Q . We have some areas where we’d like to plant groups of daffodils and tulips. We garden at the coast.
What sort of conditions have to be in place before we plant? The soil is still fairly warm and it was a mostly dry summer. A. Spring-flowering bulbs can be planted and expected to root well in the fall when generally cool temperatures prevail, and the soil is modestly moist and cool (below 15 C).
The soil also needs to drain well of excess moisture. Q. I know that the best garlic is produced from a fall planting.
Is there any precise timing in autumn? A. My preferred timing is the third week in September, but this is not always wise, especially with weather patterns becoming increasingly unpredictable and sometimes unusually warm. Garlic cloves need cool soil temperatures to root well.
They also need a thoroughly and naturally moist soil. The best plan is to wait until a cool trend is well established and there has been enough rain to deeply dampen the soil. Soil temperatures at or below 10 C.
are ideal. Q. Over the years I have developed a roster of preferred varieties of the family’s favourite vegetables.
In recent years, some of these varieties have been dropped by my usual sources. Is there a way of finding sources of specific varieties? A. To find a Canadian source for a particular variety of vegetable, go to the Seeds of Diversity website and click on Canadian Seed Catalogue Index.
On the right side of the screen will be an alphabetical list of vegetables. Click o.