Q: For three years I’ve tried to turn my hard-packed red clay into a real garden. I’ve made progress doing “wormposting”. I bury all our fruit and vegetable waste in holes in different areas of the garden. As the food rots, worms bring all their friends, and they feast. Can I do this around perennials and bulbs?

A: I think it’s a great idea! A good tool for the project is a bulb planter. You can make holes around the plants and put your scraps there. Truthfully, I’d wait to “wormpost” the bulbs until the foliage appears in spring. This would avoid the inevitable root damage if you dig around them in fall.