The Best Thing Anyone Can Have

The Best Thing Anyone Can Have

#americangrown #LetsTalkFlowers Flower Talk with Lily Hallmark Holiday Lilies Mother's Day Tulips

“When you are going through hell, Keep Going!”

                                                                          -Winston Churchill

We can see the light at the end of the tunnel, and it is not an oncoming train.  The flowers have been harvested, the trucks have all left and sales reps are directing traffic, making sure all those boxes go to the right place.  Sun Valley customer service is a bright spot in the melee of Mother’s Day in the floral industry.   Having personal contact, with no phone tree, makes it easy to follow up on an order, check order status, and hopefully share a laugh with our team.

A crew picking Oriental Lilies for Mother's Day

 It’s in your hands now, to make this the most successful Mother’s Day ever. We know florists, wholesalers and floral departments all over the country are in the thick of it.  The coffee is flowing and you are getting your ducks in a row to produce an enormous amount of arrangements and bouquets over the next 72 hours.

Don’t worry; it will all be worth it. The elation flowers bring, the smiles and tears of joy that happen when children of all ages take a moment in time to think about their mom is an event to cherish. We thank all the flower professionals burning the midnight oil to make this day so special.

The most beautiful present for mom, a Sun Valley Lily.

 The cynics of the world call Mother’s Day a “Hallmark Holiday”; claiming occasions such as this are purely motivated by commercialism and consumerism.  I ask these people, what could be more pure than celebrating the woman who brought you into this world.  Maybe I am being selfish when I say, Mother’s Day may trump all other holidays, since without moms having babies all the other holidays would be moot.

In my family, flowers have always been a tradition for Mother’s Day…as well as a fabulous brunch.  As a little boy, I woke up early Sunday morning and picked flowers from our yard and the forest edge, spring time in Rhode Island can yield quite a bounty, if you know where to look.  The flowers were put in a make shift vase, like a juice glass, and accompanied with a hand drawn card, heavy on the crayoned hearts and “XOXO”s.

Now being a father and seeing first-hand the connection between mother and child, the beautiful essence of Mother’s Day is even clearer.   Your mother had more patience, care and love than your father; I bet this can be said for 99% of the world population, it is one of those “hard wired” type things that no amount of science or research can quantify.  When my son has a bad dream and wakes up screaming, is he screaming “Dadddddy”?  No, never.   He is screaming, “Mommmmmy!"

Happy Mother's Day from Sun Valley

Spring time is when flowers bloom in the wild, and when babies are born in the natural world. We are in the great cycle of rebirth and renewal as the longer days and warmer temperatures awaken the landscape. 

The second Sunday in May is a wonderful time to celebrate, and with all the riches, material wealth and technology in the world, a mom is still the best thing anyone can have.

Gambling, Flowers and the Weather

Gambling, Flowers and the Weather

Califonia grown Doug Dobecki flower farming gambling Holiday planting Iris Lane DeVries Lilies Matsumoto Asters Oxnard santa claus Tulips Valentines Day

“I don’t have to go to Las Vegas, I’m a farmer.” –Lane DeVries


While most of the nation is working on their list for Santa, stringing up lights on the house or preparing for Hanukkah, here at Sun Valley we are already looking ahead to Valentine’s Day. As flower farmers, we have to have our crops in the ground well ahead of any holiday event. Of course, Valentine’s Day is to flowers, what the Super Bowl is to football. You have to have your team functioning at the highest level and all systems must be “go”. All your training and sacrifice has been leading up to this moment for the wild ride which kicks into high gear just about on Ground Hog Day.

Baby Iris, these will be ready for Valentine's Day.

Now the gambling begins. Flower farmers have an extremely perishable crop, much more so even than food. We wager every time we plant a bulb, wagering that that flower will be sold, after we give it all the love, attention and resources a flower needs to grow. There is nothing sadder than tossing out a bunch of flowers which were grown, but never purchased. This is sad on many levels, especially the economic one.

We track Mother Nature’s cycles so we have a historical context to work with. Seeing how the weather patterns effect the flowers growth and harvest rates is a constant job. Anticipating the first frost, knowing when a big weather system is going to move in, planning ahead to know that the shorter days are going to create a need for more time in the ground for a flower to reach maturity, all of this is a science. However, Mother Nature is not a scientist. She is crafty, wily and always happy to throw a curve ball at you.

Walk onto any farm in the world and ask the simple question, “What is the weather going to be like tomorrow?” and prepare for an onslaught of information, debate, charts, Doppler radar print outs, almanac readings and a fair amount of superstition. In our office the weather guru is Doug Dobecki. Better have your facts straight if you are going to talk weather with Doug. If you didn’t notice that low pressure building off the Philippines which could bring rain to our Oxnard Farm or didn’t notice the cold front lingering in the Aleutian Islands that could set back our tulip production by a day or two next week, you are going to get a weather clinic. It is even rumored that Santa Claus calls Doug on the 24th of December to know how warm to dress.




Flower farming is a job done with two hands. One hand is harvesting the flower which will bloom today; the other hand is planting the bulb, which will bloom in the future. There is very little time for rest this time of year, as we harvest for the holidays and plant for Valentine's Day, in February we will be picking for Valentine's Day, while we plant for Mother’s Day. And so it goes, as the earth travels in its yearly journey around the sun.

We are about 11 weeks out from Valentine’s Day, so our enormous the lily crop is in the ground. A lily takes between 12-16 weeks to reach harvest, and what a beautiful flower for all you Cupids out there. Our iris crop is in the ground as well, since an iris takes about 14 weeks in the winter months to reach harvest. Our tulips are already rooted, and sitting in the cooler, waiting to be put into a warm greenhouse in the weeks just before Valentine's. Of course, all these numbers are just educated guesses, if there is a cold snap, the flowers will slow down and we will be sweating to get them to harvest in time, and vice versa, if it  suddenly gets unseasonably warm and sunny, then the flowers will be ready to pick in late January…uh-oh.


Soil grown Tulips in their early stage.

Another challenge our growers face is anticipating the color mixes needed. Using our stunning Matsumoto Asters grown at our Oxnard Farm as an example; here is what has to happen. A Matsumoto takes 14-15 weeks to reach harvest. For Valentine’s Day, we need to have almost the entire crop blooming in Red and Hot Pink colors for about 10 days. The weeks before and immediately after Valentine’s Day, the colors that are in demand for bouquets, weddings and such are purple, white and lavender. So it takes some serious forethought to make it all work out…luckily this isn’t our first rodeo, and Sun Valley is known for having the best year round flower availability in the industry.


Red and Hot Pink Matsumoto Asters will be ready for Valentine's Day.

Anticipating the color demands, matched with environmental conditions is just one of the interesting equations in the flower industry. Too bad they don’t have Powerball in California, with the odds we face every day, our growers would win.


Walking the farm with Lane and Gerrit this fall, I commented on how much I enjoyed seeing the crops in the ground, getting a different perspective on our Matsumotos which are an almost bush like plant. From my perspective, I enjoyed seeing the whole plant not just the stem with a flower on top. As I made this comment, both Gerritt and Lane stopped dead in their tracks, Gerrit politely said, “I like to see the flowers in a box.”

We turned and kept walking, a moment later, Lane added, “With a label on it.”

Such is the flower business, hoping against hope, stem by stem to get the flower to grow, to harvest, to market and to get the next bulb planted.

Flowers at the First Thanksgiving?

Flowers at the First Thanksgiving?

brassica First Thanksgiving Flowers Lilies Plymouth Colony Squanto Thanksgiving Bouquets Thanksgiving centerpiece Wampanoag



Were there flowers at the first thanksgiving? There were certainly wild flowers growing all around the Plymouth Colony, however, there is no mention of the table centerpieces at that famous dinner in 1621. Surprisingly, there are only two firsthand accounts of the first Thanksgiving. One by Edward Winslow and the other by William Bradford. These two gentlemen mention all sorts of details of the day, but not flowers. Such stereotypical men… mentioning hunting, fishing and football, but not noticing the beautiful arrangements that adorned the tables!


Wouldn't this bouquet dress up your Thanksgiving?

Shortly after the first Thanksgiving, a second ship arrived at Plymouth and a report from William Hilton, a passenger on the ship Fortune, does mention flowers,

“At our arrival in New Plymouth , in New England, we found all our friends and planters in good health, though they were left sick and weak, with very small means; the Indians round about us peaceable and friendly; the country very pleasant and temperate, yielding naturally, of itself, great store of fruits, as vines of divers sorts in great abundance. There is likewise walnuts, chestnuts, small nuts and plums, with much variety of flowers, roots and herbs, no less pleasant than wholesome and profitable. No place hath more gooseberrries and strawberries, nor better. Timber of all sorts you have in England doth cover the land, that affords beasts of divers sorts, and great flocks of turkey, quails, pigeons and partridges; many great lakes abounding with fish, fowl, beavers, and otters. The sea affords us great plenty of all excellent sorts of sea-fish, as the rivers and isles doth variety of wild fowl of most useful sorts. Mines we find, to our thinking; but neither the goodness nor quality we know. Better grain cannot be than the Indian corn, if we will plant it upon as good ground as a man need desire. We are all freeholders; the rent-day doth not trouble us; and all those good blessings we have, of which and what we list in their seasons for taking.”


Some flowers would have really brightened this scene up!

The first Thanksgiving was probably a lot more focused on praying than on feasting as the Pilgrims were extremely devout. There was also a fleeting peace with the native Wampanoag people who helped the Pilgrims through their first year. The leader of the Wampanoag, Massasoit, was present at the feast as the Native Americans brought venison for the meal. Only one person at the first Thanksgiving spoke both English and the Wampanoag language, an interesting historical figure originally from the Patuxet tribe named Squanto.



Our "Seasonal Surge" Bouquet, featuring brassica and lilies.

Thanksgivings have been celebrated for various reasons all over the world for centuries, and if you ask anyone in El Paso, Texas, they will actually tell you the first Thanksgiving in North America was celebrated in El Paso is 1598.


If you mention turkey, stuffing and pumpkin pie in St. Augustine, Florida, they will gently let you know that they hosted the first Thanksgiving in North America in 1565. 

Even the good people of Virginia think they beat the Pilgrims to the punch by having their first Thanksgiving in 1619 with settlers not from the Mayflower, but from a ship called the Margaret, which landed a year before the Mayflower.

To the north, our generally agreeable neighbors in Canada also have a claim on the first North American Thanksgiving. English explorer Martin Frobisher hosted a Thanksgiving in honor of his safe arrival in New Foundland in 1578, beating the Pilgrims by 43 years. (Do you know Sun Valley now has a farm in Canada, near Niagara Falls? We are growing beautiful  flowers to supply Canada, as well as, the northeastern and northern mid-west USA.  Here is our contact info.)

Thanksgiving was not a formal holiday until 1863 when President Lincoln proclaimed the last Thursday of November as a national day of Thanksgiving. However, even at this point Thanksgiving was mostly celebrated in New England.  In 1941, Thanksgiving was officially sanctioned by Congress and was moved to the third Thursday in November.

The modern incarnation of Thanksgiving is a celebration of family and friends, and flowers have become a big part of the merriment. As people gather, flowers are a central element on any dinner table, as a gift for the host or to send to family, when you can’t make the long trip home.

In our ever more materialistic culture, Thanksgiving still sticks out as a day not completely dominated by presents, religion or glitz. It is about taking a moment to be thankful for all you have, and to eat a great meal and relax. Personally I love the fact that Thanksgiving is always on a Thursday. As other holidays happen on different days, the vibe gets all skewed based on how the holiday will fall in the work or school week. Not Thanksgiving, it is always right where it should be.

Did you know that the Wednesday night before Thanksgiving is actually the biggest night out at the bars of the entire year, even bigger than New Years, St. Patrick’s Day or Halloween? Ever had to cook a 30 pound turkey with stuffing, potatoes, green beans, sweet potatoes, gravey and a peacan pie for 16 of your relatives while nursing a ridiculous hangover on no sleep? No…me neither.

So as you head out to your Thanksgiving dinner or spend all day in the kitchen, make sure there are flowers on the table, even if the pilgrims didn’t have a big bouquet of fall colored blooms…apparently they didn’t have forks either.

Happy Thanksgiving from The Sun Valley Group.










lily@tsvg.com
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Farm Weather Report

Farm Weather Report

greenhouses hoop houses Humboldt County Iris Lilies Oxnard Rain Redwoods Salmon Tulips



A flock of egrets looks for shelter from the rain on our Arcata farm.



“Raise your words, not voice. It is rain that grows flowers, not thunder.” -Rumi


Our farm here in the north is ready to batten down the hatches, it looks like the classic Humboldt County rains have begun. Puddles are forming, and it appears they are here to stay.  Just east of here, our farm in Willow Creek has had a dusting of snow and a few showers in the last week.  To the south, our farm in Oxnard is still enjoying a dry, windy autumn.  Our farm in St. Catherines, Ontario, Canada has already been shoveling some serious snow, and at the farm in Baja, people are still wearing shorts…maybe they always wear shorts?

Here on the rugged north coast we are hardy people, many of which don’t even own a raincoat, while living in what is termed a “temperate rainforest.” The rain is essential to our ecosystem, which includes the tallest trees in the world and some of the most dramatic rivers in America.

Coho and Chinook Salmon are starting their amazing journey up the rivers to their ancient spawning grounds.  About 2 miles from the farm, salmon are schooling up and preparing for the water levels on the Mad River to rise so they can begin swimming upstream, in some cases over a 100 miles, to reproduce. We are blessed here in Humboldt County with a stunning natural environment, and an awesome community.  This environment, although not ideal for suntans, air conditioners or sunglasses is perfect for growing tulips, lilies and iris.

So what happens on the farm when the rain starts? Luckily, all our field crops have been harvested except our yummy artichokes, which don’t mind the rain.

Our hoop houses are the most exposed to the elements. They don’t have much structure, just plastic sheeting stretched over arched metal poles. I asked grower Tim, “What happens to all the water that runs off the top of these hoops? It seems that you would need huge trenches to keep the water under control.”

Hoop House drainage system.

Tim explained something you would never know without getting the inside scoop. When a hoop house is built on the farm, it isn’t just put up with metal stuck in the ground and the sheeting pulled over to cover it. Our team actually builds up the ground below the hoop house with about 3 feet of sand, and in that sand is a huge series of drainage pipes. This keeps the area well drained, water run-off is controlled and the flowers growing in the hoop house don’t get flooded. The main crops growing right now in our hoop houses are our Royal LA Hybrid Lilies, Asiatic Lilies, Iris and Freesia.



Sun Valley's "Royal" LA Hybrids are coming on strong for Thanksgiving.

Our large complex of glass Dutch Greenhouses are where we grow the Oriental Lilies and our soil grown Tulips. These greenhouses have a steel infrastructure, thousands of glass panes, sliding doors and create a very controlled temperature atmosphere. When the rain comes; the humidity in the greenhouses spikes. A little humidity is great for the flowers; a lot of humidity is a recipe for disaster. A high level of humidity will encourage botrytis. Botrytis is the scourge of the flower farm. It is a fungus growth that will rot the stems and buds of lilies and turn them brown. No bueno.

Cold and wet outside, warm and dry inside.

Grower Antoon explained to me what they do to keep the humidity levels in check. The first thing they do is turn on the heat. Not your traditional heat, but a long series of white pipes through which they pump boiling water. This radiant heating system warms up the air in the greenhouse. Warm air holds more moisture than cold air, so the moisture which has accumulated in the greenhouse moves into the air, and away from the lilies and tulips. After a few hours of heat to pull the moisture into the air, the growers open up the vents on the greenhouse.

The hot, moist air rushes out of the greenhouse, rising into the sky, leaving the plants dry and safe from the devil botrytis. This clever system is repeated throughout the wet season and keeps our greenhouses producing year round lilies and tulips.

The first rainbow of the season, taken from the door of our sales office.

lily@tsvg.com

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On the Wet-Pack Line

On the Wet-Pack Line

flower packaging Freesia geotropism gravitropism Iris Lilies phototropism Tulips

Your mother always told you to stand up straight, keep your shoulders back, chin up and don’t slouch! She would be thrilled to see how we keep this same attitude with our flowers. It amazes me that we ship many of our flowers standing upright, and sometimes standing up in water.  I decided to head down to the warehouse to learn what the process is.

The first word that got dropped on me was geotropism…geo-whaaaat? Geotropism, also known as gravitropism, is the response of a plant part to the stimulus of gravity. Plant stems will grow upwards irrespective of the position in which they are placed, this phenomenon is actually "negative geotropism" as the tulip will grow against gravity.  Roots show positive geotropism as they grow down, with gravity.  So when we lay tulips down to ship them, they might lose the perfectly straight posture our growers have worked so hard to achieve. There is also phototropism, which is a response based on the direction of the light source. We want to protect the integrity of that long elegant stem as long as we can, so the tulip doesn't bend in the vase when it is placed as the center piece of your room.


Kept in a dark room, over the course of 14 hours this tulip illustrates "negative geotropism."

Tulips and Snapdragons are the most geotropic flowers we grow. And our soil grown tulips, which are prized for their stem thickness and length, can really bend dramatically while packed in a flat box. Irises have some geotropic qualities, and lilies aren’t geotropic. The majority of Sun Valley’s customers have their tulips and iris packed upright.



On the day I chatted with the upright pack team, they were in the middle of doing a lily wet pack. The "wet pack" keeps your flowers as fresh as possible, since they ship while sitting in life-giving water.  Now this gets pretty wild, big carts of lilies are wheeled in from the coolers. The team sets up plastic bags, then places black buckets inside each bag, the buckets have about 2 or 3 inches of water in each. The conveyor belt moves forward in short bursts while team members fill the buckets with bunches of California Grown lilies. 


The lily wet pack line in action.

This is some hard work as the lilies are pretty unwieldy, so the crew really has to struggle to get the lilies in the buckets and bagged up, then the conveyor belt slides them down to the boxing area. Here the boxes get formed, and the lilies are inserted for a perfect snug fit. Next packaging tape is wrapped around the box, and it shoots through into the shipping area. The boxes are set upright on pallets, and away they go, with plenty of water for their journey. Speaking with team leader Douglas Miller, he says, “Customers are finding the upright pack is better than a flat pack, we are seeing more and more orders going upright than ever before.”  We have also started packing our freesia in wet packs since it keeps the flower vitality and increases vase life.

Team Member Michael, dropping wet packed lilies into a box.

Iris like to be shipped upright as well. They go into a special box which is resistant to moisture, but they don’t ship with standing water. Producing boxes at Sun Valley is actually a full time job for 2 or 3 people. Seeing these specialized boxes on the packing line, I decided to head upstairs in the warehouse, where Danial, John and Nick are making boxes on a huge level. Daniel was making hamper dividers for iris on this really cool foot operated stapling machine. He can turn out about 500-600 boxes per hour on this machine. Watching him work you see a deep level of concentration, as he assembles the various components of our shipping materials.



Danial making "hamper dividers" for shipping iris.

The same team that runs the tulip and lily wet pack line, will shift over to the iris line depending on the work flow.  This crew is usually blasting classic rock and wearing t-shirts in the chilly refrigerated air.  It is astonishing how many boxes they can ship in a short period of time.  This time of year the line will run for about 4 to 5 hours.  However, around Valentines Day they will be shipping 8,000 boxes of tulips every 24 hours! 

Buckets of Iris on carts, then getting packaged.

The upright packing line is a great combination of team work, technology and innovation.  This helps Sun Valley stay true to our mission, which is to create the best floral experience through operational excellence.

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Learn about Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead)

Learn about Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead)

Calaca Day of the Dead Day of the Dead Bouquets. El Dia de los Muertos Lilies Ofrenda

El Dia de los Muertos or Day of the Dead is a national holiday in Mexico. It's origins are found deep in the ancient ceremonies of indigenous Mexicans.  It is traditionally celebrated on November 1st and 2nd.

Death has a unique persona in Mexico which is not found anywhere else in the world. In pre-Hispanic culture, death was just a further step in life itself.  A step which offered a security and serenity markedly contrasting that of the suffering and worries which afflict mankind in this world of hardships. Life and death complement each other. The ancient Mexicans believed that life issued from death just as death issued from life.

With the introduction of Catholicism, attention was no longer focused on Death itself, but rather on the dead and on the spirits. And so the Mexican people celebrate every November 2 on the return of their dear departed who, as ethereal souls, come back for one day to their burial place and the home where they lived.

In many homes a ritual altar is prepared to honor the returning souls. In Mexico, altars are often adorned with Zempasuchitl, a kind of marigold which is the traditional flower of the dead. In some arrangements gladiolus and lilies are used as well.


A traditional Day of the Dead alter, and a scene from a cemetery in Oaxaca, Mexico.

Day of the Dead is getting a lot more attention in the United States, not just because of the Hispanic population, but because it has a certain authenticity and quirkiness that appeals to people across all spectrums. In Europe, the Day of the Dead is a huge celebration with white flowers being used in celebrations and on alters. White mums, white lilies and white roses being used extensively. In the United States, orange and yellow lilies, as well as marigolds, gerbera and sunflowers are used for bouquets, altars and as gifts.

Our Tango Lilies are perfect for Dia de los Muertos.

There is also incense and a candle to light the way for each returning soul on the altar. Food is prepared, always the dish of which the dead was fondest of in life. A glass of water is set out with personal mementos and an image of the person.

For children, delightful toys, usually skeletons made of paper mache and wire are created for the Day of the Dead. These calaveras or skulls, and dancing skeletons are wonderfully amusing. All walks of life and occupations are depicted. There are even toy cardboard coffins from which a skeleton can be made to jump by pulling a string.

Today in Mexico, Day of the Dead is a custom that is rapidly changing. Although celebrated traditionally in rural Mexico, in the urban centers the Halloween influence of the United States is evident. It is important to remember that Dia de los Muertos is not Halloween for its' origin and rituals are different. It is from the ancient indigenous beliefs which held that Death defines life and that our deaths illuminate our lives.  


Various Calaca (low-fire clay figurines) with represent what a person (or pet) enjoyed in life. 

The altar (ofrenda, where "offerings" are placed) is central to observing the Day of the Dead and is maintained to ensure good relations between the family on earth and family in the after world. Whatever the deceased enjoyed in life is remembered in preparing the alter. Often a calaca is placed on the ofrenda representing what the person did, or enjoyed in life.  Photographs occupy the center, and names are spelled out with cloves on fruits and with pen on nuts. Religious images are placed on the alter in the hope that the saints thus venerated, will intercede for the protection of the soul on its' journey back to the after world. Decorations may also include a Tree of Death, tombstones, lyres, flowers, skulls and skeletons of all sizes and materials, copal and delicately formed hearts.

Altars can be an eight-course, multi-level feat with enough "soul foods" set out to provide the sustenance required for the visiting soul. These include dishes traditionally prepared for the Day of the Dead, such as chicken in red or black mole sauce sprinkled with sesame seeds; fruit, beans, tortillas, and tamales made from fresh hand-ground corn; soft drinks; and as always, a glass of water to refresh the travel-wearied souls. Altars honoring children include a small bowl of milk, special cakes called mamones, copal (incense), pieces of chocolate, little apples, miniature candlesticks and a profusion of toys and sweetmeats.

Once the honored guest has extracted the essence of the refreshments, the food is shared with family and friends, who have often traveled long distances to take part in the family's annual reunion.



Our 2012 Day of the Dead Bouquets

With this amazing history, we have a great opportunity to encourage flowers for Day of the Dead.  At a recent conference Danny Temkin of Temkin International spoke about the potential of Day of the Dead,

"This holiday is commonly compared to Halloween, and while they do share a few elements, el Dia de Los Muertos is more of a celebration where friends and family gather to pray and remember friends and family who have died. As a commemorative holiday, then, fresh cut flowers are compulsory in decorations and ofrendas (offerings to ancestors set up on altars, which include food, candles, photos, and, of course, a multitude of flowers)."

This holiday has been growing, not just among the Hispanic community, but among young, urban, multicultural and culturally aware segments of the market...and the time is now.

I would like to extend a very special thank you to Los Bagels, a multicultural cafe located in Arcata, California. The above infomation about Dia de los Muertos is used with their permission.  Please check out their website, www.losbagels.com to purchase Day of the Dead calacas, skulls, traditional dead bread (pan de muerto) and other Dia de los Muertos items.

Hasta la próxima floración,

lily@tsvg.com

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The Secret is in the Soil

The Secret is in the Soil

#compost dirt Lilies Redwoods soil Tulips

Confess yourself to heaven,
Repent what's past, avoid what is to come,
And do not spread the compost on the weeds
To make them ranker.
                                            -Hamlet

What happens to the flowers that aren’t up to snuff? What happens to all the leaves and stems that get trimmed out? They return to the earth, and get composted on an enormous level. Since we grow our stunning flowers in real soil, we need to be continually replenishing and refortifying our soil supply. What better way to do this than composting all our organic flower waste?

This isn’t like that cute composter in your backyard that makes your kitchen scraps into superb soil for your flower beds or vegetable garden; we compost over 15,000 tons of plant material annually. This operation involves dirt piles 50 feet high, dump trucks and bucket loaders. Have a look at what happens in our compost heaps.

At the beginning of the process, our bulbs are placed in crates with rich soil, packed with nutrients. The bulbs take off in our optimal growing conditions and after the set amount of weeks, the tulips, iris or lilies are harvested. Over the weeks of growing, crews pull out the imperfect stems and keep the area clear of debris. When harvest time comes, an enormous amount of green waste is generated. Using our lilies as an example, each stem is about 44-48 inches long, most get trimmed to 32, 28 or 24 inches. All the foliage below a certain point is also removed; when you are harvesting thousands of stems this equals pallets and pallets of organic waste.


Imperfect lily blooms that have been trimmed and green lily leaves.

This organic waste gets moved by forklifts.  It is combined and dumped into truck to be taken out to the compost area.  This takes some skillful forklift operating and seems to be a never ending task here on the farm.



After the flowers are picked out, a team comes in with forklifts and loads all the individual crates out of the greenhouse.  The crates are stacked on palletes, sometimes with some "late bloomers" still poking up.  These rows of crates get loaded on a flatbed truck and taken out to the compost lot.  Here they get dumped, and then the good crates are taken, washed, disinfected and used again, while the broken ones are recycled.

Late Bloomers

Here the compost stream splits. Tulip soil, old tulip bulbs and all green waste goes into one huge pile.  This combination is left to compost and after it breaks down, it is used to fortify the fields.  Usually being left to go fallow and return nutrients to the soil. 

The lily bulbs and their soil are diverted to a different pile.  The old lily bulbs and the dirt in which they grew are ground up and saved.  After this soil rests for a bit, it will be added back into our soil production.  The soil we grow our lilies in is truly something special.  It is part compost, then a recipe of redwood mulch, two types of fir tree mulch and spruce mulch. The tulip soil is similar but with a little coarse sand in the mix.

I recently spoke with Lane DeVries about this unlikely combination. He says about twenty years ago he started using this mix, and because of the beneficial microbes in the soil. Now, the lilies and tulips have a great natural resistance to diseases due to the soil.  Over the last twenty years, this has virtually eliminated the usage of fungicides to protect against root rot.

I asked Lane what his soil ratio is, hoping to create a special batch for my own garden, thinking maybe he would write out his recipe. Lane smiled deeply as he held imaginary handfuls of soil, "You know, a little of this, a little of that."

I realized this is like asking a fisherman where he caught his trophy fish.  The fishermen replies pointing to his cheek, "right here."

Standing on a compost heap, looking back on fresh soil and the hoop houses of Sun Valley

The same soil elements that grow the world's tallest trees, the Coastal Redwoods (Sequoia Sempervirens) also grow our tall, vibrant tulips and lilies.  Coincidence?  Not a chance.

“The ground's generosity takes in our compost and grows beauty! Try to be more like the ground.”
                                                                                                                             -Rumi

Please forward this email onto all the compost fanatics in your life.

-Lily