Happy Friday y’all!

It's another crispy dispatch from your friends in Georgia. We heard folks got some serious rain last week in Athens and Atlanta and there were puddles in parking lots about 7 minutes from us, but we somehow missed it all again. Each week for months, there has been rain in the forecast and each week it breaks our hearts and skips us, but for the occasional 7 minute drizzle. We are grateful for those 7 minute squirts, but aside from one glorious day of 83 degree weather, we have remained predominantly dry and in the 90s. We have shifted from constant high 90s to a gentler low to mid 90s, but it's still too hot for the dahlias to produce in earnest.

For you southern dahlia growers out there, one thing that has become extremely evident this year is that the dahlias we’ve grown from seeds or cuttings have fared far better than those grown from tubers. Part of that is because our seeds and cuttings are all taken from the hardiest of heat tolerant varieties as part of our southern dahlia breeding program, but the other part is just a function of biology.

The seedlings and rooted cuttings have pre-established feeder roots and hit the ground running. The tubers though, despite having a massive amount of stored sugars, have to use that energy to not only push up brand new stems and leaves, but also to establish brand new roots. So, they have a delayed start. In extreme heat, the tubers sitting in the top 4-6 inches of soil literally get super heated to the point where they just shut down if they haven’t developed a big enough canopy over them to shade themselves.

Why am I still discussing this week after week? Well, in addition to it being our overwhelming reality and a constant source of stress in the short term, we are also confronted with the fact that despite having our most successful planting ever, we are over a month late in getting a decent harvest and can barely get enough flowers to meet our customer’s subscriptions, let alone any normal orders. What does that suggest for future years? Is there actually any room for us to adjust to this new climate in a way that we can continue to successfully grow dahlias?

Dahlias are a big deal to us. In addition to being absolutely breathtaking and magical, they are also the flower that convinced us to switch from being produce farmers to becoming flower farmers. We are grateful to them. We love them. They give us and so many other people immense joy. They trigger a sense of wonder for the universe and deep gratitude that is powerful and cathartic.

When the weather cooperates, we are one of the very very few reliable resources for people to ship and receive perfect stems of dahlias in the whole country. Unless they come straight from a domestic farm immediately after harvest, with a bit of specialty know-how and proper care, shipped dahlias are guaranteed to suck. There’s only a couple of farms who actually ship direct. Having that disappear as a possibility for our farm would be rough for a lot of reasons.

Additionally I keep getting feedback from gardeners and farmers alike thanking me for reassuring them that they aren’t terrible growers. When you cultivate fragile life for a living or even just your own well-being, “failing” can cause major self condemnation and much consternation. So I’m here to say one more time…if you thought your southern dahlias or your summer garden in general were failing because you are bad at growing, you aren’t. You’re just fine. These growing conditions are new and pretty brutal. Especially if you picked a crop that is insanely beautiful, but would much rather be in the Pacific Northwest.

Can you blame it though? Each Georgia summer, I find that I would also prefer to be in the Pacific Northwest.

Perfect time for me to pitch our current plant sale :).  If you are a local looking to plant a fall garden in anticipation of friendlier temps, check out our Fall Plant Sale.  Pickups are happening now and the plants are looking super healthy.  Maybe your fall garden will lift your spirits and heal all those emotional wounds caused by the summer.

To that point, the Farm Store is open again Thursday–Saturday.  It is not open Sunday–Wednesday.  Our contractor (we’re building an office onto the house so Mandy doesn’t have to look at my desk 2 feet from her pillow) let us know that a kind woman came by on Tuesday wanting to get into the store, so he let her in…over piles of inventory and pricing and hoses required to water the lush landscape in front.
   

Creating an inviting and beautiful environment for people to visit is super important to Mandy, so the idea of an unlit and cluttered store with trip hazards everywhere surely cost her some sleep. She extends her apologies to that visitor and requested that I remind folks that store hours are Thursday–Saturday, so nobody’s driving from 2 hours away to find a store that is not open.

Speaking of adorable stores with unique and charming items, lovingly curated with an artistic woman’s touch, there’s a new destination for you shoppers on your Comer route that’s a must visit.  Our dear friend and former studio manager Kali-Brie Jones has opened “Good Things For Good People” in Comer.  It’s actually located inside Comer Coffee, so will only be open on Saturday mornings from 9am to noon, but if you love adorable items for gifting others or spoiling yourself, you’ll love it.  Of course it's conveniently located where you can get your iced coffees from the sweetest couple ever and then pop over to Oasis Market to get hand rolled sushi from Julia.  As ever, there are all the wonderful local potters, bakers, glass blowers, farm market vendors, the incredible covered bridge and the world famous Neat Pieces Antiques within throwing distance, so make a trip of it this Saturday.  Maybe dip your feet in the river by the bridge, or send the kids sliding on their rumps down the shoals.

I see some days in the 80s next week and even one that touches 79. Fingers crossed.

Here's a Linda-ism for the week: “Did you ever have Ganny's boneless chicken? Well I'd have another child to taste that again.”

Be well and be kind. If you’re feeling down, compliment a stranger. Lifting their day will lift yours too.

Steve