Heather asked," So bulb food? Any suggestions? Is pumice a substitute when planting?" Pumice is not a fertilizer, but it adds some mineral nutrients, especially if you can get unwashed pumice including fines (this is hard to buy even here, where pumice is sold by the cubic yard). It will raise the pH of acidic soils slightly. When mixed with peat or other very acidic components, pumice breaks down more quickly than it would otherwise, and presumably its minerals then are more available to the plants. I use white pumice, but Loren Russell of Corvallis, Oregon, a keen grower, swears by red pumice (locally known as scoria), which I think has a higher iron content. I haven't seen it in sizes smaller than about 2 cm, and I prefer the smaller size for seed sowing. My new raised bed for bulbs has a larger, washed size of white pumice, but also local concrete sand, which has fines of similar mineral content; I also added some limestone chips and an organic mix. I do apologize to the scientific gardeners, but I make planting beds much as I cook -- to my own taste, and using what's available. Jane McGary Portland, Oregon, USA