In the spring, a young man’s fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love. Whereas in autumn a gardeners fancy turns to spring.

No sooner has autumn set in than we gardeners begin to think of spring and spring bulb planting. There is a wide selection of bulbs available for planting now and blooming in spring, the following is just a small selection those available…

Allium (flowering garlic),

Anemone (wind flower),

Crocus,

Cyclamen,

Galanthus (Snowdrop),

Hyacinth,

Iris,

Narcissus (daffodil),

Scillia (bluebell),

Tulip,

Now, choosing the right bulbs involves more than just selecting colours and flowers you like. Bulb size and more importantly, bulb health are equally significant factors in selecting your spring garden bulbs. I suggest you carry out my personal quality test for bulbs before you go ahead and plant.

Healthy bulbs should be firm and heavy for their size. They should not feel overly dry or light. Certain bulbs (daffodils etc) will have loose and peeling skin, this is normal and nothing to worry about.

In the case of bulbs, “bigger is better”, big bulbs usually mean a large amount of stored food to produce brilliant blooms the following season. Smaller, bargain bulbs may take two years to produce blooms good enough for your garden.

The colour of the bulbs skin should be uniform with no dark or light patches. Any bulbs with weak or spongy areas should not be planted, this is often a tell tale sign of rot.

If the bulbs you select appear to tick all the above boxes then you are well on your way to a colourful return from this season’s bulb planting.

Weather permitting; you should try to plant your bulbs quite soon upon arriving home from the garden centre. Bulbs continually deteriorate the longer they are out of the soil. If you cannot plant them right away, store them in a cool place such as your garden shed or garage. Never store them in closed bags as they might rot. Bulbs need to breathe; this is why you will see garden centre displaying bulbs in perforated or net bags.

You have your garden tools in hand, you’re thinking about plant bulb in spring, and you’re wondering if you are going to waste time and money doing so. No, you’re not. You just need to consider these tips before embarking on spring bulb planting.

The main thing to know about bulbs is they need to go through a “winterized” period before planting.

The optimal time for planting bulbs is when the ground temperatures are still below 60 degrees Fahrenheit.

The tricky part is when temperatures have already risen, or you expect the spring ground temperatures to rise above the 60 degrees soon.

What do you do then?

You fool the bulbs into “believing” they have gone through winter.

Place the bulbs in the refrigerator crisper for between six to twelve weeks.

Keep them in well-ventilated bags, and keep them away from other vegetables. Those vegetables give off gases that can abort the germination of the bulbs.

If you have a lot of bulbs to plant, consider getting an old refrigerator specifically for this task. Your family will not be pleased if the refrigerator is full to the brim with your bulbs!

After the six to twelve week period, follow these easy steps to get the bulbs into the ground.

1. Make the holes large enough so that the developing roots will have enough soft soil around them to spread and not be crowded.

2. Thoroughly soak the soil that surrounds the hole and scrape ridges in the sides of the hole that will give the roots some form of purchase to penetrate the harder soil.

3. Position the bulb so that it is the same depth down the hole as it was from the top edge of the container. Place loose soil underneath the bulb to raise it if the hole is too deep.

4. Fill the hole and make sure it is well watered either through your efforts or nature’s efforts.

Your spring planted bulbs might bloom that same spring, if you planted them early enough.

If you planted them late in spring, you might have to wait till next year before you will enjoy their color and splendor.

Learning how to plant a vegetable garden is not hard, but without careful planning and proper follow through, your garden may perform poorly.  If done correctly it pays off with big benefits in so many ways.  Before you know it you will be picking perfectly ripe, perfectly delicious tomatoes without having to wonder what chemicals went into growing them.

The most important part of successful gardening is to properly prepare the soil.  A routine soil test gives information on any lime requirement, phosphorous and potassium needs and estimated nitrogen requirements. A good soil mixture contains two parts loam, one parts and, and one part organic matter and many pre-mixed soil mixtures are available at garden centers.  When manure is added to the soil, it must be composted prior to planting, because fresh, hot manure will also burn your plants.  Vegetables need a lot of nutrition to grow well, so the better you prepare the soil before planting, the better chances you have of producing a bountiful crop. For information on soil testing, call your local county extension educator or the local university soil testing laboratory.

Planting a vegetable garden is not hard, but without careful planning and proper follow through, your garden may perform poorly.  Tilling the soil in late fall facilitates earlier spring planting.  Cool versus warm planting periods are determined by your choice of cool-season vegetables and warm-season vegetables.

Successful vegetable gardening involves far more than just popping a few seeds into the ground and waiting for a tomato to appear. When sowing your seeds stretch a string between the two stakes you set to mark the row, or use a straight piece of lumber, and use it as a guide to open a ‘V’ shaped furrow with the corner of your hoe.  Tear the corner of the seed package off and use your finger to tap the package lightly as you move down the row, carefully distributing the seeds evenly. Larger type seeds may be placed individually in the row.  You will want to plant extra seeds in each row to allow for failed germination, and for thinning.  Cover the seeds with fine soil (no clods or rocks).  After the seeds sprout, the weaker seedlings should be pinched off to give the rest enough room to grow.

Vegetables that are leaves or stems, such as cabbages and onions, can usually be harvested over a long period as they are needed.  Vegetables that are the fruit of the plant, such as peas, beans and tomatoes, should be picked every two or three days to get them when they are first ripe.  Any vegetable garden should receive a minimum of six hours of direct sunlight during the day and grow best on soil that is well drained. Vegetable gardens do not always have to be laid out in large plots in the backyard; you can grow them nearly anywhere as long as all their growing conditions are met and your choice of plants will be largely determined by the likes and dislikes of your family.  If the same garden plot is used for vegetables for many years, your crops should be rotated, so that each type of vegetable is in a different position during the following season. 

Planting a vegetable garden is hard work but for both the beginner and experienced gardener the rewards can be delicious.