Though bulbs aren't things that grow readily here in San Antonio. I still enjoy chilling some and then forcing them for the holidays or those grayer days of winter. We have some gray days here in San Antonio, not as many as when I lived in Maine though.
If you live in zones 3-8 now's the time to plant those bulbs for their long winter's nap. If you don't have cold and want to experience Springtime with some flowering bulbs inside in early spring, then October's the time to start .
Blooming Bulb is running a 50% special on those short little daffodils called Tete a Tete Daffodils at Blooming Bulb. 50% off Tete a Tete Daffodils at Blooming Bulb They're only 6" tall so you can easily force them and put them in a planter ready to bloom come February. And a pot full of cheery daffodils is a great welcome whether you're in San Antonio or Bangor.
Here are the steps to forcing bulbs in a warm climate like San Antonio. In a cold climate you can chill the plants outside.
Supplies Needed: 6" pot 5 daffodil bulbs- potting soil-
1. Plant the bulbs in the pot. They're going to be snugged against each other. Leave the tips peeking out of the soil.
2. Water the bulbs as soon as you plant them.
3. Place the pot in a freezer bag with some breathing holes in it.
4. Clear out one vegetable bin in your refrigerator. The bulbs are going to live in your refrigerator for about 12 weeks. (Note: Negotiate this with wife first. Otherwise you'll have some interesting discussions when the vegetable bin is opened. )
5. Now check the pot or pots every other day. Depending on your refrigerator you may need to water as frequently as every other day. You don't want the soil to dry out, but you don't want the bulbs to rot with wet feet either.
6. Around Christmas time you can start taking the pots out of the refrigerator. If you have more than one you can take out pot at a time. ( The plants will bloom in about 3 weeks give or take a day.)
7. When you take the plant pots out place them in the coolest room in your house where they can catch some sunlight. (Do not put them in direct sunlight as this is a shock to their systems.)This allows the plants to gradually adjust to the difference in temperature. After a week or so you can move the plants to any room in your home.
8. In about 3 weeks you should have some gorgeous daffodils greeting you. If your house is kept very warm, the plants will grow faster.
9. To prolong the blossoms, you may want to keep the pots in the refrigerator at night. ( Remember these are spring flowers and they like chilly weather.)
10. Enjoy your flowers. When they are finished blooming place the soil and bulbs in your mulch pile or just throw them away. Forcing uses up the bulbs' reserves and they rarely bloom well again. Sometimes I've had them bloom when I just threw them in the ground later, but they never bloomed as vibrantly as they did the first time.
This is a project you can do with your children. If you have colder weather, mulch the plants well so the bulbs don't freeze. Then bring them in around Christmas. I've used the forced bulbs as New Year's gifts in years past and am going to this year as well.
What I love about this project is it makes gardening doable for everyone. It's accessible gardening, enabled gardening, and adaptive gardening. It brings the best of spring into our lives.
All in a gardener's day,
Filed under Container Gardening, accessible gardening, adaptive gardening, enabled gardening by 
The topic in many places is the economy and how to stretch your dollar further. For many of us gardening offers the opportunity to decrease spending and give our families deliciously healthy food.
I know some people have the space for huge gardens, but not all of us have the luxury of huge gardening spaces. I've been researching and interviewing people on how you can help your wallet by decreasing your grocery budget with container gardening.
Containers offer many advantages and can be adapted to fit in many ways. Containers offer space flexibility. With a container you can move, replant your containers to suit the season. You can even grow inside your home with some of the stackable pots
Tomatoes are one of the easiest plants to grow in a container. Even as fall approaches there is still time in many locations to grow some tomatoes until the first frost hits.
When you're using containers move the plants in a sheltered area so if the nights do get chilly the tomatoes won't suffer. Here in San Antonio I'm not anticipating cooler weather till November but I still remember the Maine autumns.
If your growing season is really short you may want to consider one of the grape tomato plants as you can move them inside if you use a grow light. Other varieties will take over the room you put them in.
Don't ever ask my wife about the killer tomato plants I grew in the basement in Indiana. Stacking pots can work well for small herbs, greens and tomatoes.
Salad greens and sprouts tend to be pricey but you can decrease the cost by growing some in containers. Greens like cooler weather as they tend to sprout those ungainly tall seed stalks when it gets too hot.
When you plant the seeds now put a thick layer of mulch to protect the seedlings from the hot sun. The sun tends to bake the soil so it's difficult for the seedlings to pop out. Remember to keep the soil moist till the seedlings pop out.
If your growing season is short look at some of the small hydroponic tanks such as the AeroGarden. You can grow many of the leaf lettuce and get many crops throughout the winter. And the herbs you grow make winter meals taste so special.
The newer AeroGarden makes it even easier for the experienced gardener to regulate the lights and water solution. This makes it simple to use your own seeds instead of some of the AeroGarden seed pod packets.
So if you haven't started your fall and winter garden there's still time. Your local nursery is likely to have some sales so drop by. Just think you could be serving your own fresh greens and tomatoes this fall and winter.
All in a gardener's day,
Filed under Container Gardening by
Want to spend your weekend in the ER? With the holiday festivities many of us tend to relax and with relaxation we can expose ourselves and our families to the risk of food borne illness. So here goes:
- Wash hands before preparing food. If outside, use one of those hand sanitizers.
- If you are preparing chicken, hamburgers, steak or dishes using eggs (mayonnaise, potato salad, coleslaw, Caesar salads) wash your hands afterwards and clean the counters.
- Use a disposable paper towel instead of the usual sponge. (sponges are great breeding grounds for bacteria-dark, moist, and all sorts of places to conveniently grow)
- Have everyone wash hands after petting the dog or cat, before eating. Again pass around the hand sanitizer if you're not sure. This way you won't have to worry as much about someone's handwashing skills (or lack of skill!)
- If you have store bought produce use an antibacterial soap before you eat them. Rinsing will get rid of dirt, not bacteria.
- Outside use a cooler to keep cold foods cold and another to keep hot foods hot. Bacteria grows quickly when temperatures of hot foods drop below 140 degrees.
- Avoid having the grazing buffet. Though it's convenient it's a prime way to encourage bacteria to grow.
- If someone is elderly or their immune system is compromised because of infection, cancer, organ transplant, HIV go with fully cooked meat. (I know that's difficult. Hey I'm from Texas and I like my steak rare!)
Here's the doctor part of me coming out so bear with me. The CDC has finally announced the current salmonella (stpaul variety) outbreak has quieted down. The true cause was never determined.
Was it Serrano or jalapeño peppers or tomatoes? We'll never know. But you can protect your family, yourself and still have a fantastic weekend.
Remember ER's are interesting to watch on TV, you just don't want to be there unless you absolutely have to.
Enjoy your holiday weekend everyone. I'm going to BBQ this weekend so I'm off to get some steaks.
All in a gardener's day,
(For those readers not here in the US: Here in the US we're celebrating Labor Day-a time to acknowledge those who work and to say good-bye to summer. For many families this is the last weekend before school starts. It's time to have one last hurrah at the beach, fire up the grill or have a picnic in the park.)
Thanks to Aron Kremer for the photo.
Filed under Food Growing News by
