Bulbs to Plant, Bulbs to Store; Avoiding a Gardening Oops.

joenesgarden — Sat, 01 Dec 2012 10:00:00 +0000

Welcome to December and the monthly Gardening Oops … the GOOPs confessional. On the first of each month, here at joene's garden, it's time to fess up a GOOPs, a garden-related miss-step or downright mistakes. The December 2012 GOOPs theme is too much to do, too little time, all revolving around bulbs and tubers.

Autumn is planting time for spring-blooming bulbs. My order of Hyacinthoides (Spanish Bluebells), Camassia quamash, Dutch Iris, and two varieties of Crocus tommasinianus arrived and promptly went to the garage for safe keeping until planting.

The hyacinthoides and Camassia found permanent soil-based homes a week ago, with the helping hands of three-year-old granddaughter Avery - her first experience helping grandma plant bulbs.

Not so for the iris and crocus. They remain packaged in the garage.

Does this qualify as a GOOPs? Not yet. Even in December, in southern Connecticut, it's not too late to plant spring-blooming bulbs, provided the ground has not yet frozen solid. The predicted warm weekend temperatures should entice me to plant these beauties outside. If not, they'll be planted in pots and stored in the garage or the cold stairwell of the basement hatchway. With a bit of soil moisture, and a few weeks of the cold temperatures bulbs need to sprout, late winter should bring new growth. A third, least desirable, option is storing the bulbs in paper bags in the refrigerator to pot up later. Though never trying the refrigerator storage thing myself, it's purported to work.

Another bulb to-do: properly storing the canna bulbs. Cannas are a bit too cold-intolerant to survive outside through zone 6 winters. Rarely do I take on a plant/bulb that requires extra care to survive Connecticut weather, but a friend shared these cannas last spring. They grew beautifully all summer in large clay pots in full sun, needing little more than regular water, so now I'm hooked. Removing the bulbs from their pots was quite a chore but, after yanking, tugging, and forcing the bulbs from the soil, they went into a cardboard box in the garage to let the soil dry. And, there they sit.

According the the video below, all that's needed now is to place them in a paper bag, move them to the warmer, but still cool, basement, and check them occasionally to make sure they are not too dry.

Canna care

Time will tell whether this canna experience becomes a GOOPs … they may just survive my neglect to grow in potted homes again next summer.

The last bulb … well, actually tuber … left on my to-do is horseradish.

The tubers, dug from the ground, shaken free of as much soil as possible, and left in a cardboard box to dry and cure now need remaining soil brushed off. Then, after washing and peeling, they will be food-processor ground. It takes some doing to turn these unattractive, fresh dug horseradish roots into an edible condiment, but the sweetness of the finished product makes it worthwhile.

Tick-tock, tick-tock … all I need is time.

Do you find time lacking in your gardening life? You can share your tale of time-woe, or confess another type of GOOPs, in a comment below or on your blog … just leave a link and a teaser comment below.

Don't be shy. All gardeners have GOOPs. If you've not made mistakes, you are not gardening hard enough.

Categories: Bulbs, Edibles, Gardening, GOOPs-Gardening Oops, Techniques.
Tags: cannas, gardening in Connecticut, gardening oops - GOOPs, horseradish, spring-blooming bulbs.

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joene's garden

Newsy gardens & plants – April 9, 2010

joenesgarden — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 18:16:18 +0000

Newsy gardens & plants – April 9, 2010

Imagine a mass of climbing roses. When in bloom, all you see is beauty. But look under the blossoms to the snarled, jumbled mass of thorny vines supporting the flowery show and things don't look so rosy. This analogy explains my feelings about indoor flower shows. I enjoy the sights and smells of these massive productions. I love the exposure to ideas of other gardeners and landscapers – madcap and sensible alike. The local big show, the

But the questioning skeptic in me has to ask: how much precious, non-renewable fuel and energy goes into creating each indoor oasis? Multiply this by the number of regional garden shows held across the States and one really has to question the 'greenness' of garden shows.

The Connecticut Flower and Garden Show was held in February - the dreariest, grayest of months in southern New England and it could not have been a more welcome time to soak up a bit of spring, albeit forced. The San Francisco Flower and Garden Show happened more recently. Take a stroll through the Designers look to the future of gardening photo stream. You'll see «The Living Room,» a room sized box with exterior walls plastered with various types of sedum similar to these from my garden, and other edgy and not-so designs. Whether the photos elicit a «What?» reaction or get the creative juices flowing, catching a peek at designers' ideas is always interesting.

After glimpsing «futuristic» garden designs, come back down to earth at the Smithsonian Institution's interactive website Dig It! The Secrets of Soil. Plow into the info the Soil Science Society of America portrayed during their exhibit of the same name at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History, in Washington DC. The exhibit ran from July 2008 into January 2010, but the Soil Science Society of America is prusuing a permanent soil exhibit. In the meantime visit the State Soils feature on the Dig It! site to read the soil tidbits listed for your state. The Connecticut link explains why so many areas, including where I live, are covered by masses of glacial rock – we grow great rocks around here. What I didn't know: Windsor soils increase the fertility of the northern regions of the CT River valley in the Nutmeg State. Maybe you'll learn something about soils in your state. The Dig It! site is full of lots of other interesting soil facts.

Probe deeper into the science behind making cut flowers last with the USDA's Agricultural Research Service. Plant physiologists there are studying how a synthetic version of cytokinin – a naturally occurring plant compound – extends the life of cut flowers and potted plants. The April 2010 issue of Agricultural Research magazine explains more. Maybe this will be the answer to making cut flowers last, particularly for those who forget to change the vase water.

You might also enjoy Ann Raver's experience Growing Your Own Horseradish and Brooklyn Botanic Garden's saving native plants project. Texas wildflower displays are predicted to be spectacular this year. Plus, learn about the dirty secrets of the cut flower industry as Amy Stewart portrays in her book, Flower Confidential – The Good, the Bad, the Beautiful in the Business of Cut Flowers.

I hope to make Newsy gardens & plants a regular Friday feature here. Last week's version seemed pretty popular - stay tuned for more.

Categories: Bulbs, Conferences/Shows, Newsy Items.
Tags: Brooklyn Botanic Garden, cut flowers, flower shows, horseradish, soils, Texas wildflowers.