Tulips are there for the picking at Stormbrew Farm in Abingdon (copy)
It's spring and people can now pick their own tulips at Stormbrew Farm in Abingdon. Tulips are just now appearing and expected to remain in season for the next month.
ABINGDON, Va. - Spring is in bloom at an Abingdon flower farm where visitors can harvest their own flowers during a pick-your-own tulips season.
Stormbrew Farm has opened its field to the public where as many as 3,000 tulip bulbs are pushing their way through the winter soil despite recent cold temperatures.
Stormbrew Farm owner Daisy Sturgill displays a wide array of tulip colors that were freshly picked last Friday. Sturgill planted as many as 3,000 tulip bulbs for this spring's harvest.
It’s the second year farm owner Daisy Sturgill has offered the spring flowers to visitors. Last year’s pick-your-own sales were so good that she planted another 1,500 bulbs for this spring’s crop.
“Half of the bed will not bloom as heavily as the new plantings,” Sturgill said, explaining that after picking the blooms the first year, the bulbs require time to build up energy to produce flowers again.
“But, we will have 100 feet of blooms in a variety of colors to choose from this year,” she said.
Sturgill grows a multitude of flower varieties, but there’s something special about tulips for the young farmer.
“Tulips are super special for a few reasons,” she said. “As a farmer, tulips are the first flower crop after dealing with a long, cold winter. They are hardy and tough as they push through lots of dirt and mulch. And, it’s amazing after enduring a long winter to hold a flower in your hands. That’s the best."
Here Sturgill works a row of tulips that just starting to blossom after last week's wintery weather conditions.
Like any crop, the flowers require attention.
“Today, I picked about 100 tulips before I covered the patch to prepare for the cold snowy weather in the forecast,” said Sturgill, who had to protect the blooms from the below freezing temperatures last week.
Sturgill predicts tulip blooms will show their happy faces during the early, mid, and late parts of the spring season winding up their blooming cycle toward the end of April.
“We might have a few stragglers in early May,” she said.
According to her, the season for blooms will be shorter this year as earlier production was triggered by warmer temperatures in early March.
Late March and early April offers tulips with shorter stems and closed blooms, but the longest vase life.
Peak bloom is mid-season in April, offering the largest variety of tulips which are perfect for picking.
Late April offers longer stems and open blooms, but shorter vase life, she explained.
More pick-your-own flower varieties will be available throughout the spring and summer. Pick-your-own dahlias begins June 1.
If You Go
What: Pick-Your-Own Tulips
Where: Stormbrew Farm
25161 Watauga Road, Abingdon
When: Tulips in a variety of colors will be available through April
Cost: $1 for each stem or $2 for a stem and a bulb
Start harvesting
Visitors can expect to be greeted by a variety of farm friends, including free-range chickens, cats, and a friendly Great Pyrenees named Percy.
Sturgill asks that visitors leave their dogs at home to keep the farm peaceful and safe for everyone.
The pick-your-own flower field is run as an honor system, allowing customers to select and take home their own hand-picked blooms. The system operates out of a white vintage horse trailer that contains everything needed to start harvesting tulips. Blooms are $1 for each stem and $2 for a stem with an attached tulip bulb.
Snips and baskets will be provided. Use kraft paper at the wrap station for securing flowers for the trip home. Vases are available with a $1 suggested donation or visitors can bring a bucket for their transport.
Customers pay with cash using the white mailbox in the horse trailer or by using the Venmo link @daisy97.
How to pick tulips
Check out Stormbrew Farm on Facebook and Instagram where Sturgill has posted informative videos explaining the best way to harvest the flowers.
“The way to pick a tulip is to reach down as low as you can on the stem and gently pull until it snaps off. If the bulb comes with it, just snap it off and put it back in the soil,” she said.
Amazingly, the stem will continue to grow after being cut and placed in water.
“The stem will grow inches overnight and the bloom will continue to open. Not a lot of flowers do that. It’s possible to keep the flowers inside for two weeks and watch the whole show until the petals fall off," Sturgill said.
Stormbrew Farm owner Daisy Sturgill displays a basket of freshly picked tulips from the 3,000 she planted for this season.
Sharing a lifestyle
Sturgill believes her flower farm serves a higher purpose beyond commercial production.
“I’ve become increasingly aware that a lot of people don’t have opportunities to enjoy the outdoors and especially being around big swaths of flowers,” she said. “I pretty regularly get to stand in a field of flowers. It’s pretty cool,” said Sturgill, who likes sharing with the community the lifestyle she has built.
Sturgill created her own agribusiness after graduating from Virginia Tech in 2018 with a degree in environmental horticulture She began farming in 2022 on an 18-acre location on Watauga Road in Abingdon.
Growing flowers is a big part of her work at Stormbrew Farm.
Her event and wedding brand operate under the name Fae Folk Florals and Festivities, based at Storm Brew Farm and specializing in weddings, private events, and curated dining experiences across Southwest Virginia, Eastern Tennessee and Western North Carolina.
She is also a member of Bristol Bloom Collective, a fresh flower market and wholesaler serving East Tennessee and Southwest Virginia.
Stormbrew Farm is located at 25161 Watauga Road in Abingdon. Follow Stormbrew Farm on Facebook and Instagram for bloom updates, peak picking times, and field conditions.
Carolyn R. Wilson is a freelance writer in Glade Spring, Virginia. Contact her at citydesk@bristolnews.com.
