Results of the Great Tulip Experiment
I was pretty excited about growing my almost 3,000 tulip bulbs in crates this 23/24 season. But I ended the tulip season with very mixed feelings about this method of growing…here’s why, and I’m very much sensing a 30% pattern here:
🌷about 30% of the crates yielded well performing tulips, with most stems being sellable - these were mainly mid-season varieties averaging 40cm stem length
🌷roughly 30% of the crates under-performed with yield per crate being anywhere from between 10-70% per crate, leaving many un-useable stems per crate
🌷the remaining 30% did not even bloom, leaving bulbs that produced only foliage – these were mainly single, tall, mid-late season varieties
🌷that means that, despite me tripling production goals with 3 times the number of bulbs growing this season, I actualised only 30% sellable tulips, meaning I was on par, if not slightly behind 2022 sales
🌷the varieties that did not bloom at all were left to slowly die back so that the ‘un-bloomed’ bulbs could absorb sustenance for storage over winter in an attempt to keep them for use next year – may as well try and realise some value from them
🌷a lot of success (or lack of) also depended on the aspect/location of the crate – the crates that did well received sun earlier in the season and probably for longer
🌷and despite me thinking that the crates being moveable would be an advantage (I had thought that moving them undercover to shade the tulips and prolong grow time would be advantageous), once the tulips are growing they shoot roots through the bottom of the crate. Once disturbed they are not recoverable. Thankfully I only tried this with two crates
🌷I will say that insect damage on the blooms was minimal this year compared to my in-ground production in the 2022/23 season where slugs were able to have good nibbles
🌷another positive was the ease in which the tulips were able to be pulled from the crates
So there you have it...a not altogether positive verdict and one that has lead to me adjusting my growing plan for the 2024 season to mainly in-ground production.
