Harvest and Storage Workshop
1 ticket includes:
- Full day hands-on training by owners of SVFD
- Max class size 12 participants
- 20 single-division tubers ($250 value)
- FREE lifetime access to digital companion course ($150 value)
Choose from two dates
Friday October 24th or Saturday October 25th
9:30am - 5:30pm
On-site at Sunset View Farm Dahlias
27 Pierce Road, Lafayette Twp, NJ 07848
A GARDEN CHANGING OPPORTUNITY!
The key to winding up with more dahlia blooms than you know what to do with next summer is a skillful harvest this fall and successful storage this winter.
This October, come learn the principles and hands-on skills you need to become a master divider and successfully store your tubers in your specific home environment. We'll even send you home with lots of tubers to trial your storage and seed your garden next spring.
This class is strategically timed so that you can learn with us, make your mistakes on our plants, then go home to harvest and store the fruit of your own gardens with confidence.
Master the dahlia harvest and storage this fall. Plant your biggest garden ever this spring!
20 PREMIUM TUBERS TO TAKE HOME
We want to make sure everyone leaves with enough stock on hand to practice successful storage, so we'll send you home with 20 tubers in a selection of some of the most prolific classic varieties - a $250 value, most of the cost of the workshop!
You can use these to test out the storage techniques you just learned and jumpstart your garden in the spring.
WHAT TO EXPECT
This is not a tour where you follow us around while we "show off" how great our farm is. We're here to teach you, so come prepared to get your hands dirty!
Alongside a small group of peers (12 students max), you'll work through every part of the harvest process with a professional dahlia farmer at your shoulder. That includes:
- Garden cleanup
- Digging
- Washing
- Dividing
- Rinsing, drying, and labeling
- Storage
Each stage is important, but there'll be an emphasis on the trickiest parts of the process (dividing and storage).
We'll teach you how to avoid the most common mistakes people make that ruin tubers at each step.
As your collection grows, organization will become increasingly important. You'll learn professional practices for keeping accurate track of variety labels the whole way through so you don't wind up with "mystery" tubers.
SCHEDULE
9:30-10:00 - Greeting & classroom overview
10:00-10:45 - Garden cleanup and lifting
10:45-11:30 - Washing
11:30-1:00 - Dividing part 1
1:00-2:00 - Lunch + Q&A with the farmers
2:00-3:00 - Dividing part 2
3:00-3:15 - Rinsing, drying & labeling
3:15-5:00 - Storage principles and examples
5:00-5:30 - Determined by group interests
WHO SHOULD JOIN THE WORKSHOP?
This is a very thorough training suitable for total beginners to intermediate home gardeners with some experience.
More experienced growers who want to learn how to get the consistently good results necessary to start and sustain a dahlia business will also learn a ton from this workshop and companion course.
DIGITAL COMPANION COURSE
While there will be some lecture material, your time on the farm will focus primarily on learning while doing, because there's no substitute for getting your hands in the dirt and on the plants.
But your workshop fee also includes access to a digital companion course that gives a deep dive into all aspects of the harvest process. We recommend you watch that at your leisure before you arrive. It contains invaluable information that can save you many hours of effort and hundreds if not thousands of dollars in avoided storage loss!
We are currently building the companion course, and it will be available to watch by October 3rd. We'll contact you via email when it's ready to view.
YOUR INSTRUCTOR
Dan Grinthal, one of the owners of Sunset View Farm Dahlias, will be your main instructor. Dan grew up with dahlias and has been a professional dahlia farmer for 5 years.
After graduating from RIT with a degree in Industrial Design, he helped transition his parent's hobby farm into a full-time venture with employees, an operation that now cultivates 10,000 plants in 350 varieties each year. Our farm serves thousands of customers, both locally and across the US.
Other members of the Sunset View Farm Dahlias family and crew will likely drop in to assist over the course of the day. Look for the embroidered overalls!
GETTING HERE
Sunset View Farm Dahlias
27 Pierce Road
Lafayette NJ 07848
Please arrive early as we will start on time. Use the gravel farm entrance (not the asphalt driveway with the mailbox); follow the road past the barn and park in the lot behind the solar panels. Meet us in the red barn!
LUNCH
Please bring your own lunch. There are also several wonderful affordable restaurants and cafes nearby we can recommend to you if you so desire.
WEATHER
This workshop will be held rain or shine. In the event of wet weather, we'll spend minimal time standing directly in the rain, but rubber boots and rain gear are recommended. Please dress warmly in layers, as we will be in a range of indoor and outdoor temperatures throughout the workshop.
NO TOOLS NECESSARY
If you need eyeglasses for close work, don't forget them! We'll provide all other tools you need for the workshop.
If you have a favorite pair of snips you'd prefer to bring for the dividing portion, feel free, but make sure they're clearly labeled with your name!
NO CANCELLATIONS
All sales of workshop tickets are final. If you can't make it, send someone who takes great notes, and enjoy the digital companion course at your leisure. If need be, we're happy to ship your tubers to you.
