Sweet pea harvest at Jello Mold Farm
Photo: Allie Kuppenbender
Sweet Pea bunches ready for market
Photo: Allie Kuppenbender
This white sweet pea variety is incredibly fragrant
Photo: Allie Kuppenbender
Harvest sweat peas when there are two open flower heads on a steam
Photo: Allie Kuppenbender
Sweet Peas must be trellised and tied. These will grow all the way to the ceiling of the hoop and need a weekly corralling to ensure they have straight stems.
Photo: Allie Kuppenbender
Week Nine: Baptisia
Individual baptisia flower (very typical flower of the pea family)
Photo: Allie Kuppenbender
Purple baptisia variety
Photo: Allie Kuppenbender
Yellow Baptisia Variety
Photo: Allie Kuppenbender
Harvest Baptisa at this stage: when bottom buds are starting to open but top buds still remain shut
Photo: Allie Kuppenbender
Baptisia growing at Jello Mold Farm
Photo: Allie Kuppenbender
Week Eight: Clematis
Trellising system at Jello Mold Farm
Photo: Allie Kuppenbender
Unharvestable stems of clematis because they were’t trellised properly and grew around each other rather than upward
Photo: Allie Kuppenbender
Clematis growing at Jello Mold Farm
Photo: Allie Kuppenbender
Clematis Seed Pod
Photo: Allie Kuppenbender
Right when Clematis buds begin to flower is the perfect stage to harvest them
Photo: Allie Kuppenbender
Week Seven: Flowering Dogwood (Cornus)
Anatomy of a Flowering Dogwood flower
Photo: Backyard Adventure
Parts of the Flowering Dogwood
Photo: Hametownshoppes Garnder
Pink Dogwood variety
Photo: Allie Kuppenbender
Dogwood blooms just past peak (notice damage to bracts)
Photo: Allie Kuppenbender
Week Six: Peony
Peony
Photo: Allie Kuppenbender
Hoophouse peonies at Jello Mold Farm; grown inside will force earlier blooms
Photo: Allie Kuppenbender
Peony bud at the “marshmallow” phase: best to harvest at this stage when the bud is soft as a marshmallow but not yet actually open
Photo: Allie Kuppenbender
Types of Peony Flowers
Photo: page 8 from Jane Easton’s Peonies: Beautiful Varieties for Home and Garden
“The Parts of the Peony Flower”
Photo: page 7 from Jane Easton’s Peonies: Beautiful Varieties for Home and Garden
Week Five: Lilac
Lilac
Photo: Allie Kuppenbender
Lilac at the perfect harvest stage, when 30-40% of the flower buds are open
Photo: Allie Kuppenbender
Lilac growing at Jello Mold Farm
Photo: Allie Kuppenbender
Week Four: Tulip
Tulips growing on Roozengaarde Farm in Mount Vernon, WA
Tulips at Tulip Town in Mount Vernon, WW
Photo: Allie Kuppenbender
Harvest flowers just as the tip of the bud begins to show color
Photo: Allie Kuppenbender
Tulips growing at the Organic Farm at TESC (pre-blooming stage)
Photo: Allie Kuppenbender