General Dahlia Chat 2024

Krista · 2024-01-05T01:50:48+00:00

When do we grow up and stop ordering more tubers than we can possibly fit into the space we have, for the next season? Is that something I can look forward t...

Krista

BarryO This is exactly the encouragement I needed to hear ❤️ Thank you!

Teddahlia

There is a common progression of "Dahlia Fever" that includes wanting to grow too many of the "best" ones. Eventually, the person determines that they do not have to grow everything they like and can actually stop growing some knowing it is possible to re-acquire them at a future date. At that point, they have returned to normalcy. For some, it takes many years and an expanding garden before that point is reached.

calico20hill

I have sorta maybe returned to normalcy but its more about having only 6 raised beds.....

calico20hill

Feeling Relieved!
On the Monday before Thanksgiving we mailed off this years best Salish new varieties to Triple Wren for them to trial and multiply. The weather was mild though it was questionable whether they would arrive before the Holiday. I got word this morning that yes, they did make it the day before and were safely stashed! Since we had the coldest freeze yet of 2024 yesterday down here in Oregon I was really nervous that they were not left out over the holiday, left in a mail truck somewhere! What a relief!

And its a frosty frosty morning here at Salish Dahlias! We have frozen fog on everything and are just now up to 32 degrees...

Now I can switch into my winter chore of making and attaching permanent engraved ID tags to my collection of over 50 different hydrangeas...and of course dreaming of new colors and types to add to it....

Bessie

calico20hill please show an example of your hand made tags, they would be nice to have.

calico20hill

Bessie Bessie. only the writing on them will be "Hand made". I ordered the tags from somewhere on line. I will try to find the information for you but my bag of them is out in the garage and it is cold out there!

Teddahlia

I dislike accessing the Dahlia Addict Growing Dahlia site and there is nothing new to read or look at. Even old pictures are better than nothing at all.
Baby picture(first year seedling) HH Zahara AA ID orange. 2016

Krista

I’m hoping to hear folks inventorying methods and tips while dividing and packing tubers. I always label my shoe boxes with varieties and counts, but then things get squirrely when I’m packing a small clump, or what if one or two tubers are a “maybe” on eying up sufficiently by springtime.

And then how do you notate when one or two tubers are promised for a trade? So many details that are cumbersome between what’s actually written on the box of tubers in the fall vs what’s on the spreadsheet. Keeping everything straight always feels a little wild so I’m hoping someone here has wisdom to help with my chaos. 😅

Bessie

Krista I'd love to hear of a simple, or even not so simple (preferably open source), database that could be used for record keeping. I have so many pictures that I'd like to match to seedlings and seedlings I want to match to seed parents. I read of a database a Dahlia grower used, but when I was ready to get to work, I couldn't find the details again online.

MissyWeitzel

Krista I print out a list of the varieties I grew this year. It's on a clipboard and I keep a pencil with it. As I divide I keep track of tubers in 2 categories: best and 2nds. 2nds can be questionable eyes, thin, small, accidentally chopped, etc. I only pre sell or offer in trade a portion of the best. The portion varies depending on whether I plan to grow again or not. The 2nds quantity does not exist in my mind until I do a midwinter evaluation and re-inventory everything. Some of the 2nds may be listed in my restock as small/ugly. Some get added to my planting numbers. Some get donated to my local society sale.

Krista

Bessie I’d love to have those resources too — I’ve also seen a few databases or programs mentioned on FB and haven’t had the wherewithal to note them in real time. Maybe some brains here will resurface them for us! 🙏🏽

BackyardBouquets_17

Bessie

You thinking something like this? I bought it this yr and my winter job will be entering data a photos of seedlings.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/1671464836/google-sheet-dahlia-garden-organizer?click_key=adc97187e4e86a13354ad77d9ef0d4959ebb34bb%3A1671464836&click_sum=429370ad&ref=shop_home_feat_1

I kind of think Idlewild Blooms had something similar or used a database of some sort but this looked cheaper and made more sense to my “not so techy “ brain 😀

magucci

Bessie Hi there. I have started using Smart Suite after I took a little workshop with Emily Fontes from Idelwild Blooms. There is a free plan and it works great. Emily has really maximized it for use with seedlings as she is an immaculate record keeper. She ha a workshop: https://tinygiant.xperiencify.io/ddd/order/. In addition, you get to join her private FB group where you can get a lot of support directly from her for any questions. I have taken other workshops of hers for Shopify and have found them to be excellent value. She's a great teacher and really knows the tools.

Teddahlia

I have few answers as to record keeping. I count tubers as I divide and record the number next to the name on a list and that goes onto a spreadsheet. Most are not for sale or trade and they are all for us to plant next year. If I sell tubers, PayPal keeps track of sales inventory.
Pictures of seedlings is a disorganized mess. Every year we say we will do better and fail. Having said that, the very best ones seem to have pictures.
Tuber rot or no eyes is always a potential issue for sales tubers. Margaret accuses me of selling her out of the good ones. Generally it is because of unexpected tuber losses.
Unedited picture of HH Purely Purple shot in Adobe instead of srgb.

Krista

Teddahlia Margaret accuses me of selling her out of the good ones. Generally it is because of unexpected tuber losses.

Yes, this is what I’m hoping to avoid — I’d like to find a way to engage in winter swap arrangements without finding myself at planting time, down a variety, because I promised too many based on inaccurate recording practices.

Luckily, my swaps are with a precious few folks who are angels about sharing back lost varieties the following year. There’s just gotta be a way! 😭

The color of Hollyhill Purely Purple is to die for!

Juliarugula

I use a spreadsheet. Last year, when I calculated allowed tubers for trades, I took my total number of tubers, divided by two, and then subtracted any quantity I thought I’d want from that total. The rest were allowed for trades. It ended up working out, but was a little tighter than I’d prefer, so this year I divided by 2.5, and then went through and also took out anything that was a favorite that only had one extra after calculations. I’m figuring if everything stores and eyes up well I’ll find homes for extras in the spring.

Krista

Juliarugula I divided by 2.5, and then went through and also took out anything that was a favorite that only had one extra after calculations. I’m figuring if everything stores and eyes up well I’ll find homes for extras in the spring.

MissyWeitzel print out a list of the varieties I grew this year. It's on a clipboard and I keep a pencil with it. As I divide I keep track of tubers in 2 categories: best and 2nds. 2nds can be questionable eyes, thin, small, accidentally chopped, etc. I only pre sell or offer in trade a portion of the best. The portion varies depending on whether I plan to grow again or not. The 2nds quantity does not exist in my mind until I do a midwinter evaluation and re-inventory everything.

Ah thank you so much, Julia & Missy! These are the types of strategies I was hoping to find out about! I’m going to adopt your practices, they’re going to really help me get organized, thank you!!

Teddahlia

Some varieties have lots of tubers that store well. Those are generally the ones that that do not sell very well unless they are very new. The ones people want generally are poor tuber maker/keepers. Those are the ones hard to predict how many you will have to sell even if you have lots of them when you divide.

BackyardBouquets_17

This is the one I have

BackyardBouquets_17

https://tinygiant.xperiencify.io/ddd/order/

And this is what I was thinking of otherwise. I guess teaches you how to use a database for it.

Looks like the Etsy one is on a google spreadsheet and has a lot of the same concepts she’s talking about

Bessie

BackyardBouquets_17 both solutions look like they have possibilities. I'll check out the details.

Bessie

magucci Idlewildblooms.com really impressed me when I first came across it several months ago. At that time I sent Emily (owner) an email expressing my appreciation for her excellent dahlia descriptions on the website. She had a previous 20 year career as a web designer, so having the Dahlia database tool makes perfect sense.

BackyardBouquets_17

magucci

I keep looking at this but haven’t jumped yet. If you take her workshop do you get access to the database she created or do you still need to create/set your own up with smart suite

Bessie

magucci Today, I came across this use of SmartSuite. The video is totally dedicated to building a dahlia personal database. This is a YouTube video, that guides step by step how to use the free software. https://youtu.be/rwkMrpQQhjs?si=4sqmPI0rjocYyVxX

magucci

Bessie indeed! I have engaged her to help me with my website design. She’s really a lovely, generous woman and wildly creative. let us know what you decide!!

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