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Planting depths for bulbs
The general rule for bulbs is to plant them at a depth roughly twice
that of the bulb itself. Either that or some types have specific depths recommended for them. But I have up to three inches of coarse mulch on my flower beds (shredded hedge trimmings etc). Do I include this when estimating planting depth, or do I ignore it, scrape it aside and plant at the appropriate depth in the underlying soil? If the former, then for many smaller bulbs they wouldn't actually be in the soil at all, but just in the mulch, which doesn't seem right. -- Chris E-mail: christopher[dot]hogg[at]virgin[dot]net |
Chris Hogg wrote in message ... The general rule for bulbs is to plant them at a depth roughly twice that of the bulb itself. Either that or some types have specific depths recommended for them. But I have up to three inches of coarse mulch on my flower beds (shredded hedge trimmings etc). Do I include this when estimating planting depth, or do I ignore it, scrape it aside and plant at the appropriate depth in the underlying soil? If the former, then for many smaller bulbs they wouldn't actually be in the soil at all, but just in the mulch, which doesn't seem right. -- Chris E-mail: christopher[dot]hogg[at]virgin[dot]net Hi Chris, No, it wouldn't be right. Any bulb simply planted in the mulch would be a gift for birds, mice, squirrels, etc. Ignore the mulch. Take the soil surface as your working stratum and plant below it as per instruction for each bulb type. Spider |
On Sat, 11 Sep 2004 22:19:45 +0100, "Spider"
wrote: Hi Chris, No, it wouldn't be right. Any bulb simply planted in the mulch would be a gift for birds, mice, squirrels, etc. Ignore the mulch. Take the soil surface as your working stratum and plant below it as per instruction for each bulb type. Spider Thanks Spider. That's what I suspected, but I'm grateful for the confirmation. -- Chris E-mail: christopher[dot]hogg[at]virgin[dot]net |
"Spider" wrote in
: Hi Chris, No, it wouldn't be right. Any bulb simply planted in the mulch would be a gift for birds, mice, squirrels, etc. If you have very heavy/wet soil though, a mulch can be a way of growing bulbs that would otherwise rot. You simply put small bulbs on the soil surface, and stick the mulch on the top. Works very well for crocus, for example. I did this successfully, (though it was not a garden that had problems with bird or mouse attacks: in fact most of the time I was there, the bird population was spookily low: it's weird how you notice the absence of birdsong...) Victoria -- gardening on a north-facing hill in South-East Cornwall -- |
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In article , laura laura.1clfjp@n
ews.gardenbanter.co.uk writes Chris Hogg Wrote: The general rule for bulbs is to plant them at a depth roughly twice that of the bulb itself. Either that or some types have specific depths recommended for them. But I have up to three inches of coarse mulch on my flower beds (shredded hedge trimmings etc). Do I include this when estimating planting depth, or do I ignore it, scrape it aside and plant at the appropriate depth in the underlying soil? If the former, then for many smaller bulbs they wouldn't actually be in the soil at all, but just in the mulch, which doesn't seem right. I've always heard that it doesn't matter as the bulbs pull or push themselves to the correct depth Wishful thinking, I think. Or else Allium moly *enjoys* rolling around on the surface ;-) -- Kay "Do not insult the crocodile until you have crossed the river" |
"laura" wrote in message ... [snip] I've always heard that it doesn't matter as the bulbs pull or push themselves to the correct depth Why then do half of my Kaufmannia tulips always lie on top of the soil this time of the year? Franz |
"Janet Baraclough.." wrote in message ... The message from "Franz Heymann" contains these words: "laura" wrote in message ... [snip] I've always heard that it doesn't matter as the bulbs pull or push themselves to the correct depth Why then do half of my Kaufmannia tulips always lie on top of the soil this time of the year? They're trying to escape from your garden? Could be. Or squirrels. No squirrels, no mice, but vast hordes of jackdaws. However, I have never seen them rooting around in the soil. They content themselves with stealing what they can from the bird feeding sites. Franz |
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"Martin" wrote in message ... On Sat, 18 Sep 2004 22:08:23 +0000 (UTC), "Franz Heymann" wrote: "Sacha" wrote in message . uk... On 18/9/04 20:25, in article , "Janet Baraclough.." wrote: The message from "Franz Heymann" contains these words: "laura" wrote in message ... [snip] I've always heard that it doesn't matter as the bulbs pull or push themselves to the correct depth Why then do half of my Kaufmannia tulips always lie on top of the soil this time of the year? They're trying to escape from your garden? Or squirrels. Janet I hate to add to a possible myth but I do remember an old gardener telling me this about tulip bulbs - that they somehow 'work' themselves to the surface. And a few months back I read a book written by a woman making a garden in France who recommended planting tulip bulbs at least 9" deep to get the best results. Van Tubergen are now selling tulip trays. You fill these circular trays with soil and bulbs, plant them and then, when the tulips are finished, take them up, still filled with soil and put them somewhere out of sight to let the tulip foliage finish. How about just planting them in ordinary plastic pots and sink them into the soil? The bowl has a bottom like a sieve to allow the roots to grow through see picture http://www.vantubergen.nl/media/9753.jpg We've used them. My wife thinks the diameter 30cm is a bit small. Three for Euro4.90 incl VAT p&p Hey, they sound like the cat's whiskers. What is the approximate depth? I am considering using them for a production line wormery. When the worms have done one bowlful in, start another one on top. When you have a stack of three, harvest the bottom one and keep it in readiness for the next top unit. Franz |
On 18/9/04 23:08, in article , "Franz
Heymann" wrote: "Sacha" wrote in message k... snip I hate to add to a possible myth but I do remember an old gardener telling me this about tulip bulbs - that they somehow 'work' themselves to the surface. And a few months back I read a book written by a woman making a garden in France who recommended planting tulip bulbs at least 9" deep to get the best results. Van Tubergen are now selling tulip trays. You fill these circular trays with soil and bulbs, plant them and then, when the tulips are finished, take them up, still filled with soil and put them somewhere out of sight to let the tulip foliage finish. How about just planting them in ordinary plastic pots and sink them into the soil? You could certainly do that but I think these planters would make for a more interesting arrangement of the bulbs. From what I remember it's a hollow ring, so the bulbs would be more spread out and something to come on later could go directly into the earth in the middle. Then when you lift the ring out of the ground, you won't be left with nothing there at all, as you would be with a pot. -- Sacha www.hillhousenursery.co.uk South Devon (remove the weeds to email me) |
"Martin" wrote in message ... On Sun, 19 Sep 2004 09:45:10 +0000 (UTC), "Franz Heymann" wrote: "Martin" wrote in message .. . On Sat, 18 Sep 2004 22:08:23 +0000 (UTC), "Franz Heymann" wrote: "Sacha" wrote in message . uk... On 18/9/04 20:25, in article , "Janet Baraclough.." wrote: The message from "Franz Heymann" contains these words: "laura" wrote in message ... [snip] I've always heard that it doesn't matter as the bulbs pull or push themselves to the correct depth Why then do half of my Kaufmannia tulips always lie on top of the soil this time of the year? They're trying to escape from your garden? Or squirrels. Janet I hate to add to a possible myth but I do remember an old gardener telling me this about tulip bulbs - that they somehow 'work' themselves to the surface. And a few months back I read a book written by a woman making a garden in France who recommended planting tulip bulbs at least 9" deep to get the best results. Van Tubergen are now selling tulip trays. You fill these circular trays with soil and bulbs, plant them and then, when the tulips are finished, take them up, still filled with soil and put them somewhere out of sight to let the tulip foliage finish. How about just planting them in ordinary plastic pots and sink them into the soil? The bowl has a bottom like a sieve to allow the roots to grow through see picture http://www.vantubergen.nl/media/9753.jpg We've used them. My wife thinks the diameter 30cm is a bit small. Three for Euro4.90 incl VAT p&p Hey, they sound like the cat's whiskers. What is the approximate depth? About 10 cm. I am considering using them for a production line wormery. When the worms have done one bowlful in, start another one on top. When you have a stack of three, harvest the bottom one and keep it in readiness for the next top unit. Van Tubergen only seem to sell them in threes That's the number I would need. Isn't the bottom a bit too open to retain worms? You tell me. I haven't seen them yet. You could probably do the same on a larger scale with a pvc laundry basket. I am thinking only of disposing of the vegetable kitchen waste this way. Since there are only 2 of us in this menage, I doubt if we would need bigger units. (Assuming that the worms are as voracious as they say) Franz |
"Sacha" wrote in message k... On 18/9/04 23:08, in article , "Franz Heymann" wrote: "Sacha" wrote in message k... snip I hate to add to a possible myth but I do remember an old gardener telling me this about tulip bulbs - that they somehow 'work' themselves to the surface. And a few months back I read a book written by a woman making a garden in France who recommended planting tulip bulbs at least 9" deep to get the best results. Van Tubergen are now selling tulip trays. You fill these circular trays with soil and bulbs, plant them and then, when the tulips are finished, take them up, still filled with soil and put them somewhere out of sight to let the tulip foliage finish. How about just planting them in ordinary plastic pots and sink them into the soil? You could certainly do that but I think these planters would make for a more interesting arrangement of the bulbs. From what I remember it's a hollow ring, so the bulbs would be more spread out and something to come on later could go directly into the earth in the middle. Then when you lift the ring out of the ground, you won't be left with nothing there at all, as you would be with a pot. I must be missing a trick somewhere. What purpose does the ring serve? I thought the idea was to allow you to remove the bulbs soil and all to somewhere else to mature, so that the ground becomes available for something else for the rest of the season. Franz |
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