With farmers harvesting and temperatures dropping, many think gardening season has come to an end, however, agrologist Sherri Roberts, says there’s still work to be done.
Roberts mentions spring flowering bulbs like tulips, daffodils, and crocus need to be planted now in order to bloom when the snow melts next year. “They need to have time to develop a root system. All those types of bulbs, they have to have a cold period. it's called vernalization. They have to go through that so that they can actually pop and bloom in the spring.”
Roberts reports many people have challenges with planting spring bulbs; one being heavy clay soil trapping moisture around it and causing rot. “You just modify it. You dig your hole a few inches deeper. Put some really fine gravel in it. This is what I used to do down at our farm because we had really heavy clay. Once you got through the first foot of gorgeous black loam, then you hit solid clay, so you have to dig down.”
“Get some gravel down, then you put a big handful of bone meal because that's going to feed them. Then you put your bulb, and then you put your dirt back in, and then put some sort of a mulch on the top of it.” She says she personally uses shredded bark chips as they hold moisture throughout the season.
Roberts says the bulbs are worth the effort of planting when they make their appearance in the spring. She notes crocuses can sometimes flower when snow is still on the ground.
“When you've gone through the suffering winter, and all you've seen is snow out the door, then you pop out your door, and there that little burst of color is. You get that pretty little perky color coming out of the snow, and it's like, ‘yes, I've survived another Saskatchewan winter, and spring is here.’ It is quite a reward when you get to see those flowers come up.”
Other than prepping for next year's bulbs, Roberts reminds gardeners that there are still blooms to see this season. “We're not done yet. A frost has not hit the Weyburn area and as long as it hasn't, get some mums in the ground, plant some asters, give yourself some good fall color because we always think about summertime bloom. Well, what about the fall?”