Chicken Soup or Your Soil

Your soil is the most important part of your garden, but too many people forget to nurture their soil. Soil is a living thing, containing microbes, fungi, insect life and general "creepy-crawlies" vital to plant health and vigor, as well as a receptacle for chemicals and trace elements. 

Doing a little soil prep every fall pays off each and every harvest.

First, add more organic matter. Use your rototiller or your spade, and dig under frostbitten plant material, grass clippings, leaves, wood chips, and compost. Avoid using any diseased plant material as compost burn it first if there are no local restrictions on burning. 

If you live near any livestock, cover your garden with 1 2 of uncomposted manure, then disguise that with other organic materials, and let the whole thing winter over. A blanket of snow from December through March will turn all of it into about of the most beautiful topsoil you can imagine.

 

It’s also time to think about soil pH, or the acidity or alkalinity. The addition of organic materials can lower the pH, or make it more acidic. If your soil is already high in acid and you’d like to neutralize it, you can also add lime or wood ashes to your garden. 

Wood ashes are wickedly alkaline, but after a season or two,create an excellent haven for earthworms and add enough potash to the soil to grow wonderful root crops.

Finally, feed your fungi. Really. Many stores specializing in products for organic gardening and sustainable agriculture sell micorrhizal spores, which is a fungus that helps soil release its nutrients more easily. 

Micorrhiza needs to be fed in order to reproduce and survive the winter. Use a hose-end sprayer, and fill it halfway with gooey, blackstrap molasses. 

If you can find the sulphred kind, so much the better. Fill the rest of the sprayer with flat beer, and spray the solution over your garden beds. The sugar in the molasses feeds the existing fungi and beneficial bacteria in the soil, and the yeasts and enzymes in the beer add more.

You’ll literally make your soil come alive, and that will help your garden thrive next year.

Attracting Humming Birds to Your Garden

The oldest historical mention of hummingbirds likely dates back to the Taino Native Americans, who were reportedly the first humans to greet Columbus when he landed in America. The Taino believe that hummingbirds are the spreaders of life on Earth, and their warriors were known as Colibir or Hummingbird warriors, because they are a peaceful bird that will defend their territory with the heart of an eagle.

 

How long they have been in America is unknown, but they have delighted bird watchers for many years, with their quick dashes into the garden, and the shine of the sun on brilliant feathers. While there actually are duller colored birds, the ruby-throated hummingbird is the most commonly recognized for its iridescent feathering, and dazzling ruby-red throat. The color though, is not all it seems.

 

Hummingbirds get their unusual coloring from the fact that not all feathers are pigmented, or colored. In the duller colors, including the Rufous Hummingbird, the brown hue is actual pigment in the feather structure. In the ruby-throated variety, light refracting through the feather segments, breaking it up much like a prism would. Only certain levels of color will be seen by the human eye, and that color will change with every movement of the feather, or angle of the light striking it.

 This is one of the features that makes them so charming to watch as they flit around a garden or feeder. Hummingbirds are very fast, traveling at an average 25 miles per hour, with wing beats of anywhere from 10-15 per second in the Giant Hummingbird, up to 80 per minute by the Amethyst Woodstar. The ruby-throated hummer falls into the middle range, at about 53 beats per second.

 

To sustain such rapid and prolonged activity, the hummingbird’s heart must beat accordingly. For birds that are hot, or sleepy, that can be as low as 50-180 beats per minute, but a heart rate of an amazing 1360 beat per minute has been recorded in a Blue-Throated Hummingbird.

 

All this activity requires a humming bird to eat almost continually, to fuel the activity that will maintain its 105-109F body heat. That means dining as many as 15 times an hour, on high-energy food. In volume, they consume up to eight times their body weight a day. But reduce the nectar to a solid by eliminating the water, and it would amount to their own bodyweight.

 A hummingbird can starve to death in as little as two hours, if still active. That makes rescue of birds trapped in garages or other enclosed areas, imperative within a short time. At night, their thermal generators shut down as they rest, and allow their body temperature to drop, so that less energy is used up while they sleep.

 

If you enjoy watching these delightful little birds, and are also an enthusiastic gardener, why not plant clumps of flowers or bushes, to bring them into your yard? Hummingbirds are creatures of habit, and will develop their own paths to food, checking them frequently and on a daily basis. Once they find out you have goodies, they’ll return over and over. Other hummers will follow, and you may then get to see hummingbird behavior at its worst, as they dive at each other to protect their food sources.

 Good choices of food producing plants for hummingbirds includes such trees or bushes as Azaleas, Mimosa, Weigela, Cape Honeysuckle and Flowering Quince. Another semi-permanent attraction is a perennial bed with Bee Balm, Columbine, Lupine, Coral Bells and Canna. You can also plant a wide range of annuals like Fuchsia, Impatiens, Petunias and Firespike, but consider growing some of your own plants from seed, as many flowers that are nursery grown, tend not to have as much nectar. Hummers will be overjoyed to discover this bonanza of blooms, and the tiny bugs that constitute the protein source of their diet.

To make sure you enjoy these little feathered friends for the whole season, hang some hummingbird feeders around your patio or gardens. But make sure there is a bit of distance between them, to avoid the squabbles, which can be quite a sight!

 

Because hummers are attracted to red flowers, you’ll find many of the hummingbird feeders available, are also colored red. This isn’t an absolute necessity, but it can be a bright spot in your garden. And the feeders come in all kinds of charming shapes from a hanging bunch of grapes, to a giant strawberry.

 

Commercial powdered food formula is available, but you can easily make your own by combining one part sugar to four parts water, and boiling it for two minutes, then cooling and storing in the fridge. Never use honey, which can ferment, or red dye, which can be harmful to the birds.

No Room For a Garden...Try This!

The growing of flowering or foliage plants on window ledges is a form of gardening in which most people can indulge. Those who live in flats, and others who have no gardens, and especially invalids who are confined to their rooms, derive an enormous amount of pleasure from this form of gardening.

Window ledge plants would be more popular if it were not for the fact that a considerable amount of work is involved in filling and emptying the boxes. In addition there is the watering problem; drainage water dripping on to the heads of people in the streets is liable to cause some annoyance. 

By taking proper precautions in constructing the containers and setting them in position, most of these difficulties can be overcome.

Suitable Window Ledge Plants for a Spring Display

(Some of the most popular plants for spring are as follows:)

Arabis albida (double variety)

The procumbent stems of this plant are clothed with grey hairy leaves and bear spikes of double, white flowers.

Aubrietia

It is more compact in growth than Arabis and forms a close carpet of blue, pink or purple flowers.

Bellis perennis flore pleno (Dwarf Double Daisies)

These dainty, free-flowering plants are ideal for window-boxes. There are red, pink and white varieties.

Myosotis (Forget-me-not)

This popular spring-flowering plant is obtainable in several shades of blue and forms an ideal carpeting plant for many types of bulbs.

Primula (Polyanthus)

The Polyanthus does not do well in a hot position and should therefore be used for window boxes which are set in a shady spot. These plants make a bright display, and many variously colored forms are obtainable.

Suitable Window Ledge Plants for a Summer Display

Here again much information can be gained by visiting the public parks in summer, and making

notes of the plants used for filling the flower beds... from florist’s shops many of the plants given in the following list will be readily obtainable. For example:

Ageratum houstonianum (mexicanum)

This is easily recognized by its compact, upright stems which bear small tufts of blue, fluffy flowers. There are numerous varieties in different shades of blue. The plants are compact and the bedding varieties range in height from 4-9 inches.

Lobularia maritima (Alyssutn maritimum)

Commonly called the white or sweet alyssum, this plant is used extensively for edging and carpeting flower beds. The variety Little Dorrit is the most popular. It grows 2-4 inches in height and forms a compact mass of white, sweetly-scented flowers. Lilac Queen and Violet Queen are two excellent varieties of recent introduction.

For edging, the variety Magic Carpet, which has a creeping habit, and forms a profusion of small blooms in many shades of colors, is most attractive.

Begonia semperflorens

For freedom of flowering and for providing a continuous display in summer the varieties of this species of Begonia are unexcelled. The plants grow about 6 inches tall and produce masses of flowers of various shades of red or pink

Grow and Brew Your Own Tea

As gardeners, we tend to spend hours yanking weeds out of our precious flowerbeds. To be honest, I enjoy weeding.

I find it relaxing. I suspect quite a few of my fellow gardeners would agree. Recently I discovered an annoying weed I haven't been able to defeat is in truth a sheer delight.

I speak of the humble Pineapple Weed. Matricaria matricioides! A big name for a weed found in waste areas. But its scientific name is actually touching once defined. 'Matricaria' stems from the Latin matrix meaning 'mother' while 'caria' is Latin for 'dear'.

This gives us 'mother dear'. This name refers to the medicinal use of pineapple weed for easing the pain of the menstrual cycle, as well as for treating colic in babies.

Pineapple weed can soothe the pain of being a woman, a mother, or a baby (which helps Mom even more). This plant's green fern-like foliage and oval greenish yellow flowers often cause people to mistake it for its close relative the chamomile plant.

Pineapple weed looks like chamomile while in bud; only this weed's homely flowers never produce the flashy white petals of its famous cousin. This native annual of Western America makes its stubborn presence known from May to November.

It grows in cracks in sidewalks, parking lots, in any plot of dry earth trampled by us humans. The pineapple weed has spread clear across the Atlantic to Europe. I discovered the hidden charm of this weed while pulling a group out of the ground.

The crushed leaves actually give off the fruity scent of pineapple. Intrigued, I did some research. I learned this weed is not only edible, with the same soothing qualities as chamomile, but was also a big hit with the Native Americans way back when.

 Native Americans traded goods for pineapple weed. The plant was used as a perfume as well as a big repellant. Dried plants were sprinkled onto meat to keep off flies. But what caught my attention while researching is the fact this weed is often brewed as a tea.

Being a devout tea-drinker this delighted me. I already make tea from my peppermint plants. Why not put this pesky weed to good use? After rinsing three dusty plants in the sink I brewed a pot of pineapple weed tea by pouring freshly boiled water into a tea strainer holding flower heads from the plants (the leaves can also be used but they add a bitter note to the brew).

We allowed the tea to steep for three minutes before removing the strainer from the pot. The result was nothing short of wonderful! The delicately fragrant tea tasted like gentle chamomile with honey. A young friend described the tea as tasting like a 'yummy dessert in a cup'.

We no longer buy chamomile tea at the grocery store. Instead I harvest my pineapple weed from a proper garden bed. I allow a few flower heads to develop into seed heads, which I collect for future planting. With good care the pineapple weed becomes a handsome soul a foot tall with attractive ferny foliage.

Collect the brown seed heads from wild plants if you wish to grow it. Grow it as you would chamomile. Pineapple weed can also be used as an accent plant with other more traditional garden plants.

The chartreuse color of the flower heads glow when mixed in with blue-flowering plants. But be careful! We are talking about a weed, and we all know how easily weeds spread. Collect the seed heads before they turn completely brown, or you'll wind up drowning in tea.

Visitors to our garden often point out my pineapple weed bed and tell me I need to weed. I inform them I grow the weeds on purpose. My visitors look at me as if I'm crazy.

Weeds are pests! Has she finally lost her mind? I explain my reason (it happens so often that explaining is growing tiresome). My visitors wind up sniffing the plants and peppering me with questions.

So, the next time you're on your knees in your garden about to yank out another weed stop yourself and take a good look at the plant. You may have found a Cinderella in disguise.

The Inexpensive Green Thumb

When people decide to grow flowers, they have many choices. They can buy potted flowers and replant them. If they are extremely patient, they can grow flowers from seeds.

They can also grow flowers from clippings of other plants. One of the most popular ways of growing flowers, however, is to grow them from flower bulbs.

A huge variety of flowers can be grown from bulbs, including lilacs, lilies, daylilies, cannas, tulips, gladiolus, crocuses, daffodils, dahlias, and many more. Many people choose flower bulbs for their ease of planting and colorful flowers. Growing bulbs is virtually foolproof.

Finding flower bulbs for sale is just as easy. You can buy flower bulbs at local nurseries and landscape supply stores. Some home improvement stores like Lowes or Home Depot offer flower bulbs for sale. Many department stores, such as Wal-Mart, also sell flower bulbs.

At certain times of the year, discount stores, such as 99 Cents Only, Dollar Tree, or Dollar General, sell flower bulbs. When buying flower bulbs at discount stores, it is important to make sure you are buying viable bulbs. Flower bulbs should be firm and blemish-free.

It is becoming increasingly popular to buy flower bulbs from online nurseries. Many suppliers now offer flower bulbs for sale online, including Nature Hills Nursery, Schreiners Gardens, and American Meadows. You can even order bulbs at EBay!

Be careful when purchasing bulbs online since you cannot inspect the bulbs prior to purchase, you should only buy from a reputable nursery.

Some of the highest quality bulbs, especially of tulips, come from Holland.

Which Trees Provide the Best Shade?

Trees can be broken down into three main parts: the roots, the leaves and the woody structure between them.

The roots' function is to bring raw materials water and mineral salt dissolved in water to the tree.
The leaves absorb carbon dioxide from the air and use the sun's light energy to combine this gas with the moisture from the roots, thus making the simple sugars which are the basic nutrients of the tree.

The trunk, limbs, branches and twigs hold the leaves in position to receive the life-giving sunlight and air; they also act as transportation, carrying raw materials between roots and leaves.

The materials absorbed by the roots are pulled up by capillary attraction and the osmotic action induced by evaporation of water from the leaves.

Loss of water through the leaves is called transpiration. On a summer day, a single birch tree may transpire 700 to 900 gallons of water. It is this enormous flow of water that causes a continuous flow of sap from the roots to the topmost twigs.

 In planting or transplanting a tree, and in building on a lot where you wish to preserve the trees, the gardener's chief consideration must be to protect the root structure of the tree.

 The big roots near the stem anchor the tree to the ground, while the fine root hairs at the ends of the rootlets absorb the water from the soil.

The stem or trunk of a tree has three parts: the bark, the wood and the pith. The pith is the central part and around it is the wood. Between wood and bark is the cambium, a thin layer that produces new wood and bark.

When the cambium ring is severed, as by a wire cable, the tree is killed, and since the cambium protects against insects and disease, anything driven into it can wound the tree severely. Outside of man himself, trees have countless enemies.

There are 200,000 known kinds of insects that attack trees, in addition to diseases such as blight, rust and rot, storms and droughts. Luckily, birds help to keep caterpillars, borers, beetles and other insects in check.

Here is a quick reference guide to the best trees for shade and background:

 Type
 Description 

American Beech 
Beautiful tree with edible nut. Long-lived and relatively free from insect and fungal diseases.
For accent planting. May be clipped, as hedge, for formal settings

American Elm
Very tall, with attractive vase form. Early bloom. Excellent for shade but widely disappearing because of Dutch elm disease, (pulvem necrosis)

American Linden
 Tall tree. Provides dense shade. It has fragrant yellowish flowers. Prefers a moderately moist soil.

Chinese Elm
Medium height. Small dense foliage. A rapid grower, excellent for screening or windbreak. A wide spreading tree with slender limbs. Makes good shade in five years.

Hackberry 
Usually a small tree, but with a wide spread. Has cherry-like fruit lasting late in winter. Survives drought, hardy in the cities.

Moraine Locust 
Majestic tree. Hardy to cold. Survives drought and flooding, smoke and soot. Lawns flourish under it since it is late in leafing, has no seeds to clutter lawn. Fast growing.

Norway Maple
Trees of medium height. Most widely planted street and lawn tree. Dense growth. Symmetrical. Orderly habits free of insects and disease. Leaves turn bright yellow in fall.

Pin Oak
Remove lower branches if used for lawn tree. Least threatened by disease of all shade trees. Not good in alkali soil. Makes good windbreak. Symmetrical and pyramidal in shape with clean, glossy leaves. Turns scarlet in fall.

Red Oak
Rapid-growing tree with rounded head. A large tree appropriate for large lawns. Has glossy, deep-cut green foliage, which turns deep red in fall.

Silver Maple 
Most rapid growing of all maples. A large spreading tree. Well-cut leaf with a silvery cast and silvery bark. Good sap for sugar making. Early blooming.

Sugar Maple
Grows well in any soil. Ideal for street planting as it grows straight and tall and gives good shade. Turns beautiful orange and scarlet in the fall. Source of maple sugar.

White Clump Birch 
In natural setting or as lawn specimen, this multiple-stemmed tree is effective. White bark. Upright growth with horizontal branches.

Tips For Cutting Fresh Flowers

Okay, so you’re going to bring your grocery store or florist bought flowers home, now what! I have seen many people just plunk them in a vase of water and that's it.

Sometimes that works but here are some simple tips to make you look like you're a pro at it.

 1) In a clean vase, take your greens first, snip the ends off to the size you want and then start criss crossing the stems into the vase so that you have stems all around inside the vase.

There are two reasons for this. One is because you now have a base for the flower arrangement and two; a criss cross of stems makes it easier for flower placement.

 2) If you are making a small, low arrangement, slide in the flowers in a criss cross so that the stems are all around the inside of the vase. You should now have a vase with a ring of flowers on the out side and nothing but stems showing in the middle. (The more stems you have in the vase, the easier it will be to have flowers stay put!)

The rows of flowers are going to be higher each time you get them in until you have a nice rounded arrangement.

 3) If you are making a tall arrangement, then use a tall slim vase. Your flowers will hold up better and it will look well proportioned. Great flowers to use are gladiolas, blue delphinium, lilies, snapdragons etc. Sometimes you can get tall tulips and that looks fantastic too.

 4) A design mistake I have often seen is placing the flowers in a vase perfectly even. The reason this does not work is because it looks unnatural.

Have a look at any garden and you will see some of the blooms are sticking out, some are tucked in; some are almost hidden but still contribute to the overall look. Mimic nature and you won't go wrong! Don't be afraid to tuck some of those flowers in a bit.

5) A good rule of thumb is to use odd numbers of flowers. What I mean by that is to use 3 roses together or 5. Even numbers are not as effective. If you use 5 roses for example, Place 3 together (touching but at slightly different lengths) near the bottom center of the vase and then two more higher up.

 6) The next best advice I can give you if you are really new at floral design, is to collect pictures of floral arrangements you like and with the tips I've stated above, practice while looking at the pictures.

Before long, you'll be looking like a pro!

Tips For Growing Tulips

As the curtain of winter lifts, tulips are one of the first flowers to take the spring stage. As the last drifts of snow seep into the soil, these bright signs of spring dance in the sunlight.

However, you don't have to wait for spring to grow tulips. Whether it lies in a bed, under a shrub, in the crevices of a rock garden or in a container, a tulip bulb is an underground flower factory just waiting to spring up from whatever soil it occupies.

The whole purpose of a tulip bulb is to flower. In fact, in the center of each bulb, tiny leaves cradle a baby bud. The white, onion-like bulb that surrounds the bud stores all the nutrients that the bud needs to sprout and grow. The only real help the tulip needs to grow is a generous drink of water and some soil to keep it moist.

Selecting Cultivars When selecting bulbs, a simple rule of thumb is that the bigger the bulb, the bigger the flower. Choose plump bulbs that are firm and heavy for their size.

Although the tunic (outer papery skin) need not be intact, avoid bulbs that are withered, overly dry, scarred, and have traces of mold, soft spots, or other blemishes.

However, more difficult than selecting bulbs is first choosing from the over 100 varieties of tulips which are divided into 15 divisions. Careful selection from different divisions can help you plan a tulip garden that begins in early spring and dances on through the end of May!

1. Single Early Short-stemmed tulips (usually about 8-inches high) that flower in late March and early April.

2. Double Early A profusion of petals on 12 to 15 inch stems makes an attractive display when these bulbs are forced indoors. Although they usually bloom from early to mid-April, they are more delicate than some other cultivars and need protection from cold and inclement weather.

3. Triumph A standard since 1923 when they were named by Dutch breeder, N. Zandbergen, these tulips take the throne at the end of April as they tower to 18 inches high.

4. Darwin Hybrids One of the tallest garden tulips (usually over 2-feet tall) these red and yellow beauties are perfect for naturalizing and are those you generally see returning in established gardens May after May.

5. Single Late Originally known as Cottage tulips, these hybrids inter-mingled and successfully merged with Darwin hybrids. Like the Darwins, they grow well over 2-feet tall and bloom in May.

6. Lily-Flowered Another May-flowering tulip, this group was originally grouped with Cottage tulips but was reclassified in 1958. On stems that grow from 1 to 2-feet tall, long, shapely flowers have pointed petals that most closely resemble native Turkish tulips and boast the first scented tulip, the Ballerina, in their troupe.

7. Fringed A short (12 to 18 inches) but showy group of tulips that brightens the May garden with ruffles that either mirror or add a contrasting color to the rest of the bloom.

8. Viridiflora May blooms with a flash of green streaked through their petals, this group of tulips varies from one to two-feet tall.

9. Rembrandt Once highly prized by gardeners, today these tulips are nearly obsolete. Although streaked with beautiful breaks and stripes of artistic color, it was discovered that this palette was created by a virus that could spread to other tulip cultivars. Although some suppliers still offer the Rembrandt, these tulips are no longer commercially grown and advertised types are generally no relation to the true Rembrandt cultivars.

10. Parrot A riot of petals that curl in all directions, these blooms look like they could use some preening. However, they aren't named for their resemblance to feathers, but rather for the bud that resembles a parrots beak. A few of these May-blooming cultivars are scented. They generally grow from 16 to 24 inches tall.

11. Double Late (Peony Flowered) Although less resistant to poor weather, peony flowered cultivars are another excellent choice for container tulip growing. From mid to late May, these tall (1 to 2-feet) blooms bear a profusion of petals in close resemblance to their namesake.

12. Kaufmanniana If you have difficulty in pronouncing the name of this group, you can also call its cultivars water lily tulips. Opening flat under the mid-March sun, the foliage of these flowers is characterized by deep purple or brown blotches. Shorter than some other cultivars, the Kaufmanniana is only 6 to 12 inches high.

13. Fosteriana Greigii crossed with Kaufmanniana fostered this division. From 8 to 18 inches tall, these tulips add drama to the April garden with foliage that ranges from grey-green to glossy green.

14. Greigii Another short (8 to 12 inches) addition to the early spring garden (late March to early April), striking wavy edged foliage provides a perfect backdrop for an eruption of upright blooms that stand amidst a frame of flared-out petals.

15. Species The last and the least? This group is truly the dwarf (4 to 12 inches) of the tulip family. However, they're easy to naturalize and their cheery blooms repeat year after year anytime from March to May, some varieties even seeding themselves freely!

They are definite proof that good things come in small packages! Planting the tulip Bulbs Although grown in Holland since the late 16th Century, tulips are native to the mountains of Turkey.

There, the winters are cold, the spring rains are plentiful and they have cold winters, plenty of water in the spring, and the rest of the year is well hot!

Tulips need the warmth of summer sun to ripen next years flower buds. However, they need the cold of winter to rest for their lively emergence in spring. Generally, unplanted bulbs are difficult to keep over winter.

Once evening temperatures dip to 50F, its time to put them in the ground. Fall is also the best time to nourish your tulips. Before you begin planting bulbs, work nutrient rich compost through your soil. Although bulbs will grow in nearly any type of soil, the richer your soil is, the bigger your bulb lift will be next summer.

Good drainage is another crucial factor in keeping bulbs healthy. Plant bulbs two to three times their height. For compact displays, plant them closely together, but not touching.

The root side of a bulb is the more rounded side; the pointed side is the part that will open and sprout foliage and flower. Container Tulip Tips Choose container size according to the height of your cultivar and the density of your bulb planting. Plant bulbs the same as you would garden grown-tulips, making sure there is at least inch of soil below the planting.

Plant tulips for indoor forcing in September and October. Place pots in a cool garden spot (outdoors) and cover them with an inch of clean soil. When top growth is about -inch to 1-inch, transfer them indoors to a darkened area with a maximum temperature of 60F.

Let the stems lengthen for about three weeks and return them to a lighted area with a slightly higher temperature. Use fresh soil-based potting mixtures only. Peat based mixtures may burn the roots of your bulbs and soil less mixtures dry too quickly.

If putting containers outdoors, protect them from severe frosts particularly when combined with penetrating winds.

Store them in a cool area like your garage or wrap with sacking or straw and cover them with plastic bags until the weather is more tulip-friendly. It is essential to keep tulip containers sufficiently watered.

Unlike garden grown plants, those in containers cannot seek for water deeper within their environment. Dry pots result in stunted and shriveled flower heads. Tulip Care When tulips are done flowering, either snip the stem or deadhead the bloom. However, let the leaves die naturally.

This is the time the bulb absorbs the nutrients it needs for next years growth. When the foliage becomes discolored, remove it to prevent tulip fire, which can poison your soil. This is also a good time to lift any tulip bulbs that you want to remove from your garden.

Lifting bulbs isn't any more complex than digging them out of the ground or dumping them out of the pot. Usually each bloom produces one good-sized bulb and two smaller offshoots that can be discarded.

Allow lifted bulbs to dry naturally. Then store them somewhere cool in an airy container (net produce bags and burlap bags work well) to provide good circulation until next planting time.

Tulip Problems When tulips produce foliage but no flowers, the most probable cause is damage caused by slugs or snails. Although liquid slug killers are available from most garden centers, most of them are toxic to beneficial organisms and insects in your garden as well as your pets and your family.

The easiest way to deter slugs from invading your tulips is to create a barrier of lava rock or diatomaceous earth around your tulips. Both have sharp edges that kill invading pests by cutting into their skin and causing them to dry up. Another effective way to control slugs is with beer traps.

Partially filled cans buried up to the lip will attract and drown slugs.