Store Your Bulbs for Winter

Instead of spending your hard-earned money on new dahlias, tulips, lilies, or other tender bulbs every year, why not simply keep the ones you already have? As soon as their leaves start to turn color in the fall, dig ‘em up and wash them in a bucket of our Terrific Bulb-Cleaning Tonic (below), then tuck them away in a frost-free place until next spring. Here are the easy bulb-cleaning instructions:

1. Mix up a batch of the Terrific Bulb-Cleaning Tonic: 2 tablespoons of baby shampoo, 1 teaspoon of hydrogen peroxide, and 1 quart of warm water in a bucket.
2. Gently drop your bulbs into the mixture. Let them soak for a minute or so, remove them, and set them on a wire rack to drain.
3. Be sure to let them dry thoroughly before you put them away; otherwise, they’ll rot.
4. When next spring rolls around, pull out those bulbs, plant ‘em as usual, and enjoy the beautiful blooms—and that extra money you saved!

For more great gardening tips all year ‘round, check out our bestselling book, Old-Time Gardening Wisdom! You can even try it out for FREE for 21 days with our Free Preview. Happy growin’!

Get Ready Now for Beautiful Blooms This Spring

Right now is the perfect time to plant spring-flowering bulbs for a gorgeous display of beautiful blooms next year. Bulbs are a low-maintenance gardener’s dream. They come equipped with their own stored food supply, and they know exactly what to do to replenish it year after year.

Here’s how to get your bulbs ready and rarin’ to grow:

·        Soak ‘em in this Beauty Bath to get ‘em clean and ready an hour or so before planting. Mix 2 teaspoons of baby shampoo, 1 teaspoon of antiseptic mouthwash, and 1/4 teaspoon of instant tea granules in 2 gallons of warm water.

·        Plant each bulb at a depth that’s three times its size. That means that tulip bulbs, which are usually about 2 inches in diameter, go 6 inches into the soil. And about 3 inches is just the ticket for miniature daffodils, which start off as 1-inch bulbs

·        Feed ‘em my Bulb Breakfast of Champions for a slow and steady source of nutrients at planting time. Mix 10 pounds of compost, 5 pounds of bonemeal, 2 pounds of bloodmeal, and 1 pound of Epsom salts in a wheelbarrow. Work this hearty meal into every 100 square feet of soil in your bulb-planting beds. Or, if you’re planting bulbs among other plants, work a handful of this mix into the soil before setting in the bulb.

Looking for more super secrets for growing a gorgeous garden? Check out my Perfect Perennials book—FREE for 21 days. It’s filled with quick tips and super secrets for bloomin' beauties that'll flourish year after year with little or no work!