The days are getting a little shorter, and the kids are going back to school soon, bringing the reality that Fall is just around the corner to mind. Fall in the High Desert provides some of the best growing conditions, add a little humidity, and it would be perfect with 80-degree days and 50-degree nights. August is the perfect time to sow seeds for either a Fall and Winter vegetable crop or for your hardy annuals and perennial flowers. The temperate Fall temperatures provide the ideal setting to divide plants or move any plants you would like to relocate, allowing them to set roots before going to sleep for the winter. Lilacs are a great example of a plant that can be divided. Robust lilac bushes will put off runners if not start an entire new plant, which you can carefully dig up and replant. I saw a farmer use a high-pressure hose to remove the dirt from around the roots, providing a better view for digging up and disturbing the plant as little as possible. Don’t forget to divide those Spring bulb flowers. Daffodils and other perennial bulb flowers will become rootbound and stop flowering if not divided.
At Moonstruck Farms, we are starting more trays of snapdragons to add to the beds, including the Chantilly Snapdragons. Snapdragons are divided into four groups. Each group blooms at a certain daylight length and temperature range. Chantilly is part of Group 1, blooming during the shorter days of the year and cooler temperatures. In addition to different bloom times, snapdragons come in traditional, azalea, and open-faced flower designs. With varying times of bloom and flower designs, it is easy to fill most of the year with a continuous bloom of snapdragons. Our last crates of lilies have been planted, and we are looking forward to these, more sunflowers, and mums to finish out the season. In addition, we are preparing for our Mulled Wine/Cider kit décor by letting the branching sunflowers bloom and dry, planting broom corn, and harvesting other flowers such as the Dyer’s Chamomile, which dries to a beautiful golden color perfect for decorating the kits. We are no longer at the Wrightwood Farmers Market due to time constraints, but you can find our flowers at the Phelan Farmers Market. We will also be providing them to Mountain Hardware on Tuesdays when the larger “bundle” flowers bloom, including the sunflowers, lilies, and mums. You can also find our products on Etsy, and feel free to contact us on Instagram for custom orders.
The farmers markets both in Wrightwood and Phelan are year-round markets serving the local communities. You can find the Phelan Farmers Market on Mondays, 2 pm to 6 pm, INSIDE and OUTSIDE the Phelan Community Center located at 4128 Warbler Road in Phelan. Wrightwood Farmers Market is currently located in the Wrightwood Community Center parking lot and will continue their SummerFest Fridays with themed events, including free kids’ crafts and face painting. For more information, whether it be the Phelan Farmers Market special events and raffles, or further details on SummerFest Fridays in Wrightwood, follow their Instagram and/or Facebook pages.
