what is a 2nd?

The Ugly Tuber Sale. (Yes, I Said It.)

Let's talk about the tubers that didn't make the cut.

Every season, I grade my entire harvest. Grade A tubers — the plump, smooth, properly-sized ones with visible eyes — go into the main sale. But what happens to the ones that are... not that?

They end up in a bin in my storage room. Misshapen. Wrinkly. Small. Occasionally looking like something a potato had a nightmare about. And these are the tubers that we put in our fields.

Here's the thing though: ugly doesn't mean dead. These tubers still have eyes. They're still viable. They'll still grow into the same beautiful dahlias you'd get from a Grade A tuber — they just didn't win the beauty pageant on the way out of the ground.

(And let's be honest, I've grown dahlias from tubers that looked like a deflated sock and ended up with eight-foot plants. Ugly is survivable.)

So rather than compost them — and you know I have a complicated relationship with composting tubers — I'm making them available to you at a significant discount.

What You Should Know Before You Buy

I'm going to be straight with you, because that's how I do things here:

These ARE:

• Viable dahlia tubers with intact eyes

• Discounted significantly from regular sale pricing

• A great option for beginning growers who want to practice without a big investment

• Perfect for gardeners who want to fill space or try varieties without paying full price

• Correctly labeled (you'll know what you're getting)

These ARE NOT:

• Grade A tubers — they're not plump, uniform, or pretty

• Guaranteed to perform identically to a Grade A tuber

• Returnable or exchangeable (I'm pricing them to reflect that risk)

• Something I'd sell as my best work — these are honest seconds

If you're the kind of gardener who needs everything to be perfect, this sale is not for you — and that's completely fine.

But if you're a "I'll grow anything, let's see what happens" kind of person? Welcome home.

A Note From Me

I debated whether to sell these at all. Part of me wanted to just compost them and move on.

But then I thought about the beginning gardener who just wants to grow something — anything — without spending $15+ per tuber on their first attempt. Or the person who wants to try a new variety before committing. Or the experienced grower who just wants to fill a back corner of their garden with something pretty.

That's who these are for.

They're not glamorous. But they're real, they're honest, and at this price, they might just be the best gardening decision you make this season.

— Brooke