A year (and a bit) in the life of a narcissi bulb
We pick and send scented narcissi from October to Easter but to enable that to happen there is quite a lot of farming that has to go on during summer to make sure everything happens as it should.
However not every year is the same. Every fourth year we lift our bulbs, process them and plant them in a different field. This prevents disease and keeps our bulb stock and soil healthy.
YEAR ONE
EASTER
The last narcissi flowers are picked. The rest of the crop is left in the field, as we don’t have enough good-quality flowers left to send.
MAY
The bulbs are lifted and left on the ground to dry; fingers crossed for good weather.
JUNE
The bulbs are first windrowed into neater rows which allows for further drying and starts the cleaning process. Once they are dry the ‘bulb-picker-upper’ is deployed and bulbs are stored in bins. Next bulbs go through the cleaning line and into net bags. Nets of bulbs are sterilised. Farmers on Scilly swap and trade bulbs to ensure they have the right mix for their farm.
JULY AND AUGUST
The bulbs are planted in ridged rows just like potatoes.
SEPTEMBER TO APRIL
Sit back and do nothing – often a first-year flower crop won’t be of high enough quality so we don’t pick them.
AND A BIT
MAY
We cover the field with polythene and blow smoke underneath to initiate the bulbs. This is done at different times to stagger the crop.
AUGUST
The first new leaves break the soil. The first buds become visible. The picking team starts picking scented narcissi.