Dear readers, I know that many of you are quite busy preparing for Succot, but I thought I’d just remind you that when you’re out and about, don’t forget to pick up some bulbs for forcing, now is the time to buy them! While you can certainly try bulb forcing until January or so, the bulbs are very often not available when you want them, so it’s best to buy them now when they’re in the stores for those who need to plant them in the ground.
For those of you unfamiliar with “forcing”, it is bascially a way to grow lovely fragrant flowers indoors in the winter, and it’s very exciting. You trick the bulbs into thinking it’s spring and they grow and bloom right before your very eyes, in either soil filled pots or containers with water and some rocks to hold the roots. Once you try it you’ll do it every year, trust me!
This year I’m going to put my hyacinth bulbs in paper bags in the fridge for about ten weeks and then place them in water, since while this isn’t necessary, they do take quite a long time to bloom if placed directly in water, which is what I’ve done in the past. I also recommend forcing narcissus paperwhites, which require no preparation. See my post from last year here where you can find all the info you’ll need to get you started. Give it a try this year, you won’t be sorry!
All the best, gotta run, my Succah is waiting for me!
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