Welcome, Farmer Fred listeners!

I was talking bulbs with Farmer Fred on his Get Growing with Farmer Fred radio show, Sunday, December 1 from 9:00 - 10:00 a.m. Listen to us on the podcast.

I'm a garden writer, a California Master Gardener, and a daffodil nut.

Here are links about topics we discussed on the December 1, 2013 show.

How to plant daffodils: Choose a well-drained site that has full sun all year, or full sun when the leaves are off the trees. Dig a trench or hole 6" deep, add phosphorus mixed with the soil at the bottom of the hole, add compost to the soil you have removed, plant the bulbs pointy end up, tuck tulips in next to them if you don't have deer, add 2 inches more amended soil then layer in small bulbs, add soil to bring the gently tamped-down soil even with the rest of the garden. Label the bed with the names of the bulbs. Do not water. 

Sources of phosphorus can be soft rock phosphate or bone meal if you have acid soil, and high P packaged guanos or worm castings if you have neutral or alkaline soil. Highly concentrated sources of phosphorus like Super Phosphate should be used with caution and applied only after reading the label carefully -- it is easy to over-apply these products and although phosphorus does not move vertically through the soil it does move laterally and excess phosphorus can lead to water pollution and algae bloom.

Not all daffodils need to be pre-chilled for USDA zone 9; there are many daffodils that do well in warm climates.

The Northern California Daffodil Society has excellent information about growing daffodils. NCDS organizes free daffodil shows each spring so you can see which bulbs you'd want to grow in your garden. Some of the members are busy hybridizing green daffodils.


Answers to listener questions:

White daffodils to plant in the shape of a moon in Garden Valley, CA at 2,500 feet: 'Mount Hood' we mentioned but also consider 'Misty Glen'. Plant just one variety so that the blooms will show a solid shape, either round or crescent.

For a piney area in Texas in USDA zone 8a, plant any daffodil but be sure the site is in full sun and well-drained.

Thanks for visiting. Please leave a comment and let me know which bulbs you are planting.

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It's not the snow, it's the slush

So what's this got to do with gardening? It's the posh footgear.

I trudged through snow and slush this gray afternooon wearing my Hunter Wellington boots--purchased for me from Smith & Hawken (back when they were purveyors of quality garden supplies).

For years I hankered after the Hunter brand of Wellington boots--if they're good enough for the Queen of England, they're good enough for me--so a dear friend stumped up and bought me a pair in navy blue.

Today, as my Hunter Wellies and I slid in the slush, I remembered an incident from my youth.

When I was in college, three guys I knew took a summer road trip across the U.S. Two were sparky Americans, the third was a visitor from Sweden with limited English.

The fellows planned to save on expenses by staying at the homes of family friends, and were prepared to sing for their suppers by being effervescent conversationalists during the evenings ahead.

The Swede needed some vocabulary help. His American buddies drew up a list of four remarks, one of which would be a plausible response to any conversational sally from a friendly adult. The Swede memorized the list and they set off. The indispensable phrases were:

I don't know much about art, but I know what I like.

It's not what you know, it's who you know.

It's not the heat, it's the humidity.

And my favorite:

Especially in the South.

Here's my addition:

It's not the snow, it's the slush.

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Winter Garden: Kathleen Alcalá, Bainbridge Island, Washington

Award-winning author Kathleen Alcalá lives on Bainbridge Island. The current conditions have given her a White Garden effect that outdoes Vita Sackville-West's at Sissinghurst.  What is it with authors and white gardens?

Bainbridge Island is due west of Seattle, a 30 minute ferry ride across Puget Sound. Kathleen's garden has unusual but lovely amounts of snow for this Zone 8 area. We'll look at it again in the spring, I hope.

Pearl is not a winter-sports enthusiast. Kathleen says Pearl is concentrating all her energy on trying to make the snow go away.

First Snow Shovel

The scrunch of the snow against the shovel blade, the astringency of the sharp air, the thrill of being out in the snowy scene...

and after ten minutes I'm wondering, How many times will I have to DO this? When does Spring arrive?

First Snow in Nevada County

For our dear friend Wayne, who is traveling tonight under the bright moon.