I know, I know- small animals (birds, lizards, etc) can get caught on these and die. However, I’ve learned you can still use them but you gotta get crafty in how you hang them.

A yellow sticky trap is a card coated with a sticky substance that attracts particular pests. It’s great at catching small flying insects. You want to keep the card size to no larger than 3x5. I punch a hole in mine and hang them below my netting so that they are in the main plant canopy. Keeping it down in the plant canopy is key so that it’s less likely to be in a bird’s flight path. Also, I’ve learned you want to make sure the card can swing. This keeps lizards off of them. If you fasten it tightly so it’s immobile, baby lizards will crawl on it and not be able to get off.

Leafhoppers are important to control and they are often overlooked because they don’t show physical damage to your plant quickly. They do chew on the plant but it’s not super noticeable. However, they are vector insects- meaning they can take a virus from one plant to another. And in this day and age, when dahlia viruses are becoming more common, controlling leafhoppers will help protect your dahlia plant stock.

Cucumber beetles- other than grasshoppers, these are probably the most destructive of dahlia pests. They can chew a bloom incredibly fast. If you begin to see them in your field/garden, you want to act quickly because this is a pest you don’t want getting out of hand.

Once again, organza bags are the most effective method. But a spinosad or pyrethrin spray will work too.

One of the best things I did several years ago was to stop growing plants in the amaranth and squash plant families near my dahlias. Amaranth is a magnet for cucumber beetles. So much so that I’ve completely cut it from my crop list. If you can’t do that, move it as far from your dahlias as possible. I do still grow small quantities of squash and cucumbers in my veggie garden, but I have it as far from the flower field as I can go (and still be on my property).

So to sum it up- if you want a flawless dahlia, put an organza bag on it before the bud begins to open (in the green stage as shown in the picture above). If that option doesn’t appeal to you, then sprays and strategic plant placement are your best options. Also employ the sticky trap. Not only does the trap catch a lot of pests, but it’s pretty non-harming to you and others.