Driest September on record

Last week, KVUE's Tom Harris reported that September was one of the driest months on record in Central Texas. Yesterday, while working in my yard, I realized how true that really is.
We spent the weekend digging up dead grass along one side of my front yard and replacing it with a more xeric landscape, including Texas wildflowers and grasses. The dirt was dry. And I don't just mean dry... I mean really DRY.
The ground was hard and clumpy and no mater how far down I dug, I never found any moist soil.
Wow. We spent the rest of the day pulling the hose around the yard and doing our best to soak each of the newer trees and shrubs in hoping of relieving the strain they are feeling.
As I sit here writing, the forecast still calls for some of the viewing area to receive rain, but so far... nothing. It's cloudy and gray -- but it just hasn't been able to rain. As much as I'm hoping for rain, I'm just not sure how it will happen today. That's really disappointing, because my poor landscape is parched. No matter how much I water, my little hose is just not enough it satisfy the thirst. Most of what I planted is drought-resistant, but even that designation can only go so far.

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Categories: news | trees and shrubs |

Good resource for starting a fall garden

I'm a big fan of the Sustainable Food Center, and the other day, their newsletter had a link to an online resource for starting a fall vegetable garden. I looked through it, and I really like the plans they have. It's what I'm working toward with my current front yard garden, and what I have proposed for the garden beds I've proposed for my son's school house.
if you're interested in finally taking the plunge into a home garden, take a look.

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Categories: general tips | vegetables and fruits |

Pumpkin frustrations

I've been hearing a lot lately about fall gardening in Austin and how easy it is.
Easy? Really?
I'm sorry, but for someone like me who's used to the easy gardening in the mid-Atlantic and mid-South states, gardening in Texas is hard, no matter the season. Growing a fall vegetable garden is easier than a spring one, but it's still pretty darn hard.
Thank goodness I don't have a huge ego, because I'd have given up long ago.
That said, now that the temperatures are beginning to back off a little, I'm finding more motivation to tend to my vegetable garden. Every couple of weeks, we plant a new crop or two of vegetables that are well-suited to the fall garden. Over Labor Day, I planted carrots and beans.
But the crops to watch this fall are the pumpkins, whose vines are huge, but they are under attack. Last week I noticed blotchiness on the leaves. At first, I thought I identified the problem as mosaic virus, but now I'm not so sure. The virus is seed born and spread by insects. According to the master gardeners, fall squash are likely to fall to the virus, and one book recommended Garrett Juice plus garlic to treat the problem. Another Internet resource said it was too late and to pull out the plants.
That got me thinking about whether I had accurately identified the problem. I couldn't find a single picture of the problem, only descriptions, and they don't seem to completely fit the situation. The plant appears to be vigorous, despite a few problematic leaves, so I'm going to treat with Garrett juice and garlic and work on improving soil health.
There's also the possibility that this discoloration is caused by an insect or worm. I did find a little caterpillar on a leaf while inspecting the damage, which could explain why the plant continues to be vigorous. I'll get a better idea tonight when I get out there and treat the plant and put down some compost.
I'm making a mental note to rotate the squash out of that bed next year to prevent further transmission of whatever is affecting the plant.
I'm trying not to get frustrated. I have such a hard time with my veggie garden. Woody ornamentals? I'm a whiz! Flowers? Not too bad.... But vegetables? In Texas? I'm having a tough time. It seems like one failure after another. Just once I'd like to have a bountiful crop of something other than chard. I like chard, but you can't carve it for Halloween.

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Categories: vegetables and fruits |

The veggie garden made a turn-around

Conditions in my vegetable garden have turned around, despite the fact that the weather continues to be dreadfully hot and dry.
We finally figured out how to schedule the drip irrigation system so that the garden would receive the right amount of water, and once that was set, most of the plants that had been barely clinging to life bounced back. We now have two cantelopes growing on the vine that I had written off weeks ago. We also have some nice looking tomato vines, but the birds have managed to peck holes in the fruit before it ripens.
At the beginning of August, my seeds arrived from my favorite catalog seed company and it was time to plant the fall garden.
We cleaned up two of the front yard garden beds and sections of three others by pulling out dead growth, raking back the mulch and mixing compost and cottonseed meal into the soil.
Closest to the front, I made 8 mounds and planted three different kinds of winter squash. I spread mulch around the mounds, but not on them, hoping to help retain moisture in the soil but not give the seedlings the extra strain of pushing through the cedar.
I did the same thing in another bed with two mounds of watermelon.
So far, so good. There are several watermelon seedlings and a few jack o' lantern seedlings growing.
My next major planting date is September 1, when I plan to plant bush beans and carrots.
Happy planting!

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Categories: vegetables and fruits |

Creating my xeriscape

I have been slowly removing turfgrass from my landscape since I moved into my house several years ago. Why get rid of grass? I would like to conserve water. I have also tried to devote more of my landscape to trees that will eventually give my house more shade and help take some burden away from my air conditioner.

I always tell everyone that I hate mowing, but in actuality, I don't mind it. It soothes me, and I have a new electric mower that is much easier for me to start, so I like mowing even more... but there are parts of my yard I do not like mowing.

The most inconvenient area for mowing and watering in my yard is the little strip of land between the public sidewalk and street. A couple of months ago I began digging up all the grass -- all bermudagrass. Unwelcome Bermuda that began moving in almost as soon as I moved into the house, because I refused to pamper the St. Augustine.

My strategy -- pull up as much of the grass as possible, from stem to root. It took a couple of days to take off the sod, and a few more weekend mornings to take a few inches more of dirt out of the strip... just to make sure we had taken as many roots out as possible.

Bermudagrass spreads by stolen and seed -- above ground and below. And it's a survivor. It can hang out in the ground and run under streets and sidewalks to find light. If you leave any little part... it will be back fast!

After removing the dirt, I mixed compost into the remaining soil, which is thick clay. Then we spread some corn gluten on top to help prevent weed seeds from germinating. Finally we topped it off with a thick layer of landscape fabric, pinning it down the entire length, and only making two holes for the city water meters.

We will not plant anything in that space until October, when the weather begins to cool off. I think most of what we plant will come from other areas in the yard -- Mexican feather grass, a small colonizing agave, maybe a red yucca. I'm trying to decide on a small tree or shrub that will fit in the space without growing too bushy and covering up the sidewalk.

Once everything is planted, we'll finish the space with a layer of decomposed granite and weed as needed -- never to mow again.

I don't want to kill all of my grass. I have marked out several areas where I was to keep it. But I don't need that much -- just a little in the front and more in the back where my family and dogs can play.

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Categories: lawns and flowers |

Renewed hopes

Some of my friends have asked me lately how my garden is doing. All I can do is crinkle my nose and say -- ick.
I have to admit that I have neglected the garden lately. My schedule as a full-time working mom has conspired with the heat to keep me out of the garden most of the time over the past couple of months, and as a result, it has suffered.
The tomatoes have given just about everything they could; the squash, zucchini and melons were a disappointment. I know I need to get in there and shade the pumpkins from the sun... but it's been so hard to find the time.
I did not install an easy garden.
But one thing I love about gardeners is that hope springs eternal. While I have been too busy to work in the Spring garden I planted, and I have new hope that Fall will be different.
I'm ready to order seeds. As usual, my eyes bigger than my plot, but as I peruse the categories, I imagine nooks and crannies where the veggies can grow. I envison little a little oasis of veggie heaven here and there. There are so many things I want to grow. I just can't narrow it down!
Ah well, might as well order what I can. Even if I don't use all the seeds this time -- there's always the spring!

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Categories: vegetables and fruits |

Community, urban agriculture rocks!

I love the idea of community gardening, and lately, I've been reading more and more stories about people seeking out local farmers, local gardens, and learning to garden on their own.
A BBC story about a community garden in Detroit caught my interest today.
How cool is it to start a garden on "wasteland" and give food to the needy people nearby?
It's not an isolated effort.
There are community gardening programs across the country, including right here in Austin. One of the most notable organizations is the Sustainable Food Center -- one of several groups in Austin that works in the community to promote sustainable and organic food production.
I first became aware of this organization as trips to the downtown and Triangle Farmers' Market became a twice weekly occurrence for my family. (The SFC runs both the downtown and Triangle farmer's markets.) I made a commitment ages ago to provide the freshest organic ingredients for my son that I can afford, and fortunately, I can continue to do this through the farmers' markets.
Considering how poorly my garden has been doing, I haven't been able to cut back on buying fresh fruits and veggies. Hopefully, my fall garden will do much better.

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Categories: around Austin | vegetables and fruits |

Farmer tan, anyone?

I just found this article about how to avoid skin cancer -- apparently, gardeners are most at risk (duh!), but I have to admit, that I have been lax about lathering up in sunblock.

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Categories: general tips |

Yay! It rained!

Last year at this time, we were under water. This year, I've found myself praying for rain. The couple of times that it has rained this week, I've been grateful.
I can never seem to remember when my watering days are, so -- as a consequence -- my landscape hasn't been watered much.
Not that I want to water every day... most of the advice I've heard is to water deeply, but infrequently. One arborist recommended I water the entire yard very deeply once a month during the three or four hottest, driest months of the year. But that was for trees.
For lawns, I've heard it's important to water deeply once a week so that the grass can be healthy, otherwise it will suffer in the fall and spring.
Ooops... so much for keeping my lawn healthy.
Not that I have much interest in a beautiful lawn -- for me, it's always been about the trees. But that's just me.

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Categories: general tips | lawns and flowers | trees and shrubs |

My landscape is crunchy... so now what?

The following news release came into the newsroom a few days ago, and I wanted to share it. It's pretty good info about what do do now that we're faced with seemingly endless days of high temperatures and little rain.
Seems like a good topic now that summer is officially on our doorstep...
Welcome summer!

Gardening in the Hill Country

By Elizabeth Drozda-Freeman, LCRA Conservation Landscape Specialist

Summer arrived early this year in Central Texas. With several weeks of record-breaking heat already behind us and the specter of a long, hot summer on the horizon, many of us are tempted to turn up the volume on our sprinkler systems.

At the same time, both the City of Austin and the Lower Colorado River Authority now have mandatory watering schedules that allow watering no more than two days a week. The question on many minds is: "Will I be able to keep my yard alive watering just two days a week?"

The answer is YES.

Applying a half inch of water to your landscape twice a week is enough to keep turf and landscape plants healthy. However, there are four things you can do to reduce the stress on your landscape even more during the heat of summer.

1) Be sure that your shrub, flower and vegetable beds are mulched. A two- to three-inch layer of mulch helps retain soil moisture and keeps soil cooler.

2) Water slowly. Many of us have tight clay soils. If your sprinklers apply water too quickly, or your yard is sloped, the water you apply may not be sinking into your soil. Slow the flow by using drip and soaker hoses wherever possible. If you have spray-type sprinkler heads, set your controller for multiple start times of shorter duration to allow water to penetrate the soil rather than run off.

3) Water during the required hours (between 7 p.m. and 10 a.m.). During this dark, less windy time period, evaporation is lowest. If you water during the heat of the day, up to 40 percent of the water you apply can be lost to evaporation.

4) Work on your soil. Soil is the sponge in the landscape capturing and holding the water that you apply. If your soil is very shallow or of poor quality, your landscape will dry out quickly. Consider topdressing lawns with a quarter inch of compost in spring and/or fall, and incorporating compost into flower and shrub beds.

Finally, if you do see your plants drooping a bit as the mercury passes 100 degrees during the afternoon, don't panic. Temporary drooping is a natural response of many plants to extreme heat. Dig a little at the base of the plant to see if the soil is moist. If you are following the twice-per-week watering schedule, chances are the plants have enough moisture and will perk up when the sun goes down. If you dig and find the soil is dry, consider the four tips above for a healthier, more drought-tolerant landscape.

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Categories: general tips |