Fall Clean-Up – Planting Bulbs For Spring Color

My Tulips Spring 2014

If you are like me you have been out in your garden for the past month doing your Fall Clean-Up.  In September, I did my Fall fertilization, treated the lawn with Sevin to kill the moths that become sod web worms that would destroy next years grass production, and started to remove and/or cut back any of the annuals and perennials I had enjoyed all summer.

My marigolds took center stage this year, I started them in the Spring from seeds. I usually set up a number of flats or use some of my large pots that later become my potted plantings for starting my seeds.  I had so many marigolds that I used them on my borders, in my vegetable garden (they help prevent white flies from attacking my tomatoes) and put some in my large pots too.

Slide Show For Step By Step Instructions & Photos

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Time To Pull And Compost The Annuals And Fall Leaves

But now all of my annuals  did their job bringing loads of color to my garden and borders and are now ready to be pulled out, mulched and composted.  I pull them, put them on the lawn and mulch them along with all the fallen leaves in my garden with my lawn mower.  Then they are put back into my vegetable garden along with lots of my grass clippings, all the plants I ground up with my lawn mower and any old mulch I have now removed from the borders and will become rich compost.

Everything I pick up with my lawn mower from grass clippings, leaves, spent plants, everything gets ground up by my lawn mower and gets tilled into my veggie garden soil.  The soil is so rich now that I never have to fertilize each year. The worms and microbes do their job and give me the finest and nutrient rich soil and it all comes from what I recycle in my garden.  Because everything is ground into small pieces, they break down easy and the worms can digest them easier too, this is how I compost my gardens waste materials.

A few years ago I ordered this  great  lightweight electric tiller from Costco online and it enables me to till the soil in my vegetable garden and turn all the clippings, mulch and grass back into the soil.  I also used it when I redid my Garden path to loosen so I could excavate soil to the proper depth, great garden tool.

I have tons of healthy garden worms that reside in my garden and this gives them the food that they turn into castings (compost) so that next Spring the garden is ready to go again.

It is also the time to clean up all the borders and on the side of my house I have some nice shrubs and between them I like to start the Spring season with a gorgeous display of Tulips.  As one of my neighbors told me this past Spring, I know it is Spring when I pass your house and see all the tulips in bloom.  What as nice way to welcome Spring.

To be able to have a great display and an end to a cold Winter, you have to plant your bulbs now.  Costco in Hazlet is now closing out their spring bulb assortment so for $8.97 you can get 50 gorgeous, large bulbs.  It takes some time to remove all the annuals and marigolds from my borders, but that is part of your Fall Clean-up.  I also cut back all the perennials that will come back each year like my Astilbes, Roses, Black Eye Suzie’s, the leaves from the Iris bulbs and other perennials in the garden.

I also rake up all the old mulch now that has lost its color. All of this gets ground up and will end up being tilled into my vegetable garden.

Planting Bulbs For Spring Color

I use my wheel barrow to hold the soil I shovel out in my border where I will be planting my bulbs.  I dig down to a depth of 6″ and then sprinkle the area with my worm castings. This year I had plenty, over 50 pounds and used it when planting anything in the garden in the summer time and now in the fall.  The castings now replace bone meal I used to use years ago and the results are amazing.

I place the bulbs in a nice pattern and alternate from row to row so they don’t grow in a straight line only, you can see the layout on the package you buy as well.  If the soil is a bit hard, I will add some peat moss to break it up, this year it was wonderful and very soft and fluffy.

I replace the soil over the bulbs and use my rake and by hand to smooth the surface. I than use the rake to tap the soil down which you can see in my photo.  Last step is to water thoroughly and my bulbs are now ready for their needed rest during the cold winter and will spring to life of course in the spring.

Bulbs Are Now Marked Down At Costco

You will see my bargain bulbs from Costco in the slide show.  I love the ones I buy at Costco for two reasons, they are superior bulbs and so much larger than bulbs you might find at other garden stores.  This means larger and healthier flowers in the spring.  I also bought some Hyacinths this year because I simply love the smell and will often re-pot some of them and take them indoors for the kitchen.

Get to Costco now before they are all gone, they have a larger assortment with 90 bulbs for a few dollars more.