Fri, 30 Nov 2007
Garden experiment success
I love the fall veggie garden in Austin. I always plant beans, cukes, and some flowers on Labor Day. This year things were really hot in september so the beans did great. I also planted cool season greens in September Now that the weather has cooled my greens are perking up. They looked horrible for the first month they were in. They got eaten by snails and wilted in the heat. I should have waited to plant them until October, but I got the plants for free early in September and I was tired of watering them twice a day in their tiny pots! This year I had little time or energy to turn the garden over or even to mulch it. I planted my seeds and transplants at night! I let the weeds grow. I watered during the hot times and watched them get munched on. I still haven't mulched the garden. It still looks ok, I am glad I did it. I hope that other gardeners out there will think about taking the same route with their gardens, and not worry too much about getting it all perfect. It has been fun for me, and now that I have more free time I will put come compost and mulch around the greens, then they will really take off! THe best part- I have cosmos blooming out there that I can see from my bathroom window when I brush my teeth in the morning. They are gorgeous and bloomed with nothing but neglect from me.
posted at: 18:47 | path: /colleen2007 | link for this entry
Sun, 25 Nov 2007
Surprizes
It has been a strange fall. My landscaping buisness has been very busy even though this is usually a slow time for us. The weather has been erratic- getting cold, then warm, then hot, then cold again. It is really hard on plants when the weather changes abruptly, just as hard as it is on people. Did you ever notice how people get sick more often when the weather changes abruptly? Plants are the same way. My crew and I have been spraying plants with liquid seaweed to help them overcome stress. We also have been careful not to overwater or underwater when the temperatures change. Try liquid seaweed and see if your plants like it. But be careful because it can stain porous surfaces so rinse it off if you get it on anything like a window, the side of a house or a patio. Happy gardening!
posted at: 21:02 | path: /colleen2007 | link for this entry
Mon, 05 Nov 2007
Big Yard Changes
Now that the weather has cooled off, my husband and I started working out in the yard more. We cut down some huge boxwood shrubs that were growing as a hedge in front of our house. They were ok, but they were way too big for our house. We have a small one story ranch house, and the boxwoods were almost 6 feet tall. We plan on building a stone patio/porch in their place and planting around it, as well as within the spaces inbetween the stones. I will keep you up to date on our progress and take pictutres.
posted at: 07:07 | path: /colleen2007 | link for this entry
Tue, 09 Oct 2007
It seems like most people in Austin save their garden planning and planting for the spring. I think the fall is a great time to plant too! THe plants have enough time to get established before cold comes on and they have a head start on drought tolerance next summer. I pulled some gulf coast muhly grasses out of a customer's yard yesturday because he does not like them. I love them so I plopped them in a weedy, overgrown bed in my yard. Planting in there motivated me to clean it out somewhat and the plants look great. I encourage southern gardeners to try fall planting.
posted at: 20:03 | path: /colleen2007 | link for this entry
Thu, 27 Sep 2007
Fall Garden Progress
Well, my fall garden is going ok. After I planted my seeds on labor day, we got some rain and my beans and cukes came up right away. I decided to do some cactus zinnias, but they did not come up. The seeds were old and I think I did not keep the seed bed moist enough. Also, I had trouble getting my kale to come up but a few plants sprouted. Then my cat rolled around on top of them and squished them. Anyway, I tried planting some cosmos in place of zinnias. I am not sure if the flowers will grow and bloom before cold weather comes, but I like to have some extra plants in the garden like that to attract beneficial insects like bees and ladybugs. I went to a fun seed and plant giveaway sponsored by a non-profit called Sustainable Food Center: www.sustainablefoodcenter.org. I got some free collard, cabbage and broccili plants there. That was a few weeks ago, and the plants were very tiny. It is a little early to plant them yet. I put them out in the garden in their pots to get used to the light there. They got eaten up a bit by snails but they are ok. I am gradually putting them in the ground in place of the kale that didn't come up. I also planted some radish and parsnip seeds. As you can tell, my small garden will be crammed with plants if all goes well. I plant everything really close together to prevent weeds. I just plant a few of each vegetable type. It's more fun for me that way.
posted at: 19:12 | path: /colleen2007 | link for this entry
Sun, 09 Sep 2007
Fall Garden Time!
I do not grow vegetables for myself in the summer. It is just way too hot for me to spend the extra time outdoors. Plus, I am a yankee, and I tend to dislike the veggies that grow in Austin in the summer- okra and blackeye peas for instance. But now the time has come for things I do like- Beans, cukes, and greens. Every labor day weekend I put in my fall veggie garden and become somewhat obsessed with it, because I know that the fall garden is the best in Austin. All of the veggies get better and better as the weather cools off. You may have read in a previous blog that my fig tree grew over my veggie bed, engufing it in deep shade. Well, I had planned on moving it, but I opted to plant my fall garden in another bed that I used to use for veggies and as a holding area for perennials that I bought or got from friends but didn't have a good spot for yet. The spot is a bit shady but I hope it will suffice when the leaves fall.
posted at: 22:45 | path: /colleen2007 | link for this entry
Mon, 27 Aug 2007
Garden time Again!
Well, I cleaned up the veggie garden yesturday with the help of my hubby, Eric. The whole thing usually gets totally overgrown in August, and this year was no different. Old tomato plants and half-dead basil, all because I totally lose my will to brave the heat and water the darn things. This year, things are a bit different, though. There is a fig tree growing next to the veggie patch, and it grew about three times its size this year because we had so much rain. It completely shades about half of the veggie patch, so it looks like I am going to have to move the garden elsewhere. I am not completely sure of my plan of action yet, but I do not want to trim the fig tree because it provides a great deal of shade on the western side of the house and shades the AC unit. I will keep you posted.
The vines in the backyard that I talked about in my last blog at the beginning of August grew back almost entirely since we cut them down. Eric ran them over with the lawn mower yesturday, so they are pretty easy to control at this point. We might try to dig them out but I am hoping we can just wear them out by repeated mowings.
I am off to buy a new string trimmer, mower and blower for the business! This time I am going to get professional-grade implements, since in the past I just always got stuff from the Sears or Lowes. I am going to get an Echo trimmer and Blower as well as a toro mower, all heavy duty models. We'll see how it goes.
posted at: 17:12 | path: /colleen2007 | link for this entry
Wed, 01 Aug 2007
Your title for this blog entry
So, here is the after picture. Note the firewood pile and the trellis. Both were completely covered with out of control morning glory vine. We left a section of the vine that is covering a brush pile in the middle of the yard, where an above-ground pool used to be. Hopefully we can eradicate this vine eventually and replace it with a native passionvine, which will also be perennial and attaract butterflies. We might remove the trellis if we decide not to get a pool. We can't afford a pool now and might not be able to afford one any time in the near future. If that is the case we may have to re-grade a large portion of the yard. I am not looking forward to that, but I am getting tired of having a giant empty ditch in the backyard...
posted at: 21:07 | path: /colleen2007 | link for this entry
Devil in a Blue Dress
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I am sorry I haven't blogged in so long! We have gotten record rain here in Austin this month, and all summer long for that matter. The rain has caused many plants to grow completely out of control and my business is much busier than usual this summer. Usually the heat makes the plants stop growing for awhile and we can take vacations. Not this year. My backyard became completely overgrown by perennial morning glory, a beautiful vine with bright blue flowers that attract butterflies. It is invasive, though, and in years past has taken up too much space in the yard. This year, the vine grew all over our deck and patio as well as most most of our other plants in the yard. My sweet hubby, Eric, and I cleaned up the vine this past weekend. See the next entry for "after" picture and description of a harrowing removal.
posted at: 21:02 | path: /colleen2007 | link for this entry
Sat, 07 Jul 2007
Free At Last, Free At Last
My worm bin fell over the other night when we had a bad storm with lots of wind. The bin had been working well, the worms would eat alot and I was just getting to the point where I might be able to collect some castings. But the bin I have is called the Can O' Worms and it is a little top heavy. I don't think I am using it correctly because I got it as a hand-me -down from a friend and I don't have instructions for it. Anyway, the worms were set free. Most of them ended up in my compost pile, though, which is great. I will start over again when I have a better grasp on what I am doing with the Can o' Worms.
posted at: 17:11 | path: /colleen2007 | link for this entry
Fri, 22 Jun 2007
Raining...at last!
Well, it's raining again. I am so happy that we are getting some rain for a change around here. All of the plants we planted in our customers' yards are looking great. My husband, Eric, and I bought the house that we had been renting for a few years. Now that we own it, I am super-excited to finally have a yard all my own to fool around in. I will keep the GP readers informed, and perhaps I will include some before and after pics in my blog to document our yard transformation. Yay!
posted at: 18:48 | path: /colleen2007 | link for this entry
Tue, 12 Jun 2007
Weekend Day Trip
On Sunday my friends Krista and Niku joined me and Eric for a trip to the Texas Hill Country. We were on a mission: buy peaches, eat and relax. We went to Stonewall, Tx to investigate their famous peaches. We were not dissapointed! I plan on making a pie but they might not last that long...
posted at: 17:38 | path: /colleen2007 | link for this entry
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
Sun, 01 Apr 2007
New Family Members
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Meet the newest addition to my family! I bought some worms today to try out my worm composting bin that has been sitting empty in the yard for over a year. I took a trip to the bait shop and got some Canadian Night Crawlers and some other worms called "dillies". I'm not sure if they are the right ones for composting, but I will do some reasearch and find out. I added some old potting soil, bolted lettuce and shredded paper to the bin. They seemed very happy to be liberated from their cups, they started to burrow down into the potting soil right after I dumped them out.
posted at: 16:56 | path: /colleen2007 | link for this entry
Sat, 24 Mar 2007
Been away!
I must apologize to our readers for not writing for some time! This is a busy time of year for landscape professionals in Austin. And to top it all off, last week I got the flu. I will start writing more often and I hope you will read more often too. Today I was relaxing with a magazine with the windows open and I heard one of the neighbors start up an old riding lawn mower. What a unique sound! It reminded me of my grandfather, who mowed a vast expanse of lawn in his backyard with such a mower. He had a trailer on the back of it for hauling firewood and debris. He also used the trailer to 'haul' all of the grandkids when the weather was nice during family get togethers. My brother, my cousins and I were so excited about the relatively slow-speed ride. Something about it was just so fun and cool. I am pretty sure it had something to do with the super-loud, obnoxious sounds the mower made. The noise was absolutely thrilling to us kids. When I heard it today I was thrilled by the happy memory it brought back to me.
posted at: 00:56 | path: /colleen2007 | link for this entry
Tue, 27 Feb 2007
Office Days
Tuesdays are my official office days, where I spend time running errands and worrying about money and schedules and business items. It is not very fun for me. I would rather be out explaining a pruning technique to my crew or making plans with a customer. I am good at running my business but I will be happier when I can afford to get more help with admin and financial stuff. We had a nice foggy day today that gave the plants some relief from the very dry wind we have had for the last week or so. I really perked up my veggies, which I got to check on during a break from the computer. I am going to make it a point of taking more breaks during office days!
posted at: 23:42 | path: /colleen2007 | link for this entry
Mon, 26 Feb 2007
Spring garden tip:
Here's my favorite tip right now for folks with small gardens, especially herb gardens.
Water with soaker hoses. These black hoses are made of recycled rubber and sell for about $15 for 100 feet. The hose has hundreds of tiny holes in it. Lay the hose on the ground where you need water and secure it in place with metal staples, often referred to as 'turf staples'. Plug your garden hose into the end of the soaker hose and let 'er rip. The water will slowly seep out of the tiny holes. Watering with this method saves water compared to hand watering and sprinklers because the water is already on the ground, preventing evaporation due to wind and light. It also delivers the water slowly which prevents excessive run-off. The plants prefer it because their leaves stay dry, which keeps fungal diseases at bay. Once installed the hoses should last about three years. Another tip: You can also get quick connectors for your hoses so it is really easy to plug your garden hose into the soaker hose. The quick connects are awesome for all kinds of hose situations.
Picture of soaker hose here (amongst other types of hoses): soaker hose
Picture of staples here: landscape staples
Picture of quick connect hose attachment here: quick connect
posted at: 17:47 | path: /colleen2007 | link for this entry
Sun, 25 Feb 2007
Spring Cleaning
I am so sorry that I haven't written for a while. The weather here in Austin has been beautiful and I am taking full advantage of by staying outside as much as possible. My crew of gardeners and I have been cutting back ornamental grasses, trimming back perennials, pruning trees and roses. Now that the warmer weather is upon us we have also began planting and transplanting dormant perennials so they can wake up in their new homes in a few weeks. This is by far my busiest time of year, but it is also the most fun and rewarding.
posted at: 17:51 | path: /colleen2007 | link for this entry
Sun, 04 Feb 2007
Spring is coming
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Tomorrow my crew and I will be working all day in a yard that is full of roses. The former homeowners were an elderly couple who had a passion for roses. The new homeowner is a young professional and although she adores the roses she works a crazy schedule and does not have time to prune them. Lucky for us, she hired us to care for the yard year-round. I love pruning roses, especially the huge shrub types. February is a good time for rose pruning in Central Texas. Usually gardeners can remember to prune roses if they do it each year on President's day. We will also be aggressively pruning her holly hedge in the front yard, and February is a good time for pruning most evergreen hedges too. The picture is of a rose I have in my yard. It is a "found" rose variety. It is called 'Katy Road Pink' because it was found by a Texas plantsman growing on the side of the road in Katy, TX, sometime in the 1990's.
posted at: 12:22 | path: /colleen2007 | link for this entry