Why We Moved to North Kingstown

What Most People Don't Know About Growing Tulips (And why we need 40+ Acres)

We started in Johnston, RI, at Snake Den Farm. We love it there, but here's something most people don't know about tulips: tulips need fresh soil every year to stay healthy and disease-free.

Tulip "Fire"

We have to watch out for a fungal disease called "Fire." To prevent it, we follow a crop rotation of 1:3. This means if we grow tulips on a plot of land this year, we can't grow them in that same spot for another three years. For every acre of tulips you see, we actually need four times that amount of land.

We like to grow 10 acres of tulips each year. That means we needed 40 acres of workable farmland, and that's not easy to find in Rhode Island. Especially nice, level land that drains well and doesn't have enormous  boulders in the soil...

Why we had two U-pick farm in Rhode Island 

Because we never found a large 40-acre farm in the past, we split our event across two smaller locations (Johnston and Exeter). It worked, but we always wanted to bring everything together into one ultimate tulip u-pick experience!

After 10 years of searching...

We found a stunning 90-acre farm in North Kingstown! This isn't just a change of address; it's a massive upgrade for your U-pick experience.

• More blooms in one place: We've planted 8 acres of tulips, combining our two previous locations into one vibrant field. Get ready for endless rows of blooms and 115 different varieties!

• Easier to reach: We are just minutes off Route 4, making for an easy drive whether you're coming from Providence, Newport, or Connecticut.

• Room to grow: We finally have the space to expand. Next year, we plan to plant 10 acres of tulips and we're excited to add other flower U-pick events in future seasons.
  

What about Johnston?

What does this mean for our Johnston farm? We are still leasing the RI-DEM owned land and we are playing with the thought of growing peonies on this farm! Which would be perfect! We are also not 100% sure if we can stay at the new North Kingstown farm long term- so Johnston might still open the doors one day again. We know many of you will miss this location and we would love to open it with a peony U-pick in the future!