REALLY COULD USE YOUR HELP

tonyheaney

I put some seeds and then bulbs in to my garden and i watered and took care and all i grew was weeds. when i dug my bulbs up there was nothing just bulbs and no root system. i think my soil is bad. what can i do???

where i put my (no grown plants) is a divider fence made of mesh dividing our garden from the next. they have dead bushes on there's and nettles and thorny bush's,... our side ... nothing but weeds

please help, what can i do to make the earth fertile again

paddy147

The bulbs may have been rotten allready,at the time of planting.

You may have over watered/drowned them too?

Some compost,manure,fertilizer pellets/blood fish and bone meal,and also some horticultural grit will make some nice soil for the bulbs to grow.

lottpaul

Question re your bulbs -- what were they and when did you sow them?
You say that when you dug them up there were no roots - what condition were the bulbs in? Were they firm and solid or had they started to rot?

Good advice from Paddy re enriching your soil. If you have nettles growing your soil may be fairly good to start with.

Some pics might help us to see how bad things are but your first thing will be to clear your side and possibly erect a more solid barrier between you and next door?

looksee

Nettles is usually a sign of good soil. When did you plant the bulbs, what sort were they and how old were they when you put them in, as someone else has said, if they were soft or 'hollow' feeling when you put them in, then they were not good bulbs.

With a few exceptions, sowing seed straight into the ground is not a very reliable way of growing plants, again, what seeds were they?

tonyheaney

lottpaul wrote: »

Question re your bulbs -- what were they and when did you sow them?
You say that when you dug them up there were no roots - what condition were the bulbs in? Were they firm and solid or had they started to rot?

Good advice from Paddy re enriching your soil. If you have nettles growing your soil may be fairly good to start with.

Some pics might help us to see how bad things are but your first thing will be to clear your side and possibly erect a more solid barrier between you and next door?

they were tulips and Lillys and the packaging said i was to plant them when i did.

lottpaul

tonyheaney wrote: »

they were tulips and Lillys and the packaging said i was to plant them when i did.

Tulips are fussy enough to grow but should have made some effort for you.
Same with lilies.

Best to kill off your weeds and enrich your soil over the autumn/winter and plan for spring. You might need to decide whether you want bedding and bulbs long term or shrubs etc.

paddy147

Id just flood the garden with all kinds of bulbs,ferns and flowers.

Take the fence out and plant a nice hardy hedge like hornbeam or beech that will give beautifull green and brownish colours in summer and wintertime too.

I wouldnt leave a patch of bare soil untouched.
Dig up all the grass,rotivate it,dig in a heap of fresh compost,manure and grit,chip bark the fcuk out of the garden and plant as much stuff as you can fit into it.

More flowers and plants means less weeds.:D

Qualitymark

Your garden may have heavy soil. Mostly bulbs are mountain creatures, and like to have dry conditions for a lot of the year and then a flood of spring rain. Try digging in lots of sand with them next time, or make a little rockery for them maybe.

Northumbria

Some bulbs need a period of cold (winter) to grow once it warms up (spring). This is basically the signal to them that it's time to start growing. Tulips, Daffodils, Snowdrops and Crocuses are all examples of bulbs that need winter before growing.
You can force them to grow now though by putting the bulbs in the fridge (not freezer) for a few weeks and then planting them. I'm not sure about Lilies, you'd have to look them up.
But things like Tulips tend to be spring flowers because they can be destroyed in the heat of summer. So people only really grow them in spring through to early summer and force them in autumn.

Usually shops start selling spring bulbs in autumn or winter but I'd think it too early to be growing Tulips now and perhaps too late for Lilies (perhaps not if they're in a greenhouse). With Tulip bulbs I just pop them in the ground in autumn or winter and forget about them. Then once they've finished growing in spring and the green parts have died back I dig the bulbs up and see if I can split any "baby bulbs" off.
I'm going to replace my stock of bulbs this autumn though and get add in more of a mix of varieties.

paddy147

Northumbria wrote: »

Some bulbs need a period of cold (winter) to grow once it warms up (spring). This is basically the signal to them that it's time to start growing. Tulips, Daffodils, Snowdrops and Crocuses are all examples of bulbs that need winter before growing.
You can force them to grow now though by putting the bulbs in the fridge (not freezer) for a few weeks and then planting them. I'm not sure about Lilies, you'd have to look them up.
But things like Tulips tend to be spring flowers because they can be destroyed in the heat of summer. So people only really grow them in spring through to early summer and force them in autumn.

Usually shops start selling spring bulbs in autumn or winter but I'd think it too early to be growing Tulips now and perhaps too late for Lilies (perhaps not if they're in a greenhouse). With Tulip bulbs I just pop them in the ground in autumn or winter and forget about them. Then once they've finished growing in spring and the green parts have died back I dig the bulbs up and see if I can split any "baby bulbs" off.
I'm going to replace my stock of bulbs this autumn though and get add in more of a mix of varieties.

Dont forget alliums too...as in the black seeds from the flower heads,once they have died away.;)

They will flower in a few years,if you place them in the fridge from around now.:)

Northumbria

paddy147 wrote: »

Dont forget alliums too...as in the black seeds from the flower heads,once they have died away.;)

They will flower in a few years,if you place them in the fridge from around now.:)

Yeah, I don't grow those giant purple ones, I just let the chives go to flower - they're quite nice to look at and the bees enjoy them and the white clover.

paddy147

Northumbria wrote: »

Yeah, I don't grow those giant purple ones, I just let the chives go to flower - they're quite nice to look at and the bees enjoy them and the white clover.

Ah the bees go mad for them allright.:D