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Dahlia Cultivation: (by Murray Thompson) Once the dahlias are planted, there is a period of perhaps three weeks to a month where you can simply leave the garden to grow. Initially, you don't have many weeds to deal with, because you cultivated the garden before you planted it. You don't want a mulch on the plants because you want the sun to directly hit the soil and help in getting the shoots growing. The next step is, of course, the mulch. handy to have some close at hand when it is needed.
This picture gives an example of how it can be applied. Later I sprinkled a few shavings along the walkways just to keep the mud off the boots after a bit of rain! Here is another example of full coverage with a before-and-after picture of another of my gardens.
This bed is both full sun (south exposure) and has a two-foot fall from wall to bed-edge. The leaves do a great job of preventing erosion, of keeping rainfall and soaker-hose moisture in place, keeping the weeds in check, and giving sun protection. In addition, it provides a nice uniform appearance to the bed. If the snails do show up after a rainstorm (they do!) they are easy to spot and harvest. Securing The Plants To The Stakes or Standards: Once the plants attain the height of perhaps 15" or so, it's time to consider getting them support. It's important that you give adequate consideration to what you use to do this. Since the stems are somewhat like a stick of celery in texture, it can be problematic to use polytie material or the likes of butcher cord. What would happen is that when the wind blows the plant back and forth, it would saw through the stems of the Dahlia very quickly. It's better to use coarse macrame cording, such as some people use to re-string lawn chairs, or use to make hammocks. Yard sales are usually the best way to get a deal on this, since it's a bit expensive to use new, especially in a large garden. For a few years, I have used a flat nylon rope called mule-tape, which does a good job, and lasts well. Except for the appearance, it's hard to beat old nylons. They stand up well for a couple of seasons, they have a reasonably broad contact on the stems so they won't saw through the plants, and they are stretchy enough to 'give', allowing the plant some natural movement, even while offering a lot of support. This is a good example of 're-use' (Come to think of it, they last ten times longer in the garden than they often do during their primary use!) Here's a visual on the two methods just mentioned:
There are lot of other ways as well. Tomato cages can be used. In smaller applications, even trellises have been useful. Circles of woven fence can be used, but storage can be a concern unless you elect to have different sizes which allows you to 'nest' them in the off-season. I have also seen pictures of 8' high woven fence used horizontally, held in place by a pair of steel fenceposts at each end. Approximately 18" of either side is bent down to touch the soil, with the net result that the growing plants grow up through the woven fence, and that gives the required support. While the support is there, I wouldn't want to do the weeding! Stakes of some description are still the favourite of most gardeners I know.
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Send mail to
mg.thompson@sympatico.ca with
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