To see the full original newsletter with all the photos click here to get the pdf: May 2024 Newsletter
NEXT MEETING: Tuesday, May 14 at 9th and Lincoln at 7:30 PM.
Program: A Year of Growing Dahlias by Erik Gaensler. Erik shares great slides, wonderful information and fun stories. This is THE meeting to bring your family, your neighbors, colleagues, dentist, acupuncturist, fellow gardeners and friends to. FREE. This will be equally great on zoom. Erik’s colorful slides highlight his equally colorful commentary. Probably there will be more tubers, cuttings and milk cartons for sale. Who will bring yummy surprises for us all to gobble down?
ROUSING DSC MEETING
“Nobody told me this would be a swap meet!” Lola exclaimed. Indeed, Tim brought 12” tall seedlings in gallon pots so Anita could teach her school group how to “pinch out” early dahlias. We swooned with envy. Maggie brought tubers of Pooh. Kauna had fabulous 20th Avenue Pure Prince stock. Milk cartons with well started young tubers were traded. Deborah drove a tough deal: an Eden Benary tuber and a 20th Avenue Memory Of tuber for a
growing plant of her winning Elvira. Lucy shared empty milk cartons for tuber germinators who couldn’t drink enough.
Erik reiterated Tuber Sale protocol and reset expectations. He exhorted us all to please bring our extra cuttings, tubers and plants. “Diversify your portfolios!” urged Erik. Try a few opencentered collorettes or orchettes. For apartment people with just a happy balcony, try a mignon single. These little guys win the same size ribbon for Best of Type as the fabulous AA’s and the smaller forms thrive happily in a big pot getting little spritzes of
appreciation now and then. Erik also shared his Happy Baby technique for encouraging recalcitrant tubers to germinate. Place newspapers, towels or soil on a tray. Lay your tubers flat. Place a moist (not wet!) towel over the top and in a warm spot. Every other day renew the moisture on the top and check for sprouts.
Thanks to Jenna for all the beautiful Tuber Sale posters.
Tara suggested that next year, we have a premium price for our “unicorns,” the really rare and costly varieties. Please ponder this proposition and talk to our board with your ideas. Other societies have a members-only auction where the action can get fairly raucous and pricey.
Deborah detailed the differences amongst planting ungerminated tubers, tubers with sprouts, cuttings, and milk cartons as to watering and depth of interment. Cuttings in particular need to be planted above the first two leaf pairs to insure tuber production the first season. Obviously, a tuber with no roots needs NO water; hair-fine roots need gentle watering 2x a day; milkcartoned veterans with a full brick of roots prefer to be watered only when they droop slightly. Try to get drip emitters with variable controls. Deborah also mentioned the free ZooPooh from the Oakland Zoo. They have a huge pile of treated herbivore excrement-cum-shavings compost. BYOB—bring your own bucket and shovel. Tara says there’s more with less hassle in the winter, but now is still optimal for your garden. BTW, the predator pooh repels deer and bunnies; the Zoo $ells the stuff that smells like danger.
Thanks to Allison for showing the sad state of pot roots that come from the big commercial bulb consortiums. These are usually the complete root mass yanked out of the ground and then handled (unkindly) by several batches of people before they wind up in a bag or box in a Lowes or Home Depot. Often the best you can hope for is cutting off the dangling brokennecked tubers and trying to get the center core to germinate. Fortunately, most of these big catalog companies have an excellent attitude about money or product refunds. But contact them immediately if you are dissatisfied!
COMMUNITY GENEROSITY
Who knew Anita were such a gourmet? Her cardamon orange brownies slipped gaily down gustatory gullets. Thanks to Alex for the chocolate chip cookies—always a classic and to Marissa for the snack mix. Susan you are so good for our health with fresh oranges balanced with French cookies. Len, your mini croissants must have been good because they disappeared in the first wave of predators. Pat we love your fresh strawberries and biscotti. Tara brought New Year’s almond cookies. Sarah, the huge jar of pretzels invited noshers; but your trove of chocolate covered almonds—tooooo tempting! Sigh. Thank you to all who help assuage the gardeners’ hunger and build contented community this month.
PARADE OF BEAUTY
Delight in these beauties
from last year.
20th Ave Softer Peach
AC Pasayten
20th Ave Morning Mist
Allen’s Candy Land
AC Tweedly Dum
Allen’s Sorbet
Alpen Sundown
Anne’s Delight
Bloomquist Award
Bloomquist Blush
Bloomquist Firecracker
Bloomquist Compare
Bloomquist Golden
SF FLOWER MART: END OF AN ERA
Julia arranged for a tour of the SF Flower Mart at 16th and Brannan for DSC members. We sadly learned that April saw the last month of operation for the communal enterprise built in 1954 by Chinese, Japanese and Italian growers. The City’s policy of narrowing streets to one lane and making many streets one-way only has rendered San Francisco almost impossible for the big refrigerator trucks to navigate their precious cargo of perishable flowers. Deliveries arrive just after midnight; wholesalers separate the gladiolas from the protea and florists purchase cartloads by 4 am to be able to open their own retail shops by 8 am. Ranunculus, gladiolas, sweet peas, calla lilies, tulips and roses roses roses were currently in season. However, ginger, anthuriums, orchids and other tropical wonders had been flown in. Greenery and “filler” abounded. Color assailed us from every surface. We chatted with Louie of Figone Gardens, grower of 12 acres of dahlias
in Half Moon Bay for 30 years! Royal and Sweet Natalie are slowly replacing Cafe au Lait as his predominant varieties. Because of the coastal fog and propensity for mildew, he grows in long single beds to maximize aeration. He overhead waters as Swan Island does. Usually he offers first cut dahlias for sale by June 10th. We gasped to see hundreds of beautiful roses thrown in trash bins and stomped upon to make room for more “trash.” “Garbage is a big issue for us,” explained our guide.
STEVE AND PABLO’S EXCELLENT ADVENTURE
Steve combined spring break father/son college campus tours with a little dahlia ferrying. Dropping a few rare varieties grown in SF,
he picked up wonderful “unicorns” in San Luis Obispo from the Soderstroms. Then he delivered a few cool A’s and B’s to Santa Barbara’s Riviera. Deborah is so grateful that he added these stops to his itinerary at the last minute to spread dahlia joy, and make new friends.
CUTTINGS IN THE MAIL?
Have you ever wondered what cuttings look like when they arrive
through the mail? Angela shared this photo essay of her day-late
treasures from Kennedy Farms. Note the robust roots and protected leaves. First Angela removes them from their freight containers; then she prepares her gallon containers; after planting, she makes sure the labels are all in place and waters well. Congratulations Kennedy Farms for such beautiful specimens.
PROCESS TUBERS WHILST THE SUN SHINES
On two successive Sundays, Lucy brought over a trove of root masses to Deborah’s Maus Haus to divide. Lucy mastered the art of driving a Hori Hori knife down the center of behemoth tuber clumps to cleave off chunks. The clumps soaked in a bath to loosen some of their clayish covering, thus allowing visual of the newly exposed eyes so the Beast (electric oscillating tool) could carve out individual tubers. Lucy noted that Deborah kept labels with each step so there were no orphans. So much more fun with company and beautiful weather. The successful sprouting tubers will probably arrive at the May meeting for sale (CV Cameron, Ferncliff Duo, Ivanetti, Prometheus and other splendors). Lucy remarked, “I’ll have to go to bed earlier the next few days to practice getting up early for our Tuber Sale.” Planning ahead.
HOW DOES YOUR GARDEN GROW?
Larry describes his planting philosophy: Actually I don’t plant directly into the soil–I add compost and Malibu, which we add to everything. I also add all the things recommended in the newsletter when I plant. We have three compost bins — One cooking, one where we add the new ingredients from kitchen and garden and one ready to use which has been cooking for two years. All my tubers I plant in milk cartons or plastic pots–I learned long ago not to plant tubers directly in the garden and lose all that time and space if they don’t come up. I always mix my compost with something–for some reason I think the compost needs some help. We add Malibu to everything we plant–hard to find but our local organic nursery carries it. It’s going to rain tomorrow and Sunday, so I’m heading outside to cover up my milk cartons and plastic pots.
Kauna reports: I grow the dahlias in raised beds although I am lacking in the organization/weeding forefront. The raised beds are made from metal aluminum pieces that are screwed together from a kit, they’re about 4ft x 20ft and there are 8 of them. About 25-35 dahlias get planted in each one, although for this year I’m planning on reducing the numbers to 15-20 to allow for more space between each plant. I have a raised bed where somehow gophers crawled in (must have bent the chicken wire from the side). I started plants in black plastic crates to utilize the empty space and it’s going well. The plants do end up being on the smaller side in the crates versus the raised beds. Looking at all the ranunculus blooming, I need to figure out methods to make way for dahlias in May/June.
HILLSIDE HAPPENINGS
Wow! Sue sunk all her individual gopher cages, planted, and built anti-bird domes. Tim suggested gopher protected trenches. He and Sarah dug out troughs and lined them with hardware cloth raised 3-4” above the surface in case enterprising varmints try an overland approach to dahlia predation. Such a great improvement on an aggravated theme. Then he designed an entire drip system and installed it with Sarah and Mini. MVP for certain!!! Not only that, Tim donated beautiful tubers to his Hillside sibs to fill out their sections. AND who has the fanciest labels? Super MVP, Tim! Check out these silvery shiny snazzy name plates. Wow.
DELL DOINGS
After the park cleared Lou’s “pasture” of verdant weeds, Lou pounded his stakes in preparation for planting. On a couple lunch breaks, Tim cleared Tinnee and Gerry’s section of all its rich weedy tapestry. Mini, Collette and Brigid saluted Deborah’s “Seek and destroy” request to eradicate weeds and mosses. Nathaniel not only hunted weeds, but he also hand-watered all 116 dahlias up in the ground and the 50 pots—TWICE! Tim spotted mounds of an enterprising gopher, and set traps all along the periphery. Gophers have attacked our teardrop only 2-3 times in the last 30 years. But when they do, they wreak havoc. Worst scenario would be if the varmint were a gravid female…..disaster. Deborah diligently field divides the clumps putting out the most leaves each Tuesday and Saturday morning.
BEAUTIES FROM 2023
Castle Drive
Connie Quan Dee
Crazy Love
Clearview Peachy
Crazy 4 Jessie
Cynthia Houston
Czarny Character
Fiona
Electric Flash
Gitts Crazy
Enchantress
Hollyhill Lilibet
THE MERRY MONTH OF MAY
Field Dressing
May is soooo wonderful! If you left clumps in the ground last season, you should be seeing most up by now. I have been field dressing the bigger clumps. I remove all but 1-2 tubers, add secret sauce and Sluggo Plus to thwart slugs, snails and earwigs. I make sure the old label is renewed and legible. Our crazy little rain showers have been perfectly timed. Alas, the pleasant sprinkles also encouraged weed growth, slug multiplication and worm proliferation. An enterprising gopher scrambled across the tarmac moat around the Dell and dived in to the sumptuous May Buffet. Grrrrr. Such temerity is rare. Great minds and hard hearts are bringing deadly plans forward…….To prevent weed proliferation, some people lay out weed cloth. They punch holes in it to plant their dahlias.
Water Systems
Before planting or when your dahlias are very small is the easiest time to establish your watering system. I use PVC pipes with raised water heads. The Hillside is on drip with variable emitters. Others use soaker hose, drip tape or like our Lou, water by hand. Just make sure enough moisture gets to each plant: not too much and not too little.
Hardening Off
Hardening off is the process where you gradually acclimate your greenhouse dahlias to the outside. I’ve got mine on flats that I can bring inside in case of rain or a cold snap. Check out this baker’s rack: multiple shelves and wheels! The grower rolls it out in the morning and snugs it back inside in the evening until the plants are strong enough to stay out 24 hours. To thwart depredation of newly emerging plants, this grower hardened them off in bird cages.
Pinching Out
Also known as topping or stopping, this is the process whereby you remove the growing tip resulting in more established roots and a bushier overall plant. Check out KA’s YouTube videos on this. Brion really photographs the process well. Kristine prefers to pinch out very early. I like to wait until I can remove 3 nodes long because I pot these up in 1x1x3” starter pots for “insurance” cuttings in case something goes awry. Lou doesn’t top at all. You decide what suits your growing needs.
Companion Plants
Alyssum and marigolds provide environments for beneficial insects. They are short and colorful. Some growers surround their entire plot with a border of these. Others tuck a few of these happy low-growers here and there. The pollinators love them, too.
Dahlia Insurance
In the best season, everything goes well. However, sometimes a varmint terrorizes your roots, or a dog (small child) careens through your patch breaking stems. Perchance a curious raccoon keeps digging up your tubers or raucous ravens throw teenage hooligan parties in the midst of your patch. The water source floods; the water source dries up. Fate flips you the finger. This is where dahlia insurance comes in handy. I usually try to root the little tassels I pinch out. These don’t take up much space and can always pinch hit lest their parent perish. I save some of my rarer varieties in 1-gallon pots, just in case they need to leap into the breach. I “save” dahlia capital in friendly “banks.” For years, Paula and I have shared our coolest dahlias. I gave her my extra Rolf. Then I lost Rolf! Panic. Paula gave me her extra Rolf. This year Paula lost Rolf. Ha! I will make her cuttings from my Rolf. She will replant Rolf (again, sigh). Thank you, Tony, for caching Powder Puff Polka! Find a few fellow growers who have a few extra spaces for the snazzy and rare varieties. Foster out your cool extras; they come back with interest!
May is Sooo Wonderful
For major dahlia growers in the Bay Area, the end of May and the beginning of June are the ONLY weeks to steal away for a holiday. By mid-May, most of your planting is done. Your watering system is in place. You’ve even topped most of your bushes. You’ve eradicated most of the weeds and supplemented with beneficial insect flowers. For about 4 weeks all you need to do is watch your leafy green sprigs grow leafier. And maybe disbud.
To Do List
Invite people to our May Meeting
Save some back-up tubers/cuttings
Cultivate a few “dahlia banks”
Diversify your portfolio—try new forms or varieties
TUBER SALE PROMISE
$o $ucce$$fulll! Please send me your photos for June’s newsletter.
Yours in dirt,
Deborah
Photo credits: Basso, Bergman, Brickman, Capps, Cowlitz, Dibner, Dietz, Escribano, Gaensler, Grant, Happy Dahlias, Huy, Kelly, Maxwell, Moss, Susan’s Dahlias, Tobiason, Sherlok, Smith, Teed, Transill, Wong
Punctilious Proofreader: Steve
Supersonic URL provider: Mini