It all begins in early March, when we begin to pot up our tubers. First, we start with a quality potting soil,  then add worm castings, and Azomite mix. After that is mixed, we add in water, making sure that it is not dripping wet. Once this is set, we fill the 4” tall Cowpots.

A tuber is then dipped in Aloe Vera gel, which is a great rooting hormone, then dipped in a mycorrhizae solution (Wallace Wow), then planted vertically. We leave the crown exposed at this time. 

In the room we run an auto fill humidifier and keep the humidity around 70%. Plants that are ready to be topped before we can plant them outside are used for rooted cuttings. Once the plants are ready to be grown outdoors, the cow pots are placed in raised beds mixed with compost and watered with an irrigation system. Then we wait!

As the season progresses we remove lateral buds, cut flowers for resale, and deadhead the spent blooms. These steps assist in putting more energy into tuber production. Once we’ve had a frost, the plants are cut down to about a 6” height (helpful for a future handle).

Once we start digging we use a drain spade shovel. These are narrow and quite long, which help give us minimal tuber damage. They will get a good rinsing, then we divide one variety at a time and give them one more bath. After that, they are placed on an elevated, screened platform with an oscillating fan running to assist in the drying time, which usually take 8 to 24 hours. Finally, they are ready to be marked, individually wrapped in plastic wrap, and put away for their slumber in our cool, dark storage unit.

In early March, the tubers are “woken up” with lights and heat and inspected one last time to ensure an eye/sprout is visible prior to packaging your product. Come April, your tubers will be shipped and then finally the fun part starts!