Our meeting on August 20th was are most attended meeting ever.  It was fantastic to see so many new members wanting to learn more about growing dahlias.  Many members brought their dahlias to our contest.  It was an impressive dahlia show in my kitchen.  Many thanks to Linda Hicks and Cory Kelso for their help in judging and a thank you to Jill Sabol and Rick Hicks for helping new members with their dahlia displays and for organizing the blooms for judging.  Congratulations to member Patti Duron for winning "Best in Show" for her KA's Cloud single bloom.  She recieved a Farm Supply gift card for her beautiful bloom.  It was an excellent evening and a fun learning experence for all of our members that are new to the dahlia show world.  I just got back from the Monterey Bay Dahlia Society show this weekend.  It was an outstanding show with over 2000 flowers on display. It was wonderful to see a few of our members make the drive to see this dahlia show.  It was this time last year that I felt so inspired, that I decided to start putting together a plan to start a dahlia society in our area.  This year my goal was to show some of my blooms and learn more of the ins and outs of running a show.  It is a future goal for our society to host an ADS show in our area.  Judging by the interest and enthusiasm at our last meeting, we will get there!  

The warm days of August are upon us!  Now is the time to evaluate if your dahlias are getting enough water.  My drip system waters my flowers 3 times a week for about 25 minutes.  This seems to keep them damp, but not water logged and not to the point of drying out.  Be on the look out for powdery mildew on your dahlias.  Monterey horticulture oil or Stylet oil work really well on keeping the mildew at bay.   Its important to keep up with some feeding this month as well.  I use either Alaska Fish Emulsion or I use Fox Farm Grow Big (nitrogen) mixed with Fox Farm Big Bloom (Phosphorus).  Your dahlias will appreciate the extra boost this month.  I am looking forward to seeing all of our members at our next meeting, Tuesday August 20th at 6pm at my home.  Don't forget to bring your dahlias for our "contest" We will have some great prizes for our first place winners and a few gift certificates to Farm Supply as well.  August also brings some excellent dahlia shows to California.  Check out the events tab for more information.  Happy Summer! Heather Jamieson