Doing it my way - talk by Barry Kenyon
There were over 30 members listening to Barry's talk on the 21st April 2010. The talk was about Barry's experiences in growing dahlias - something he started in 1973!
For those who have not met Barry, I have 'borrowed' this photo from the north west dahlia web site(http://www.north-west-dahlias/index.htm.co.uk) - Barry is a member. |
Barry began growing and showing dahlias in the small dec class in 1973, with some success in the following years. He then moved on to other things with pressure of work etc.
In 1993 he bought a farm, however it was 1999 before he grew some miniature dahlias, winning the min dec class in Harrogate in 2001.
In 2003 the opportunity came to make a new start. So back to basics - what are the key criteria for growing dahlias? He focussed on four items:
Light
Water
Soil
TLC
Light:
where to grow the dahlias? Barry decided on a strip facing East to West. It is 110ft by 26ft, with covers, these are left on till June - so that the correct amount of water is in the soil.
Water:
giants need 1 gallon of water a day, so a set of water pipes should be used.