FoxFarm Blog

Transplanting

If you live in a mild climate, you’ll keep gardening in November and December. This is the perfect time of year to transplant and divide perennials.  There are only two things you need to know:

FoxFarm Planting Mix:  Don’t transplant without it. When you dig a plant up and move it to a new spot, you have a great opportunity to improve the soil.  Work in some planting mix and you’ll add important nutrients that will help the plants succeed in their new location.

Big Bloom: You might think of Big Bloom as a fertilizer for your flower bed, but the fact is that Big Bloom has proven to be the perfect formula for transplants, divisions, and any plant that’s under stress.  After you’ve finished moving plants around, give everything a good root drench with Big Bloom. 

Overwintering

Unless you live in an ultra-mild tropical or coastal climate, you probably have at least a few favorite plants that don’t make it through the winter.  It’s worth it to dig these up and re-plant them in the spring.  In fact, you may end up with bigger, healthier plants if you do.

First, trim back any dead or diseased foliage and get the plant down to a manageable size.

If you can, give it a week or two to recover from its haircut, and then dig out as much of the root ball as possible.

Place the roots into a clean plastic or clay pot, and fill with Happy Frog Potting Soil. Water well.

Remember that you may not need to bring the plants indoors.  It might be enough to move them to a sheltered area near the house that isn’t as affected by frost, and keep burlap or floating row covers nearby to wrap them up on especially cold nights.

If you do bring them indoors, make sure that they have a good light source, and don’t worry if they drop some leaves. Most plants will go through an adjustment period as they get used to the climate inside your house.

In spring, give the plants some time to adjust before you replant them.  Set the pots out during the day, and bring them back in at night for a week or so. Then plant them carefully, trying not to disturb the root ball, and feed with a gentle organic fertilizer like Big Bloom Liquid Plant Food.  It’s especially good for helping stressed plants adapt to new conditions.

It's a Bug's Life

Fall is a great time to watch bugs in the garden. The crickets are chirping, the caterpillars are crawling, and the spiders have spun glorious webs.  We like to think of gardens as habitats for people and wildlife, so here are a few tips for the birds and the bees in your backyard:

Don’t tidy up too much.  Let flowers go to seed ---the seeds can provide a food source for migrating birds during the winter.

Resist the temptation to remove spider webs.  Spiders do a world of good in the garden, catching flies and devouring other garden pests.  Many species lay eggs in the fall, so try to leave their webs intact during this important part of their life cycle. 

Avoid toxic pesticides. Our Don’t Bug Me is an environmentally friendly spray that is effective on soft bodied insects, but make sure you only target pests that you can see, and give their natural predators a chance to munch on them first.

Use a high-quality mulch like our Happy Frog Soil Conditioner to help earthworms and other beneficial underground creatures flourish.

Last Call for Bulbs!

Still got bulbs sitting around? Now is the time to get those spring bulbs in the ground.  Garden centers have a great selection of daffodils, tulips, hyacinth, lilies, and other spring favorites. Just remember:

Many bulbs need rich, well drained soil.  Work in a generous amount of Happy Frog Planting Mix when you plant.  Typically, bulbs need to be planted at a depth equal to three to four times their size, so be sure to amend the soil to that depth.

Bulb food is absolutely essential.  Use one to two tablespoons of Happy Frog Bulb Food for every bulb you plant, and feed existing plantings of bulbs according to package directions.  Our Happy Frog fertilizers come in a water resistant resealable pouch, so you can save your leftover fertilizer for a second feeding in the spring, as soon as the bulbs begin to emerge.

Don’t forget about containers.  Most bulbs grow beautifully in pots, and you can layer smaller bulbs among and above larger bulbs for a display that lasts longer.  Use a high quality potting soil like Ocean Forest, and don’t forget the bulb food.  This is especially important for premium bulbs that you want to grow indoors during the winter, like amaryllis.