Sunshine and summertime are in full swing in the valley. We have had gorgeous (hot) weather and long days full of light. Our bulbs have all been dug and processing has begun! The garden continues to sprout with color from the dahlias and other summer blooms. Give it another few weeks or so, and we should be at peak for those summertime blossoms!

Naturally a trip up the Skagit Valley - home of RoozenGaarde, one of the largest tulip bulb farmers, you would expect to see fields of tulips (and daffodils). If you are visiting us in the spring, that is what you would see, but if you happen to journey this way a different time of year, you'll see our fields filled with other crops. These crops play a large role in preserving our environment and nurturing healthy soil.

RoozenGaarde has roughly 2000 acres of farmed land each year. About half of which is used for tulips and daffodils, while the rest is planted with other crops. To ensure our bulbs produce optimum blooms, they are put on a rotation cycle of about six years. This means whichever fields had tulips in 2022, won't see them again until about 2028. The other 1000 acres will contain a rotational crop of barley, wheat, grass, or clover.

While this might seem unusual for a flower farmer to plant something other than the bulbs we grow, it is incredibly necessary - for our bulbs, for sustainability, and for preserving the environment. If as farmers, we are not taking care of the soil it will in turn negatively impact us and our surrounding world. Planting these "cover crops" provide an abundance of benefits including optimizing nutrients in soil, enhancing water availability, combating pests and weeds, disease control, and slowing erosion to name a few. Often, you'll hear cover crops are used for their benefits to the soil itself rather than for their possible commercial value. For RoozenGaarde and the local farmers we trade ground with, the cover crops used are beneficial on all levels. Farmers take extreme care and meticulous planning to forecast what goes into their fields year after year - it's a large part of what makes or breaks their success.

Next time you drive by a field filled with those amber waves of grain, or swaying with grass, remember it could be more than providing wheat for processing or alfalfa for livestock. These crops are aiding our earth in its longevity. We are thankful for the sustainability that cover crops provide, for both the future of our farmlands, and for allowing our bulbs to thrive in healthy soil leading them to produce such vibrant blooms.

Want to bring a piece of Skagit Valley to your back yard? It's not too late to purchase some of our bulbs for at home planting! In fact, we are extending our Free Bulb Offer until August 7^th!

Wishing you a wonderful continuation of summer! - RoozenGaarde and Tulips.com