Fresh From the Farm: July 2020 Recap
Welkom Vrienden!
(Welcome Friends!)
Even though Holland Ridge Farms is a small family business, we’re always thinking bigger picture. One day we’re out planting in the fields, the next day brainstorming new ideas for our u-picks and online store. With everything going on at the farm we thought why not bring you along for the ride! This is just the first installment of our monthly recaps which will give you a behind the scenes look and sneak peek into everything going on at Holland Ridge Farms.
What goes into our u-pick sunflowers
Our tulip season is traditionally a crazy busy time for us but to be honest, the minute it ends we miss the chaos! Due to this, we’re always eager to start working on our next u-pick.. and boy have we been busy. Our u-pick sunflowers takes even more time, planting, planning and preparation. With millions of sunflowers and hundreds of thousands of other cut flowers we have our work cut out over the next few months.
Planning
As soon as tulip season ended we we began plotting out where the sunflowers and other cut flowers would be planted in the fields. A lot goes into this thought process. What layout will bring the best views, the best photo opportunities and the best experience for our visitors? We also have to consider planting and growing times. We developed a planting schedule to work from – although sometimes mother nature has different ideas! From there we ordered the bulbs and the seeds, making sure we chose the best varieties possible. We’re super excited to see the final results when we open our gates in late September.
Planting
To ensure there’s always color and blooms for the duration of our u-pick season, we stagger our planting days. To start we transferred the mums we grew from seeds in our greenhouse over to the farm fields at the end of June. Once July came, we began to plant all the other cut flowers. This year you can look forward to seeing many different varieties of lilies, dahlias, gladiolas and more. Though these flowers will make for beautiful bouquets, you can’t forget the star of the show- sunflowers! A few weeks ago, we began planting the millions of sunflowers you will see on display at the festival. We planted all the way to the back of the farm this year which means there will be even more sunny blooms to enjoy. It will truly be a sight to see!
Preparation
We put a lot of thought and effort into the flowers and the planting process, but our festival experience doesn’t stop there. July is when our gears really started to spin in order to make other improvements, so our customers can always get the most out of the farm. We must admit, this year has been different as the safety of our guests and staff are at the forefront in our minds. Complying with all guidelines set in place by the CDC and state, we are making plans to ensure the farm is a safe and happy place for everyone to enjoy. We have already introduced a new way for you to get the best photos possible. Stay tuned as we will be announcing more details once the u-pick draws near!
SURPRISE! Here comes the sun-flowers!
We know how much you’re anticipating the u-pick sunflowers, but why wait for September? A few months ago we planted early-blooming sunflowers in our surrounding fields. We’re excited to announce that for the very first time we will be shipping fresh-cut sunflowers from our fields to your front door!
This is the perfect chance to send a little piece of Holland Ridge Farms to yourself or those you love the most. Take it from us, nothing can bring some much-needed sunshine like a beautiful bunch of sunflowers can. Be on the lookout, our sunflower box will be available to order starting next week!
You can now wear Holland at home!
In case you didn’t know, you can now buy Holland Ridge farms merchandise! Just a few weeks ago, we officially launched our brand-new online store. We worked closely with The Swan Brothers to develop a line of merchandise that was meaningful to us. Since we persevered through a pretty turbulent tulip season “still growing strong” has become our mantra as we continue prep for our sunflower festival in the fall. We thought that phrase encapsulated what Holland Ridge Farms stands for and it helps keeps us motivated while we’re moving forward. Along with our still growing strong collection, you can now purchase t-shirts, hats, bags, wine glasses and other accessories. Now is the perfect time to start your own collection of Holland Ridge Farms merchandise!
Growing forward in August…
Though this month was extremely busy, it only gets more exciting come August. Stay tuned for our next newsletter as we recap the entire month leading up to our 3rd annual u-pick sunflowers. We still have many new and exciting things coming within the next couple of weeks. Here you can see a quick glance of something we are very excited to be launching soon… stay tuned!