SPRING COLOURS IN BLOOM
Vanco Farms employees work in a field of tulips on the Waterside Road near Pownal on Thursday. People are able to view the flowers from the road but are reminded that entering, walking or driving through the field is prohibited and the flowers cannot be picked. Bulbs are planted in the fall and covered in straw to protect them from weather fluctuations. When the tulips are in bloom, the petals are removed to let energy of the plant feed back into the bulb. The plants are left for about six weeks, allowing the bulbs to grow and propagate. The bulbs are harvested in mid-July for use in the company’s greenhouse production, for sales to the landscape trade and for another growing cycle in the field. There’s also a one-acre field at Belfast Tulips, which opens today at 9 a.m. One half is a u-pick and the other half is for professional photos. There’s a $10 admission, and the price for a full bucket is $25. Vanco is the only farm growing field tulips for bulb production on the East Coast of North America.