In this episode, we talk about an assortment of spring flowering bulbs to extend the bloom, as shared by my friend and design colleague Marty Carson from Three Seasons. We also talk about speedy ways to plant them.
Then we wrap up with Phil's Squirrel Dilemma, worthy of a standup comedy act. And how to prevent squirrels from digging up your bulbs.
Plus, a sidenote with Patti Doell of Little Big Farm's technique of bulb bouncing back to a previous story about No-till Gardening – Perhaps coining a new phrase- Low-till Gardening
Link to Related Stories:
Bulbs to Extend Spring Blooms
Phil's Squirrel Dilemma
Patti Doell of Little Big Farm, a cut flower farm, story on No-Till Gardening
Link to Brent & Becky's Bulb Website
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I'd love to hear about your garden and nature stories. And your thoughts about topics for future podcast episodes. You can email me at AskMaryStone@gmail.com. Thanks so much for tuning in :^)
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Thank you for sharing the garden of life,
Mary Stone, Columnist & Garden Designer
Garden Dilemmas? AskMaryStone.com
More about the Podcast and Column:
Welcome to Garden Dilemmas, Delights, and Discoveries.
It's not only about gardens; it's about nature's inspirations, about grasping the glories of the world around us, gathering what we learned from mother nature, and carrying these lessons into our garden of life. So, let's jump in in the spirit of learning from each other. We have lots to talk about.
Thanks for tuning in, Mary Stone
Garden Dilemmas? AskMaryStone.com
Direct Link to Podcast Page
Ep 81 Bulbs Extending Blooms & Deterring Squirrels
Sat, Nov 05, 2022 9:07PM • 10:53
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
bulbs, plant, garden, squirrels, bloom, dig, soil, bulbs, deter, irish spring, snowdrops, gardening, trench, delights, share, new jersey, mary stone, ask mary stone, garden dilemmas
SPEAKERS
Mary Stone
Mary Stone 00:00
Hello, fellow lovers of all things green. I'm Mary stone, and welcome to garden dilemmas, delights, and discoveries. It's not only about gardens; it's about nature's inspirations, about grasping the glories of the world around us, gathering what we learned from mother nature, and carrying these lessons into our garden of life. So let's jump in in the spirit of learning from each other. We have lots to talk about.
Mary Stone 00:26
Hello, there is Mary Stone on a very sunny screened porch. I wish I could share the view of what I'm looking out at, which are the leaves dancing from the sky. You know, they shift back and forth in the breeze, and the sun is so bright that there's a sheen on them. It's just so glorious, so glorious. I hope you have something beautiful to look at too. As you're listening.
Mary Stone 00:50
I have to thank those of you that reached back about last week's chat about Halloween history and Sycamore ghosts. It was a lot of fun to hear of the different festivities that folks celebrate with during the spooky season. And what a mystery Halloween is really when you think about it. Anyway, I don't know if any of you gave away bulbs, your sacks to the kids. We actually went over to Curt's brother's house, where 250 trick-or-treaters combed the neighborhood, and we ran out of candy actually. So it was funny, but nobody had any garden bulbs.
Mary Stone 01:28
Anyway, I thought I would share a story about spring flowering bulbs because we still have time to plant them. Then there are Phil’s squirrel dilemmas, sure to bring a laugh, so be sure to stay tuned for that part. And it starts like this.
Mary Stone 01:38
Hello fellow listeners and readers. It's an ideal time to plant spring flowering bulbs. So don't put away the gardening gear just yet. I adore sharing a deer-resistant lineup to extend the bloom, suggested by my friend and design colleague Marty of Three Seasons, who tells you you can get three to four months of continuous bloom from bulbs with the right planning. Brent and Becky's Bulbs. One of our favorites has a nifty bug finder on their online catalog that allows you to search by bloom and genus to make planning a breeze. So I'm going to go down the rundown of these this is such a good lineup way to hear.
Mary Stone 02:18
You know, winter is over when the glory of snow blooms. It's cheery star-like flowers and pink, white or purple. Then there's Siberian squill essential to the early spring garden, with pure white bells hanging and loose clusters on strappy leaves. They also come in blues, pinks, and violets.
Mary Stone 02:37
Choose a mix of daffodils from the small ones called ‘Tete-a-Tete’ to taller ones such as ‘Thalia,’, which are fragrant, all white with multiple blooms on one stem. The all-yellow February Gold is one of the earliest daffodils to bloom about the same time as the not-so-common Iris Reticulata, a tiny fragrant iris in glorious blues, white and yellow, and the later blooming Poet's Daffodil pheasants eye with little orange centers, such a cutie.
Mary Stone 03:11
There are ornamental onions, which are alliums that offer a sweet-smelling June flower variety such as Allium 'Globe Master' with large pom pom-like flowers paired with Foxtail Lilies long spikes add drama to the early summer garden; what a performance!
Mary Stone 03:28
So when to plant them. Well. A good rule of thumb is to plant bulbs when the average nighttime temperature is between 40 and 50 degrees or about six weeks before the ground freezing frost, which is mid to late fall in our neck of the woods. You don't want to plant bulbs too early because it leads to fungus and disease problems, and also, sometimes they literally decay, or they bloom poorly come spring. And then this is such a key point. This is kind of a pet peeve of mine; rather than a contrived row or onesie twosies, I should add, plant them randomly and close together, preferably 50 or 100. I know that sounds intimidating, but that makes a real impact, and it can go quickly planting them if you have a technique which we're going to talk about.
Mary Stone 04:15
Generally, bulbs should be planted at a depth about three times the bulbs' height, but follow the package directions. And then you must have sufficient drainage - this is also a thing that often happens where you plant them in heavy soil, and then they just don't get enough movement of water, and there's a problem with the rotting. So be sure to loosen the planting area beyond where you're planting the bulbs if the ground is compacted. And if you have clay soil, as we do here, adding some composted soil around them would be a good idea.
Mary Stone 04:46
Gadget lovers rave about bulb augers that you can attach to a heavy-duty drill. They're about two inches wide and two feet long and work like a drill bit. But digging the old-fashioned way may be more manageable for the tough clay and rocky soil like ours.
Mary Stone 05:02
I've learned a quick way to plant is to dig a trench as deep as your bulb directions specify, placing the soil on old plywood or stiff cardboard as you dig. Loosen the dirt at the bottom of the trench and position the bulbs pointy end up. Slide the soil back in and water thoroughly if the soil is dry. And if he can't figure out which is the pointy end, plant the bulbs on their side. The are geotropic, which means the right themselves as they grow. In other words, bulbs know which end is up - smart bulbs.
Mary Stone 05:36
You know, I was just visiting Patti Doell at Little Big farm we talked about Patty way back in episode 28. She gave us coaching on No-till Gardening. And she actually dug a huge trench. I can't even imagine how long it is, and she's going to be planting 600 bulbs today. Oh, did she say more than that? I can't recall. But anyway, she was saying that the technique of trenching is so ideal, but of course, it's contra opposed to the No-till Gardening technique. And we both agree that sometimes digging in the old-fashioned way makes a lot of sense. And in fact, let's just call it Low-till Gardening. I think that's a new term we'll come up with.
Mary Stone 06:15
Suppose I add snowdrops to Marty's lineup. Though she's not a snow lover like me. Galanthus does create beautiful carpets of adorable little knotting white bells that sit above grass-like foliage, just about when winter is coming to an end, resembling blankets of snow. So not only can you extend the bloom, but you can extend the snow that makes me happy. Garden dilemmas, Ask Mary Stone.com.
Mary Stone 06:46
It's always fun to talk about planting balls. But there's always this other component of it that brings a story from long ago that I just want to share a little bit of if we have time. And it's a story about Phil's Squirrel Dilemma in Whitehall, Pennsylvania, where they have a stand-up comedy routine. Phil asked how to discourage squirrels from eating bulbs and other garden delights. I tried cayenne pepper to no avail. I encountered this squirrel with a broom and was shocked when he started growling at me. Suggestions? My come back. Hello, Phil. I'm chuckling as I envisioned and growling squirrel. It seems your squirrels like spicy food.
Mary Stone 07:25
Actually, I learned that squirrels dig up bulbs not always to eat them but to find a ready-made spot to stash nuts. So there you go. Here I thought planting bulbs that they don't like, such as daffodils and onions and snowdrops and hyacinths, would work. But not always they're just digging them up to make room for their new finds.
Mary Stone 07:47
They say laying chicken wire or plastic netting over bulbs works, and products with oil of mustard are effective, as is capsaicin, a hot pepper byproduct that deters many pests. Phil squirrels may like the taste, though.
Mary Stone 08:01
Speaking of Desperate Measures, the Old Farmer's Almanac lists tips, including piling straw around plants or putting toothpicks in the soil as squirrels don't like to dig around them. Or place coarsely crushed oyster shells around balls that scratch their feet. It doesn't sound very nice, does it? Mothballs deter them too, but so much for enjoying fragrant flowers. Some safe flakes of soap on top of the soil works great. It sounds like the Irish Spring soap remedy to deter deer. Have you ever seen that? You know people hang the Irish Spring soap, which is kind of a bright green, all around their plants? I don't know if it works, but it's certainly not pretty. Nor is human or dog hair around your plants. I read bloodmeal sprinkled around soil works. At least it's not unsightly, and it provides a nitrogen boost for plants. Others suggest bird netting. How about aluminum foil? They say squirrels don't like the reflection. Talk about garden art.
Mary Stone 09:00
I asked Marty about bone meal, which is another squirrel deterrent people talk about it and it's also a fertilizer. Unlike blood meal, bone meal won't burn your plants if you use too much of it. So that's one of the good things. But Marty said, "I used to use bone meal, but dogs love it," so her dogs were digging up her bulbs. I can picture it now. So that's not terribly effective, is it?
Mary Stone 09:23
Later I checked in with Phil. Hi Mary, yesterday, while making dessert, two squirrels were around my screen door, clutching the screen and touching their noses. I didn't know they were attracted to chocolate, and I had to go towards the door to get them off. Then I picked up my Calico, Lily, and put her near the door. Get the squirrels, I yelled. She made eye contact with me and then slowly went back to her bed. Some watch cat. I'm ready to call the National Guard. Anyway, thanks for sharing your antics, Phil. Sometimes the best thing to do about garden dilemmas is laugh. Garden dilemmas. Ask Mary stone.com
Mary Stone 10:03
It was such a delight to chat with Phil about his quirky squirrel dilemmas. I hope you enjoyed them, and I hope you enjoyed our time together on the screen porch I always do and so appreciate you sharing the podcast with a friend or two so more can join us and learning and growing in the garden of life. It means so much. See you next time.
Mary Stone 10:23
You can follow garden dilemmas on Facebook or online at Garden dilemmas.com and on Instagram at hashtag Mary Elaine Stone. Garden dilemmas, delights, and discoveries is produced by Alex Bartling. Thanks for coming by. I look forward to chatting again from my screen porch. And always remember to embrace the unexpected in this garden of life. Have a great day.