Archive for the ‘Harvest 2013’ Category
Posted on: November 25th, 2013 by Aimee Sherrill
The tuber harvest at both farms is now complete and Mother Nature was extremely nice to us this year. On all the days that we were harvesting, temperatures were cool, but the sun was shining. The perfect weather for digging dahlia tubers.

Thorp Harvest 2013
It was another outstanding harvest this year. We started at our Thorp, WA. farm, which freezes first in the fall. After a 2-3 week period after the freeze, we can harvest in late October. It’s extremely important to let nature freeze your dahlias before you dig. This is what tells the dahlia, “it’s time to go to sleep for the winter.” During this time, their skins are ripening and they are preparing themselves for winter storage. Dahlias dug too early in the fall will have a tendency to shrivel in storage and don’t survive winter. Be patient with your dahlias, they don’t cooperate if you don’t give them their time.

Our Eastern Washington Dahlia Barn in bloom
Our Thorp, WA. farm is located in Eastern Washington, where the sun shines almost 300 days per year. It’s potato country in Eastern Washington and into Idaho, ideal tuber conditions. Just like a potato is a tuber, dahlias are tubers too. There’s also lots of wind that blows through the Kittitas Valley. You would think it would work against the dahlias, but it actually makes them stronger. (more…)