Q: How should I care for my spring flower bulbs in the garden after they have finished blooming?

A: Cut dead flowers from spring blooming bulbs, but leave the leaves until they yellow, because they provide food for next year's bulbs. Pull leaves after they yellow and come out easily. Scratch bone meal or other high phosphate fertilizer around the plants. Now is a great time to plant summer bulbs, such as gladiolus and canna. Sprinkle 5-10-5 fertilizer in the holes before inserting bulbs.

Q: I didn't use all my vegetable and flower seeds from last spring. Will I have satisfactory results using the seeds for this year's garden or shall I purchase new seed?

A: If the seeds were stored properly, many of them will be viable. It is a good idea to plant more seeds, however, as the germination rate may be reduced. Seeds should be stored in a cool, dry place. Seeds that do not germinate well the second year include onion, parsley, sweet corn and parsnip.

Q: Could you explain how crop rotation might be helpful in my vegetable garden?

A: Crop rotation is a means of preventing the continued depletion of certain nutrients in the soil of the vegetable garden. Additional benefits of crop rotation are insect and disease control. Rotation is more effective in controlling insects that feed on one type of vegetable (such as the Colorado potato beetle) and do not move very far or very fast. In the smaller garden, crop rotation is less effective in controlling insects because some pests (like cabbage butterflies or flea beetles) are far ranging. Some crops deplete the nutrients in the soil; the cabbage family depletes nitrogen. Crops like peas or beans add nitrogen to the soil. Cabbages and beans compliment each other in a yearly crop rotation as they use different nutrients. Tomatoes, potatoes and peppers are of the same family and tend to get similar diseases. Therefore, growing tomatoes this year in the place where cabbage grew last year would be a positive rotation. If the garden is small, try the following four groupings: (1) the cabbage family, (2) legumes which fix nitrogen such as peas and beans, (3) corn, carrots, beets, onions and (4) vine crops (squash, cucumber). Divide these four areas and plant a different group in each area every year, beginning the rotation again at the end of four years. Since annual vegetables are planted each year, the addition of composting and soil amendments will solve many diseases, nutrient and soil insect problems. But it is advised to never use fresh manure in a vegetable garden. For more information refer to Fact Sheet #7.848 - Vegetable Garden Hints, or visit http://www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/garden/pubgard.html

Gardening and Insect Fact Sheets are available on-line by clicking HERE.

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This page updated:  June 23, 2006