The warm days of autumn have faded into the chilly days of early winter, and I've been busy helping Kevin and Katie wrap up the growing season. My flower growing knowledge is rather limited, but bless their hearts, they agreed to let me help out, and I'm really enjoying it. And I'm learning a lot!
Annie has taken it up herself to keep an eye on me as I work.
Not a bad idea, someone needs to make sure I do it right.
Not a bad idea, someone needs to make sure I do it right.
A couple weeks ago, I volunteered to dig the dahlias. These were from their specialty patch at their house that Katie uses in the flower arrangements she sells in season. At first, I dug them and laid them in the grass nearby. But it was a windy day, and I was having trouble keeping their nametags in place.
So, I abandoned that idea, and as I dug them, I just carried them 2 at a time to the greenhouse to dry for a couple days. Let's just say that helped get my steps in. Ha.
A couple days later, George helped me dig the dahlias from the U-Pick patch, which was less stressful, since those ones weren't tagged, meaning I didn't have to worry about making sure I didn't lose said tags. After they dried a bit, Kevin got them all tucked into barrels with a blanket of peat moss to keep them cozy for their long winters nap in their basement.
Today, it was the gladiolus' turn. Because of the wet spring, they got planted late and then bloomed beautifully as long as they could. Kevin and Katie decided to leave the glads in the ground for a while despite frosty nights, so the glads could go through their winding down process. But with the possibility of snow next week, it was time to get them out of the ground.
This was my first time digging glads, and I was pleasantly surprised to find out I could just pull them out of the ground by hand, using a garden fork occasionally if one broke off from the stem. I filled 2 crates by myself, then George helped me fill 2 more. The kids helped with the last 2, and let me tell you, they had the pulling process down! I was the stem cutter, and I could barely keep up with them.
Hopefully the fact that the glads had some frosty nights won't be an issue. Last year, Kevin accidentally skipped a row when he dug them up, and that row made a surprise appearance in the summer, with no damage.
Now the glads are taking their turn in the greenhouse to dry before they too get put to bed for the winter.
