Bulb Basics with Jenks Farmer

Growing Joy with Plants - Wellness Rooted in Nature, Houseplants, Gardening and Plant Care

Maria Failla- Happy Plant Lady and Author of Growing Joy: The Plant Lover's Guide to Cultivating Happiness

Education, How To, Health & Fitness, Mental Health, Home & Garden, Leisure

4.8 • 883 Ratings

🗓️ 5 April 2022

⏱️ 59 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

They produce some of the most desirable flowers we know and love, but a bulb can be very confusing to an amateur gardener. We look at this little stub and think, "Seriously, a daffodil is going to sprout up from this thing?" As tropical houseplant growers, bulbs can be a totally different game when it comes to caring, with different sets of tips to be mindful of. Jenks Farmer is a bulb expert and lifelong gardener and in this ep, he joins us to break down everything you need to know about bulbs. Let's dive in!

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In this episode we learn:

[00:49] Growing Joy updates and invitation
[02:04] Watering technique tips and water quality lecture
[04:05] How Jenks became the bulb expert he is today
[07:35] What is a bulb? How do we identify bulbs?
[11:52] Listener question: When is the best time to plant alliums? Will the plants reproduce over time?
[12:43] Where can you find bulbs in nature?
[14:33] Beginner terms: Annuals vs perennials
[15:10] What is a naturalized garden?
[16:29] When do you plant different kinds of bulbs?
[18:35] How does ground temperature trigger bulb growth?
[19:03] How do you force bulbs indoors?
[23:14] How do bulbs grow? Why do we need to divide bulbs?
[24:53] The best gardening products for any gardening situation
[26:14] Where to get pre-grown plants and seeds for your spring garden
[27:47] Why do we need to dry bulbs? How do you store dry bulbs?
[28:16] How do you store caladiums?
[31:04] Jenks’ indoor bulb recommendations
[32:00] Do all bulbs go dormant?
[34:21] How do you plant bulbs? Do bulbs have to be planted right side up?
[35:32] What is the ideal soil mixture for bulbs? How often should you fertilize bulbs?
[37:08] How deep should bulbs be planted? Why is depth important?
[39:17] Jenks’ bulb recommendations for every season!
[42:05] Why does Jenks like crinums?
[42:50] Where do crinums originate from?
[44:11] Where can crinums grow in the country?
[45:29] Why Jenks wrote a book on crinums
[48:04] Where to find Jenks online
[50:01] Maria’s gardening plans update and spring announcements

Mentioned in our conversation:

PRE-ORDER LINK: Growing Joy: The Plant Lover's Guide to Cultivating Happiness (and Plants) by Maria Failla, Illustrated by Samantha Leung
The Crinum Book, book by Augustus Jenks Farmer
Funky Little Flower Farm, book by Augustus Jenkins Farmer
Deep-Rooted Wisdom: Skills and Stories from Generations of Gardeners, book by Augustus Jenkins Farmer
Jenks Farmer’s bulb and containers

Thank you to our episode sponsors:

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Espoma Organic

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Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Bulbs, they produce some of the most desirable flowers we all know and love, but a bulb can be really confusing to an amateur gardener.
0:10.0	We look at this little stub in our hands that has no green attached to it and think seriously,
0:15.6	a daffodil is going to sprout up from this thing. As tropical houseplant growers,
0:20.3	bulbs can be a totally different game when it comes to care, with different sets of
0:24.9	tips to be mindful of, and today we're lucky to be joined by Jenks Farmer, a bulb expert and
0:30.8	lifelong gardener who joins us today to break down everything we need to
0:34.8	know about the beauty and basics of bulbs.
0:38.8	So, Plant Friends, welcome to episode 150.
0:41.8	A blue mangrove radio. Welcome to episode 150. Of Blue Mangro Radio.
0:47.0	Hello, hello, plant friends.
0:52.0	I hope you've had beautifully planty weeks,
0:54.2	as per usual.
0:55.5	Oh boy, it's been very exciting over here
1:00.0	after the announcement of Growing Joy
1:02.3	for Blue and Grow.
1:03.4	Oh my God, thank you for all the support.
1:06.0	It has been so exciting to finally
1:09.2	be able to really talk about this book
1:11.1	and the blood sweat, tears, and joy that has gone into the creation of it
1:15.2	for the last two years plan friends it's been almost two years behind the scenes of
1:21.2	putting this book together.
1:22.8	So if you didn't hear, you can go listen to the announcement
	...

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