Tulips a ‘positive association’ with regrowth of spring

WINTERSET — Twice recently, tulip bouquets were available for sale at The Corner Coffee Shop and Antiques on the Greenfield square, proving you don’t have to go to Pella to have tulip time.

Those tulips are grown locally at Cedar Shake Farm, west of Winterset, owned by Clinton and Kelli Eshelman, who are both Adair County natives.

“I don’t know if Kelli did, but I always had a green thumb,” said Clinton, who works remotely as a business analyst for a company in Des Moines and is close to getting pinned as a first sergeant in the Army National Guard.

When they moved to the Winterset area in 2016, Clinton saw a social media advertisement pointing out the Winterset farmers market. The Eshelmans had some extra produce on hand and decided to take part.

That led to the beginning of their farm, which was named by Kelli’s mother, Peggy Keuning, for the cedar shake siding on their home.

“We officially started in 2018,” said Kelli, who works as a substitute teacher at Nodaway Valley.

The Eshelmans’ farm started with a small flower bed and accompanying garden plot. In just a year’s time, it began to balloon in size.

“I think the first year we had about 1,500 tulips, the next year we had about 5,000. This year we did just over 8,500,” Clinton said.

“Next year we’ll probably do 10,000-plus, since we’ve had a lot more interest,” Kelli added. “We’ve had a lot more interest since we’ve started selling to The Collective up in Des Moines, which is a vegan, sustainable and Eco-friendly shop, the Winterset Fareway and The Corner.”

Giant pumpkins

Tulips aren’t the only specialty item grown at Cedar Shake Farm. While the Eshelmans grow other flowers and a wide array of produce, offering Consumer Supported Agriculture (CSA) packages of both to customers, Clinton has gotten into the niche of giant pumpkins.

Last year wasn’t as successful for the pumpkins due to bugs getting in the way, however Clinton is determined to enter and win a contest held at the Amana Colonies someday for the biggest pumpkin.

“The year before last we had one that was about 280 pounds,” he said. “We grow the seeds from pumpkins that weigh close to 2,000 pounds. You buy the seeds online through a giant pumpkin growers association. They have online auctions where people pay $40 for one pumpkin seed, which sounds crazy, but it’s because it comes from a pumpkin that huge.”

Growing tulips

Clinton said tulips are planted in autumn and require a 15-week cold stratification period, similar to daffodils.

“Since we grow them as annuals, we pull them up by the bulbs and everything,” Kelli explained. “You cut them right before the bulb so you have an extra four to five inches of stem length. That’s really important because the longer the stem the more valuable a tulip is. If you plant them down six inches or so it forces the bulb to grow taller.”

Kelli said tulips are also grown egg carton style, which forces the tulips to grow in a straight manner.

“When you force them to grow tightly together it forces the stem to grow straighter as well,” Kelli said.

“They don’t fall over as easily that way and it keeps a straight stem for a vase or bouquet,” Clinton continued.

The Eshelmans grow a wide variety of colors of tulips and Clinton said it’s gratifying to see the reactions of people when they receive tulips.

“In the spring, everything’s starting to grow. Since tulips are blooming so early, it’s like ‘hey, look, it’s a little sign of color.’ It’s just a very positive association with tulips and the regrowth of the season,” Kelli said.

Cedar Shake Farm can be found on their Facebook page. They regularly attend the Winterset Farmers Market, which begins May 15.