Wed, 30 May 2007
Summer Has Arrived
Well, it has finally happened. I got a headache from being out in the heat too long today. I almost made it through the entire month of May! My crew and I are finishing up most of our plantings for the spring, and we are starting to have a lighter work load, which is typical of my business at this time of year. We have had ALOT of rain and all of our plantings are thriving. The humiditiy is bringing in alot of problems, though, like powdery mildew on squash. Other problems are brought on by high humidity too: all kinds of fungal infections on leaves and in roots, mite infestations, scale infestations and slugs and snails. I have seen more mite infestations this year than ever before. I don't mind snails and slugs so much but this year I used a slug bait at one customer's home where the slugs were eating alot. The bait is called (I'm not kidding) Sluggo! I will let you know if it works. It's organic, of course.
posted at: 18:18 | path: /colleen2007 | link for this entry
Sun, 20 May 2007
SNAKES IN A HOUSE! I wouldn't be a very exciting movie, but it is an exiciting daily event for me.
So, my husband and I keep finding snakes in our house. It happens almost every day. At first they were really small, like the size of earthworms. Last night we found this one, which I would not describe as small. At first it was kind of cool, but now it is getting a little creepy. I think our two cats are bringing them in for us as "treats" or "gifts". I feel conflicted about growing a yard and garden that attracts wildlife only to have our furry hunters mame the creatures I aimed to attract. We tried keeping the cats inside but they made our lives miserable. It is a good thing only one cat is a hunter, the other is lazy. We also keep the cats in at night which seems to cut down on the number of unwanted gifts brought into our house, still alive and kicking/slithering. Perhaps other gardeners feel the same way I do about wildlife in the house and pets that eat the animals they try to attract to their gardens- if you do post it on the Growing Pleasures Gardening Forum. I'd like to hear it.
posted at: 19:39 | path: /colleen2007 | link for this entry
Tue, 01 May 2007
Master Gardeners
I recently had the pleasure of speaking to the Highland Lakes Master Gardeners. The Highland Lakes are northwest of Austin near the cities of Burnet, Llano and Marble Falls. All are great places to take a weekend trip, but these lucky Master Gardeners decided to make this gorgeous area their home. As I expected, these lakeside country dwellers were very fun and lighthearted and very engaged in my talk. One gardener hosted me for dinner at her lakeside home. The soil in her area was so different from mine! It was made up largely of decomposed granite sand, because pink granite is the prevalent bedrock in that area. The beach by her house sparkeled pink in the sunset. I am so happy I got to meet these great people, and I realized that some of our GP members might not be familiar with the Master Gardener program. Master Gardeners are usually just regular people who like to garden. There is usually a fee to sign up for the program and you get to take classes about gardening. Then in order to become a certified Master Gardener, you have to volunteer for a certain number of hours at a local botanic garden. The Master Gardener program is usually conducted by county extension offices through a major resarch university in your state. You can find a Master Gardener group in your area by visiting the American Horticulutre Society web site here: http://www.ahs.org/master_gardeners/
posted at: 21:52 | path: /colleen2007 | link for this entry
Worms and Vacations
I just got back from a short vacation to New Mexico. New Mexico is an amazing place and you can expect a travel article from me about the Rio Grande Botanical Garden in Albuquerque. When I got back to Austin I went to check on my worms in the worm bin. They seem ok, but they are not eating very fast, and it seems like there are fewer of them than when I started. There were little red bumps on top of the pile of paper, old potting soil and lettuce that I gave them to eat and live in. I am not sure what they are but I got the name of a worm expert who might be able to tell me. They might be fly eggs or some kind of mold, but they don't look like anything I have ever seen. I wasn't ever really sure if I got the right kind of worms in the first place or if I am feeding them enough and giving them enough shelter. I am looking forward to talking to the worm expert to see if I am treating them well.
posted at: 21:43 | path: /colleen2007 | link for this entry