naturalizing newbie in east hampton new york

[ninadora]

i live in manhatten and have been bit-- i swear to god so painfully by the gardening bug, you should see my illegal north facing fire escape garden.

anyways, i want a yard --my aunt has one in east hampton and she has agreed to let me naturalize some bulbs...its a bit late but i'm gonna do it.

1. i would like to do 1,000 bulbs in one day, is this too ambitious for two overweight amataur fans of flowers?

1. i have read of soil augers, bulb naturalizers that are foot operated, and steel pipes (not going there) does anyone have experience with these tools?

2. i will be planting woodland bulbs like aconite,star of bethlaham and scilla siberica...i am worried about the soil when i get there..this is simply a patch of decidouous (sp?) wooded area is there any advice for things to look out for or bulb types etc?

1. if planting these types of bulbs is it neccessary to first dig a bed and ammend the soil, if it is not clay?

I will also be planting small daffodils and oxalis at the edge of the lawn, in a sunnier site,

i am planning on digging beds and loading in many many bulbs with some bulb fertalizer. again any personal experience would really help, i have read quite a bit on the subgect, but i have not actually been there to check out the soil, i'm simply praying it will be decent for bulbs.

1. finally can anyone reccommend their favorite on line or mail order source for bulbs

thanks for your time, nina

[David J Bockman]

Yes.

Yes. The easiest method for large naturalized plantings is to lay down a large sheet of playwood near where you wish to plant. With a flat edged shovel or spade, remove the surface soil for the entire area in which you will be planting and toss it onto the plywood. After sufficient soil has been removed, place your bulbs in a 'naturalistic' fashion (no regimented rows). Throw the soil back on and you're done.

For larger bulbs that require deeper planting, a tulip planter, small hand mattock, or dibble works well.

Just be aware that digging near certain types of trees can be hard work (Silver Maple, for example, or other surface root-spreading types of trees).

Nope. Soak the Winter Aconite's bulbs in water overnight prior to planting. I would top dress with as mch organic material as is humanely possible to improve clay conditions if they exist.

[Frogleg]

Yes. But is this some sort of endurance contest? What's to prevent you from planting as many as possible in one day, and following up with more sessions?

I have and have used a 'bulb planter' -- a manual tool that digs and extracts a plug of soil, which is certainly easier than digging with a trowel, assuming a relatively soft soil without tree roots. There is a long-handled version of this tool constructed to use foot power (one version here:

're *still* going to have to bend over the plant the bulb, so it's not an automatic process. I haven't used one of those, but am willing to believe it makes the job easier. I am suspicious (with no experience) about "power" augers that attach to "any electric drill," sensing a lot of burned-out motors and snapping auger shafts in difficult-to-dig areas.

Newsgroup threads (and attention spans) tend to wander. It is often better to post 2 or 3 msgs with a single question than one with several topics. :-)