The GREAT Tulip Harvest of 2023
The Great Tulip Harvest of 2023 at PepperHarrow Flower Farm is a triumph! From our indoor pop-up to the you-cut tulip bouquet experience, we've shared the joy of vibrant tulips with our community. Grateful for the support, we're excited for an even more spectacular season next year. Find these cheerful blooms at Des Moines Mercantile, Gateway Market, and the Downtown Farmer's Market!
The Great Tulip Harvest of 2023 at PepperHarrow Flower Farm is sure to go down in history as a remarkable achievement for our team. This year's harvest has been outstanding, with a bountiful crop of vibrant tulips that have delighted the senses and brought joy to all who have had the pleasure of experiencing them.
Growing in our indoor growing space, forcing our tulips through the coldest months, we took our first harvest of tulips for a special pop-up at Des Moines Mercantile at the beginning of April. It was amazing, and we were so humbled, to see the amount of local support for our local flower farm and small business! People came out in force to grab a tulip bouquet to add a sprinkle of joy to their day!
Below is a photo of how the bouquets turned out. We added a few sprigs of willow, which gave them an even prettier look. They sold out the quickest!
tulip Bouquets for pop-up at DSM Mercantile
Right behind out indoor grown tulips, the field grown tulips were ready about two weeks later. They ended up blooming about a week and a half earlier than we expected, because we had a few days in the 80’s (F). Way too warm for this time of year and it made them grow a little more quickly than they normally would have
Once we saw that a few of them were starting to show what we call ‘color crack’, we knew it was time to open our you-cut tulip bouquet experience to the public. It’s a popular on farm experience we get to offer in the spring for people to come out and pick their own tulip bouquet. As an extra benefit, we give them the option to take the bulbs home with them to plant as well. Everyone has an absolute blast!
We welcomed each guest and gave them the run down of how they can harvest tulips. Everyone loved idea of simply pulling them from the ground bulb and all, a fan favorite! There’s something pretty enjoyable about pulling tulips from the lose ground bulb and all!
Field grown tulips at pepperharrow flower farm for you-cut tulip bouquet experience
Once the you-cut tulip bouquet experience was over, we knew it was time to get ALL of the tulips out of the flower field as quickly as possible. The deer pressure is so incredible, we knew we couldn’t leave an ‘all you can eat skittle buffet’ for them. Lol!
When we were within an hour of our last guest arriving, we started pulling all of the tulips from the ground as quickly as possible. Two people = 2,000+ bulbs = 5 tractor loads of tulips into our cooler to give them nice chill time until we sell them in bouquets, which should happen over the next 2-3 weeks. It. Was. Incredible.
We stopped for a few minutes for Adam to capture this remarkable sight of one of our many tractor bucket harvests of tulips. It was a pretty cold night, but the sun was out and the sky looked incredible as the picture was being taken.
Tractor full of tulips harvested over the weekend
You can find these cheery, bold colors over the next few weeks at small retail shops of Des Moines Mercantile, Gateway Market, and for our appearance at the Des Moines’ Downtown Farmer’s Market over the next few weeks.
Reflecting on the Great Tulip Harvest of 2023, we’re left with a sense of pride and accomplishment. We’ve worked tirelessly to bring these beautiful flowers to life, and their hard work had paid off in spades.
For us, the success of this year's harvest was a testament to our love of tulips and our commitment to growing them. We are grateful to our customers for their support and appreciation of the farm's efforts.
Looking ahead to next year's harvest, the team at Pepperharrow Flower Farm is already planning and preparing for what promises to be another spectacular season. We are committed to continuing our tradition of excellence and to bringing the beauty and joy of tulips to as many people as possible.
Happy Growing!
XX Jenn and Adam
New Dahlia Varieties We're Growing at PepperHarrow in 2022: Round 1
f you've been following our flower farming journey, you know our dahlia collection has grown into a vibrant array of varieties. Good news – they'll soon be available for purchase! Here's a sneak peek at some standout new dahlias, from the blush tones of Bloomquist Compare to the bi-color beauty of Aitara Diadem. Stay tuned for more as they blossom in our garden! 🌸 #Dahlias #FlowerFarming #NewVarieties
If y’all have been following along with our flower farming journey thus far, you know we’ve grown our selection of dahlias into a collection of really great varieties and have are known as some of the best dahlia growers in the us. This wasn’t intentional, but more the product of being a 100% plant addict and dahlia lover. Self control goes out the window when I see a gorgeous new dahlia variety I need to get my hands on. BUT it all works out in the end, because it means that all of our new varieties will be available for purchase to all of YOU!
We’ll be offering our dahlia varieties online coming soon, first to our Big Dreams Family on Patreon, which can be accessed here if you haven’t already. General availability for dahlia tubers for the public will go online on 1/1/23.
Here’s a look at some of our first round of our BEST new dahlia varieties we’re growing! We’ll share more soon, because they’re all starting to show off out in the garden!
XX Jenn
Bloomquist
Compare
A beautiful new addition to our collection from Triple Wren Farms. It serves as a nice blush color for weddings and local florists. It grows about 5’ tall and has nice long, tall, sturdy stems for bouquets.
Observations: A prolific bloomer, perfect for specialty cut flower growers. Susceptible to powdery mildew.
KAs Mocha Jo
Who are we kidding?! We love ALL of the KAs varieties, but especially this one. It’s the ‘blendy pen’ of the dahlia world and because of this, it’s is a great dahlia to use for design work, because it bridges many colors.
Observations: Small, bushy growth habit. Doesn’t appear to produce a ton of tubers
Irish Ruffles
Never have we grown such a beautiful white dahlia. It has a large bloom with petals that look soft and fluffy, giving this beauty its name. It’s definitely a favorite of ours.
Observations: Needs to be staked due to the heavy bloom and tall stems the plant produces. Not a prolific tuber producer.
Aitara Diadem
Wow! I’m usually not really a fan of bi-color dahlias, but this bloom has stood out as one of the best in the garden. The 6’ blooms are some of the first to be cut to include in bouquets, because they’re so remarkable.
Observations: Tall, bushy growth habit with large leaves. Very healthy, vigorous plant.
KAs Bella Luna
Sourced from StoneHouse Dahlias as a rooted cutting and wow, has it exploded with growth. The bloom starts off as white and finishes with an unexpected burst of blush in the center. Just gorgeous!
Observations: Hardy, vigorous growing plant and blooms. 4’ tall with nice sturdy stems.
Quiet Splendor
This bloom was totally unassuming until it really started to open and I was struck by the blush variegation in the leaves. Must day, it’s a keeper! It’s taken lack of rain and terribly hot conditions and has thrived.
Observations: Tall, workable stems perfect as a specialty cut flower.
Normandie Wedding Day
Who doesn’t love dahlia cultivars from the UK? The unique, blush bloom on this beauty is just incredible. We’re not known for growing cactus varieties, which this one is, but this one was too pretty NOT to grow.
Observations: Prone to powdery mildew. Tall, sturdy stems.
Clearview Jennae
Wine or magenta? Either way, we’re obsessed with this gorgeous, prolific dahlia and will be adding more to our growing stock.
Observations: Incredible, tall growth habit, 5’ tall. Strong, sturdy stems perfect for specialty cut flowers.