North Shore micro-farm bursting with colors

AND WORK THEY BRING. HERE’S DOUG MEEHAN WITH MORE IN TODAY’S MAIDEN MASS. CAN YOU CUT IT JUST A LITTLE BIT, MAMA? YEAH, JUST A LITTLE BIT AT THE BASE. GOT IT. THAT’S GOOD. WITH THE LITTLE ASSIST FROM HER LITTLE ONES, ALYSSA MCDERMOTT IS HARD AT WORK IN HER EVER EXPANDING GARDEN OF DAHLIAS. EVERY WEEK I WILL CUT. AND THE MORE YOU CUT, THE MORE THEY BLOOM. MAKE NO MISTAKE, THIS IS HARDLY A HOME HOBBY FOR THE ONETIME NURSE WITH A GRADUATE DEGREE IN ART HISTORY. WE HAVE ABOUT 1200 DAHLIAS THAT WERE PLANTED IN MAY, STARTING WITH JUST 25 PLANTS. THREE YEARS AGO. HEY, STREET FLOWER FARM IN NEWBURY QUICKLY EXPANDED BECAUSE OF THE NATURAL MULTIPLYING NATURE OF THIS COLORFUL BREED. IT LED ALYSSA TO SELL THE BLOOMS TO AREA FLORISTS, BUT SOON SHE FOUND THAT THE BIG BUSINESS WAS WHAT WAS WAITING. JUST UNDER THE SURFACE. THE MAIN TUBER WAS PROBABLY RIGHT HERE AT THE ROOT LEVEL. DAHLIAS CAN PRODUCE MULTIPLE TUBERS FROM ONE PLANT, SELLING THE SO-CALLED DAHLIA BULB HAS BEEN A BOOM FOR BUSINESS. ONE OF THE BEAUTIFUL PARTS OF DAHLIAS IS THAT THEY’RE KIND OF SELF-PERPETUATING, SO THEY MULTIPLY UNDERGROUND. YOU HAVE ONE, YOU PLANT IT AND YOU GET MAYBE TWO, OR MAYBE 20. WITH THE SEASON SOON COMING TO AN END, THE HARVESTING OF THOSE TUBERS IS ABOUT TO BEGIN. AND THAT MEANS A LOT OF TIME IN THE DIRT FOR ALYSSA. DO YOU HAVE TO PULL EVERYTHING UP SOON? YES. YOU DO. YES. 1200 DAHLIAS. THIS ONE IS LIKE, I DON’T KNOW. WHAT IS THAT? OH, IT’S GOT TO BE SEVEN FEET. IN ADDITION TO THE FLOWERS AND THE TUBERS, THESE PLANTS ALSO OFFER A HIDDEN SURPRISE. EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE, YOU’LL FIND A SEED. WHEN PLANTED, THOSE ELUSIVE SEEDS CAN CREATE A UNIQUE GROWING EXPERIENCE. IT’S A BRAND NEW VARIETY THAT HAS NEVER EXISTED IN THE WORLD BEFORE. AND THAT MEANS ALMOST IN SOME SMALL WAY, THAT EVERY GARDENER WHO SAVES A SEED AND PLANTS IT IS HYBRIDIZER OR A DAHLIA BREEDER, BECAUSE THAT VARIETY IS SOMETHING THAT’S NEVER EXISTED BEFORE. ALYSSA SAYS THE DAHLIAS WILL CONTINUE TO BLOOM UNTIL THE FIRST FROST. AFTER THAT, SHE SHIFTS HER FOCUS TO TULIPS DURING THE WINTER MONTHS, SHE SETS UP AN INSIDE PROGRAM THAT WILL OFFER BLOOMS FROM DECEMBER UNTIL JUNE. SHE SAYS IT’S A NICE WAY TO EXPAND THE GROWING SEASON.