Maine Home Garden News, University of Maine Cooperative Extension

In this issue:
October is the month to . . .
Bulbs - The Harbinger of Spring!
Plant Garlic Now for a Bountiful Harvest Next July!

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Maine Home Garden News
October 2009

October is the month to . . .

Collect and save flower and vegetable seeds. Label and store them carefully for next year - or package them artfully for holiday gifts. This is a fun project to do with kids. Some seeds are much easier to save than others. For more information, check out these publications:
Saving Vegetable Seeds from the University of Minnesota

Finding, Gathering and Saving Seeds at the Kids Gardening Association Web site
Protect your garden soil. If you haven't planted a fall cover crop, cover bare soil with chopped leaves, straw, well rotted manure and bedding, even cardboard! The object is to keep your soil from compacting, eroding, and leaching nutrients during winter. Your garden will be easier to work next spring if you've taken these added measures.
Find a good source for cow, horse, goat, sheep, alpaca, or llama manure. Add it to your compost pile. If it's well-rotted or has plenty of bedding, you can use it to mulch garlic and asparagus beds, or to cover bare garden soil. For more information about using manure safely, click on the link to view Guidelines for Using Manure in Vegetable Gardens a UMaine Extension Publication.
Prepare your compost pile for winter. If you have a nice layer of mature compost, run it through a coarse screen or hardware cloth, put it aside and cover it with a tarp. If your pile isn't well broken down, turn it over to incorporate air and it will still have time to work before winter. Make your compost area close to the house so you aren't tempted to forego a trip in deep snow.
Build raised beds. Whatever materials you use (2" hemlock, stone, boards, logs, etc.), keep the configuration narrow enough so that you can reach into the center or the other side. Kids gardens should be no wider than 3’ wide. Fill with a combination of soil and compost or you can use the lasagna method.
Build lasagna gardens. Use compost, newspaper, grass clippings, chopped leaves, well-rotted cow, sheep, goat or horse manure (with bedding), and other organic matter. Layer materials to mature over winter for next spring, when it will be ready for seedlings. You can also add a layer of loam for direct seeding.
Dry hydrangea blossoms. Simply put them in a vase without water, or hang them in a cool, dry place out of sunlight for use later. Hydrangeas did very well with this season's ample moisture. Note which ones you would like to plant in your landscape for next season. There are more varieties than ever!
Plant tulip, daffodil, allium and other bulbs. Follow directions on the packages for depth. Remember that most need well-drained soil. See article on bulbs in this issue.
Cut balsam fir boughs. After a few hard frosts, lay them over your cleaned up perennial beds (and bulbs) to protect plants from thawing and heaving.
Consider giving excess produce to those in need.
If you participate in Plant A Row for the Hungry, please report your donations to food pantries and soup kitchens. Call your county Cooperative Extension office with the total number of pounds so that we can track our efforts to promote Plant A Row for the Hungry.
Respond to the Maine Home Garden News Reader Survey at this link. Thank you.

By Liz Stanley, Extension Horticulturist in Knox/Lincoln Counties, lstanley@umext.maine.edu

Bulbs - The Harbinger of Spring!
By Barbara Murphy, Extension Educator in Oxford County, bmurphy@umext.maine.edu

Red Tulips in Full Bloom

Red Tulips in Full Bloom
Photo credit: Amy Witt

Narcissus and a river of Grape Hyacinths

Narcissus and a river of Grape Hyacinths
Photo Credit: Amy Witt

Spring bulbs are the first harbinger; that life has survived another Maine winter. Often early spring bulbs such as crocus, snowdrops, and hyacinth are in bloom while snow is still on the ground. Now is the time to plan and prepare for this springtime show.

Choosing bulbs:
When shopping for spring bulbs, look for ones that are large, firm, and mold free. Beware of bulbs that have been on store shelves for extended periods, they may have dried out and lost vigor. Consult catalogs and websites to see the many cultivar choices, colors and styles.

Planting and Care:
Spring bulbs require a sunny location; and many can be successfully planted under deciduous trees and shrubs. In addition to sun, good soil drainage is a must. If your soil is heavy, add some compost or peat moss to the planting area; fertilizer can be added at this time as well.

The general rule of thumb for planting bulbs is to plant them two to three times as deep as the bulb is tall. This means most large bulbs like tulips or daffodils will be planted about 8 inches deep while smaller bulbs will be planted 3-4 inches deep. Planting depth is measured from the bottom of the bulb.

Tulips, daffodils and hyacinths should be planted with the nose of the bulb upward and the root plate downward. The best method of planting is to dig and loosen the entire bed to the proper depth. Press the bulbs into the soil in the planting area and cover with soil. For a diverse spring showing, plant different bulb types in the same area, starting with the ones requiring greatest depth and ending with the shallow bulbs. Because the soil in a spaded bed is better drained and prepared, the planting will last longer.

Removing the Foliage:
One of the visual problems with spring bulbs is the foliage that remains after bloom. The foliage on the smaller bulbs such as snowdrops and squill will die back rapidly and cause little problem. The foliage on the larger bulbs like tulips and daffodils will take several weeks to die back and can be unsightly. Keep in mind that after flowering, the plant needs the green leaves to manufacture food that is stored in the bulb for next year’s growth. If the foliage is removed early, the plant can no longer manufacture nutrient reserves for next year. This results in a small, weak bulb which will gradually decline and die out.

Once the foliage dies back or matures in the late spring or early summer, the bulb is dormant. As the foliage dies back, the roots that nourish the bulbs also die back. With fall rains, the bulb comes out of summer dormancy and roots begin to grow again to provide the bulb nutrients and moisture.

Once the spring bulbs enter dormancy, the time is right to dig the bulbs if needed. Some bulbs benefit from digging to divide the bulbs and spread them out over the bed.

If the choice is to dig bulbs, they should be stored in a well ventilated place and replanted in the fall. Every five years daffodils and crocus should be dug and replanted to prevent overcrowding. The first sign of overcrowding will be a decrease in the flower size, uneven bloom and uneven plant height. When this occurs, dig, spread bulbs out and replant immediately.

This may be your first or your ninetieth year for planting bulbs in the fall. In either case, try something new and keep records of what you have done with the bulbs.

Plant Garlic Now for a Bountiful Harvest next July!
By Frank Wertheim, Extension Professor, York County, frankw@umext.maine.edu

If you have ever tasted home grown or local farm grown garlic you know it is far superior in flavor to what you can buy in the grocery store. Garlic is an easy crop to grow and planting it in October/early November will ensure you a bountiful harvest this coming July – which will keep you in home grown garlic for the entire year. Get your soil ready and give it a try.

A Word About Garlic: There are basically two types of garlic we use for culinary purposes, Hardneck and Softneck. Both grow well in this region but there are differences.

Hardneck: The majority of the garlic grown in the northeast is of the hardneck type, which is so noted for its stiff “neck” or stalk and large cloves. Hardneck produces a scape, which is essentially a flower stock – though usually the flowers abort and produce “bulbils” which are tiny aerial cloves. These can be saved and planted but will take two years to produce a bulb. If you want to experiment and have a cheap source of increasing your seed stock give the bulbils a try. Many gardeners cut the scapes off as they develop and use them in stir fries, and some believe that this results in more energy going into the bulb – though research on this is inconclusive. The number of cloves produced from a hardneck bulb are usually few in number (4-8 per bulb), but huge in size. If a large clove is what you are after you definitely want to grow hardneck varieties. Hardneck varieties don’t store quite as long as softneck which is why many gardeners plant both types. Good hardneck variety choices for the northeast include German Extra Hardy (a local favorite), Russian Red, Killarney Red and Montana Giant.

Softneck: Like the name implies softneck varieties of garlic have a more pliable stalk, produce smaller but numerous cloves per bulb (12-20), do not produce a scape, can be braided for storage, and do store better than the hardneck type. Virtually all of the garlic purchased in grocery stores is of the softneck type. However it is not recommended to use grocery store bought bulbs for planting as the varieties come from California and China and are not adapted to our growing conditions. Also grocery store garlic may be treated with a sprout inhibitor to lengthen storage life. Good softneck varieties for the northeast include New York White (the local favorite), Artichoke and Silverskin.

Planting stock: Good sources locally are Fedco-Seeds and Johnny’s Selected Seed Johnny's Selected Seeds. Another alternative for getting a more economical source of garlic for planting is to purchase it from a local farmers market or farm stand. Locally grown garlic will be of the type hardy for this area and you can ask the farmer which varieties they have, and they won’t be treated with a sprout inhibitor

Soil Preparation: Garlic is best grown in a well drained soil as it won’t tolerate wet feet, and prefers soils high in organic matter. A raised bed would be an ideal location for growing garlic. Be sure and amend the soil with well rotted manure or, preferably a quality compost. If possible spread one ½-1 inch of compost over the entire planting area and work it into the first few inches of soil. As with most garden crops, garlic grows best when the soil pH is between 6 and 7. If you are not sure what your soil pH is contact your local University Cooperative Extension office for a soil test. There is still time to get a soil test done and work in the proper amount of lime if needed as you prepare the planting bed. If you amend the soil with manure or compost before planting no further fertilizer is needed until spring.

Cultural Practices:

Garlic should be planted between October 1 and November 15 to give the clove a chance to develop some roots before it goes dormant for the winter.
Separate cloves from the bulb and plant root side down (pointed side up) about 2-4 inches deep, 6-8 inches apart in the row and 12-18 inches between rows. A bulb planter used for tulips and daffodils is an excellent tool to get a number of cloves planted quickly.
In mid to late November, when the ground begins to freeze, mulch the planting bed with 6-12 inches of straw. This step insures it won’t heave with the freezing and thawing of winter and will survive the cold temperatures. Pine needles are also a good source of mulch.
In early spring as the ground thaws look for the green tips beginning to emerge underneath the straw. When they emerge pull the straw back but leave it in place between the rows. It will serve to keep the weeds down and the water in.
Fertilize in spring with a complete fertilizer such as 10-10-10 (3 lb per 100 sq. feet), or an organic complete fertilizer at roughly twice the rate as usually they contain roughly half the nitrogen as chemical fertilizers.
As half of the leaves begin to die-back in July harvest the garlic by gently pulling on the stalk while prying beneath the bulb with a trowel. The clove you planted last fall will have magically turned into a multi-cloved bulb. Gently shake off the dirt but do not wash before storage. Don’t wait until all the leaves have died-back or your bulbs will not store well.
Cure the garlic by hanging in a warm dry well ventilated place such as a barn or attic. I have cured mine by laying them on a sheet of cardboard in my garage. Let them cure for two weeks.
For storage give them another shake after two weeks of curing to remove more soil, cut off the stalks of hardneck varieties and store them in a cool dry place. For softneck you can leave the stalks attached if you wish to braid and hang them for ease of use and aesthetics in the kitchen – but you may also cut off the stalks and store them with the hardneck varieties.
Save some of your biggest bulbs for planting the next fall.
Eat and Enjoy

More information on growing garlic can be found at the University of Minnesota Extension and the Ohio Cooperative Extension Web pages.

Submitted by Frank Wertheim, UMaine Cooperative Extension Professor, York County, frankw@umext.maine.edu

Garlic Bulbs

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