Tulips, Demystified

What goes into growing and selling tulips on such a large scale? Tulips are the farm’s most unusual crop throughout every part of the process, and I bet most people don’t know just how bizarre it gets.

Tulips are unlike any other crop we grow, for many reasons. Most obviously, they are the only flower we harvest and sell, and the only thing we harvest purely for its beauty and not its deliciousness. They will be available for about two months, but their journey started many months ago, during late fall, when their bulbs were planted by a bundled-up crew. The tulips start to emerge in early March, and once their flower heads pop out, they get checked at least once a day to check for the onset of “ripeness.” Just like fruits, tulips can be ripe too! Each variety, like those mentioned in the previous newsletter, has their own unique tell that keys a harvester into when exactly they are ready to be plucked out of the ground. So, as you can imagine, harvesting tulips takes incredible knowledge and skill by our harvesters to do correctly when we’re working with upwards of 30 different varieties. If picked too early, the tulips won’t ripen correctly and will stay closed and green. All beds are scanned for ripe tulips twice a day, because a tulip that isn’t ready at 10am might be ready at 2pm.

Post-harvest, tulips head straight into our cooler, where they get a whole room to themselves, separate from our produce, and are stored in the dark, at a chilly 35 degrees. This allows them to keep for weeks and be enjoyed for the longest amount of time by their recipients. However, this means when it’s tulip bunching time, our bunchers have to pull out their puffy jackets, slip on their beanies and head into the cooler to meet the tulips where they’re at. Admittedly, it’s not everyone’s favorite task, but it’s a beloved job for some whose love for the flowers outweighs the iciness of their fingers.

Tulips are a challenging crop to grow and manage but they’re universally loved and enjoyed by the entire crew and we hope they bring you joy too!

~Flynn