Time to get your fall gardening underway
East Coast experts offer tips to ensure best chance of success
It's hard to believe summer is gone. Now that the grass doesn't need to be cut every other day, it's time to turn your attention to fall gardening.
In Newfoundland, Elaine and Len Hickey are co-owners of Hickey's Greenhouses. With locations in Dunville and Kelligrews, they have been in operation for more than 30 years.
Elaine says now is an ideal time to plant perennials in Newfoundland. She recommends putting mulch on the bulbs after they are planted. Bulbs, she says, sleep during winter and the mulch provides a blanket for them.
“In anticipation of a year with little snow, it is important to put four inches of much on top of your planted bulbs, so if you don't get a blanket of snow, they have a blanket,” says Hickey.
WHY PLANT IN FALL?
Jan and Glen Vickers are the owners and operators of The Fiddle Shed, located four miles outside Baddeck, Cape Breton, on Highway 205.
“Generally, for bulbs being planted now, and annuals being planted in the spring, you should know where you want to plant them, what type of conditions they need to grow in such as soil, daylight, temperature (zone) and water/humidity," says Jan.
Other considerations Vickers points out include how big the bulb flowers and annual plants grow as well as what space and nutrients they will need.
BEST BULB BETS
Vickers says for Nova Scotia climate (which is in Zone 5 or 6) they recommend snowdrops, narcissus, crocus, allium, tulips and hyacinth.
“Remember that small bulbs tend to produce small flowers and large bulbs produce large flowers,” Vickers says.
Newfoundland and Labrador, however, is home actually to seven different planting zones, ranging from zero to six.
That being said, Hickey offers some best bets regarding bulbs in the Newfoundland climate: “crocuses, tulips and daffodils tend to be able to withstand the harsh climate,” says Hickey.
That's what she sees the most, she explains, which tells her they are the heartiest.
GOOD VS BAD BULBS
When it comes to buying bulbs to plant for next spring, Hickey points out there are top grade bulbs that are larger in size and lesser grade bulbs that are smaller. She recommends buying the top grade.
The bulbs also need to be firm. Hickey also recommends making sure the bulbs haven't already begun to sprout. Do a visual inspection, Vickers says.
“Bulbs should look complete with no bits missing, be firm to the touch, have no mould and be a good weight relative to the size of the bulb,” she says.
GET THE GROUND READY
Vickers recommends preparing
the ground well before planting the bulbs in the fall or annuals in the spring by “adding compost and sand for better drainage and nutrients such as seaweed compost, fish blood and bone meal to the soil.”
Vickers also points out that the area will need to be well drained because if it's not, this will ultimately lead to the bulbs rotting.
For first-time gardeners, Vickers reminds them “you will need to ensure you plant the bulb with the ‘pointy' end upwards and to a depth of three times the height of the bulb.”
Before you plant, Hickey says, read the tags that accompany your bulbs, shrubs, tress, and plants.
“The tags will tell you how deep and how far apart to plant them."
WHAT NOT TO DO
They are also some things Hickey recommends not doing.
“Don't cover the bulbs with plastic because on sunny days, the bulbs will cook under plastic ... mulch is better,” she says.
And don't rush the process. “When I am planting a garden bed, I plant the tallest in back or in the middle if the bed is one that you walk around,” she says. “Place them on top of the soil first and leave them in pot for a day or so and think about it. Once they are in the ground, it is a bit late to change your mind.”
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