Chapter 4

Time to Plant.

Large blooming bulbs may be planted in April or May, or they may be held until June, or even July, if they can be kept from growing too much in storage. It is their natural instinct to send out roots and shoots in the spring, and when they do they should be planted soon. When one has a considerable quantity of flowering bulbs, it is easy to secure a long succession of bloom by planting at several different times. Good sized bulbs will bloom in about ninety days after planting. Smaller ones require a longer time. If all the blooming sizes of the same variety are planted at the same time, they will bloom in regular succession, the largest first and the smallest last. Small bulbs,--too small to bloom,--bulblets, and seed, should be planted early in order to have plenty of time to make their growth. About the first of April is a suitable time in the latitude of Northern Ohio. In a mild climate the bulbs may be left in the ground all winter, and the same might be done in the north if they could be covered securely enough to keep out the frost.

Planting.

After the land has been well prepared, furrows are made three feet apart and about six inches deep, for large bulbs. The furrowing is done with the Planet Jr. cultivator, arranged with a large tooth behind, and two or four smaller ones in front, turned edgewise. They steady the cultivator and contribute towards the fining of the soil. Next, the bulbs are placed in the furrows, as far apart as their own diameter; that is, two-inch bulbs should be two inches apart, one-inch bulbs one inch, and so on down through all the blooming sizes. When bulbs are an inch or more in diameter, they are generally placed right side up, though this is not essential. However, when scattered along the furrow they can be put in position very quickly.

After they are placed, cover with the cultivator used in furrowing, taking off the small teeth in front and putting on the wings. By going once in each space, throwing the soil both ways, the bulbs are covered deeply enough to make quite prominent ridges over the rows, with furrows midway between. Very soon the weeds begin to show, and then a good harrowing is given, length-wise of the rows, to kill the first crop. Next, just before the sprouts are ready to come in sight, they are gone over with the weeder. On small areas all this stirring is done with a steel rake. By this method the surface is kept free from weeds, and is also made fine and mellow for the young shoots to come through. If the work cannot be done at the right time, it is better to wait until the sprouts are up an inch or two, as they can then be stirred without fear of injury, but when just coming up they are tender and easily bruised or broken.

When bulbs are planted in a small way, it is not customary to place them in rows. A better plan is to scatter them over the ground about as far apart as they are wanted, say six or eight inches each way, and put them in one at a time with a trowel or dibble, five or six inches below the surface. They are planted at this depth, in both garden and field, to prevent their blowing over when in bloom. Those that are from one-half to three-fourths of an inch in diameter should be covered with about four inches of soil.

For planting small stock, less than half an inch in diameter, the ground should be prepared as previously directed. The rows should be three feet apart if the cultivating is to be done with a horse; if by hand, eighteen inches. The furrows should be straight, and three inches in depth. The grower can now choose one of two methods of planting. He can sow the bulbs in the furrows, about twelve to the foot, or drop them in hills, four to six in a place, every twelve inches. In either case they can be covered with a cultivator, as before described, ridged up, and harrowed or raked afterwards, thus saving the first and most expensive weeding. When the bulbs have started sufficiently to make the rows visible, the cultivator can be used, and from that time forward the most of the work can be done with a horse, turning a little earth up to the rows each time.

The hill method of planting takes more ground, but it has two distinct advantages over the drill method. First, the hoe can be used in the row between the hills, thus lightening the labor and expense of weeding; and, second, in taking up the bulbs in the fall, each hill can be lifted out with a fork, and every bulblet saved. In growing stock that is especially valuable this is of great account.

Very few bulbs less than one-half inch in diameter will bloom, so all they need is a chance to grow,--a loose surface, freedom from weeds, and sufficient plant food, with moisture enough to make it available. Bulbs thus produced will be of the most desirable shape, round or conical. If, however, any considerable number come into bloom, the spikes should be cut off as soon as they get above the foliage. This prevents the plants from exhausting themselves by producing flowers and seed. Other things being equal, bulbs from which the spikes are removed as early as possible will be about twice as heavy as those that produce seed unchecked.

The planting and management of bulblets will be considered in another chapter.