Posts Tagged: fall gardening
August Gardening Classes at Turlock Community Gardens and the Ag Center
August is here and summer vegetable plants are still growing strong. Can you believe it's already...
Plant fall bulbs now for spring blooms! A recipe for bulb lasagna
Fall is the time to plant spring-flowering bulbs. As the cooler temperatures start to arrive in many parts of the country, the last thing on many people's minds is planting flowers for spring color in the garden. But, now is the perfect time to plant bulbs that will pack a punch of color to help usher out winter blues.
Start with a trip to your local nursery. When purchasing, look for heavy, dense bulbs with no decay, mold, or fungus. Bulbs should smell fresh and be free of cuts and bruises. Plant classics like daffodils and tulips or branch out with other textures, colors and heights with Fritillaria, Allium, Anemone and more.
Lasagna planting technique
The bulb planting technique of layering is also known as planting “lasagna-style.” Planting bulbs “lasagna-style” involves layering different bulb varieties in the same pot. Each bulb planted is selected based on its blooming times, planting depth and color.
By overlapping bulb bloom times you can create pots of long-lasting flowers and color. For three waves of bloom, select bulbs that bloom in early-spring, mid-spring, and late-spring. Bulb packages list bloom date information on the labels. When making bulb selections, consider choosing bulbs with overlapping bloom times so that the planting remains colorful all season.
Planting and positioning bulbs
Plant bulbs like you are making lasagna! Plant the largest bulbs approximately 8-inches deep, smaller bulbs 5-inches deep, and so on. Be sure to read the bulb package for planting depths. Potting soil is the “sauce” and used as the layer under and over your bulbs.
- Choose a container that is at least 12-14 inches deep, with good drainage.
- Select a potting soil that includes a slow release fertilizer OR add bone meal to your potting soil according to the package instructions. Bone meal is rich in Phosphorous and will promote fall root growth.
- Add a 2-3 inch layer of soil and then plant the largest bulbs approximately 8-inches deep, smaller bulbs 5-inches deep. Be sure to read the bulb package for planting depths. Large sized bulbs may include (king Alfred) daffodil, allium, and tulip.
- Potting soil is the “sauce” and is used as the layer under and over your bulbs. Once the first layer of bulbs is in, add another layer of potting soil about 2-3 inches deep. Measure the depth from the top rim of your pot down, you should have about 6” more to plant.
- The next layer will be a bulb that is planted about 6 inches below the surface, examples include Dutch hyacinth or a jonquil Narcissus. Leave approx. ¼” space between each bulb. Remember to not overcrowd bulbs as they will swell once watering begins.
- Add more “sauce” and cover previous bulbs with about 1” inch of soil.
- The next layer will finish your container off with bulbs, look for smaller bulbs like grape hyacinth and/or crocus. Remember to leave a little space in between bulbs.
- Top off with five inches of potting soil and add some pansies or other colorful cool weather annuals to maintain seasonal interest.
- Finally, add mulch and water regularly.
Lasagna bulb combinations
Sample Pot:
- Pansy and mulch (top)
- Snowdrop
- Crocus
- Hyacinth
- Tulip(bottom)
Sample Pot:
- Mulch (top)
- Crocus
- Grape Hyacinth
- Tulip
- Narcissus
- Large Allium (bottom)
Sample Pot:
- Thyme (top)
- Ranunculus
- Anemone
- Tulips
- Daffodils (bottom)
A beautiful spring show of blooms
As spring arrives, place your container in a spot with high visibility and enjoy the waves of colorful flowers as they emerge, bloom and die back. As each new layer of blooms appears, the previous layer's leaves will remain. You can clean up faded or dead flowers, but don't remove the leaves as they provide energy back to the bulb for next year's growth. This is a great project to do with children and share the experience as each flower variety goes through its life cycle.
Resources:
Recipe for Bulb Lasagna by Carolyn Neumann (published Sept. 17, 2012)
A display of bulbs blooming at different stages of growth. Bulbs shown are purple crocus, pink, yellow and purple hyacinth, yellow double ruffle daffodil and tulips. Photo: Lauren Snowden
different-flower-bulbs
Tips to prepare, plant, and grow a fall vegetable garden
The transition of fall is upon us and gardeners are busy tending to late summer harvests, pruning back perennials, prepping for slower plant growth and more. But fall doesn't have to be all about wrapping up the growing season. In fact, life is sprouting and new garden plants are growing with the promise of fall, winter and early spring harvests.
Are you looking to join the cool-season gardening craze? The UC Master Gardener Program has engaging workshops to inform and inspire this fall. Bay Area residents can check out Growing Garlic and Onions in San Jose or Top 10 Vegetables for your Winter Garden in Campbell, both hosted by the UC Master Gardener Program of Santa Clara County. Another great resource is Saving the Harvest, a gardening and preserving guide and 2019 calendar created by the UC Master Gardener and UC Master Food Preserver Programs in Sacramento County. Check out the local offerings in your area at UC Master Gardener Program events.
Wherever you are in your gardening journey, here is a checklist of September activities for your garden:
Early September
- Maintain your warm-season garden with regular checks and harvesting. Prune new growth, flowers and any small or very immature fruits from tomatoes, eggplants and peppers. This practice encourages the plants to put energy into ripening fruit that has already set.
- Harvest and store seeds for next year's warm-season garden. To save and use seeds in the future, make sure you have a dry, cool location for seed storage. Don't forget to label and organize seeds to make preparation and planting easier in the spring.
- Remove and compost plants that have reached the natural end of lives or fruitfulness.
- Enjoy regular harvest of late-season-bearing cane berries like raspberries and blackberries. Check vines regularly for ripe fruit and pick before the birds steal away the fruit.
- Check and harvest edible landscape plants as well. Pineapple guava, Acca sellowiana, is a fantastic landscape shrub that has the added bonus of producing a tropical fruit. When pineapple guava fruit fall to the ground they are ripe, collect the fruits and wash, slice and eat the white fruit on the inside (like you would eat a kiwi).
Late September
By the end of the month it's time to start planting a cool-season garden. Try radishes and lettuces for harvest in late fall. They mature quickly and pair beautifully with roasted vegetables, cheese and nuts for a harvest-themed dinner salad. Broccoli and cauliflower are a great addition to your garden for winter harvest. Try roasting or making a creamy soup for a warm dinner on a cold night. Finally, onions and shallots are a must for your cool-season garden. They are slower to mature and will be ready for harvest in early spring to brighten your dishes and usher in a change in the seasons.
- Plant radishes, turnips, beets, onions and kale from seed.
- Pick up vegetable starts for broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage and lettuces at your local garden center.
- Keep soil moist while young plants send roots out into your garden bed.
- Provide shade to cool-season vegetables if needed to protect them from hot afternoon sun.
Connect with us
The UC Master Gardener volunteers are eager to help with all of your gardening needs. The UC Master Gardener Program can work with teachers and community volunteers to provide gardening information and consultation in the support of school gardens. With local programs based in more than 50 counties across California, there is sure to be a workshop or class near you. Visit our website to find your local UC Master Gardener Program, mg.ucanr.edu.
Missy Gable, Director of the UC Master Gardener Program shares tips for keeping a fall vegetable garden producing.
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Your Garden in October
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