First hard autumn frost, October 22, 2021.
Hello Friends,
I am sharing my article for the
October Issue Cameron Chronicle
"The Little Paper With Personality."
Putting the Garden to Bed
and
Planting for Spring
By Carla TePaske of Cameron WI ~ The Little Garden That Could
We soon will be raking leaves and buttoning up the house for winter. Put your leaves to work for you. Use them as a mulch for your garden. Spread your leaves in the garden and landscape beds to reduce weeds, protect the soil surface, reduce watering, and provide so many other benefits. Adding mulch is one of the best things you can do for a healthier garden. Shredded leaves are of the best types of mulch around. Over time, the leaves will break down and return all their nutrients back into the soil.
It is time to think about tulips, daffodils, allium and crocus. Select quality bulbs. Pick the right spot, at least 6 hours of sunlight and well drained soil. Plant your bulbs deep enough. Check your package for the planting directions. Place them pointy side up. If you do not see a pointy side, look for where the roots come out.
Water well.
Protect your bulbs from critters. Spread a layer of mulch to hide your bulb holes. If that does not help, weigh down a piece of mesh or chicken wire over the soil to keep critters from digging. It should be safe to remove the protective mesh or wire after the bulbs start to sprout out of the ground.
I always leave the leaves lie where they land in my garden. It helps with the plants in the Winter, and like you said id great mulch for your garden. Yikes frost. Not here yet thankfully. Janice
ReplyDeleteGreat gardening tips, Carla, our heavy frost will be soon and we will be doing the same, for now I am gathering peas, and hot peppers and canning them! Thanks for sharing, have a great weekend.
ReplyDeleteSue
Oh, excellent advice all the way around! Especially the idea of looking where the roots come out. I know ranunculus always puzzle me and I plant the "sideways" to hedge my bets - no more!
ReplyDeleteYou are such an instructive and knowledgable writer! I love this frosty purple photo!
ReplyDeleteGood tips on planting bulbs so they do not get eaten up and will come up in the Spring. Have a great weekend. xoxo
ReplyDeleteSad to see the leaves droop.
ReplyDeleteLove the frost photo!
ReplyDeleteProtect bulbs. We never knew how and gave up. lol
A great article for gardeners. The squirrels are still digging out some of my perennial tulips bulbs in the perennial beds. They have been there for years and were blooming last spring.I decided not to plant any this fall. I'll probably be sorry in the spring.
ReplyDeleteHugs, Julia
Good advice. Yes, leaves work well as mulch. Oak leaves take a little longer to break down, so I generally leave some and drag some away. We're fortunate to have paths in the back of the property where I can place them. :)
ReplyDeleteVery nice article you wrote. I'm sure a lot of people are happy to get your input.
ReplyDeleteEvery year I say I'm going to plant bulbs - I've never done it before. And every year comes and goes and I don't. I think there's still time here since it's only in the high 40's at night. Maybe I'll use your tips this weekend!!
ReplyDeleteGreat tips! Do you have any tips for moles? They are having a field day in my yard this fall! I am fearful that they have eaten all the bulbs I planted last year!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the tips! I am getting ready to plant some bulbs. I've never done it before. We still have not had a frost and it will probably be another month before we do! xoxo
ReplyDeleteSuch great tips here! I think we might get our first frost tonight!
ReplyDeleteCan you believe that I've never planted a bulb in my life? My grandmother loved jonquils, and she had a bed with hundreds of them, and she always planted bulbs in the fall. You're a regular reporter now! I love it!
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