Jocelyne Sewell
A Gardener’s Diary
We were very fortunate to have such mild weather last week.
The nights are freezing but with the sunny days, I was able to get up to date in the garden. I managed to save all the water I had in the rain barrels and store it inside in containers for winter use. This way I will be using it for all my inside plants without having to use the tap water.
By now you should have your garlic and spring-blooming bulbs all planted. Someone wanted to know how I plant my tulips in pots. You can find some good information on the following site:
https://www.finegardening.com/article/how-to-plant-tulips-in-pots by Elizabeth Licata
“In pots, tulips are eye-catching, portable, and protected. All gardeners—regardless of whether or not they’ve had success growing tulips in-ground — should give this simple technique a try.
Plant bulbs so that they almost touch. To make the containers less heavy and easier to move, place an upside-down plastic grower pot at the bottom of each container. Fill the containers two-thirds full with any lightweight potting mix. Don’t bother with fertilizer. Cover the bulbs with potting mix, planting the bulbs at the same depth you would plant them in the ground: generally two to three times the bulb’s height.
Place the planted pots in an unheated garage. If you don’t have an unheated garage and live in a region with freezing temperatures, you’ll need another strategy for keeping the containers cold, dry, and insulated. The goal is to keep the planted bulbs just above freezing.
Check on your pots in early spring. Water them lightly. When the tulips start peeking above the surface, bring them out and place them on display. Water as you would any container plant; the tulips will bloom at the same time as those planted in the ground.”
I put mine in gallon pots and place them in the cold frame. I cover all the pots with lots of leaves. My cold frames have old windows which I close for winter. Some years, I put the pots in the ground and just bury them. Last year, I had some grape hyacinths in one of the cold frames. Somehow a little creature managed to dig its way in and by the time I found the pots, some of them only had some soil left with no bulbs. This year I covered the bottom of the space with fine mesh. It will have to have good teeth to chew through the wires.
Most of the plants I am overwintering this year fit in the cold frames. This leaves the greenhouse emptied for winter. I am putting a chair in it and plan to sit in there on some sunny days. Amazing how warm it gets even when it is chilly outside.
The Christmas shopping is already started and many organizations have teas and crafts sales. This coming weekend, St. James Catholic Women’s League invites you to their annual Christmas Bazaar and Tea. This takes place Saturday, November 24th, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the St. James Parish Center, 2700 - 28th Avenue. Come and get your delicious Christmas baking and have tea. Then you can visit Granny’s attic looking for that special treasure. I will be helping out there so come and say hello.
My next column will be just before Christmas. I will take the month of January off and will be back in February 2019 ready for another gardening season.
For more information contact 250-558-4556 or email jocelynesewell@gmail.com