Q: Is it time yet to plant my spring bulbs yet?
A: It sure is! Any time this month — or even next — is time to think spring. We plant these bulbs in the fall because bulbs require a few months of chilling to produce their colorful blooms in the spring and time to grow roots.
To get started, you need something to dig the planting holes. If there are only a few bulbs to plant, a trowel or a bulb digger will do. Bulb diggers are available in short- or long-handled varieties. A shovel works, too.
You might want a very low stool to sit on while planting. Consider using a kneeling pad to protect your knee joints — even an old pillow or a rug will help protect your knee joints.
As you choose your spot to plant, remember that you will have to allow the foliage to mature and brown before you cut it later in the summer and it could look messy. Mark your plantings so you can plan to plant other plants to camouflage the dying bulb foliage and so they won't be mowed down before the foliage matures in late spring.
Plant bulbs about three times the depth of the bulb or slightly deeper. Try to plant bulbs in groups rather than in rows. For a natural look, scatter bulbs, and then plant where they fall. Plant with the root end of the bulb down and the pointed end up.
Fertilizer isn't necessary this first year, but plan to do it every future year. Just scatter it over the top of the planted area and water in well.
There is still plenty of time to plant bulb, so buy some more of them. You can plant until the ground freezes. You never have enough bulbs; you won't regret it in the spring!
Q: My peaches all have Black Spot. Every spring, I spray it with lime sulphur and horticultural oil. How can I get rid of it?
A: If your peaches have been diagnosed with Black Spot, next year try spraying with a rose spray, like Ortho Rose Pride or Bayer Systemic All-in-One. Follow the instructions, and particularly note the time allowed between spraying and harvesting the fruit. Again, we can blame the cool, damp weather this year! Make sure that trees are not crowded and keep the growing area meticulously clean and tidy, especially this fall.
Q: Hope you don't mind my enclosing a sample of the very thick grass that is growing in my yard. I tried to find it on the internet but was unsuccessful. Is this a weed? Every year, there is more of it spreading in my yard and I don't see it in other lawns. I've been pulling it up and putting down fescue grass seed, but it keeps on spreading.
A: Thank you for the grass sample. It was very dry and broken in pieces, but I think it's the grassy weed called nutsedge. It's very difficult to rid of it in the garden or lawn because it is spread by seed and by underground running roots. Keep pulling it up; get every piece of root. Try to weed when the seed pod is not visible; otherwise, you will be propagating the weedy plant!
If you use chemicals, there are some lawn weedkillers that say that they will kill nutsedge. Try one of these either this fall or early next spring and plan to respray for many seasons in the future! It's very tough to get rid of this pesky weed.
Q: How do I get rid of tomato blight?
A: Tomato blight can be gotten rid of with persistence and a little help from the weather. This fall, be meticulous with your fall clean-up. Bag or burn the refuse. There is evidence that the blight cannot live through winter's freezing temperatures and that includes a cold compost pile, but don't take any chances. Carefully remove all dead plants, foliage and rotten fruit, and if you use tomato cages, be sure to wash them thoroughly before you put them away. If you have room next summer, rotate your crops and plant something different in the space you used for tomatoes this year. Then hope for a warmer, drier and sunnier summer next year.
Q: I have a 5-year-old Victoria plum tree. For the past two years, about 50 juvenile plums have formed. Unfortunately, as they grow toward ripeness, an evil looking black blight grows all over them and then the plums fall off. This year, I managed to get just a single plum. What can I do next year to improve the yield?
A: It's very difficult to tell from your information, but it may be the plum sawfly is to blame. This pest does leave tiny holes in the fruit, which seep sweet syrup and the sweet syrup breeds black sooty mildew.
There is a spray sold by Gardens Alive (www.GardensAlive.com) that forms a mineral coating on the fruit and gives it a "bug protective" coat. I think it's called "Surround," and I think it is safe for edible crops.
Next year, hopefully, will be less damp, but if sawflies are the problem, and if the tree is small enough to reach, you can spray with a simple soap insecticide all through the spring and summer. Also, remember to prune the tree to allow better air circulation.
I hope the tree is located in full sun for best growth and fruit production. Plums are one of he more difficult fruits to grow, so keep in touch!
This week's dirt
Time to compost the Halloween pumpkin. By now it's beginning to mold and rot. Remove it from the front steps and move it before it collapses. Don't be surprised if next spring, you have a pumpkin vine growing out of the compost pile. Is it Halloween magic? Or simply a sign that the compost pile was warm enough over the winter to keep the seeds alive?
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North Shore Gardener by Barbara Barger of Beverly is a regular feature of Wednesday's Lifestyles section. Reach Barbara by e-mail at nsgardener@comcast.net or write to her c/o Salem News, 32 Dunham Road, Beverly, MA 01915. Previous North Shore Gardener columns can be found at www.nsgardener.com.
