Digging and Storing Dahlias

 Once again we have reached the time of the year when we harvest our Dahlia tubers.  I say harvest not because I am going to eat these, although I could, but because I want to save my root stock for next year.  This is a multi-pronged project, harvest, clean-up and organization challenges all rolled into one.  This year I have about 40 plants and I have different goals for each variety.  One white variety I want to get rid of.  Easy.  I dug it up and threw it in the compost.  Two varieties I want to be sure to increase my numbers.  And most of the others I just want to preserve what I have.  But that includes having one or two spares for backup in case one doesn't store well.  I've written about my dahlia storage methods before, but each year I get a little better at orchestrating the whole process.  I just noticed that I finished this process in 2021 on exactly the same day.  Oct 29th.

There is a certain amount of timing to digging dahlias.  #1 they should be in the ground at least 120 days to create strong enough tubers to survive storage.  I was weeks past that.  #2 they should never be frozen in the ground.  This turns them to mush and is the main reason people in growing zones below 7 have to dig them if they want to preserve them.  One rule of thumb is to wait for a killing frost, leave them in the ground for two weeks to form growth eyes, and dig them before the ground freezes and ruins the tubers.

We have now had a couple of light frosts, but not cold enough to reach the dahlias in the warmer garden areas.  Still, the task you never start takes longest to complete.  My main Dahlia bed was a mass of foliage.  I went in with a lopper and a saw and began picking it apart.  There were also stakes and clips in there that needed to come out.  But still it doesn't take long to disassemble,  As I chopped I saved a bouquet of the nicest blooms.

Once you have the clump carefully uprooted with a fork, you have a couple of options.  You can either set them out to dry like that and simply brush the worst soil chunks off.  In fact, that was how I began years ago.  I would line some cardboard boxes with newspaper, place the dry but dirty tubers in whole, and fill around them with compost.  And that worked fine for the most part.  The downside is that it takes up a lot more storage space and in the spring you have a pile of big ugly, dirty clumps to plant and I didn't really enjoy that.  Single tubers are much easier to plant for several reasons but the main one is that you don't have to dig as big a hole!  If I wanted to replant these in the spring as they are, I would have to dig a hole a foot wide and almost as deep.

The second option involves cleaning them and the fastest way to do that is to blast them with a hose.  This is more work, but you end up with a cleaner product which is more fun to pull out of storage and plant in the spring.  You also reduce you chances of rot because you are removing damp soil and earthworms and getting a better look at the stems and damaged tubers that should be cut out to prevent them from spoiling the whole clump.  Because I want to identify my varieties, I make sure to keep a tag with each clump.

Once you have the tubers washed you have the option to divide now or wait until spring.

This one was really easy.  I just used the two stems to gently pry the clump apart and voila' - two clumps.  I also removed the large, dark "mother tuber".   I could stop there, but this wheel spoke pattern is a little fragile and I would risk breaking some or all of the necks with additional handling.

Dividing clumps is all about getting growth eyes matched up with healthy tubers.  This is the most challenging part and is an acquired skill.  Since I am mostly trying to preserve a specimen of each variety I have, it isn't important for me to maximize the number of tubers I am storing.  My goal is to get one or two nice tubers off of each clump and discard the rest.  I may have as much as 80% waste to get there.

If I divided this up, first I would probably need an oscillating saw just to start on it, and in the end I would have way too many plants next year.  All I need is one or two tubers and the rest can go.

The more you handle a clump, the more chance you have of damaging it.  But most come out of the soil with at least some damage no matter how gentle you are.  Broken necks are the most common.  The weight of the unsupported tuber puts uneccessary stress on the narrow neck. 

Each little white bump on the crown is an eye which will sprout a stem

Not only will that individual tuber not support growth in the spring, but that ragged surface is a great place for moisture and bacteria to enter and cause decomposition.  So the first thing I do is trim off any tubers with broken necks and shorten the stem down to no more than an inch.  I also remove the dark tubers (which indicates that was the original "mother tuber" planted in spring) which will grow, but have a greater risk of rotting over the winter.

The second most likely damage is a broken or speared tuber.  This would probably heal.  But a clean cut will heal better.  I always cut the tail roots off and they will regrow next year but you can cut pretty far into the body of a tuber and still have a viable plant.

Below is an example of a tuber that was blunt cut last year.  The flat end heals over and it grows a tangle of multiple roots.  The two tubers to the right are new with long pointy tail roots.

That cut was a little drastic, but I did it for illustration purposes.    I only really want one plant from this next year so when I saw how far I needed to cut this one, I ended up removing it entirely.

This is all I need

One thing that dividing causes is a bit of a labeling problem.  Below are two clumps from the same variety.  The one at the left is divided down into what I would want to plant next year.  The one on the right is the way it came out of the ground.  The one on the left present more of an identification problem.  But there are solutions for that.

I went ahead and chopped up the one on the right to show you the core that had developed because I had not divided this for a couple of years.  The multiple crowns continue to swell and produce stems and after awhile you get this big ugly knot in the center.

The Big Ugly Knot

Below is one of the salvaged tubers that now needs to be individually labeled.  If you were to wait a few days for the skin to toughen, you could write on it pretty well with a Sharpie or a GardenMarker.  But in this tender, damp stage the best solution is an indelible pencil which has dye in the lead.  When put to a damp, rough surface, the point liquifies and writes beautifully.  These are also used in the dental industry, on watercolor art, drafting etc.  

Besides developing skills of identification and cutting, years of experience leads to a good selection of the right tools.  You want at least a good sharp pair of pruners and a marking pencil.  Below is my kit.

Pruners, Snips, Grafting Knife, Sharpener, Indelible Pencil, Garden Marker, a Nail Brush, some sort of saw blade, Lysol Wipes or bleach solution for disinfecting tools between tubers, and a sorting method.

These cheap utensil trays from WalMart are good for sorting.  It may take several days over the course of a week or more for me to get everything washed, dug and divided.  Before I know exactly how much space I need for final storage, I keep tubers sorted in trays and Sterlite shoe boxes always covered in coarse Vermiculite to keep them from drying too much and shriveling.  A tuber should never be left out in the open air for more than a day or it will lose too much moisture.  As soon as the skin is dry to the touch they need to be in a storage medium which could be sawdust, coir, shredded paper or compost.  I use Vermiculite. Some people even wrap them individually in plastic wrap.

And now, after everything has been divided and individually labeled, I found that this year I could reduce my storage from two crates and a Sterlite tub... and an additional shoe box for Begonias... down to just one Sterlite tub.  Which simplifies things tremendously when I have to move it in or out according to temperature.  The tubers need to be stored between 35F and 50F degrees.  For me that is the bottom of the basement stairs in the bulkhead.  I place a remote sensor for the indoor thermometer on top of the lid and if I am concerned that the temperature may drop too low for the night I will bring them into the basement.  That only happens a few times a winter.  Once a month I will open the tub and remove a few tubers to make sure they are still plump and healthy and not shriveled and dried out.  If they are drying to much you can mist some water on the storage medium.  

Now all of the dahlias are carefully tucked into storage and that is the last gardening chore for the year.

**Footnote:  After completing my inventory I calculated that the tub holds over $1000 worth of tubers if I were to replace them all full price this year.  Of course I always buy at discounted prices.  And my value has multiplied over the years.  One Cafe' Au Lait tuber from 2018 has increased to 18 over the years and I could have three times that many had I divided more carefully.

Indian Summer

 Today's post is brought to you by the color Yellow.

We have been enjoying a week of beautiful weather.  It is officially Indian Summer because we had a light frost on Monday morning. That was enough to give the falling leaves a little incentive to get a move on.  We blew leaves for the second time on Tuesday.  Mowed the lawn.  Washed the mower.  My husband scraped the deck, put sharp blades on and plugged it into the battery tender.  Summer is officially over here.

The maple tree by the firepit always drops tons a beautiful, soft leaves.  I blew a huge drift of them away the other day (what a waste) so I woke up this morning with one intent: suck up the maple leaves to save for mulch next year.  Hubby blew them into drifts for me and I sucked up six sucker bags full and dumped them into the wheelbarrow.  This allows me to run them through the chopper a second time.  A finer chop means that when I use these to top dress my containers and raised beds, fewer leaves will blow away and I will have less mess in the garden.  They will also break down into compost faster.

Whatever didn't fit into the wheelbarrow this time was blown into the wooded area.

I now have enough leaves to use next year and what I don't use as mulch will get mixed into next summer's compost at the end of the season.

The thing about leaves.  As you are blowing, they are coming down around you.

Not clean and tidy

I had a good pile of leaves left from last year and those have been incorporated into this summer's yard and kitchen waste to lighten the mix.  I've just about turned this pile one complete time and it is looking good.

I will have plenty of compost ready in the spring to dress the beds before planting.

Still pretty

More Rain

 It has been a mild but gloomy autumn and it is raining again.  I am still working on storing Dahlia tubers, but that is about all that is going on.  No digging today!  In the mean time, here is a photo to ponder.  Our friend who hunts archery on our property, sets up game cameras at several points of our 16 acres.  This is the most recent photo.

The time stamp is off by a year. Whoops.

Of all our wildlife, the bears are the ones that cause us, personally, the least amount of trouble. They are seen around our immediate neighborhood raiding bird feeders.  But we don't feed the birds so the most we ever notice is a broken down branch or large footprints in the gravel of the driveways.

My husband always worries he will run into the bear on his way out to get the newspaper in the dark.  Obviously the bear is up and about at that time of morning, but thankfully at the back of our woods.

Tulips

 I have had a few tulips in the landscape over the years.  Tulips are so beautiful and easy to care for, but they are number one on the deer snack list.  If you have deer anywhere near your garden there is just no way you are ever going to see a tulip bloom.  Buds - yes.  But those long awaited buds will be eaten the night before they open up. Almost every time. Therefore they must either go in containers that can be kept behind a fence until they bloom or in the vegetable garden which is sufficiently protected.    

Back in 2021 I planted a bed of tulips.  They turned out absolutely gorgeous, but I did not indulge myself last fall, so no pretty blooms this spring.  I was still a little burned out last fall when Tulip Ordering Season rolled around so I just skipped it.  But in the spring I really missed having them.  Fall planted bulbs, and tulips in particular, are one of those things that you really have to plan ahead for.  You can plant daffodils and crocus and snow drops and almost every other bulb you can think of and they will naturalize and come back year after year and spread and give you a great return.  But most varieties of tulips do not come back reliably. I may get 30% returning each spring on a downward spiral until there are no more left at all.  And they are just too wonderful to do without.

Chardonnay Blend

I think all colors of tulips are lovely, but around the vegetable garden area I always stick to a hot color pallet of red, orange and yellow.  The Chardonnay blend above caught my eye a couple of years ago.  Colorblends only sells them in batches of 500, and I only want to deal with 150-200 bulbs.  So I went with a smaller amount of a similar blend...

Celebration Blend

... and added a white variety.  Now this may not work out perfectly.  The bloom times might not sync up as well as what Colorblends would have put together, but we'll give it a try because that was what was available.

Maureen

I also LOVE double (peony style) tulips.  So I am trying these.

Moris Gudanov

I had a little more room left, so I caved in and ordered a few of the my favorite from last year.

Double Late Gudoshnik

So the tulip bulbs are planted in a raised bed with Tulip Tone and in the spring when everything else is dull and bare, we can look forward to a bright and cheery bed full of vibrant color.  And then I will be happy that I put in the planning and effort.

Marvelous Marigolds

 Marigolds are such a useful annual.  They are tough, colorful, long lasting and attractive to pollinators.  They are deer resistant (which doesn't mean deer proof) and their one natural predator is the slug.  They are a staple in my garden and landscape each year.  They are easy to find in the nurseries, and easy to grow from seed.  You can start them early or direct sow them.  They are equally happy in the ground or in containers.  They come in a wide range of colors, heights and forms.

Marigolds are native to Africa and South America and are now grown worldwide with the English (Calendula) Marigolds differing most from the original form.  They naturally come in a palette of oranges and yellows, but in recent years breeders have created more versatile shades.  David Burpee began breeding them in the 1920s and is probably primarily responsible for their popularity in America.

"All his life, Burpee has been devoted to the task of making a better marigold. As chief of the W. Atlee Burpee mail-order seed company from 1915 to 1970, Burpee found ways to invent new varieties large and small, but his main quest was for a pure white marigold, one that could be cross-pollinated with existing yellow, orange, and rust varieties to create a rainbow of new colors. In 1954, Burpee made a public offer of $10,000 for seeds that would produce a white blossom at least 2½ in. across. Amateur gardeners sent in thousands of entries, and the Burpee Co. spent $250,000 in testing them, in vain."

Source: Time Magazine

In 1974 Alice Vonk, the widow of an Iowa farmer, finally collected the $10,000 prize and the Snowbird Marigold was born.  "Taking into account the contest costs, the prizes, and the development of the "Snowbird", that marigold was the world's costliest flower, but David Burpee considered the money well spent. Never had so many gardens across America been planted with marigolds."

One of my favorite Marigolds is the Vanilla, but this year I tried Snowball which was almost as good.  The downside to the white Marigolds is that they are F1 hybrids and saving seeds from them isn't a satisfying experiment.  You get all kinds of weird forms.

The Strawberry Blonde is another newer colored Marigold.

They are supposed to be bicolor pastel pink, rose and yellow blooms, but I would describe them more as terracotta.  They do change color as the bloom ages which is fun and interesting.

Cool temperatures at the end of summer bring out the rosey hues.

Most Marigolds are a compact, sturdy plants that make a nice border edge.

Pollinators love them and the male bumble bees like to sleep on them at night.  I suppose they see them as big cushy mattresses.

Butterflies seem to like them as well as Bumbles and Honey Bees.

Vanilla Hybrid

Disco Mix

Fireball Red

Durango Outback Mix

Next to the white Vanilla or Snowball marigolds, my favorite is the Durango Outback mix.  In particular, the red and yellow color they call "Bolero".  These are easy to start from seed and can be direct sown.  Whether you need a plant that is four inches high or four feet high, the Marigold has something to offer.

Next year I will be growing Vanilla, Strawberry Blonde, Fireball, and Durango Mix.  I plan on starting some from seed at a later date so they will be ready to go into containers in autumn as a substitute for Mums.  Their blooms last so much longer and the colors are perfect for fall.

Puttering Along

I've been planting tulip bulbs and digging dahlia tubers.  Yesterday and today are rainy days, so not good digging weather.  Housecleaning weather...

Above is one little corner of the Spring Garden that is growing back from the initial cleanout.  I am enjoying the fresh young Columbine plant.  Just a little bit of new life in autumn.

I have left this geranium plant.  I had deer that decided that geraniums were yummy even when heavily sprayed with repellent.  So I finally covered it with a piece of bird netting.  Well, it began to bloom again and became so irresistible that they tried anyway.

They chomped the flower off through the netting but were unable to enjoy actually eating it.  Maybe the lack of reward will discourage them.  The flower is still gone.