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First things first: I'm so glad you're here! We've got the most beautiful blooms on the way for y'all this fall, and I'm so excited to see them bring peace, comfort, and joy to you in all your moments - special and everyday.
Here's a quick look at what's going on this week at the farm:
The garden has been anything but easy this summer. Early summer led with frequent rain but lots of high temperatures. Those early rains quickly lead to disease - powdery mildew and black spot - before they became sparse, and the months of August and September have been exceptionally dry.
Outfit of the Day for late summer mowing, Kalyx Flower Co style:
Our fall crops - especially dahlias - require lots of water to be happy, and this late season drought (no measurable rainfall since mid August here on the farm) along with pest pressure from our local deer herd and that disease I mentioned above, have delayed them significantly.
Fortunately, we've convinced the deer to stay behind the shop and [mostly] out of the gardens, and our dahlias are quickly gaining speed and putting on buds.
It's also been a summer of growth - adding 3 new raised bed sections and finishing the high tunnel has been a lot of work. We've spread more compost that I'd like to think about, but I imagine we've moved about 40 THOUSAND pounds of compost this season. "Shew wee," as my Mamaw would say.
Even though it's been a long hot summer, we have set ourselves up to be able to grow gorgeous plants for you nearly year around - with just a small break between Christmas and tulip season!
I'm proud of how our fall crops are coming along in the high tunnel, even though there is still so much to learn. I've never had to really consider things like ventilation or day lengths (numbers of hours of sunshine a plant needs) because usually the plants that are grown in the open field get plenty of those things!
But here's to reading and learning and trying and failing at this new portion of the farm.
Here's a view inside the high tunnel from this afternoon - Dahlias in the foreground, followed by celosia and zinnias, with plenty of dead stuff on the far side - thanks to a literal army of army worms.
And those are this week's Notes from the Farm.
I'm thankful for ya - especially if you've made it this far through the newsletter! I'd appreciate your business when you need flowers - birthdays, funerals, and everything in between.
It is a privilege to be a teeny part of your lives in all types of seasons.
Love & Flowers,
Hannah
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