Seeds, Bulbs, Leeks & Storage

As we nestle into the autumn season, some quick Tuesday garden reminders for those on the run. One of the easiest fall tasks on hand - save your seeds from your favorite annuals. Sunflowers and Marigolds are two that come to mind. 

Sunflowers seeds for next spring's planting season

Why? Because you can keep growing them year after year and all it takes is but a few minutes of your time to clip, dry and store.  Plus, it’s rewarding and fun. And as @The_RHS reminded the garden world yesterday, remember to leave a few seed heads for the birds. A garden can be a cold-weather sanctuary for some of our wildlife friends.

The next item on hand - the bulb orders.

If you didn’t take heed back in August/September to place your bulb order, you could still be in luck. If you dig out that catalog or search online, you might hunt down a select choice of bulbs but do it now. If you're out and about, check your local garden retailers to see what's left on their shelves. Remember - spring and bulbs are synonymous so if you lose this fall opportunity to plant them, it's a miss on your own garden bulb party come spring.

Now onto harvesting and storing what you grew in the edible garden. Our leeks are still standing tall and make a tasty soup with some of our home-grown potatoes. Speaking of potatoes...

Leeks in the garden

If you did grow some spuds for the first time, storing them through the winter might prove a challenge so here's the skinny on potato storing tips. This was shared yesterday on our Facebook page from Bonnie Plants. “Potato Storage Tip: If you plan to store potatoes into winter, select tubers that are firm and without soft spots. Store in a dark room with high humidity; the temperature should be 38 F to 40 F. Do not store potatoes with apples. Check potatoes frequently for sprout formation; knock off sprouts with your hands and dispose. Do not refrigerate potatoes. Tubers will hold at room temperature for 1 to 2 weeks.”

Potatoes grown and ready for storage in our basement

So that’s the quick and easy for the Tuesday autumn tips. To end, it’s a Bill Bryson quote from ‘At Home: A Short History of Private Life.’ “Originally, the cellar served primarily as a coal store. Today it holds the boiler, idle suitcases, out-of-season sporting equipment, and many sealed cardboard boxes that are almost never opened but are always carefully transferred from house to house with every move in the belief that one day someone might want some baby clothes that have been kept in a box for twenty-five years.” So use your cellar for something fruitful like storing your root vegetables. And as always, enjoy the foliage. It’s the best part about fall. And remember, it's also the best season to think DESIGN!

Enjoy the foliage.

© All Images by Ann Bilowz 

If you like this blog, check in for your daily share's worth of garden inspiration, landscape architecture and design tips; always original, not cookie cutter and copied. Just like our design work, we strive for unique! We invite you to contact Bilowz Associates, Inc., or to browse our portfolios. Like our Facebook follow on Twitter or subscribe to the blog to receive posts daily via email or a feed. You can follow with visuals on Pinterest and find us on LinkedIn and Houzz, too.  And you can also find us back on our Google+ Business Page. (Landscape architects/Landscape Design/serving Massachusetts and New England.)