If you love the cheery, colorful blossoms of daffodils, crocus and tulips in spring, now is the time to get those bulbs in the ground.
Planting them now in the still-workable but not-too-warm soil allows the bulbs the four to six weeks they'll need to get established before the ground freezes.
And it's also the time to protect those bulbs from hungry rodents like mice, voles and chipmunks.
If you've planted spring bulbs before and they didn't flower, that may have been due to these nibbling critters. They dig down into your soil and help themselves to the buried bulbs.
These tried-and-true methods can work, so plan ahead and you'll save your investment.
1. Avoid pests' preferred bulbs
The first technique is more of a preventative measure: Plant the bulbs that mice and voles don't like!
These burrowers love the taste of tulips but tend to not like the taste of daffodils, alliums, scillas and fritillaries, so if you can go without tulips, try to primarily plant these other flowers and avoid the critter-eating altogether.
If you can't imagine a spring without tulips in your yard, then outsmart the rodents and plant the flowering bulbs that they like alongside the ones they don't.
More: Vermont Garden Journal: Moles and Voles
That way, if a mouse, vole or chipmunk chomps on an allium bulb, they might just assume all the bulbs in that space are allium and move along.
2. Scatter sharp objects
Another method to deter burrowing rodents is to sprinkle sharp material in the soil that moles, voles and mice don't like moving through. Crushed seashells are a great natural material to use for this method.
Mixing jagged material like shells into the soil also helps deter another unwelcome pest: slugs.
3. Repel with smells
You can also try adding smelly repellents, like horticultural-grade castor oil pellets or sprays into the soil where you're planting bulbs. The strong smell will keep pests away.
These techniques will be effective for a season, but after that, the odor will dissipate.
And some techniques like putting egg shells or diatomaceous earth into the soil don't work as well, because those materials break down too quickly to be effective for long enough.
More: Getting that look of spring flowering bulbs popping up everywhere takes planning. Here's how
4. Cage them out
Finally, if the rodents are decimating your spring flowering bulbs each season, you can always build a cage — not for the critters but for the bulbs!
Create a small mesh or wire cage that has half-inch diameter holes. This allows enough space for the leaves and shoots to grow through, but are too small for rodents to access.
Then bury the cage with the bulbs into the soil, and each season, you should be graced with beautiful flowers in the spring.
How to deal with gnat-infested soil
Q: I recently separated and repotted my indoor snake plant with Miracle-Gro potting soil. The next day I noticed little gnats flying in the soil. It was recommended to dispose of all the soil, which I did. What is the best soil for the snake plant? Thank you. - Lisa, in New Hampshire
A: You're on the right track as far as repotting the snake plant. and perhaps it was just a bad batch of potting soil.
There are a couple of different things to try to avoid these pests on your house plants.
Remove the plant and the soil and wash the soil off the roots, then wash out the container with a 10% bleach solution, letting it dry out completely.
Next, try a different type of potting soil that provides the right mixture for house plants.
These steps should kill any pest eggs that are in the pot, and in the soil.
If gnats still bug your snake plant, try putting a couple inches of sand on top of the potting soil.
When the adult gnats lay eggs in the sand, the eggs will dry out and die, and you'll stop the whole life cycle.
When to harvest red Valencia peanut crop
Q: Tennessee Red Valencia Peanuts … Well, they have come this far, now I am wondering: 1.) How yellow must leaves be before I pull the plants? 2.) I covered them against last week’s brief frost, should I keep doing that to extend their season, or have they grown as much as can be expected? 3.) Full disclosure, I never saw the blossom submersion process, and only witnessed a few blossoms at all. - Jim, in Middlebury
A: Welcome to the peanut-growing club! As far as when to harvest them, do that as soon as the leaves and plant starts to yellow and die back.
When you're harvesting them, take good care to gently dig around and not disrupt the peg and the peanuts too much.
Digging around too vigorously might knock the peanuts off the peg, and you'll lose them in the soil.
More: Anybody want a peanut? Grow this warm-season crop here with the right technique
Instead, gently lift the plant up and knock off as much soil as possible and harvest the peanuts. Once harvested, dry the nuts for a week or two in a dry place with good air circulation, like an unheated greenhouse, shed or garage.
Once they're dry, roast the peanuts in a 350 degree oven for about 20 minutes, and enjoy the ball game!
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