Hello my dear gardening friends,

Oh to be in Canada now that April is here, now that the leaf treebole is covered in snow (this is taken from a poem – 'treebole' is a tree trunk in old Norse ). April is playing one of her jokes on us - today, Sunday, it is very cold and I was going to talk about growing tomatoes!!!

Do you want to grow more tomatoes than ever before? We all know about mulching with black plastic: it warms the soil and the roots, saves water, keeps the weeds down and helps the fruit to stay clean. RED plastic mulch does all that and even more. Separate trials by the United States Department of Agriculture, Penn State and the University of New Hampshire show that when tomatoes are grown with 1 millimetre of a red plastic mulch developed by the USDA, yields increase from 12 to 24% and more, over crops produced with black plastic. Red plastic also lowers the number of nematodes in the soil because, as it causes the plant to devote more energy to growing above ground, less food energy goes to the roots on which nematodes feast (feed).

It does sound a little like magic, but it is actually pure science. Red plastic reflects the far- red spectrum of light. These wavelengths make each plant think that similar plants are nearby, thereby fooling them into competing with those other plants for sunlight, nutrients and space, by outgrowing them. Far-red light triggers a natural growth regulator in the tomato plant, which senses environmental changes in the colour of light and sends new growth to the maturing fruit. The plant then puts more energy into its shoots rather than into its roots, which are being coddled by the red plastic mulch. Now for the bad news: Sadly red plastic mulch is still not widely available. The two sources quoted in Scientific News are i) the Gardener's Supply catalogue, 1-800-863-1700 ask for "tomato booster mulch"and on the Web at An Obscure Gardener, www.obscuregardener.com. I am going to call Lee Valley Tools If you find another source for the red plastic mulch, please let me know!

I went to the Cop-Op Rural Routes on Friday, $85 later I have an abundance of bulbs which are going to be planted as a wedding/birthday gift for my beloved granddaughter and grandson. I know that everyone thinks of bulbs as a Spring miracle but they do bloom throughout the growing seasons. Did you know that our lovely Jack-in-the-pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum) is really a bulb?

Although the term bulb always brings to mind Spring, gardeners know that the summer has its share of beautiful blossoms grown from bulbs, tubers, corms, and rhizomes. Some, such as lilies are hardy, even to our northern Canadian climate, but others, such as dahlias and gladioli, are sensitive even to frost and must be dug out and stored for the winter.

Both the tender and hardy kinds will give you a wide range of colour, fragrance, size and form and add much to your garden. Allium (AL lium) is a bulb and is not widely grown - I do not know why, for it always causes comments as to what and how, etc. when seen in the garden. It is a genus of over 400 species and includes such tasty edibles as chives, garlic, leeks, shallots and many kinds of garden onions, as well as being an attractive flowering perennial for the border in shades of purple, lavender, blue, pink and even red and yellow.

The globelike flowers come in umbrels that are either tight or loose and when bruised, etc. have a distinctive onion-like scent. Some, of course, are pleasantly fragrant. They will live in Zone 4 and some in Zone 3.

Our maple woods are often a carpet of wild leeks, also called ramps (A triccum), in the spring each year. Dairy farmers have to fence their cattle out of these areas until the plants die down, otherwise the milk will taste so much like garlic that the milk processors will not take it. Plant the ornamental bulbs 6 to 18 inches apart and, if you do not want a bed of them, snip off the faded flowers before the seeds have time to disperse!!!! Do try them for they are truly spectacular - especially if you grow the large species, the "Gigantico's".

Bulbs for the fall include my favourite Colchicum (sometimes called Fall Crocus). Remember that you will have leaves in the spring, but the flowers will not appear until the fall.

What else can you plant? Cyclamens are a tuber; if planted in the early spring, just under the soil surface, in the shade, they will bloom in the fall. Look for the hardy garden types; with mulch, they will survive in the garden to Zone 5. Cyclamens grow best in light shade, in fertile soil. It is essential that the soil be well drained, so if you get winter/spring water, try them in either raised beds or your rockery - mark the spot to be able to water them once the leaves have appeared.

Leucojum (lew-KO-jum is how to say it) autumn snowflake (L.autumnal) is another good one. Leucojum is Greek for white violet. The genus is actually part of the Amaryllis Family, hardy to Zone 6 but will also survice in cooler zones if you give it a good protection for the winter. It has small, bell-like blooms that are white with red or green tips, growing in clusters on hollow stems from 6 to 8 inches tall. Flowers and leaves appear in early fall. They need perfect drainage, are good for naturalizing, for the front of the border, and for wild flower and rock gardens.

Lycoris (Ly-KOR-is) is a bulb, plant in mid-summer, three to fives inches deep in sun to light shade look for the flowers in the fall. Once again the leaves appear early in the spring - vanish and in late summer to early fall a single scape (leafless stalk) shoots up and within days a cluster of blooms appears at its top. They are not fussy about soil quality growing well in sun and light shade. They seldom have disease or insect problems, do not need staking - and to get more plants, dig up the bulbs and divide them after the leaves die, but before the flower stalk appears. Replant them right away and make sure that you mark the spot, so that you do not dig and plant something else there during the summer. I always manage to put my fork through my Fritillaria no matter how well I mark them!!!

More for April

Take the time to enjoy the garden at the height of its spring bloom. Cut off any faded blooms - my snowdrops are still lovely - at this time make a list of bulbs to order for fall planting - you will be able to see where the bare spots are. Till the areas as soon as it dries out for the later planting of those summer bulbs, small bulblets, bulbils and cormels.

Label narcissus and any other spring bulbs that you plan to dig up later - this way you will be able to find them.

And with spring, so come so many celebratory occasions. Happy Passover, and Easter to you all. I pray that it will be a peaceful summer for us, no violence from "Peoples ", no violence from Mother Nature, just sweet gentle rains and an abundance of sunshine.

In spite of the recent snowy weather, hats, gloves (woolly ones if necessary), sunscreen always- good gardening - stay off the muddy parts,

Lovingly, Beryl