video tutorials, tried-and-true tips + our latest learnings to surround you with abundance all season long
Friends, sowing well-adapted varieties makes organic gardening SO much easier.
In any size garden, on any scale farm.
Container gardens, especially.
Two main factors:
How much space does this variety take up? Some varieties are more compact than others, making them more optimal for container gardening.
Will this variety thrive with less than optimal nutrients and less even watering? Both are realities of most container gardens, so starting with resilient seeds makes all the difference.
I grew up in my father's garden here in the Finger Lakes, where we planted all kinds of vegetables, flowers, and herbs in old wine barrels that had been cut in half. Our main gardens were in the soil, but I had a particular fondness for our wine barrels lining our walkway, spilling over with parsley and marigolds, lettuce and peppers. Just like our dogs delight when we returned home, so happy to greet us, our...
Everyone loves dahlias.
Who loves to dig them?
And I agree, it's not as glamorous as harvesting lush blooms as the August dew rises.
But with a little planning and a bit of experience, you'll save many times the tubers you planted, surrounding yourself with breathtaking abundance for the coming season. Plus a few extra for your best flower friends :)
Storing your own dahlia tubers is a labor of love but so, so worth it and not too challenging, with the right tips and tools.
There are many reasons and this is my favorite: You'll have so many more dahlias for next season (not totally but essentially) for free.
Tuber productivity varies between varieties, but you'll harvest 6 to 25 tubers for each tuber you plant. Not all will have full eyes allowing them to grow a stem next spring, but you'll easily harvest more than you planted, and likely a lot more. Last week, dividing our dahlias, I had 18 perfect tubers to save from one single plant....
For years we’ve been asked to demystify seed starting and here it is: Rise & Shine shares everything you need to start seeds successfully at home in 40 beautiful pages with easy-to-follow instructions and insightful tips for the novice and experienced grower alike.