Natalia Chi
ENGLEWOOD — There’s an unusual sight popping up on the South Side: Tulips are blooming — in the middle of a Chicago winter.
South side blooms, the Englewood-based non-profit flower shop Chicago ecohouse, 6250 S. Morgan St., grows 18,000 tulips indoors for a good cause. The program – which was featured on TV – is known for creating jobs for at-risk youth and converting vacant lots into community assets.
The tulips typically pop up in spring, but Southside Blooms staff members are growing varieties in batches at the Eco House, then picking them for local young people to sell through Southside Blooms, said farm manager Travis Wilkinson .
Wilkinson said the project is “super exciting”. He expects tulips to be a popular choice for people who want to skip the roses for Valentine’s Day. People can purchase delivered bouquets and gifts hereIncluded a Valentine’s package for $75.
“This is completely new,” Wilkinson said. “We had our first winter bouquet that we made with these flowers, the crop that I made. … This is the first time we have ever had flowers in the winter, in January.
Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago
Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club ChicagoWilkinson and other Southside Blooms staffers have been doing research to develop their method of growing tulips in the winter, Wilkinson said. Before managing Southside Blooms’ tulip-growing effort, Wilkinson worked as a farmer in Idaho, he said. His strong interest in agriculture led Wilkinson to move to Chicago to join Southside Blooms in early 2022, he said she.
“This role is…not just flowers. It’s definitely community-based and learning to create something that builds community, gives back to the community, empowers the community and also empowers the land and just empowers the area at large,” said Wilkinson.
Groups of tulip bulbs are planted in soil-filled boxes and placed in a dark, temperature-controlled room in the basement of the Chicago Eco House. The room stays between 40 and 50 degrees and the bulbs are continuously watered to help the roots grow, Wilkinson said.
Once the bulbs have taken root, they’re moved into a grow room with red and blue UV lights that emit heat and simulate the conditions tulips would naturally experience to complete the rest of the growing process, Wilkinson said.
The lights, which appear fuchsia to the human eye, are better suited for tulips than typical white grow lights because plants absorb red and blue more easily than other colors, causing them to grow faster, Wilkinson said. The compost produced at Chicago Eco House from chickens raised there also helps the flowers grow, Wilkinson said.
Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago
Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club ChicagoWilkinson is looking to replace around 3,000 tulips every two weeks. The Chicago Eco House growing space can handle about 6,000 flowers at a time, she said.
It was a large but rewarding undertaking, Wilkinson said.
“Many people suggest starting with about 3,000 tulip bulbs the first year, but we sort of grew up and went with 18,000,” Wilkinson said. “A bit ambitious, but it went well. It means we had a lot of work. I was just expecting to research and create a farming plan for the winter, but the fact that we’re actually growing produce right now is amazing.”
Another 9,000 tulip bulbs are being stored in containers at a Little Village farm because there isn’t enough space at the Chicago Eco House to do the rooting process for all the flowers at once, Wilkinson said.
Tulips typically take months to grow naturally, but the Southside Blooms team was able to speed up the process to produce more flowers in a fraction of the time, Wilkinson said.
Wilkinson didn’t initially think Southside Blooms would be able to handle growing such a large amount of flowers without an expansive greenhouse, she said.
“I think the biggest problem for farmers in general is seasonal work,” Wilkinson said. “You will have a product in summer and winter. So this is turning out to be something that we can employ throughout the year which is great.
Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago
Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club ChicagoNew tulips will go in and out continuously as the adult ones are harvested for bouquets and the younger plants are ready to make the move to the warmer grow room, Wilkinson said. Several varieties will be grown under the new system, while other flowers — such as lilies, sunflowers, zinnias, cosmos, amaranth and sunflowers — will be grown on Southside Blooms’ five other farms on the south and west sides.
Southside Blooms is still determining what this crop system will look like during the summer, Wilkinson said.
“This system, we’ll see how we can maybe integrate that in the summer because it’s an efficient use of space,” Wilkinson said.
Through recent grants, Southside Blooms will also be able to install more solar panels at the Chicago Eco House and hire a full-time farm assistant, Wilkinson said. They will also be working on other projects throughout the year, he said.
Wilkinson also hopes the Southside Blooms tulip project will inspire other Chicagoans.
“I hope people take inspiration from this and kind of run it,” Wilkinson said. “I think there’s a need for localization and community building and all these things that I’ve been interested in for a while.
“But it gives me inspiration and I hope the flowers people get give them inspiration. I hope people are inspired to run with this, to build something that gives back to the community and in so many ways, that gives back environmentally, that gives back socially and culturally.
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