April on the Flower Farm

Will they, won't they?!

April has been a real rollercoaster of a month here at the farm. Watching our tulips has been like watching a soap opera, moving them back and forth between the field, the tunnel, and the barn in our best attempt to speed them up or slow them down to ensure they all bloom at the optimum moment. Needless to say, our efforts paid off, and we enjoyed a wonderful first weekend of Pick-Your-Own on the farm, not to mention a great Easter table arrangement workshop to round out the holiday.

High off our first success, we were quickly brought back down to earth (literally) upon discovering the culprit behind the slow growth of our hardy annuals and perennials. We've got wireworms! Oh, and also leatherjackets, the larval stages of the click beetle and mayfly (daddy long legs) respectively.

The end of April found us burying potato halves on skewers in an attempt to assess the scale of the issue and to trap a few of the little blighters. Wireworms, in particular, love tubers (hence the potatoes), so planting out our dahlias directly into the field has been put on hold until we can get a handle on the pest situation.

Enter our hopeful hero, the nematode worm, a naturally occurring parasite that lives off larvae without having any impact on our precious plants. Fingers crossed, only time will tell. P.S. Nematodes need moist soil to find a suitable host, so wish us luck in this current heatwave!

This flower farming lark really is a labour of love. Stay tuned for next month's update to see how we get on. Thank you for your interest in our fledgling flower farm.