| Author |
Message |
    
Monique
My Favorite Photo
My Garden Journal
My Weather
My Garden
My Time
| | Posted on Saturday, October 22, 2005 - 05:07 pm: |   |
I have a profound respect for our Dahlia growers.You guys work hard.
I am cold and wet from washing them in cool temps.. I still have cold bones.I sprayed everything..my pants are wet..my hair..my face.
This is my real first yr at trying to dig up the tubers.. and saving them..Let me tell you it's chilly out there..
I dug what I could up.. have more to do..but doing this at the same time as hibernating my beds..I was only grateful to still have lotsa lawn..:)
Gardens are a joy..one of my passions..But ..
So I dug them up and washed them..they still didn't look good..so I sprayed them hard and they look better..I have compartmentalized(word ?) them.. and want to know a few things..:
1.Why are some tubers small..?
2.Why do some look like Idaho potatoes?HUMONGOUS.
3.Are these clean enough?
4.Should I divide w/one of my fav gardenbuddy gifts ..the sharpest knife on earth?Where?
5.Should I Saran or Peat Moss?Brown Bag or not? Temperature?
6.How long should I dry them? I did one experiment w/one I did not like and they looked like prunes..I threw them out.
I know I sound incompetent.
I am glad.
It's true.
Thank you..
Monique Quebec Zone 5 |
Lilybeetle
| | Posted on Saturday, October 22, 2005 - 05:59 pm: | |
Hey girlfriend :). Those look like pretty nice tubers. I have the exact same questions. I haven't dug mine up yet but I do know that yours look healthy. Was thinking that I would do them tomorrow but have been holding off for that "blackening frost". Probably not necessary - which would make me really happy. I am anxious to put things to bed. Looking forward to GB advice.
Lilybeetle
- Ontario,
Zone "4B"
|
Bernie_pa
My Weather
| | Posted on Saturday, October 22, 2005 - 07:10 pm: | |
Monique, tubers come in a variety of shapes and sizes and the size bears little relation to the size of the bloom. Some of the largest (AA size) blooms will produce tubers a little more than an inch. The most important thing is that they have a viable eye.
Once your tubers are cut up you can rinse them in a bucket of water. Add a little bleach as a fungicide.
A sharp knife will be fine for dividing. Be careful not to break the neck. Broken neck tubers will not grow.
I would definitely recommend Saranwrap and store them between 40 and 50 degrees F.
They needn't dry for more than 4 to 5 hours.
When you cut, and if no eyes are visible, take a little of the stem along with the tuber.
I marked where 2 of the cuts can be made on your clump.
and a clump that I posted previously with eyes encircled.
and here are instructions for wrapping in plastic wrap.
http://rain.prohosting.com/midahlia/No_Fuss.htm
Bernie_pa
- Pennsylvania,
Zone "5B"
|
Monique
My Favorite Photo
My Garden Journal
My Weather
My Garden
My Time
| | Posted on Saturday, October 22, 2005 - 07:24 pm: | |
Tomorrow I will tackle the master's instructions:)
Thanks so much Bernie..hats off for all the labor you put into your dahlia cultivations..I am in awe after today:)
Let's go through this hand in hand Kim 
Monique Quebec Zone 5 |
Plantynut
My Favorite Photo
My Garden Journal
My Weather
My Garden
My Time
| | Posted on Saturday, October 22, 2005 - 08:49 pm: | |
M you sure worked hard today. My hat is off to you doing this in chilly weather. Only 2 of mine flowered this year - and wouldn't you know it this was the first year I put in those heavy duty stakes before I planted them. I only saved one.
Arlene Zone 7 Long Island, NY |
Dahlianut
My Weather
| | Posted on Saturday, October 22, 2005 - 10:15 pm: | |
Monique- those are some great looking tubers. Good info from Bernie. Also not every tuber may have an eye. If you aren't sure and can't see an eye you could cut 2 tubers together. Any tuber that just swings around probably has a broken neck. You should just cut it off and get rid of it. For some people not having a good storage room, a cheep Styrofoam cooler works real good to put them in. It is insulated enough to keep them from freezing. After all the work digging, washing and wrapping and then to lose them would be heart breaking.
I know what you mean about getting soaking wet. Sometimes the shower spray isn't enough and full spray is to much and then there is the splash back and pretty soon you are wet and your glasses need wipers, there is more water inside of your rubber gloves than there is room for your fingers. All for the love of dahlias.
Linda Washington State Zone 8 |
Susanq
My Favorite Photo
My Garden Journal
My Weather
My Garden
My Time
| | Posted on Saturday, October 22, 2005 - 10:34 pm: | |
Nice lesson! I always wonder if I'm cutting at the right spot.
I've had very good luck with the plastic wrap method.
I envy you, Monique. I have all this yet to do.
SusanQ - Zone 4b-5b Wisconsin |
Monique
My Favorite Photo
My Garden Journal
My Weather
My Garden
My Time
| | Posted on Sunday, October 23, 2005 - 08:33 am: | |
Thanks ! I'll dip in water and bleach this am..and do the rest at the end of the day..i still have a few to dig up..Linda..The wipers on the glasses:)
Monique Quebec Zone 5 |
Bernie_pa
My Weather
| | Posted on Sunday, October 23, 2005 - 09:56 am: | |
Susan, good to see you up and around again.
Bernie_pa
- Pennsylvania,
Zone "5B"
|
Lilybeetle
| | Posted on Sunday, October 23, 2005 - 01:24 pm: | |
Ok this must seem like a really dumb question - but I am still not following. Some of the "eyes" don't appear to be at the crown or where they join with the stem. Some seem to have many eyes or little white nibs. So what are these. Kind of like the eyes on potatoes. If I left potatoes in the cupboard for a few months like this - they would have several growing sprouts. So are these other nurdles "eyes". I think I remember once (I haven't read the whole forum - but it may have been here) that if you aren't sure if your tubers have eyes in the spring when you start them you can lie them on their sides in some starting mix and once they sprout you will know they are viable.
So here is the last of my stupid questions. Will each single tuber make a new plant if it survives.
Last year I took a few dahlias (not spectacular), washed them and then threw them in a plastic pot in a wee little "garden room" a small working closet in my downstairs bathroom. They were not stored in anything. In the spring I potted them up and they did survive. This year I have bought some nicer ones - which I want to keep. Was last year just luck?? or is it a possible that this room seems to have just the right humidity level etc that I can store them the same way. The begonia tubers all survived too. They were not packed or wrapped in anything.
Just remembered - one last question. I have dug and washed several clumps today - but here we have not been hit with a blackening frost yet. The plants are very very green. Will digging now be a problem. It will soon be too cold to work outside - frost or no frost.
Lilybeetle
- Ontario,
Zone "4B"
|
Monique
My Favorite Photo
My Garden Journal
My Weather
My Garden
My Time
| | Posted on Sunday, October 23, 2005 - 02:03 pm: | |
I cannot tell what are eyes either:( And now I am a tad worried that they were still damp.. while I was saran wrapping them..Will they rot?
Kim my dahlias .. 2 were ket..and they had not turned black..they were fine last yr..this yr most had startedturning..
Monique Quebec Zone 5 |
Bernie_pa
My Weather
| | Posted on Sunday, October 23, 2005 - 06:34 pm: | |
Lilybeetle wrote on Sunday, October 23, 2005 - 10:12 am:
Posted on Sunday, October 23, 2005 - 10:12 am:
Ok this must seem like a really dumb question - but I am still not following. Some of the "eyes" don't appear to be at the crown or where they join with the stem. Some seem to have many eyes or little white nibs.
Kim, these little white nibs that occasionally appear on tubers are not "eyes." Eyes only form on the tuber at the juncture of the stem or on the stem. Also the eyes are not always visible but can be latent and appear later when conditions are right.
Lilybeetle wrote on Sunday, October 23, 2005 - 10:12 am:So here is the last of my stupid questions. Will each single tuber make a new plant if it survives.
Yes as long as it has a viable eye.
Lilybeetle wrote on Sunday, October 23, 2005 - 10:12 am:Was last year just luck?? or is it a possible that this room seems to have just the right humidity level etc that I can store them the same way.
There are many ways to store tubers. The only way you can determine if it was luck is to repeat it year after year successfully.
I always wrap mine in plastic wrap. I've been storing over 1000 tubers every year for the last 8 years and rarely lose any. Dahlianut(Linda) grows more than twice as many as I do and and has similar success.
Bernie_pa wrote on Sunday, October 23, 2005 - 06:44 am:Will digging now be a problem.
No problem at all.
Good luck with your storing.
Bernie
Bernie_pa
- Pennsylvania,
Zone "5B"
|
Monique
My Favorite Photo
My Garden Journal
My Weather
My Garden
My Time
| | Posted on Sunday, October 23, 2005 - 06:45 pm: | |
Monique wrote on Sunday, October 23, 2005 - 10:51 am:Will they rot?
!! Help!
PS I am sure I cut off all their eyes then..
OMG..oodness.
Monique Quebec Zone 5 |
Grannymarsh
My Weather
| | Posted on Sunday, October 23, 2005 - 11:12 pm: | |
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v425/grannymarsh/000_0354.jpg
Grannymarsh
- Michigan,
Zone "5a"
|
Grannymarsh
My Weather
| | Posted on Sunday, October 23, 2005 - 11:14 pm: | |
Holy cow, it (kinda) worked. This is what the eyes look like in the Spring. Does this help??
Grannymarsh
- Michigan,
Zone "5a"
|
