today's work in the garden

[rafiwinters]

So I've just come in from almost two hours in the garden, me and Neighbor V getting happily sweaty pulling weeds, disentangling dried old vines from the chainlink fence and from a tree by the fence, and generally preparing the bed for planting. So very very nice to be outdoors and in contact with soil and fresh air. It's still a bit chilly, around 45F this morning when we started, but it got warmer and we also got warmer from the work. Not sure what kind of tree it is but when it leafs out we will take pix and search for images.

One question that I Googled for and couldn't find any answers: if you're planting spring-planting bulbs (for summer blooming), can they go in while there's still a chance of frost, or should we wait till after last frost? We are in U.S. Zone 6, so last frost date is mid-April. Specifically we have bulbs for freesia and ranunculus.

Comments

[mdehners]

You should be able to. If both can overwinter in my old z8b garden with temps down to the high teens. Ranunculus don't like warm temps so the earlier you can get them in the better. You can always cover with mulch till April if you're worried.
Cheers,
Pat

[rafiwinters]

Lovely! Good to know. I was only familiar with fall-planted bulbs. But freesias, oh my goodness what a wonderful fragrance. And the ranunclus are so pretty.

[eldriwolf]

Unless you get Really hard freezes you should be ok.
Soil is pretty good insulation.
Most all of my bulbs overwinter...but I am in a fairly moderate climate.

[rafiwinters]

Thanks for letting me know about the bulba. :-)

[feroxargentea]

Frost will only affect what it can reach. So if you only have a light frost, perhaps sprinkling the top of the soil with silver but not freezing it solid at the depth of your bulbs/corms/tubers and any little shoots that might have started to grow from them, they should be okay. If you have a sudden heavy frost forecast, you can cover with fleece or a little more earth for safety. (I wish I had last frosts in April! Freesia are a heated-greenhouse thing here.)

[rafiwinters]

Good, then we can plant the ranunculus and freesias now! :-)

Well ...

[ysabetwordsmith]

It depends on the individual species, but most summer plants don't like cold feet. That means not just after the last frost but the soil should be warm, like for tomatoes. However, you can often warm the soil by covering it with black garden cloth or plastic, panes of glass, or cloches. Cut the bottom off a milk or water jug and you have a mini-greenhouse.