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Thursday, April 13, 2017

Score One for the Stubborn Cuss

Let me start this post by just telling you I'm stubborn.
I could give up but I just don't see the point.


For the past several years I've killed my tulips by submerging them in moisture-retentive soil designed to keep my summer plants happy.


There was no happy medium. 
What made the tulips happy, brought death and despair to the summer annuals. 


Being a stubborn cuss, I tried method after method to solve this problem, to no avail. The more I failed, the more irritated I became. Come hell or high water, I was going to solve this stupid problem and I'd do it cheaply. Ha!


So I scheduled a drought and stuffed my bulbs into wire baskets lined with burlap and filled with old soil. Logic dictates that a container full of holes should drain exceedingly well. Logic won and I have tulips. Score one for the Tamster!

42 comments:

  1. Ah, that might explain why tulips do so well in my garden, as my soil is awful in many places. Now if only all the critters would leave them alone, they might actually flower...

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    1. I'm surprised none were dug up by the squirrels!

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  2. Doesn't it feel good to figure out a problem. With such beautiful results too.

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  3. Hurray - what a great solution! I don't give up that easily either - it took me 4 years to grow a good stand of squash. Now to figure out sweet potatoes...

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    1. Most gardeners I know are a pretty stubborn lot. I consider it a positive trait!

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  4. Woot! Your tulips are beautiful, you stubborn cuss, you!

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  5. Congrats on solving your tulip problem! Having no way of keeping the Santa Ana winds from blowing at the worst possible time, I've given up on tulips in favor of other bulbs, like Freesia, that bloom before the bloody awful winds kick up.

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    1. I still have memories of miserable Santa Ana winds..... They were the worst!

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  6. It worked! Congratulations. And they're beautiful--a great combination of colors. Yay, you!

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  7. Problem solved with beautiful results. Good for you!

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    1. Thanks! I wish I'd figured this out years ago....

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  8. Congratulations! Looks fantastic!

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    1. Thanks! I can store the baskets in the basement for the winter and then stuff them with Colorblends bulbs again this fall!

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  9. cussedness comes in handy from time to time

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  10. Congrats on your gardening success. I have given up because the community of chipmunks and squirrels here assume I've set out a feast for them. :-)

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    1. I have both creatures and am surprised they didn't dig up the bulbs.

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  11. Yay! Having more than my fair share of squirrels and voles, my version would need to have a chicken wire cage buried under the soil. But I'm sure as hell tempted to try.

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    1. Do it!! Time to start making more mesh baskets! :o)

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  12. Hi Tammy, those tulips are so colourful and cheery! To stop the bulbs drowning in the winter, can't you cover the pots with a piece of tarp? The new holey containers themselves look really neat, like shopping baskets.

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    1. That's a pretty good idea! I may have to try that if the baskets stop working. They do look like shopping baskets. I just hope the tulip bulb munching squirrels don't make that same connection!

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  13. You did GOOD girl ! .. I just can't have potted Spring bulbs here .. our weather is too CRAZY .. but here .. I can lay down by them in the garden ... with a damp proof blanket ? to be close to them ? haha
    I am sure to have a great deal of problems to figure out this year soon enough though ... may have to call in the sanity squad to keep me going !
    Tulips will be a while yet here .. looking forward after seeing yours .. thanks !
    Joy
    PS .. my blog is stalled ... like me ...

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    1. I was so glad to have those pops of color burst out of those baskets. I do have a few tulip bulbs scattered through out the garden. I gave up on the sanity squad years ago. I much prefer bat sht crazy. It's way more funner. :o)

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  14. You go girl!!! I would be shocked if you ever gave up!!! Those tulips are delightful, just like you.xxx

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  15. Well who's more stubborn than you? :) I've never tried to grow spring bulbs in containers. Love the results though. Based on all the tunneling I see at the new place, I'm guessing tulips may just end up being caviar for voles.

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    1. Thanks! I'll take that as a compliment! :o) If you have voles, I'd definitely try containers as long as you have great drainage.

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  16. Inspiring. You should patent it. You'd make a fortune.

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    1. Old crappy soil in a container full of holes = success. :o)

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  17. So if you scheduled the drought for your side of the continent, you must have also scheduled the incessant, depressing, never-ending, record-breaking, I'm-going-to-tear-my-hair-out rain for this side of the continent. Or it's the butterfly effect or something. Whatever the case, it's your fault. (Kidding of course.) I always plant my tulips in pots with "used" soil. I don't like dealing with the foliage when they're finished blooming. With a pot you can just put it aside and let it do its thing. I really like your baskets lined with burlap. Downright brilliant!

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    1. We were too dry and you were drowning... Where is the logic in that?? We could use some of the rain now! Thanks for the love! Wish you were coming to the Fling!

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  18. Yes! I am a stubborn gardener as well. You go girl, look at all those tulips. The more I feel I can't grow something, the more I try and try and try. This year, I am determined to have healthy clematis, some moonflowers and uneaten dahlias! Wish me luck :)

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    1. I do wish you luck! Sounds like you have deer... Clematis love loads of compost and moist, but well draining oil. :o)

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  19. Yay! And will they stay there now or will you have to remove them and replant in the autumn?

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    1. I've already pulled and composted them. I treat tulips as annuals. :o)

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  20. Your stubbornness has resulted in beautiful results.

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  21. Great idea! Wish I could grow tulips in the garden. Florida might be great but I really do miss those spring bulbs. Glad yours have been a success this year.

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  22. I love how your mind works Tammy!

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  23. Hi Tammy, I'm sure you are up to your elbows in Blogger's Fling. Just wanted to note that we have an unavoidable conflict with visiting grandchildren. I hope it goes well for you. — jw

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