In article ,
"songbird" wrote:

David E. Ross wrote:
songbird wrote:
David E. Ross wrote:
...
Put the remaining bulbs -- a few at a time -- in a paper or
plastic
bag with a generous amount of dusting sulfur. Gently shake
the
bag to
ensure each bulb is well coated with sulfur.

can i find this at a farmer/grain elevator type place?

You might find it there, but you might have to buy in bulk. I
buy
only 5-10 lbb at a time. Unlike plants, which I buy only at
nurseries, I sometimes buy sulfur and other supplies at a
lumber yard
or hardware store. But any comprehensive nursery should have
sulfur.

i'll see what i can find. thanks.


If you live in a cold-winter climate suitable for tulips,
replant them
immediately. Don't bother storing them. If you live in a
mild-winter
climate, store them in a cool, dark place in slightly moist
peat moss,
which inhibits fungus; then refrigerate them in the vegetable
bin for
about 6-8 weeks just before planting.

cold winter, but too wet in the summer, and i can't
replant them immediately as i'm redoing their gardens
so they need to be out of the way for a bit. in the
past i have replanted immediately and they seem to
do ok, but i think some species like it drier than what
we get. so a few months out of the ground would
do that for sure.

Then store as I indicated for mild-winter areas. Just make
sure the
peat moss is slightly damp, not wet.

some reading i've been doing is recommending very dry
and hot for some varieties, so i would not use this as a
blanket recommendation.


Whenever you replant them, stir a handful of bone meal into
the
bottom
of the planting hole. Stir a half-handful of sulfur into the
rest of
the soil from the hole. Place about an inch of the sulfured
soil
above the bone meal area so that the bulb does not directly
touch the
fertilizer. Plant.

hm, i've avoided bone-meal for quite a while now because of
the disease problems (prion, brain sponge good bye memories).
however, i've been happy with a small layer of sharp sand in
between the bulb and the mixture below.

the mixture below i'm planning on using sharp sand and
some composted cow manure (perhaps 75/25 mix), but
avoiding peat moss entirely as it holds water and i don't
need any water retention. (the whole idea of raising the
beds and redoing them is to get things dryer). in the past
i'd used a mix of sand, clay and peat moss, but that has
turned out poorly (too wet too long and pH is too low).

Sand won't provide phosphorus. Unless you plan to eat the
tulips, I
would not worry about mad cow disease. However, you can
substitute
same amount of superphosphate for the bone meal. A single dose
of
either before planting -- where the roots will find it --
should last
several years. By the way, the handful is per bulb.

ok, i'll look into using that for the perennial tulips i plan
to leave in.

bone meal isn't a hazard if you don't have to handle it
at all, but i don't want even a whiff of the dust so i'll
avoid it completely. i'm not even sure i can get it
locally very easily at all (i don't see it in the stores).


Topping the layer of soil that has the bone meal or
superphosphate
with some sand is a good alternative to using the sulfured
soil.
However, there should be at least a small amount of sulfured
soil
underneath the bulbs; they should be completely surrounded with
sulfured soil to prevent fungus.

ok, i'll give it a shot and see what happens. actually,
i am likely to do several versions and compare
results now that i'm redoing anyways. this sort of
thing appeals to the tinkerer/scientist in me and
i'm finally getting a chance to do it the way i'd like.

i get big management brownie points if i use the
words "decorative, rocks, pebbles, and beach
stones".


If you soil is already somewhat
acidic, use a quarter-handful per bulb instead of a
half-handful.
Acidic soil tends to discourage fungus.

my mix for one bed was about a third peat, a third clay and
a third sand. the texture is wonderful to weed (compared to
full clay anything but cement is wonderful to weed ). we had
so much rain this year and the weather was perfect for fungus
early. i didn't notice it right away.

the other bed has been going for several years now
and is due for replacement. i have bulbs popping out the
surface. i'll do both at once since they are in the same
area and use the chance to reshape and redo the
surrounding pathways. all these have been on my list
to do for a few years now so it's about time.


If the soil is retaining too much water, omit adding any clay.
Top
your beds with gypsum (powdered soil gypsum, not decorative
gypsum
rock) and let the summer rains rinse it into the soil. This
will
improve drainage.

i was reading about gypsum, but wasn't sure i'd need any
at all if i raised the bed above grade and used plenty of
sharp sand along with the drain tubes... i'm probably
going to have to add some other kind of soil lightener
(perlite perhaps) because i don't want to go back to
peat moss again. what i have left i'm probably going to
turn into fake tufa stone with plenty of hollow spots for
bulbs... (with drain holes ).

we'll see what gets done.

thanks again,


songbird

Towards the end of your season, try planting buckwheat or rye as a cover
crop. They will lighten your soil considerably by introducing large
quantities of fine roots into it.
--
- Billy
"Fascism should more properly be called corporatism because it is the
merger of state and corporate power." - Benito Mussolini.
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