{"PictureModel":{"ImageUrl":null,"ThumbImageUrl":null,"FullSizeImageUrl":null,"Title":null,"AlternateText":null,"Style":null,"ExtraField":null,"Id":null,"UserFields":[]},"WorkingLanguageId":"617cccc47b40d711a5631fd6","PagingFilteringContext":{"Month":null,"Tag":null,"CategorySeName":"garden","SearchKeyword":null,"FirstItem":1,"HasNextPage":false,"HasPreviousPage":false,"LastItem":5,"PageIndex":0,"PageNumber":1,"PageSize":10,"TotalItems":5,"TotalPages":1},"BlogPosts":[{"MetaKeywords":null,"MetaDescription":"Discover the best bulbs to plant in August for a vibrant spring garden. Learn expert tips on selecting, planting, and caring for fall bulbs to ensure a colorful and stunning bloom next year.","MetaTitle":"August Bulb Planting: The Best Bulbs to Plant Now for Spring Blooms","SeName":"august-bulb-planting","Title":"August Bulb Planting: The Best Bulbs to Plant Now for Spring Blooms","PictureModel":{"ImageUrl":null,"ThumbImageUrl":null,"FullSizeImageUrl":null,"Title":null,"AlternateText":null,"Style":null,"ExtraField":null,"Id":null,"UserFields":[]},"Body":"

Introduction


As summer fades and the cool breezes of autumn begin to make their presence known, it’s the perfect time to start thinking about next spring’s garden. Planting bulbs in the fall is a simple yet highly rewarding gardening task. By choosing the right bulbs and following some basic planting and care guidelines, you can enjoy a vibrant and colorful garden when the warmer months return. Here’s everything you need to know about selecting, planting, and caring for fall bulbs.




Why Plant Bulbs in the Late Summer?


Late summer and early fall is the optimal time to plant spring-blooming bulbs because it gives them a chance to establish their root systems before the ground freezes. This period of dormancy over the winter allows the bulbs to store energy, which they will use to produce stunning blooms in the spring. Planting bulbs now ensures a burst of color in your garden just as the world is waking up from winter.


Selecting the Best Bulbs


When selecting bulbs, consider factors such as bloom time, height, and color to create a well-coordinated and dynamic display. Here are some popular choices for fall planting:





Planting Tips for Success


To ensure your bulbs thrive, follow these essential planting tips:


  1. Timing: Plant bulbs when the soil temperature has cooled to about 60 degrees Fahrenheit. This is typically after the first frost but before the ground freezes.
  2. Location: Choose a sunny location with well-draining soil. Most bulbs prefer full sun, but some, like crocuses and daffodils, can tolerate partial shade.
  3. Depth and Spacing: Plant bulbs at a depth of two to three times their height. For example, a bulb that is 2 inches tall should be planted 4-6 inches deep. Space bulbs according to the recommendations on their packaging, usually about 3-6 inches apart.
  4. Soil Preparation: Loosen the soil and mix in compost or bulb fertilizer to provide essential nutrients.
  5. Watering: Water the bulbs thoroughly after planting to help them settle into the soil. After the initial watering, only water if the fall season is unusually dry.


Caring for Your Bulbs


Once planted, fall bulbs require minimal care. Here are a few tips to ensure they stay healthy over the winter:



Conclusion


Planting bulbs in the fall is a simple and enjoyable way to ensure a burst of color and life in your garden come springtime. A little bit of gardening effort now can produce amazingly colorful dividends this spring.  

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The snow is falling. The sky is grey. And even though Punxsutawney Phil didn’t see his shadow this year, spring feels like it’s a million miles away. A great way to feel like we’re getting closer to warm weather is to think about gardening. Your hands in the warm soil, fresh veggies and herbs, and the sun shining overhead…sounds lovely, right? We’re almost there. In the meantime, feel closer to spring by getting a head start on your herb garden. Starting an indoor herb garden in winter is easy and brings a little spice back to your life (pun intended).

Mint:

If you’re just getting into the herb growing business, mint is a great place to start. It’s resilient, likes a comfortable temperature range, and will make your house smell great. The easiest way to start growing mint is to get what’s called a cutting from an existing plant. This is where you take a section of stem from an existing plant and replant it. Mint is aggressive. If you plant it outside and leave it untended, it has the tendency to spread, taking over large areas. Once you have your cutting, place it in a glass of water for around 7-10 days, or until you see roots start to grow. Once you have roots you know it’s time to move it to some soil. Mint likes a wide mouth container, rather than a deep one, so it has room to breathe. Once your mint is thriving be sure to keep the soil moist. Planting your mint in a plastic container, rather than a porous clay, will help with this. Before you know it, you’ll have more mint than you know what to do with.

Basil:

Basil is great in pasta dishes, pizza, caprese salad, pesto, honestly this list can go on and on. With everything you’re able to add basil to, it’s a great addition to your indoor herb garden. To plant your Basil place moist potting mix in your pots, sprinkle a few basil seeds onto the surface, and cover with a thin layer of soil. Water, or use a spray bottle to keep the soil moist, but not saturated. Just like the rest of us, basil likes a warmer climate. During these winter months placing the basil in a window that sees lots of sun does the trick. Make sure there’s a good distance between the plant and the window if it’s leaky, or drafty. Cold temperatures, like a leaky window or a leaf touching a cold pane of glass, is a sure-fire way to kill a basil plant.



Chives:

Chives are the perfect way to add a bit of color and boost of flavor to almost any dish. Garlic and chive mashed potatoes, cheddar and chive scones, thrown in soup, salads, pasta and potato dishes…is anyone else getting hungry? No matter how you use your chives, they’re a great addition to your indoor herb garden. The fastest way to grow chives is if you can get your hands on some already grown bulbs. Simply transfer the bulbs to a pot with some moist soil, keeping the soil moist and the plant in the window, and wait a few weeks. Once the plant is accustomed to its new home, you can start snipping for your snacks. If you’re starting your chives from seeds, you’ll need to plant them about 1/4” deep, in well-draining soil. It will take about 2 weeks for the seeds to germinate (aka: grow so you actually see some chives).

 Growing an indoor herb garden won’t make warm weather get here faster. But it will make you feel better along the way!

 

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As the winter season finally subsides, you should prepare your garden for new growth. Spring is the perfect time for new plants due to the temperature becoming warm once again. To ensure that there won’t be any hurdles to optimal growth, check out our guide on how to get your garden ready for planting this spring.

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Tidying Up

It isn’t just the winter season that can wreak havoc on your lawn — debris can pile up as early as fall. There will certainly be a lot of fallen leaves, twigs, branches, and other natural debris, so get your rake and remove them all. This is always the first step in preparing for a spring planting. By keeping your garden beds and rows free from debris, you reduce the chances of accidentally stepping on seedlings.

Pruning

Both shrubs and trees should be pruned. In particular, flowering plants that will bloom in summer should be pruned early in spring. These shrubs include beautyberry, smooth hydrangea, butterfly bush, crape myrtle, and vitex. Don’t worry about accidentally removing any of the buds that developed last year — the impending blooms will rely on woods that will form this spring.

As for spring flowers including lilac, viburnum, azalea, and rhododendron, it would be best to prune them once they have bloomed. For the other trees and shrubs, you should check if they have been damaged back in winter. Some branches might have been broken or were damaged by storms. The cold winter could have also led to some of your evergreens suffering from tip diebacks. Thus, you should remove these tips immediately.

See if any of your perennial flowers such as veronicas, Russian sages, blanket flowers, and asters have any dead and discolored foliage. Remove these leaves to encourage new leaf growth. Likewise, you should cut away any overgrown parts that come in contact with other plants. This helps your plants to grow without any obstructions. Of course, pruning and shaping also improve their visual appeal apart from keeping them healthy.

Here is a video of pruning perennials:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3pirdi5Klnc

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Clean Your Gardening Tools

It’s essential that your cutting tools are sharp. Any dull blades won’t lead to clean cuts and they can expose the foliage to diseases. Sharpen these blades or consider replacing them altogether. Moreover, any dirt on the tools must be rinsed away using soapy water. Apply any paint thinner or mineral turpentine on the wooden parts to limit the risk of having splinters.

Conduct Repairs

The structures that will support both mature and new plants should be kept stable. The board used for a raised garden bed could be unbalanced after winter. This is due to the wooden stakes becoming rotten in the cold and wet soil. Repairing the planter is as easy as replacing the rotten stakes and realigning the planter after digging up the soil around it. Consider using screws or nails to firmly attach the stakes to the board.

Prepare the Garden Soil

Good soil ensures that the root systems of your new plants will be firmly established. First, get a rake to turn your garden soil over. Remove any pesky weeds that you see using the same tool, or you can pull them with your bare hands. Ensure that the roots are also pulled up to prevent further growth. Removing weeds in the summer is more difficult since the soil will likely be dry and compacted.

Afterward, improve the organic content in the soil with an application of well-rotted manure or compost. Do this some several weeks before your spring planting to prevent the compost or manure from damaging the developing roots. On a similar note, using fertilizer can be tricky in spring, but you can do it properly with proper timing. Wait for the ground to be completed thawed. This means that no snow and ice have remained in the soil. Use a granular fertilizer for your garden beds.

In conclusion, preparing your garden for spring planting involves several activities. For one, you should keep the area clean through raking. Similarly, pruning trees and shrubs alike will provide enough space for new plants to grow and receive sunlight. Lastly, prepare your garden soil by removing weeds and making it fertile. We hope that our guide helped you out. Feel free to send us a comment if you have any queries.

Image Sources:

https://pixabay.com/en/rake-rob-raking-foliage-autumn-2876079/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/pleuntje/5809787537/

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You’ve got your seeds, your garden journal and your tools ready. Now it’s time to plant! In spring, you want to make sure you are getting all of your vegetables in the ground at the right time in order to maximize your yields.

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Most plants won’t be able to grow in temperatures below 40 degrees Fahrenheit, so you might want to start some of your seeds, such as lettuce and leafy greens, indoors. Generally, you can begin sowing these seeds indoors about six weeks before you transplant them to your outdoor garden. When you do plant these started seedlings outside, it’s a good idea to keep them about a foot apart to make room for growth.

If you aren’t planning on starting seeds indoors, there are some great seed choices that can be sown straight into the ground at this time of the year too. Don’t worry if the final frost of spring hasn’t occurred yet. As soon as the soil in your area can be tilled up, you can generally begin your planting – specifically onions, spinach, and peas, which like a little bit of cold to get them going. You can generally get those seeds into the ground starting in early March.

If you are using raised beds, the ground is warmer, and your planting can begin sooner than if you are putting them straight in the ground.  A good test to tell if the soil is workable is to make a ball of soil in your hand and poke it with a finger.  If it crumbles, it is ready. If the soil is too moist, the ball stays together leaving only an indention from your finger. You don’t want this because working the soil when it is too wet will ruin the structure of the dirt and cause compaction for any plantings.

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So, what are some good seeds to get in the ground starting in March? Now is when you would probably want to start your veggies such as lettuce, beets, carrots, radishes, celery, and potatoes. If you are looking to get a head start on April, think about starting seeds indoors for vegetables such as cabbage, kale, cauliflower and broccoli and when April finally rolls around, you can get these plants set in the ground. April is also time to set your seeds for corn, eggplant, gourds, mustard, okra, and pumpkins. In the waning stages of spring, you can break out your seeds for beans and kale and as Memorial Day grows closer, think about getting out your warm-season veggies like melons, cucumbers, and squash.

Make sure to keep your garden watered and weeded. If your seedlings are properly cared for, you will certainly enjoy the rewards of gardening come harvest time!

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Gardeners have many questions when growing their produce. One of the more popular is “wait, what did I plant where?” This time-honored query is one of the many reasons why a gardener should keep a good garden journal. Maintaining a journal can go a long way toward making you a more efficient grower. And, if you’ve created one in the past, late winter is the perfect time to look back at previous seasons to make any needed changes for the upcoming season.

Keeping a garden journal is a great way to maximize your efficiency and enjoyment while minimizing your mistakes. Here are some good tips for your journal:

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1. Know why you’re keeping the journal. A good garden journal should include not only what and where crops were planted, but also the date you watered them, types of fertilizer (if any) were applied and what pests you might find. If you treated for pests the previous year, also make note of what worked and what didn’t. Have you used crop rotations in the past? Look at your journals to see what has turned out to be the most prolific combinations.

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2. There are plenty of journal types. Some are old-fashioned notebooks, some are more professional and include items such as graphing paper to map out vegetable placement and expense sheets, while some gardeners use various tablets and apps. Experiment with all kinds and then use what works best for you!

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3. Thinking about something new for the upcoming year? List them along with their bloom times and any specific care they might need. It’s best to get this research out of the way before spring so you’re not trying to make seed purchases on the fly or are late planting and/or starting seeds.

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4. For the financially conscious, make a record of your expenses. This is especially important if you plan on selling your vegetables or plants.

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5. Keep track of any pests and diseases that have affected your plants in the past. Were your treatments effective? Did your solutions work the next year too or were they unsuccessful? Journaling will help you determine what solutions will protect your garden in the coming years.

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6. A great long-term project is to keep track of milestones, such as weather, frost dates and when you completed the first tilling. Looking back at patterns over a period of years will give you a great perspective of what the future could entail.

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7. Keep a fertilizing schedule. Did you use the best fertilizer you could have? Did you apply it at the right time?

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8. Gardening can be a lot of fun. Make note of some of the enjoyable moments you’ve had. When something goes wrong (and inevitably, it will), these moments are great to look back upon before tossing your gardening gloves and calling it quits.

Whether you are a professional gardener, or just someone who likes to get out and enjoy the soil with your family, keeping a journal is always a great idea. What you record is entirely up to you, but a yearly journal will not only help you maximize your proficiency but make gardening a better experience overall.

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