Spring bulbs. Dig now or later?

Spring bulbs in north central Indiana have lost their blooms and beginning to lose foliage color. They can start to look pretty ratty in the garden. Do yours need division?

A friend asked me today when she was supposed to dig her tulip bulbs for division and replanting. I'm sure we all believe we should dig them, dry them, store them, and replant them in the fall.

But.......we do not have to follow that regimen. To be certain I offered her correct information I checked myself with an old reference source sitting in our gardening/nursery book case. I see it was copyrighted in 1965 and we purchased it in 1966, 43 years ago. The Rockwells' Complete Guide to Successful Gardening by Fredrick Rockwell and Esther Grayson. It is still accurate.

I told my friend that she can dig them now if the foliage has "ripened" or lost its color. It's good to do it now while you can easily identify the bulb. Dig them, separate them, and replant them where you want them.

Be certain to replant them to the correct depth. If it should be planted to a depth of 6 inches, that means to measure from the top of the bulb to the surface. One way to achieve that depth is to place a the long handle of a tool (or a long wooden spoon) over the hole and stick a ruler into the hole to measure from the top of the bulb to the surface. A bulb planter is helpful because it has measurements on it.

Here is what my reference says:

"After being dug, the bulbs are dried off, preferably in a cool place under cover, spread out in flats so that air can reach them freely. After drying, store in bags or boxes, away from direct sunshine, and safe from rodents, until time for replanting in autumn. Daffodils being poisonous, are safe from the attacks of rodents. As they start new root growth early it is quite all right to replant these as soon as they have been pulled apart, if this is more convenient than to dry and store them." p. 199

If it's time for division of bulbs in your garden, I hope this helps.

Hungry Plants need nourishment

Yes! We are hungry! When plants stir from dormancy after a long cold winter in the Midwest, they need some nourishment.

Last week, I fed roses, rhododendrons, azaleas, yews, vinca ground cover, boxwood, hollies, and blueberries with an acid fertilizer. Many of mine were looking a little anemic and this serving of plant food should jump start them. They will green up quickly and put out new growth.

You can do the same in your plant beds.

Drought Resistant Wildflowers

Wildflowers create a riot of color in the garden. Every region of our great country has its indigenous wildflowers. The Midwest is blessed with coneflowers, oxeye daisies, rudbeckias, false indigo, columbine, hollyhocks, and many others.

They dig deep into the soil and draw moisture from the depths, making them drought resistant plants. I keep one plant bed for daylilies, bulbs, wildflowers, and other self-seeding flowers. Because they are self-seeding, I can't mulch to control weeds, so weeds usually get ahead of me in the spring.

My wildflower bed is springing to life with new plants, so it is time to clean out the dried stalks from last year's flowers. I leave coneflowers, rudbeckies, and hollyhock stocks, etc. standing through the winter months. Seed heads provide food for winter birds and interesting architectural elements in the snow.

The dried stalks break off easily at ground level; then I rake them into piles and gather them for disposal. If you compost, add them to the compost heap, but only if they are disease free. If they are diseased, burn them or dispose of them away from your garden area. I put mine on a burn pile.

I'll enjoy bouquets on the table from now until frost.

Gnarledly Ugly Weeping Mulberry

Trusty loppers and hand pruners in hand, I tackled a tangle of limbs in my weeping mulberry. The limbs were a tangled mess because, over the years, I pruned incorrectly. I cut long tendrils back, maybe half way to their source. The cut created an apical bud which produced new growth at that point.

I had long graceful tendrils from the top of the tree, and I had short branches from the middle of the trimmed tendrils. Limbs close to the trunk got thicker and more gnarledly ugly.

A few days ago I decided to do something about it. I decided I couldn't make it worse and at this point, almost anything would be an improvement. I cut and pulled and cut and pulled until a huge pile of of limbs lay on the ground. I was careful to go all the way to the beginning of the branch, so any new growth should begin there. My husband finished the job with a tree saw and removed large bare stubs from the inside.

Presently, the tree is denuded, but wonderfully thinned. I'm confident new leaves will soon cover the branches and they will hang to the ground before summer's end, creating a cool secluded "hide away" for grandsons.

Asparagus!

O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!" Asparagus! I harvested my first lunch sized crop yesterday. This morning, I had the joy of teaching Jesse, my ten year old grandson, how to harvest asparagus.

This is a treat one must plan for in advance. I planted several crowns in a 6 inch deep furrow with composted horse manure and good garden soils last spring. I could have increased my yield if I had applied 1 pound 0-46-0 (triple superphosphate) or 2 pounds of 0-20-0 (superphosphate), or 4 pounds of steamed bone meal per 50 feet of row.

If you plant some this spring, and now is the time, put the phosphate in the bottom of the furrow before planting. This will make phosphorus immediately available to the crowns. I had asparagus fern last year and did not harvest any, but am now enjoying the reward of planning ahead.

When the ground temperature reaches 50F, asparagus sends up shoots. Early in the season, 7 to 9 inch spears may be harvested every 2 to 4 days. As air temperatures increase, harvesting will increase to once or twice per day, harvesting 5 to 7 inch spears before the tips start to fern out and lose quality.

Just snap the spears off. There is no need to cut asparagus below the soil with a knife. In fact, this may injure other buds on the crown that will send up new spears. The small stub that is left in the soil after snapping ,dries up and disintegrates. New spears come from another bud on the crown not the old spot.

Research shows that you do not need to wait 2 years before harvesting newly planted asparagus. Actually, harvesting the first year several times throughout a three-week period, will stimulate more bud production on the crown and provide greater yields in future years.

Two years after planting, the harvest time increases to about 4 to 6 weeks, depending on air temperature. Stop harvesting when the diameter of 3/4 of the spears becomes small (less than 3/8 inch).

At your last harvest, snap all the spears off at ground level and apply 1/2 pound of ammonium nitrate fertilizer per 50 feet of row or sidedress with fish emulsion or similar material. Remove weeds. New spears emerge, fern out, and create a large canopy to cover the space between the rows which shades out weed growth.

Leave the tops on as long as they are green. This foliage makes the food reserves to store for next year's crop.

Morning is the best time to harvest. Immerse the spears in ice cold water to remove the heat and store in a plastic bag in the refrigerator at 38-40 degrees F. Asparagus keeps for 1 to 2 weeks with little loss of quality.

So steam some asparagus; make a sandwich, sip a cup of coffee, and enjoy. O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!" From The Jabberwocky by Lewis Carroll

Grass needs a haircut.

Lush lawns take work and mowing properly is key to building a lush lawn. When I drive through a neighborhood and see grass cut so short, I can almost see the soil, I lament. That poor homeowner will probably spend money on fertilizer to encourage his grass to grow and weed killer to destroy the weeds he encourages with SHORT grass. But wait, a dry spell is on its way in late summer and a brown lawn for this poor fellow.

Grass is more than a stem, but when we cut it short, all we have left are stems. Set your mower high and cut grass at least 3 inches high. Then you will see blades (leaves) on the stems. Cutting the grass high encourages more growth in the roots, produces more stems with more blades of grass on the stems, and creates a thick carpet that begs for bare feet.

Thick grass saves you money and enhances your environment in the process. Who isn't interested in saving hard earned money? Thick grass discourages weeds, so you purchase less weed killers. Thick grass is more immune to dry spells in late summer, so you save money on watering, not to mention the time saved for more interesting pursuits.

So set your mower deck high, (mine is as high as it will go) and enjoy a greener summer.

Rhubarb! Scrumpdelecious!

Rhubarb stirs pleasant childhood memories in my soul. A freshly pulled stalk, wiped clean on my shorts or shirt, and popped into my mouth produced an unforgettable sweet/sour taste that I can actually feel in my mouth as I think about it. Remember how those glands on either side of your mouth react to sour tastes? I can feel it now.

My mom had a big patch of rhubarb along a fence row bordering her rather huge garden. She created lots of rhubarb treats through the spring while it was crisp, tender, and TART!

Rhubarb, fresh cut, combined with juicy red strawberries, then tucked between two crusts and baked for 50 minutes at 425 F produced my first pie for the spring season.

My husband, David, and I, each savored a warm, juicy slice with glasses of cold milk.

I planted a pot of Canadian Red Rhubarb in a plant bed last spring. I had access to some composted horse manure and worked that into the soil at the time. Then a couple of weeks ago I dug some rich humus soil in around the plant. Although our spring has been cold and wet, the rhubarb has thrived. So Tuesday, I pulled all the largest stalks and made a pie. Pulling large stalks stimulates the plant to produce more.

Composted horse or cow manure is a good amendment to any soil. Check out your local garden supply for bags or if you are fortunate, perhaps a neighbor has a pile near the horse barn. Composed manures are odor free, so you can use them near the house or wherever you need them.

No compost available? There are many alternatives including Proven Winners plant foods.

Back to childhood memories. Our next door neighbor's rhubarb patch flourished near our gravel drive. The leaves on those plants were so large, they served as umbrellas on rainy childhood days. I wonder if little girls still make umbrellas from rhubarb leaves and splash in the puddles?