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Ep.41: Kelsey Hall: How the 'Daffodahlia' Discovery Is Shaping the Future at Cattle & Cut Flowers Farm
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What happens when a dahlia unexpectedly takes on the appearance of a daffodil? In this episode of the Backyard Bouquet Podcast, Kelsey Hall of Cattle & Cut Flowers shares her remarkable journey in flower farming and the intriguing story behind her recent discovery, the “Daffodahlia.”
Kelsey, who runs a charming family-operated farm in Enumclaw, Washington, recounts how her farming adventure began in 2017 when she and her husband purchased a foreclosure property. Initially focused on creating a sustainable homestead with livestock, Kelsey gradually found her passion for flowers, starting with just 30 dahlia plants. Fast forward to today, and she now cultivates over 4,000 dahlias each year, showcasing her dedication and love for floral farming.
During the conversation, Kelsey reveals the fascinating tale of the "Daffodahlia," a unique dahlia sport that emerged unexpectedly in her high tunnel. This striking flower features a daffodil-like shape, captivating flower enthusiasts and even catching the attention of Martha Stewart. Kelsey shares her initial concerns about the mutation, fearing it might indicate a disease, but her journey of discovery leads her to realize the beauty and potential of this extraordinary bloom.
Kelsey shares about her challenges of balancing family life with the demands of farming, as well as her approach to wedding floral design. She discusses her plans to expand her dahlia production while also emphasizing the importance of responsible farming practices and thorough testing before introducing new varieties to the market.
Kelsey’s story is one of passion, resilience, and the magic that can unfold in the world of flower farming. Tune in to hear the full conversation and be inspired by Kelsey’s journey, the beauty of dahlias, and the unexpected surprises that nature can bring!
In This Episode You’ll Hear About:
00:05:30 - Introduction to Kelsey Hall and Cattle and Cup Flowers
00:10:00 - Kelsey's Journey into Flower Farming
00:15:30 - Transitioning from Livestock to Flowers
00:25:30 - Balancing Family Life and Farming
00:30:00 - Sales Outlets and Business Strategies
00:35:30 - The Discovery of the Daffodahlia
00:45:30 - Future Plans for the Daffodahlia
00:50:00 - Dahlia Seed Collection and Pollination
00:55:30 - Growing Zone and Seasonal Changes
Learn More About Cattle & Cut Flowers:
- https://www.cattleandcutflowers.com/
- https://www.instagram.com/cattleandcutflowers/
- https://www.facebook.com/cattleandcutflowers/
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Transcript
Introduction to Backyard Bouquet
00:00:02
Speaker
Welcome to the Backyard Bouquet podcast, where stories bloom from local flower fields and home gardens. I'm your host, Jennifer Galitzia of the Flowering Farmhouse. I'm a backyard gardener turned flower farmer located in Hood River, Oregon. Join us for heartfelt journeys shared by flower farmers and backyard gardeners. Each episode is like a vibrant garden, cultivating wisdom and joy through flowers. From growing your own backyard garden to supporting your local flower farmer,
00:00:32
Speaker
The Backyard Bouquet is your fertile ground for heartwarming tales and expert cut flower growing advice. All right flower friends, grab your gardening gloves, garden snips, or your favorite vase because it's time to let your backyard bloom.
Joining the Dahlia Patch Community
00:00:55
Speaker
Hey, fellow dahlia growers, as the seasons start to change, it's almost time to put our dahlias to bed for the winter and start planning next year's gardens. Interested in joining a community of supportive dahlia enthusiasts? Be sure to check out the dahlia patch. To thank my podcast listeners, I'm offering a one-month free trial, just click the link in the show notes to join. The Dahlia Patch is an interactive online community focused on hands-on learning featuring monthly live trainings, interactive Q and&A sessions, and regular monthly live chats to keep our green thumbs busy all year round. Whether you're new to Dahlias or a season grower, you'll always find new techniques to master and planning tips for the season ahead.
00:01:41
Speaker
Join the Dahlia patch today by following the link in our show notes and grow your Dahlia gardening network. Hope to see you in the Dahlia patch.
00:01:54
Speaker
Welcome back to another inspiring episode of the Backyard Bouquet podcast.
Meet Kelsey Hall from Cattle and Cut Flowers
00:01:59
Speaker
Today, I'm thrilled to introduce Kelsey Hall of cattle and cut flowers, a charming family run farm nestled in the foothills of Enumclaw, Washington.
00:02:10
Speaker
Kelsey's farm is a haven where vibrant flowers and adorable highland cattle share the landscape, creating a picturesque setting that's as functional as it is beautiful. Beyond her stunning event florals and pastoral farm life, Kelsey has recently gained fame with a remarkable discovery at her farm, the Daffodalia. This unique dahlia sport which emerged unexpectedly has captivated flower enthusiasts nationwide and has even caught the eye of Martha Stewart.
00:02:40
Speaker
making it a sensational highlight in the floral community. Today, Kelsey joins us to share not only the story behind this extraordinary dahlia, but also her journey of farming, floral design, and the joys of rural living. From the everyday tasks of farm management to growing cut flowers, Kelsey embodies the spirit of dedication and passion. Kelsey, welcome to today's show. We're eager to dive into your story and learn more about the magic that unfolds at cattle and cut flowers.
Kelsey's Flower Farming Journey
00:03:10
Speaker
To start us off, do you mind beginning by telling us a little bit more about your journey into flower farming?
00:03:16
Speaker
Yeah, thanks for having me. I'm really excited to be here and chat with you. um So we bought our farm in 2017, and it was a foreclosure that the bank had let um the people before us live in for several years without paying the mortgage. And then it was vacant for quite some time. So it really, are our journey started with um Our journey started with renovating a house and, you know, all these kind of just not necessarily farm farm things. It was more getting on the property. um But we did get cows pretty quick after we bought the property because we do have all the fencing and stuff done. um And so we kind of jumped in. I started growing Dahlia's first in 2018. And it was just kind of this like,
00:04:08
Speaker
I'm going to sell our extra chicken eggs and I could do bouquets and that was kind of how it all started. I never really had like a big passion of flowers at first. um We definitely bought our property to be more sustainable at home.
00:04:23
Speaker
So we um raise our own beef and our own pork. We have um cows, ducks, chickens, goats, pigs, um a horse, a donkey. So we have all these animals my goodness there with us um that we take care of. And that the livestock was like our kind of first priority. And then um the flowers came afterwards. So it was just sort of
Expanding into Wedding Florals
00:04:46
Speaker
this organic trying things and seeing what we liked. um I kind of did some vegetable garden stuff and then I got some dahlia tubers and the vegetable garden was out and the dahlias were in. So we just kind of have flowed through the farm like that. um
00:05:03
Speaker
and so ever since kind of you know the beginning we got in the house we got out here and it's just kind of grown and the more we've been on the property and tried things and done things we've just expanded and so the first year i grew 30 dahlias and now we grow about over 4 000 a year um and dahlias have always been our main um main crop. um But I do, my focus with the flowers is filling my own wedding orders. So I did start you know dabbling more into other cut flowers to go along with um the dahlias so that I could just fill my own wedding orders and not have to order in from other farms or wholesale or whatever. um So I kind of have,
00:05:47
Speaker
In the field this year a gamut of a bunch of different stuff with the focus being on dahlias So it's just kind of been this big ever expanding thing and then now we've discovered the staff of Dahlia and I really am feeling this pull to go back to just doing kind of dahlias and so I think we're gonna kind of be making some adjustments and some X, you know expanding for this next season and just um sort of see where like the next year takes us with this daffodil daffodil dahlia crossing we have going on. Well I'm excited to talk to you about the daffodalia later today but I also want to dive into your story a little bit more and understand who you are in your farm before 2017 when you found this property.
00:06:34
Speaker
Did you have a background in homesteading or animals or flowers? like What plant did that seed that made you want to start farming? So ah my grandparents when I was a kid had like a hobby farm. They raised their own kind of livestock, they grew a garden, and so I was exposed to that kind of lifestyle when I was really little and I think that just really made an impression on me.
00:06:59
Speaker
um I always have been an animal person and just kind of interested in that. I went to school to be a vet technician. um So I've just kind of always felt that pull. I always have felt like my whole life that I wanted to get back on a farm, like get back on a farm. um And so I've always like, I mean, my whole life I've always like when I get older, I'm going to have a farm.
00:07:21
Speaker
Um, the flowers weren't necessarily part of that. It was just like I knew I wanted to have a farm and have animals and just kind of have that life lifestyle. And I really think it's from growing up like being on my grandparents' place. Um, and then my husband He is born and raised here in Enumclaw, which is definitely like a farming community. And he actually grew up um not on a farm himself, but one of his best friends growing up, his parents had a piece of property that's actually just a couple of properties from where we live now.
00:07:53
Speaker
And he grew up going to their farm and that made a really big impression on him and he always knew that he wanted to like get back farming. um So we just both like when we got married knew that that was something that we wanted to do. um And we had our first son in 2016 and that was when it really like pushed us like okay we want the kids to grow up on a farm.
00:08:14
Speaker
So that was how when we started kind of like keeping an eye out for land and just watching what was going on with different things we looked at several other properties but just kept coming back to this one we knew it was in foreclosure so we actually watched it for a really long time.
00:08:30
Speaker
And the day that the bank finally put it up for sale, we came here and looked at it, put an offer on it on that day and they accepted it on that day. Wow. It just was like it happened really fast. We had the farm and we knew that it was going to um be a lot of work because it was in such poor condition.
00:08:49
Speaker
um but you know it was like on our hearts that we both just knew we wanted ourselves and our kids to grow up on a farm and then I've always had kind of the animal background you know I kind of grew up like riding horses and then I went to school to be a vet tech so I kind of just have that sort of animal you know vibe and everything. And so um that's kind of the background of how we got to wanting to be here. And um it just, it's always just felt like things kind of fell into place like how it was supposed to be because, you know, my husband literally like the creek that goes through our property, he grew up playing on that creek at his friend's parents property when he was a kid. So it's really cool for like our kids to be back here we're kind of doing the same thing as a pretty nostalgic for my husband, you know,
00:09:36
Speaker
Oh, that's so special. So do you and your husband farm full-time? Is that your primary jobs? My husband has a full-time job off the farm. And then I have created a full-time job for myself. um i was we I went back to work at my office job for a little while after I had my our oldest son, Oscar. And when I went back into the office, i just I hated it. I'm like, I hate being in here every day. I you know i want to be out. like I want to be doing things. And so when I had the farm and I knew that like I could kind of create like an income off of the farm, I just really dove into that. We made the call for me to be a stay-at-home mom. And it started with I just started selling our extra chicken eggs. you know I think we had like 70 chickens at the time or something. and
00:10:31
Speaker
So i just started selling our our extra chicken eggs and then i bought some tulip bulbs and i threw those in the ground and i'm like next spring i can just sell bouquets with them and that was just kind of how it started and then i just kind of kept going from there it was like the dahlias and then the tulip bulbs and then i just kept trying new flowers and then um I've done everything from like we have like a little farm stand where people can come pick up you know like one-off orders. I've done CSAs. I've did i tried our farmers market. um I've done workshops. I've collaborated with other small business in town to do like flower events and that kind of thing. So I've just kind of tried like all the different things in the business.
00:11:12
Speaker
um But really it was just like I was a stay-at-home mom and I wanted to contribute to like our income and I let the farm kind of you know work for me to be able to do that. um So now we kind of mostly focus on wedding floral.
00:11:30
Speaker
And I do photography as well, which kind of the backstory on that is I started taking pictures of our animals. And then people started wanting to buy them as canvases. And I originally started just taking photos like with my iPhone. And then when people were like, oh, can I like get that photo to put on a canvas on my wall? I was like, I have to start using a nicer camera where people can like actually have a good quality photo and file and all that kind of stuff. So I started doing photos.
00:11:59
Speaker
um with of the animals and canvases and kind of offering farm prints and stuff. And then I started having people ask me if I would do their family's photos. And so that kind of just rolled um that way. And I don't really take photos anywhere other than the farm.
00:12:15
Speaker
I just have people come here and they get their family photos done and um it's a pretty easy kind of relaxed sort of thing for me and that's just been nice to kind of generate like another avenue of business like on the farm so there isn't quite so much pressure on the flower sales. That is nice. It's always good to diversify so that you have a couple streams of income especially for a farm because if you were to lose all of your dahlias Yeah. You wouldn't have an income stream if that was all you did. For sure. and But, I mean, you so said you do 4,000 dahlias now? Yeah. That's a full-time job in and of itself. Yeah, it is. I try to, you know, I really try the approach of, I would say, in my style of farming, I'm pretty relaxed about a lot of things and I don't do everything by the book.
00:13:06
Speaker
And I definitely try to work smarter, not harder. So there's like things that I do to make doing that many dahlias easier. Um, and you know, I try not to stress if it's not perfect looking and all those kinds of things. And I have rows out there right now that are, you know, truth crowding in on each other and I have to like wiggle through them to get down it and all that kind of stuff. But yeah, the 4,000 dahlias, it can be a lot like when it, when I Get out there to start planting in the spring. I am asking myself, what am I doing with my life? It's always the worst when you're having to plant and dig them, I feel like. A hundred percent. I have about two thousand. So I'm about half of yours and I'm already dreading the task of digging them up this season.
00:13:50
Speaker
It's so much work. it ask You really question your life decisions when you're doing that. Yes. i When they're moving in the summer, you're like, oh, this is why I did this. Yeah. And they're so beautiful right now. it's We're talking beginning mid-October, and I was looking at mine because I did 24-inch spacing of rows this year, which I don't recommend for anyone, but I needed to cram them in in my limited space.
00:14:15
Speaker
yeah And now I'm going, I cannot even fit through some of these rows right now to cut them back to get ready for frostmas. So that's kind of where i'm at can you paint a picture of your field for us? How much space are you growing on? How much space do you have?
00:14:30
Speaker
So our farm, we have 10 acres total on our farm um and our flower field is about an acre. So it was originally before I really got gung-ho. Like I said, i have a I have a garden that has since been abandoned. It was my vegetable garden and it was yeah I don't know, it was a decent size for a vegetable garden. It was huge for flowers, you know, dahlias. It wasn't massive, but a decent size that like is technically what our front yard is here at the farm. um But so the flower field was originally cow pasture that we took from the cows and it's about an acre.
00:15:10
Speaker
And then the large animals live on kind of the rest of our property. It's corta sort of split into, we have like front pastures, back pastures kind of thing. And then the flower field sits kind of in the middle with our house. um So it's about an acre. um I do not have it maxed out all the way. I have more room to expand out there, which we're planning on doing this next year. um But I don't have any hired employees. I don't have anybody that I shouldn't say I don't have any help I have friends that will come and help me plant and stuff but like I don't have any like I have somebody coming this year and they help me plant you know like it's kind of like my friend Becky will be like do you want me to come help you plant I'm like sure you know and so it's usually just me planting everything so I haven't been
00:15:56
Speaker
real worried about maxing out that acre, but which is kind of how things have gone and changed for us this year. um We're you know thinking about going into more dahlias. So I am going to expand that and and max that out. And I think we're going to probably double what we do in dahlias this year. Wow. So close to 8,000 dahlias next year.
00:16:21
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, we might even go over that to be honest. I like like more of like even numbers sometimes, a little OCD about certain things. So I don't know, 10,000 sounds like a good number. So we've kind of talked about doing that and kind of cutting out some of the other stuff. um So the area that I've used for other cut flowers for like my wedding work, cutting some of that back.
00:16:46
Speaker
um and i've I've kind of considered scaling back on wedding floral also. um and so I think our focus will kind of in the future be more like um seed and tuber sales.
00:17:02
Speaker
um And I feel like I've heard, I was listening to your podcast this week, like, and I was, I feel like I hear this over and over again, is like the time and energy that goes into this and how much it can take away from flower farmers and their families and their kids and all that kind of stuff. And so that sort of thing has really been on my heart like the last couple of years. And um kind of when all this stuff blew up with like the daffodilah and Martha Stewart's team sharing it and all this stuff, um I had to miss a fishing trip that my family went on.
00:17:33
Speaker
because i had csa bouquets i had to make i had a wedding i had to do and i'm so thankful for those customers and that support and everything so i don't want it to sound like i'm not but um i just i want to be able to do that kind of stuff you know i don't want like every weekend that i'm doing somebody else's special day i want to be able to like spend more time with our family and like on our farm and so i it's just kind of been on my mind to kind of transition anyways and how things have shifted this year I think this is like the time where we really can do that and I can cut out some of the smaller things and focus more on like the bulb and like tuber sales and stuff so expanding the dahlias to somewhere like eight to ten thousand would really allow us to do that where like our focus is that versus some of the smaller things
00:18:25
Speaker
I think that's so smart. I heard this year that when you say yes to something, you're saying no to something else. and So what are you choosing to say yes to and what are you choosing to say no to? Yeah. Because as a flower farmer, it's so easy. I mean, we literally spend all day in the field and not get everything done, but it was missing out on at the same time. and So really setting priorities and boundaries is so smart.
00:18:50
Speaker
yeah So what avenues do you sell or move your dahlias? Are you open to the public? Are you selling them through CSA's wholesale? What's your sales outlets?
00:19:01
Speaker
So kind of like I was saying, we've tried a lot of different things. um And right now, like our biggest outlet is we do, so I fill my own wedding orders. I have, a I had, we're kind of done now. We, you've mentioned it's mid-October. So my CSAs are done now. But, um so I had summer CSAs and then I did like a fall CSA that was just like a Dahlia one.
00:19:24
Speaker
um And then I have a local grocery store that stocks my flowers all season long as well. And then we have a farm stand here that people can do like one-off bouquets, like if they just want to get on the website and order a bouquet, I'll put it out the next day for them. So those are kind of like our main um outlets on the flowers. um But with my bigger focus being weddings, um I kind of have geared that way so that I don't feel the pressure to sell every flower.
00:19:53
Speaker
um and that I don't feel like oh i I have to sell every single bloom and I gotta get rid of all these and whatever with doing those kind of like bigger ticket items of weddings it's taken the pressure off.
00:20:05
Speaker
to sell a million bouquets during the week. I get really burnt out making a bunch of mixed rap bouquets. It's so time consuming. It's so time consuming. Harvesting all this stuff, wrapping it up. This summer, my schedule was kind of like I had CSA's on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and then a Friday order too.
00:20:30
Speaker
And so it felt like every day I was like just like having to put all these bouquets together, all these bouquets together. And by the end of the season, I'm just, I've just felt like burnt out from that. And so I've really just tried to kind of move into, you know, where I know it's like one wedding that I can plan ahead for.
00:20:47
Speaker
And all these flowers but you know like these flowers are going to this, and I'm okay letting these other flowers like go to seed or whatever, because we have started a transition where that's more of our focus. And so there's certain crops that like i just I never harvest anything off of them, and the whole intent of them was to just 100% go to seed. And that was so um refreshing for me.
00:21:10
Speaker
I'm like, I can just look at you and I don't have to do anything with you yet because you're like ready to harvest, but I'm not using you. So it was just, I don't know, that was kind of like a stress relief for me this year and the last couple of years of moving towards doing more like seed crops.
00:21:24
Speaker
It's so nice. I let a section of my dahlia field go to seed. And it's just beautiful right now because there's flowers everywhere and it's still highly visible to the public. And this lady walked by and she said, you have so many blooms on your plants right now. Why aren't you cutting them? I said, oh, I'm letting them go to seed. And she said, oh, that's a shame.
00:21:44
Speaker
And I was like, oh, it's saving me so much time and I'm going to have all of these seeds that I can send out into the world versus cutting flowers. I mean, I might get on some of these 10 to 40 seeds, which I can sell in packets versus a single stem that I then have to put through the channels and wash buckets and sterilize shears and Yeah, 100%. That's kind of like why we've wanted to move into like doing more of like the bulb and seed sales, because exactly what you just said, I'm like, Okay, I can cut this Dahlia for how much a stem or the seed packet later on is going to be this much a step, you know, like if you totally it's like we could let all of this just go to seed and like send these out into the world. And so that's where like this whole kind of
00:22:27
Speaker
ah more audience like seeing our thing is going to be like a real big blessing for our family because that's just kind of the direction that we've wanted to move and we've been moving in. And now we have a bigger audience for that. um So I'm just I feel really kind of blessed of how the universe has lined everything up for us to do this.
00:22:47
Speaker
and I'm excited for you know this next year of like being able to provide quality tubers and seed to other people that are interested in you know growing dahlias. That's awesome. I love how you said the universe is kind of just lining this all up for you. It's amazing when we we just allow things to unfold how magic can come.
00:23:10
Speaker
And it sounds like you are experiencing a lot of magic on your farm right now. So tell us Kelsey, did you grow the daffodilah from seed or how did this thing come to be?
The Mystery of the Daffodalia
00:23:24
Speaker
So the daffodil is 100% a work of mother nature. I had nothing to do with it. It's not from seed. I didn't hybridize it. I did not take a daffodil and a dahlia and mash their genetics together. um I do not have that kind of science background. um it's It came from a variety that I've grown for years. So I have a high tunnel here at the farm that I dedicated to putting what I call my bridal dahlias in. So I was looking to extend my dahlia season on the front and the back, where if we get like a light frost, they're protected in October to go a little bit longer. I can plant them sooner in the spring and get them earlier, because i usually June is about when brides start asking me for dahlias.
00:24:16
Speaker
And in the Pacific Northwest, like we just don't really have dahlias that much in June. But with the high tunnel, ah the end of June, I've got dahlias starting to go. So wow um anyways, i I have this bridal tunnel. And I have kind of my favorite whites and blushes go into this tunnel. Because pretty much any bride white is going to work and or blush is going to work. And usually, it's like they'll do white and blush with another color thrown in or something. so I have this tunnel. It's all whites and blushes. It's kind of my favorite ones that I use the most of and um I planted it out and I put 35 of this variety that I've had for years and years in there.
00:25:01
Speaker
They were blooming normally and then one day I went in to harvest a bucket of flowers and I noticed that one of them had this, it looked like a daffodil and I was just, what is happening? I was like, oh gosh, like i this isn't a good thing. It was my initial reaction. And so I kind of like went out and I'm like, oh no.
00:25:24
Speaker
This is bad. Like there's some kind of disease in the tunnel. This is going to ruin all my Dalia tubers that are in there. This is going to ruin all of my soil. This is going to be a mess. And so I was really worried about it. I kind of kept it to myself because it was stressing me out a little bit. Was that this year?
00:25:42
Speaker
This was this year. okay And so this is like just at the end of August. And so I'm like, okay, I got to figure this out. And so I finally sent a picture to a couple of my like close friends that locally grow dahlias that we work all together. Like when they need flowers, we'll trade and that kind of stuff. And so i I sent it to my dahlia friends and I said, you guys look at this flower that's in the tunnel.
00:26:09
Speaker
and they both were just what is that you know like are you serious like how did that happen and so then we all just kind of started talking about it i started doing more research and all this stuff and i couldn't find anything i could find nothing about adalia ever forming that way anything that would cause it and it was just this big mystery that we didn't really know about And so I was given, I posted it online and um a follower reached out and gave me the name of somebody at the WSU plant pathology department. So I reached out to them and we went kind of back and forth about it and came to the conclusion that there are no known viruses or diseases that would cause a mutation like that.
00:26:58
Speaker
ah Hold on, I'm going to pause you for just a second here. For those that are listening that haven't seen a picture yet and will include a picture in the show notes, can you describe what did you see when you went into the tunnel? What did this dahlia look like? So this dahlia is supposed to be a ball-shaped dahlia. So, you know, ball-shaped dahlia, a known variety, and Basically what was happening is the last couple rows of pedals were forming normally and then there would be a but like a trumpet like a daffodil has and it would be a fused ring that went all the way around that was totally connected and it would grow forward instead of like the pedals rolling backwards like a ball should.
00:27:47
Speaker
And then it would encase the other petals in the middle and hold them there. So it was like, it looked like a daffodil, like your traditional yellow daffodil that you would see, you know, in March, it it looked like that, but in the color that this variety was.
00:28:06
Speaker
And so it was just yeah it was like this this oddball thing and i found the one on one plant so it was like one bloom on one plant and then all the sudden. There was another one.
00:28:21
Speaker
And then I was like, okay, this one plant is like throwing these blooms like this. And then I went down and it was like, oh, there's another plant doing it. And then there's another one. And it was like six of the 35 that I had planted were doing it.
00:28:38
Speaker
And it wasn't every single bloom. So there would be some blooms that were the ball shape and then there would be some that were the daffodil looking shape. And so I just kind of was like watching them and, you know, keeping track of like what they go. I was tagging every single one and just kind of just observing them and seeing what was going on. And then after kind of what I was saying with like the plant pathology department,
00:29:04
Speaker
they said there's no known viruses or disease that would cause your plant to do this. So it was kind of considered that like at this time it's it's a sport like you were saying or like a mutation for those that kind of don't understand what like a sport means. um It's a mutation and they happen in plants and sometimes they'll happen and you'll never see them again and it's just kind of this sort of mother nature's like little trick I don't know what you know, like just kind of this silly little thing that can happen. And so the the odd thing that here is that six of them were doing it. Every bloom on those plants? Not every bloom. So it would be like half the bloom. So if there was like a dozen blooms on the flower on the plant, like there'd be like six of the daffodil looking ones.
00:29:50
Speaker
And so it wasn't every one, it wasn't like consistently, you know, like six in a row, they were spread out down the row of like 35, which I divide the tubers, I throw them in a bin, and then just pop them out. So they all six of them could have been tubers from the same clump from last year. But like, I don't have them organized where I keep the clumps, you know, like together, I just divide all of them and throw all this variety in a bin together. sure um And so it would just It was just kind of this phenomenon. We didn't really know what was going on. I did, um I ordered like some, the the standard like testing you can do at home for like the kind of standard virus stuff that we all know about. And I did those and they came back good. And so we basically kind of
00:30:37
Speaker
decided that we were willing to grow it out here and see what happens next year. like I feel confident that it's not something that's gonna devastate my field or my tunnel. um I'm pretty sure, you know I'm trying to be almost pessimistic about it.
00:30:53
Speaker
that it's not gonna come back. That it was just like this once in a lifetime sort of little phenomenon that we had and it was really cool and it connected with us with a lot of people and it was just kind of this cool thing that happened to us. um I'm hopeful that it does come back next year. um We have, I let every, I cut one of them.
00:31:17
Speaker
to observe what it did in a um in a vase, basically, like to see how what the vase life was and like if if the ring broke and you know kind of that sort of thing. And it just stayed the exact same form and it just like it actually lasted for almost two weeks in a vase.
00:31:37
Speaker
like By day 14, it was really brown and kind of ugly, but it lasted a very long time for a dahlia and a vase. and It held the the um little trumpet like ring the entire time and didn't break. and then the other There 40-some blooms that like we ended up seeing that looked like this.
00:31:55
Speaker
and I tagged all of them and let them the rest of them all go to seed in the tunnel so we collected seed off of those and then we're gonna we have the plants obviously tagged and we're gonna tag the take the tubers out and check them to see if there's anything funky going on with them.
00:32:10
Speaker
And then if there's not and we feel comfortable, we're just going to grow them out next year. I also pulled cuttings off of the plants themselves. So a couple of cuttings off of each plant that was doing it. And I have 24 cuttings going in my grow room right now. So I have, luckily in this kind of another thing is we set up this grow room for me last year, because I do, I have in the past done in person,
00:32:35
Speaker
Sales in the spring where people can come get dahlia cuttings and tubers and i start a bunch of other cut flowers and they can come shop in person and grab starts for their gardens and so i have this i grow room set up to kinda accommodate that so we're just gonna grow over the winter and some kind of expecting them to bloom like.
00:32:55
Speaker
I don't know, late winter would be my guess is when these cuttings would start blooming. um So we'll see if they can maintain the genetics or not. We'll see if they come back in the tubers next year. We'll see if they come back in the seed next year. um So it's just kind of a big mystery. And I think it's the hardest thing is the waiting period with this whole thing. um Because it's like everybody's wanted like answers and to know like,
00:33:19
Speaker
Is this going to be released? Is it going to be available? Can I grow?" And it's like, I have to treat this like any hybridizer would treat it, where you got to grow it out for like several years to make sure that it's genetically stable before we would ever do anything with it. So I started telling people it's really likely if it comes back, it wouldn't be until like 2028 or 2029 that we would even be able to release it. So I think it's also kind of opening up people's eyes to how much work hybridizing dahlias is and that like when people launch a new dahlia it's like oh they spent years growing that before it like actually went to the market. um So yeah it's just kind of this crazy sort of journey and it was not anything that
00:34:02
Speaker
I specifically did. I wasn't like trying to cross dahlias and daffodils, which like that can't even happen. But um yeah, it was just kind of this freak thing that Mother Nature blessed us with this year. So we'll kind of see where it goes in the future and I've started like a kind of a little blog to like keep people updated and like if people have questions like go read that you know like they're in there that we're going to be launching that soon and then just as updates come like I'll just write stuff and then it'll just be there that like people can read about it and kind of like enjoy the process and everything. That is just incredible what a wild thing how mother nature can just
00:34:43
Speaker
surprise us with this new, i would you call it a new form or have you talked to anyone at the American Dahlia Society to see what their thoughts are on this? So I haven't really talked to the Dahlia Society. um We had someone from the Dahlia Society come out and like trespass on our land.
00:35:02
Speaker
and so That was an individual though, not a club, right? Yes, it was an individual. So I've spoken with the Dahlia Society in regards to like that event that happened. um And then everybody's just kind of like but said like, Oh, yeah, this is really cool. So excited to see like where this goes, you know, and that's kind of been about the the extent of the conversation um with anybody from there. And I think they had said it would go into like the novelty form group or something. um And then, you know, there's all the different kind of forms and stuff, but that I think it would be considered like a novelty is what they had said. and Gotcha. Yeah. And what about when you were talking to WSU, or have you spoken with any other plant pathologists that have any kind of hippa hypothesis as to what could have caused this sport to happen?
00:35:52
Speaker
So when I was talking with them, they said that there's like a whole other sequence of like testing that could be done on these plants. um And it's like newer technology and it gives back a ton of information that even the researchers and the scientists are still trying to understand all of it because it's so much.
00:36:13
Speaker
um and It's very costly. and so We just kind of decided at this time that we're going to see if it comes back before we go down any of those roads. If it comes back, well we'll make sure that this is you know something that people would want to grow in their garden. you know I'm not going to send something out into the world that is going to disease people's gardens or be an issue for people.
00:36:38
Speaker
So we'll make sure that everything is all good with it if it ever gets released. um But first we got to figure out if it's even going to come back because I would never have even tested these plants for what I tested them for already because they're not showing any signs of virus or disease or anything.
00:36:58
Speaker
And so we're just kind of seeing where this goes before we make any big you know financial decisions on testing or anything. I've gotten a lot of messages and emails and you know opinions about what we should be doing with it. That's been a little bit overwhelming um because there's a lot of people in the Dahlia community and there's a lot of big opinions. And so for now, we're just kind of keeping it in house. We're doing what we feel comfortable you know growing it out and whatnot. um and we'll see where it goes this next season and then make some of those bigger decisions down the road if this comes back.
00:37:36
Speaker
Gotcha. Well, it sounds like you're being very responsible with your decisions. It's not like you're taking a thousand cuttings right now and going to bring it to market next year. you' You're watching and evaluating like a hybridizer would to make sure that these genetic the genetic mutations hold, it sounds like, so that you can guarantee that you're sending something out into the world that's going to stay true to form.
00:37:58
Speaker
Yeah, for sure. because it's i mean With this just popping up randomly like it did, I'm like, maybe it comes back on a couple of them and then the other ones it doesn't. you know so it's like i'm not goingnna if If it's not something that I can consistently say, yep, that's exactly how it's going to look, that's what you can expect. It's not going to ever be released. Gotcha. Are you comfortable sharing what variety mutated?
00:38:23
Speaker
I'm not sharing what variety um and it's solely because this is a variety that's been around for a long time and there does not need to be a hysteria around it. yeah like I feel like so much in the Dahlia community, like sometimes like it gets like a little intense for me.
00:38:41
Speaker
with like getting new variety you know like that kind of stuff it's a little intense for me and so i don't want there to be like this hysteria around this variety like a lot of you probably grow this variety already and so it's i just don't want there to be like this craze and this expectation that people think that this is gonna happen at their place And then it like kind of come back and where it's like, well, no, like this variety has been around, and it hasn't done that before. So I don't want there to be like a hysteria and a disappointment if like people don't see it in their own gardens, if that makes sense. And eventually, I will. like I'll let everybody know like what it is and whatever like when we get through some of this. It just doesn't feel like with so much attention on it right now that this is like the right time to do that, especially
00:39:29
Speaker
as we're going into like Dalia tuber buying season. You know, so I just i like we'll get kind of through this and see if it comes back and then you know, like we'll we'll release it at some point what the name of it is. um But for now I just I don't I just don't really want to cause like the hysteria around it if that makes sense.
00:39:47
Speaker
Absolutely. Well, I know hybridizers will often hold their varieties kind of close to their chest. Also, they'll share some of their secrets, but maybe not everything that leads to that perfect dahlia being created. So, fair fair answer.
00:40:02
Speaker
yeah And I could only imagine the lineup if you were to say, um obviously it's not a Cornell bronze, but I'll just say that's yeah an orange one that's been around forever and everyone would go line up and we could all sell our Cornell bronzes if that was the case. Yeah. Well, and then like, I feel like it would turn to one of these things where it's like, oh, okay, that's a $10 tuber or whatever. And then all of a sudden you're seeing people sell it for $90, like a hundred dollars. je Well, it might be a daffodalia, you never know. like And I just don't, I don't know, I just don't think that that's like a, I don't think that's a positive thing for the daffodalia community, if that makes sense. Totally. I 100% understand where you're coming from. I want to go back to your initial reaction on the daffodalia. You said you were kind of shocked at first and you were kind of like, what's going on?
00:40:52
Speaker
Has it grown on you? Is this something that you're going to use in wedding design? or what What are your thoughts on this, Delia? Oh, I don't know. I mean, it's definitely grown on me. i There's a couple of things that are ironic about this situation is I don't really grow daffodils, and I don't like traditional standard daffodils. I only grow double daffodils. ah ha And so I would say it's like the daffodil shape is not one of my like super favorites. um I think it's really cool like seeing Adalia do this because it's so unique. So I would say that like my impression on it is like I like the uniqueness that I've seen in it, um and but it's not necessarily like my favorite, favorite look.
00:41:44
Speaker
um and as far as like wedding work goes and stuff like i usually only book weddings for like the summer season and so i usually don't use daffodils like in my kind of design work and that sort of stuff so it would i think i'd have to push myself kind of out of my comfort zone to use it but i do think that it could be beneficial in the regards that like you could get a spring-looking flower in a summer flower. So like there's, you know, peonies go in end of May, June, depending where you're at, and they're done. And then brides want those all summer long. But you can offer a bride a water lily dahlia to kind of get that look. And if you have a bride that likes those spring flower
00:42:32
Speaker
and wants that in her bouquet if this were to go to market and we could keep it stable and then maybe someday even create new colors of it like then you can have like your spring you know like if we could get it to be yellow you can have like your spring daffodils in the fall.
00:42:49
Speaker
you know wild team so There's a lot of potential for it, um and I think that like there's a lot of ways that you could use it in design and kind of get that spring look when that's out of season. um so it's i don't It'll be really interesting to see where it goes, and I've seen you know opinions. People love it. People don't like it. and um some people have said some really funny comments about like how it looks and I just I kind of enjoy that like just kind of making fun to like I don't know so it's been um yeah interesting I would say is what I think about it it's an interesting it's unique um probably not something that like if I could have just talked to mother nature and designed something that looked different it's probably not what I would have picked but it's been cool to see it happening
00:43:37
Speaker
Absolutely. Well, thank you for sharing your opinion on it and your thoughts. um I was very curious. You mentioned that you are saving the seeds from the daffodilah. Are you crossing those or are you just letting the bees ah pollinate those this year?
00:43:56
Speaker
I, we've just let the bees kind of do their thing. Um, so they're all in the bridal tunnel. The bees have been buzzing around back and forth in there. And so there's a chance that like the genetics of those could have gotten like cross pollinated in there. Um, and we're doing, you know, we're selling like our bridal tunnel seeds again this year. So like there's a chance that somebody could like,
00:44:23
Speaker
get a lotto ticket and like have one pop up somewhere. um But yeah, I didn't like hand pollinate or do any of that kind of stuff. I just let the bees kind of like do their thing in there. And I generally feel that like our best shot at having it return is going to be from those cuttings. Of course. um So you sell your Dahlia seeds.
00:44:46
Speaker
Yes, yeah, so I'm sure when this airs, our first initial round of seeds will have already happened. So we're doing a fall, bold and seed sale on um October 13th. And then we still have pretty good weather going right now. And so I'll be able to continue to collect more seed from the tunnel. So we'll do a restock of more of the rital tunnel seeds and our field dahlia seeds. um either some point during this winter or when we do our tuber sale in February. I'll just add them to the sale then and then people could grab more of this seed then. But I know a lot of people like to start their Dahlia seeds like earlier than tuber shipping. So I've kind of thought like I should probably do like a restock like at some point like maybe in December or something. um So people can get those seed packets earlier because usually you know you're not shipping
00:45:41
Speaker
Dahlia tubers until April or May, depending on what people's climates are. Gotcha. Thank you. So you're still having decent weather mid-October. What growing zone are you? ah We're 8B. When do you normally get your first season ending frost?
00:46:01
Speaker
Um, ours varies. I would say like mid-October, you know, we've had where we go until almost Halloween before. We did get like a little light frost kind of, um,
00:46:14
Speaker
It was a couple of weeks ago now. It was like the last couple of days of September or first couple of days, I can't remember which day it was now, but like very early on into October, which I was like surprised by, we got like a really light frost and it sort of zapped all the foliage on my plants and made them kind of ugly. But then it,
00:46:34
Speaker
It rained super hard the next day and it just destroyed all the petals which for what we were doing trying to collect more field seed it actually worked out really well because it was like oh it kind of zapped them but they're still alive and then they got rained on and they dropped all the petals so they're all setting seed pods really quickly. Wow. um So for what we were kind of trying to do, and since we've transitioned to saving just field seed and stuff, um it worked out really well. But yeah, our our normal frost here is mid October, like I would say. yeah So you're about the same as us down here in Oregon.
00:47:11
Speaker
Well, yeah i'm in I'm in the Columbia River Gorge, but we have not had a frost yet as of the recording here. And it's so crazy because one year we had like a September 28th frost date. And then I just feel like it keeps getting later every year. And it'll be interesting to see if that pattern kind of continues or not because I know for seed saving, I always worry. I'm like, am I going to have enough time to get my seeds?
00:47:33
Speaker
For sure it's like you when do i when do i stop cutting like yes and it's like if you get you hit like you know the end of september it's like you almost need to stop cutting i'm like. The end of august when they just start really taking off you know i have to like switch so it's it's hard to know when to you know stop with them but i'm.
00:47:53
Speaker
That's kind of the nice thing too with like that bridal tunnel I have. I keep that thing closed and so that night that we got the frost, the like my field kind of got zapped but the dahlias in the tunnel did not at all. So it'll kind of like extend the seed saving a little bit on that end for me in there too. Oh that's amazing. That's a really nice feature you have. How many varieties of dahlias are you growing?
00:48:19
Speaker
We dealt with a little bit of rot last year, so we we lost a few of them. We're somewhere around 200, but I don't sell all 200 of them. and So like some of them, it's like I only have five plants or whatever, and I usually don't sell my Dahlia tubers until I have at least over 20 of them growing in the field.
00:48:41
Speaker
Because i don't I don't want to be like, oh, I have one tuber of that to share. you know And so um I usually don't sell them until I have at least 20 planted in the field. Some of them I have 50 or 100 of the same one planted. um So yeah, I think we're somewhere around 200. I'm still kind of like recording all of my stuff from the end of this year and whatnot. Because you buy tubers and some of them don't end up what they were supposed to be and all that stuff. Yes. I'm still like labeling everything. and getting all that Dow then, but we're we're around 200 varieties. Okay, and are you also growing from seed?
00:49:16
Speaker
No, so that's kind of what's interesting is I, with doing wedding floral, I have not had an interest in hybridizing dahlias. I just, I need to know what the flowers are gonna look like. And so I have not really gotten into hybridizing dahlias. I have thought about it. I have saved seeds from our field and the bridal tunnel, and I've sent those out into the world to other people, um but I haven't grown dahlias from seed myself.
00:49:43
Speaker
um So this last year, there's been some closer friends of mine that got some of the bridal tunnel seeds that have some ah beautiful flowers growing in their garden from the bridal tunnel seeds. And that was kind of inspiring me, like, okay, you got to start growing your own seed. And then this staphodalia thing too, I'm like, okay, you this next year, you got to do some of the like growing your own and see kind of where it goes.
00:50:09
Speaker
So I definitely see for the future like I'll probably be doing a little bit of like hybridizing and I think more than anything is probably specializing in what would be good for wedding floral. So trying to be like this is going to be more of like an event flower type of thing more than like just like a home gardener like fun you know like type of dahlia because that's what I use the most of doing wedding floral.
00:50:35
Speaker
Gotcha. That's what my goals have been with hybridizing is I got tired of sweet Natalie. I used to grow 200 sweet Natalie and I had so many that were clock faced or facing downward. And I know my florist would still use some of them, but I felt like there were so many that I wasn't cutting. And I was like, I just need a good blush. So now I have about 20 that I've been growing out and they're in their second and third year. So I still have a few years before I can release any of them into the world. Cause I'm still evaluating.
00:51:02
Speaker
I'm totally similar with you. like you know i'm like That's like the same kind of avenue that I'm going down. um And there is ah one of the seedlings that a friend of mine actually got this year. it You know it came from Sweet Natalie, but it's like better. And I'm like, oh, that's like a good one that needs to like come to life.
00:51:22
Speaker
Um, and so I, yeah, I'm, I'm with you on that. There's a, there are a lot of blushes, but then like a lot of the ones that are like considered blushes, they have like a lavender tone to them. yes And that's like when you're talking about wedding and event floral, like that just, it doesn't work. You can't sell a florist a bucket of lavender tone blushes. Cause that's not what they're looking for. You know, it's like blush is a,
00:51:50
Speaker
it's kind of a personal thing almost like people like their eye how they see blush but when when i for me as a florist and doing wedding for when i think of blush i think of like the true like pale blush we're not purple we're not pink we are like more on the cream side like that type of thing so sweet natalie does have that color but then like you're saying they like face down frustrating to only get like a handful of usable blooms like off those plants. Yes and then cafe au lait also. It's like I had so many throw purple this year with our heat and I was like I can't use them. I have 200 cafe au lait plants and they're throwing purples or they were I had a lot of yes um and my florists are very restrictive. We want that blush almost nude color. Yeah. So
00:52:44
Speaker
Yeah, totally. So yeah, that would be kind of like what my kind of focus was to would for hybridizing would be to create more blushes that are usable for florists and people doing wedding floral. That's exciting. And maybe I'll get a few daffodilias out of those. Yeah, maybe we could get like a really blushy daffodil, like our daffodilia. That would be perfect. Yes. And then the yellow one too, which i I don't ever keep my yellow seedlings. I have one that's like this pale buttery color.
00:53:13
Speaker
that I'm keeping this year. And it's like a little pom-pom, but other, well, a little bit bigger than pom-pom, but usually I'm like, okay, the yellows are- Oh, that's probably perfect though. I feel like yellows are really hard color too. That's like another one like in the floral thing where it's like, nobody wants a bright neon yellow. Everybody wants like that pale, pale, and there's not a whole lot available. So yeah, if you have a pale one, that's worth keeping.
00:53:38
Speaker
Yes, especially right now, it it seems like there's a lot of Victorian colors in weddings. yeah and And then I'm curious, so since you do the weddings, I'd love to talk to you also a little bit about colors projections for next year. But I feel like the Bridgerton Victorian vibes are big right now. So it's like we've stayed away from all these yellows, but now it's kind of like the Bridgerton Victorian vibes have a little bit of those pale yellows and pale purples where I've been adding some of them because the florists are requesting them.
00:54:05
Speaker
Yeah. I definitely see that. like I feel um like everybody was like, I want colorful. I want colorful. But usually when you're getting like these colorful, at least for me, what I've gotten from people is it like pale like it's They want a pale color palette. They're not like bright orange and bright yellows and bright pinks. It's like a lot of them. It's like I want like blush and light blue and white and like you know these like softer colors ah um which sometimes can be challenging with dahlias um and so yeah i definitely i see that going into next year i already have more kind of weddings booked for next year than i normally do at this time and i'm still seeing that like colorful trends like going into next year
00:54:50
Speaker
Um, so I definitely think, especially for like the spring, early summer, that is going to be, you know, kind of on trend to stay in those like lighter, softer colors. So if you're buying your seed and stuff and you plan to sell the florists or do floral work, stick on the pale side.
00:55:08
Speaker
seems like blues and oranges. Blues and sherberts, I would say, are kind of having a moment, at least in this area for next year. Light blue. i I have been asked for light blue so much, which like as a mainly a dahlia grower, it kind of want makes me want to, you know,
00:55:28
Speaker
jab myself in the eye because I'm like, there's no blue. I can't do anything there. There's no blue dahlias at all. Delphinium is usually always the go-to for that really light blue. I have some Tweedia growing this year too. Tweedia can be a pain because it seeps that white sap out of it.
00:55:52
Speaker
And so every time you cut it, it seeps that and then you gotta burn the end of it. And so it's just kind of like a little bit of a pain to work with, but it does have that lighter blue in it. um But yeah, I think light blue and just those like lighter kind of pale colors are definitely gonna like go into next year as well. And then it always flips. It'll be like some trend like that. And then as soon as September 1st hits, everybody wants fall. Yes. like it's like okay we're doing fall now they want like blush and dark burgundy and oranges and you know like all that kind of like look to it so um that's kind of what i'm seeing for next year so far
00:56:33
Speaker
Yeah, it's always so fun. I love seeing all the different colors and fall just makes me so happy this time of year. All my yeah dark color fall dalliness. Yeah, that's my favorite. Anytime I'm a bride, like gives me like the fall fall vibe. I'm like, okay, game on. Let's go. Like this is, I love this.
00:56:50
Speaker
They're kind of the earthy colors that kind of remind you of the farm almost. Oh, yeah, for sure. And it just is like we have a lot of wedding venues around here. You know, and it's like a lot of them are like barns, like old rustic barns and like that kind of stuff. um And so it just that whole just kind of farm me, you know, like it just yeah, that all just that fall vibe just really goes well with that kind of stuff. Absolutely. Well, speaking of kind of the farm vibes,
00:57:19
Speaker
We haven't really touched much on your animals.
Life on the Farm with Animals
00:57:22
Speaker
Can you tell us all the different animals you have on the farm? Yeah, so we have Highland cows. We have a horse. We just got a 10-month-old donkey for my son. We have ducks and chickens and goats and pigs, and then the run-of-the-mill barn cats and dogs. Yeah, that's everybody that we have right now.
00:57:46
Speaker
That sounds like a full-time job just taking care of all the animals. It is. It really is. The animals, um we yeah and we have a lot i mean we have a lot of bodies here. So there's a lot going on. We have, like I said, 10 acres, but like we're like maxed out. like We have every inch like filled with either flowers or the animals take up a lot of space. um So yeah, we we that was our original focus, that was to have animals and you know run a livestock farm. And the flowers were a secondary thing, which have obviously become a huge passion of mine. But um the animals were always the you know kind of forefront. And I had somebody the other day ask me that if we were going to like get rid of animals and do more flowers. And I'm like,
00:58:30
Speaker
No, like it was kind of like almost as a shocking question cause I was like, no, like I would be the opposite. Like I would stop doing flowers before I would stop doing animals. Like my husband and I'll probably be 90 years old living on this farm and still have cows, you know? Oh, I love it.
00:58:46
Speaker
So that was just that' but like, that's kind of what we have, you know, we've always wanted um and I enjoy kind of the animals. So our main kind of other business and this is where like when people didn't found us, it was like our business name is cattle and cut flowers. um The other part of our business is we raise Highland cattle and um we sell them live to other farms. So we keep the calves with their moms until they're about six, nine months old and then we'll wean them off the moms and sell them to other farms.
00:59:16
Speaker
um to, you know, have and enjoy. And a lot of them go as pets for people, you know, because they're just cute and everybody likes them. And um that's kind of, you know, we keep one a year, like I said, we do our own meat. So we do one cow for our family, and then we raise a couple hogs every year for like our family. um But then other than that, my horse is obviously like, that's just for fun. We got the donkey um for our son.
00:59:40
Speaker
So he can kind of learn to like do some halter training and get used to being with like animals like that. um And kind of grow up like you know teaching like being around horses and the donkey is just a learning thing for him because my horse is really big and so he's a little intimidated by him.
00:59:58
Speaker
Um, but then like we have chickens for eggs and we sell the extra eggs to other people. The ducks kind of the same thing. Although I've had Ravens eating all my duck eggs all summer long and oh i no they're so smart. Those dang Ravens, they sit on the fence and they wait in the morning and they go in and they take the duck eggs before I can get out there. So it's like this battle to get out there in the morning, like before them.
01:00:22
Speaker
And then the goats we got to eat blackberries and stuff down and now they're just kind of like pets. And then um the pigs, we have a couple pet pigs. We have, if some people know about him, we have a pig that um turned into a pet who was like a male pig that was part of a breeding pair that we had. And he's like 1,500 pounds now. Oh my gosh. he's ginormous Geinormous and pictures and videos like it doesn't even do him justice like you gotta see him in person and he's kind of turned into like a little mascot like people will come to the farm that have been here for and they're like, oh, how's Jim doing? Like, where's Jim at? It's like always one is a little pig pen, you know, like,
01:01:04
Speaker
And so um yeah, we just kind of have all these things going on. And so in the summer, it really gets divided. Like my husband, like in the evening, like he'll go around and start feeding all the animals and doing all this stuff. And I'm out cutting the flowers and the kids are kind of in the middle bouncing around and we're just, it definitely keeps us busy. um But you know we've kind of joked this summer, like we don't know how to relax. Because if we're here, we just go out and like start doing things. um And so say we're like, we have to leave the farm for like a little while. So like we'll actually sit down and like not just so go out and start like, oh, I'm going to go tinker in this and the chicken cooper. I'm going to go fix this over here or do that. Because there's just there's always so many things to do. um
01:01:46
Speaker
But the animals are fine and will always have animals on the farm like as long as we're here um and to to what degree you know that may change over the years but we're pretty comfortable with like where it's at right now we have a pretty good system to take care of everybody. Amazing so when you do leave the farm.
01:02:03
Speaker
Do you have to bring in help with that many animals? Yeah, we have a farm sitter. So we've had several over like the years. like um And so when we do leave, we have somebody come and they take care of you know everybody.
01:02:19
Speaker
ah but yeah Yeah, we've had different like over the times like high school kids, that like their family has a farm, you know, and they grew up around livestock. So they'll come feed the cows and do the waters and all the stuff while we're gone. So yeah, that's a another factor. And like, if we're going on a vacation, you got ah somebody here to feed everybody. um Because it's definitely ah like a feed every day situation. It's not a like,
01:02:43
Speaker
Oh, we could go a couple days, you know, like they'll be fine. it It's ah needs attention every day. So we got to have somebody come and farm sit while we're gone. Gotcha. Well, I have loved learning about your farm, Kelsey. And I so appreciate you sharing with us about the daffodilah and how you have expanded your farm. How, I mean, really you're not even 10 years into this journey and you're almost going to be growing 10,000 dahlias this next year. Like what an amazing story you have. What about any advice for someone who is either wanting to grow dahlias or start a homestead and have some animals?
01:03:24
Speaker
any parting wisdom today?
Advice for Aspiring Farmers
01:03:28
Speaker
I would say, I mean, if that's something that you want to do and it's feasible for you, do it. like I wish we would have done this a long time ago. I wish that like we would have gotten into farming um a long time ago. I'm so much happier and like more content doing this than I ever was working another job or for somebody else. Um, I feel really so much more fulfilled here at home, like what I'm doing. And so I feel like if people like that's something that's like on your heart and you feel passionate about it, like if you can make it happen, do it. Like don't, you know,
01:04:05
Speaker
ah let like the worry of like, am I going to be able to or not? Like you'll figure it out like you you will. Like there there's, once you get into farming, not figuring it out is not an option. Like you just, you just figure it out. You know, like we had so many ups and downs here on our farm. You know, like our farm is flooded twice. We've had animals go down. We've had all these different things like happen and you just learn and you figure it out as you go. And you know, I, since we've had this place, I have learned I feel like more than I've ever learned like in my life, like I just have like now I just like I have this whole, you know, sort of index of things that I've learned from trial and error and just doing it. So yeah, I mean, like my kind of advice and thought would be like, if it's something that you want to do, and you feel passionate about it, and you can make it happen, then don't hold yourself back like worrying of what the fear of like, if it goes wrong, you know,
01:05:01
Speaker
because things will go wrong but things go right and it it it feels good to like be building something for yourself and your family like at home that you and like our kids can have and like it's memories and all those kind of things that like you know if we wouldn't have done this like we'd be missing out on um so yeah my thing would just be go for it just you can do it like if you set your mind to it like you can you can do it I love that. That's such great advice. Thank you so much. Yeah. Kelsey, for those that were not already following you, can you share how can they find you online?
01:05:36
Speaker
All of our stuff is under cattle and cut flowers so you can, we're on Instagram, um Facebook is where we've mostly been active and then our website is cattleandcutflowers dot.com. We've kind of had a lot of influx of stuff so if somebody is interested in like asking me a question or getting a hold of me um through the website is the best.
01:05:58
Speaker
Um, but then we've just, I've kind of opened up some other portals of like YouTube and different things, um, that we're going to start utilizing as we go forward to kind of document the, um, the daffodalia and like being able to kind of share that information and more videos and stuff. So, um, we'll have a YouTube thing that's going to be coming probably by the time this airs and then, um, on the website, there's going to be a blog too that people can read and kind of see videos and all that kind of stuff.
01:06:27
Speaker
Awesome. Well, thank you so much for sharing that information. I'd love to keep the door open. So as the daffodilia progresses, you could come back and give us an update or share any other farm happenings with us. Yeah, for sure. I would love to do that. Well, I so enjoyed our time today. Thank you for carving out some time to chat with us on the podcast today. Yeah, thanks for having me. Have a great day. Thanks, Kelsey.
01:06:58
Speaker
Thanks for tuning in for another episode. If you're eager to deepen your Dahlia knowledge and connect with like-minded Dahlia growers, you're invited to join the Dahlia patch. We're offering a one month free trial exclusively for our listeners. Just click the link in the show notes to get connected with our thriving community. Hope to see you in the Dahlia patch.
01:07:20
Speaker
Thank you Flower Friends for joining us on another episode of the Backyard Bouquet. I hope you've enjoyed the inspiring stories and valuable gardening insights we've shared today. Whether you're cultivating your own backyard blooms or supporting your local flower farmer, you're contributing to the local flower movement, and we're so happy to have you growing with us.
01:07:42
Speaker
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