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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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On 19/9/04 17:10, in article , "Franz
Heymann" wrote: "Sacha" wrote in message k... snip 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. The ground will be available straight away if you plant something in the middle of the hollow ring. If you wish, you could then plant another 'something' to take over from the ring, too. What it gives you is the choice, I suppose. But why don't you go to the Bressingham site and have a look? -- Sacha |
"Sacha" wrote in message k... [snip] The ground will be available straight away if you plant something in the middle of the hollow ring. If you wish, you could then plant another 'something' to take over from the ring, too. What it gives you is the choice, I suppose. But why don't you go to the Bressingham site and have a look? I think I am beginning to understand the shape of the object you are trying to describe, but it does not correspond to the simple sieve-like shape in the picture of the URL which Martin originally posted. I had a look at the Bressingham site some time ago and I could not find anything to do with bulb planting pots. That is probably just my general ineffectualness. I will have another look. Franz |
"Franz Heymann" wrote in message ... "Sacha" wrote in message k... [snip] The ground will be available straight away if you plant something in the middle of the hollow ring. If you wish, you could then plant another 'something' to take over from the ring, too. What it gives you is the choice, I suppose. But why don't you go to the Bressingham site and have a look? I think I am beginning to understand the shape of the object you are trying to describe, but it does not correspond to the simple sieve-like shape in the picture of the URL which Martin originally posted. I had a look at the Bressingham site some time ago and I could not find anything to do with bulb planting pots. That is probably just my general ineffectualness. I will have another look. I have had another look and I still can't find anything to do with bulb planters in that site. Ihave also made enquiries at 2 large garden centres in the vicinity, and neither of them have heard of them. I will ring Bressingham tomorrow. Franz |
On 20/9/04 17:47, in article , "Franz
Heymann" wrote: snip I have had another look and I still can't find anything to do with bulb planters in that site. Ihave also made enquiries at 2 large garden centres in the vicinity, and neither of them have heard of them. I will ring Bressingham tomorrow. I had to register, which is painless and found this which shows an actual picture, Franz. Whooohooo! Hope it helps. http://www.bressinghamgardensonline....h_result.php?k eywords=80050 -- Sacha www.hillhousenursery.co.uk South Devon (remove the weeds to email me) |
"Martin" wrote in message ... On Mon, 20 Sep 2004 06:26:18 +0000 (UTC), "Franz Heymann" wrote: "Sacha" wrote in message . uk... [snip] The ground will be available straight away if you plant something in the middle of the hollow ring. If you wish, you could then plant another 'something' to take over from the ring, too. What it gives you is the choice, I suppose. But why don't you go to the Bressingham site and have a look? I think I am beginning to understand the shape of the object you are trying to describe, but it does not correspond to the simple sieve-like shape in the picture of the URL which Martin originally posted. I had a look at the Bressingham site some time ago and I could not find anything to do with bulb planting pots. That is probably just my general ineffectualness. I will have another look. It's a rotten web site Try http://www.bressinghamgardensonline....oducts_id/1037 There's something odd about the girl too, but don't let that distract you :-) I've ordered 6. (Planters, not girls) I'll let folks know whether they are good or bad. Franz |
"Sacha" wrote in message k... On 20/9/04 17:47, in article , "Franz Heymann" wrote: snip I have had another look and I still can't find anything to do with bulb planters in that site. Ihave also made enquiries at 2 large garden centres in the vicinity, and neither of them have heard of them. I will ring Bressingham tomorrow. I had to register, which is painless and found this which shows an actual picture, Franz. Whooohooo! Hope it helps. http://www.bressinghamgardensonline....h_result.php?k eywords=80050 Hello Sacha, You and Martin you have jointly steered me to what I anticipate to be a successful ending to my quest. Franz |
On 20/9/04 21:43, in article , "Franz
Heymann" wrote: snip Hello Sacha, You and Martin you have jointly steered me to what I anticipate to be a successful ending to my quest. Franz Oh, good - I hope they turn out to be what you want. People could probably construct something similar out of chicken wire, don't you think? -- Sacha www.hillhousenursery.co.uk South Devon (remove the weeds to email me) |
"Sacha" wrote in message k... On 20/9/04 21:43, in article , "Franz Heymann" wrote: snip Hello Sacha, You and Martin you have jointly steered me to what I anticipate to be a successful ending to my quest. Franz Oh, good - I hope they turn out to be what you want. People could probably construct something similar out of chicken wire, don't you think? Yes, probably. But what do you do with all that chicken wire which is left over after you have made all the baskets you want from only a tenth of the roll of wire? {:-)) Franz |
On 21/9/04 7:34, in article , "Franz
Heymann" wrote: "Sacha" wrote in message k... On 20/9/04 21:43, in article , "Franz Heymann" wrote: snip Hello Sacha, You and Martin you have jointly steered me to what I anticipate to be a successful ending to my quest. Franz Oh, good - I hope they turn out to be what you want. People could probably construct something similar out of chicken wire, don't you think? Yes, probably. But what do you do with all that chicken wire which is left over after you have made all the baskets you want from only a tenth of the roll of wire? {:-)) I *think* you can buy it by the metre, can't you? I used to use it a fair bit for doing big flower arrangements. Failing that, Franz, you will discover that what you most need in life is a sturdy fruit cage and adjust your thinking accordingly. ;-) -- Sacha www.hillhousenursery.co.uk South Devon (remove the weeds to email me) |
"Sacha" wrote in message k... On 21/9/04 7:34, in article , "Franz Heymann" wrote: "Sacha" wrote in message k... On 20/9/04 21:43, in article , "Franz Heymann" wrote: snip Hello Sacha, You and Martin you have jointly steered me to what I anticipate to be a successful ending to my quest. Franz Oh, good - I hope they turn out to be what you want. People could probably construct something similar out of chicken wire, don't you think? Yes, probably. But what do you do with all that chicken wire which is left over after you have made all the baskets you want from only a tenth of the roll of wire? {:-)) I *think* you can buy it by the metre, can't you? I tried a couple of years ago and the firm would not let me have less than a roll. But never mind, for better or worse, those much discussed van Tubingen baskets are on the way........ I used to use it a fair bit for doing big flower arrangements. Failing that, Franz, you will discover that what you most need in life is a sturdy fruit cage and adjust your thinking accordingly. ;-) You can't build a fruit cage on soil which is only 6" thick before you hit bedrock. {:-(( Franz |
On 21/9/04 10:18, in article , "Franz
Heymann" wrote: snip You can't build a fruit cage on soil which is only 6" thick before you hit bedrock. {:-(( This could start a whole new thread on raised fruit beds! ;-) -- Sacha www.hillhousenursery.co.uk South Devon (remove the weeds to email me) |
On 21/9/04 10:31, in article ,
"Martin" wrote: On Tue, 21 Sep 2004 09:58:00 +0100, Sacha wrote: Failing that, Franz, you will discover that what you most need in life is a sturdy fruit cage and adjust your thinking accordingly. ;-) I thought you were going to suggest a treadmill :-) Ouch! Miaow! -- Sacha www.hillhousenursery.co.uk South Devon (remove the weeds to email me) |
"Sacha" wrote in message k... On 21/9/04 10:18, in article , "Franz Heymann" wrote: snip You can't build a fruit cage on soil which is only 6" thick before you hit bedrock. {:-(( This could start a whole new thread on raised fruit beds! ;-) If you think I am going to raise a bed by a foot or so, just to enable me to build a fruit cage in order to use up some surplus chicken wire, you should have another think. {:-)) Franz |
On 21/9/04 16:01, in article , "Franz
Heymann" wrote: "Sacha" wrote in message k... On 21/9/04 10:18, in article , "Franz Heymann" wrote: snip You can't build a fruit cage on soil which is only 6" thick before you hit bedrock. {:-(( This could start a whole new thread on raised fruit beds! ;-) If you think I am going to raise a bed by a foot or so, just to enable me to build a fruit cage in order to use up some surplus chicken wire, you should have another think. {:-)) Franz Oh come on, you know you want to, reallllyyyyy. ;-) -- Sacha www.hillhousenursery.co.uk South Devon (remove the weeds to email me) |
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