It is currently Tue Mar 19, 2024 2:22 am

All times are UTC - 6 hours




Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 8 posts ] 
Author Message
 Post subject: I'm a newbie
PostPosted: Thu Mar 29, 2007 2:18 pm 
Offline

Joined: Wed Mar 28, 2007 12:27 pm
Posts: 17
Location: Mckinney,TEXAS
Hi,

I moved to Mckinney in the Stonebridge subdivision 2 years ago. I bought a house that had been a rental and of course the yard is a mess. I have been trying to get some good shrubs growing in the gardens and I plant lots of flowers and attractive folliage annuals in the Spring. I try to plant only plants that do well in this area. I don't like how most people's gardens look. Most of them have indian hawthorne, japanese boxwood, and other similar shrubs that they shape into circles and boxes. I rarely do any pruning at all because I prefer a natural looking garden. My garden doesn't look anything like anyone elses in the neigborhood. I find that most people just go to the local nursery and buy whatever looks attractive without researching what does well here. I especially love my Texas Mountain Laurel (Mescal Bean) schrubs. They bloomed really well this year and the purple bubble gum smell is very fragrant. They are very slow growing but have a good amount of new growth this year. I have never done much organic but have always wanted to. I just had a sprinkler system put in, which included drip all the way around the foundation and in the gardens and MP rotator heads for the lawn, which water slowly to prevent runoff and save water. The person who put the system in is very into organic gardening. I hope to learn a lot from him but also from this website and forum. I have 2 dogs, the female, Sandy, likes to dig up shrubs and chew them up and dig lots of holes in the ground. They both like to tear up the grass whenever they urinate. They make gardening very challenging. My contractor just finished putting in my irrigation system and the yard is very muddy. The grass was sparse already. It is going to be a challenge getting it to grow with my dogs. If anyone has any suggestions I would appreciate it. :)


Top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Mon Apr 02, 2007 2:25 pm 
Offline

Joined: Mon Apr 02, 2007 2:17 pm
Posts: 81
Location: fort worth,TEXAS
hi! i am a brand new newbie, too!
moved to tx five years ago from north carolina...hubbie and i have 7 acres south of fort worth. we just moved in, and our house is literally a box in the middle of a pasture!!!
we do art and sculputre for a living, so we intend to make this into an organic farm/nursery/sculpure garden. now, to learn all about gardening!!!
i have to admit, a am really intimidated! i have tried starting some stuff from seed and my luck hasn't been great so far! the veggies are the hard stuff for me...landscaping and perennials are my favorite things...
there is a really cool garden center we just discovered in fort worth, and he has really used agave creatively...mixed with sedums and grasses and native wildflowers. it is attractive and organized without the 'boxy' look you describe - i hate it too. I just found a cool book called "earthsong" at the goodwill store. the author created his garden one vignette at a time, in microscenes about 8 x 8 each.

good luck! merri


Top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject: Us Newbies
PostPosted: Mon Apr 02, 2007 2:48 pm 
Offline

Joined: Wed Mar 28, 2007 12:27 pm
Posts: 17
Location: Mckinney,TEXAS
Merri,

Thanks so much for replying to me. I haven't had much luck getting getting replies on this forum. I posted one about buffalo grass and haven't heard anything yet. I am originally from Connecticut so I am a yankee like you. Gardening is a lot different here due to the hot, dry summers and alkaline, clay soil. I have been here 20 years though and have learned a lot. Neil Sperry was a lot of help all these years but I would really like to start doing my gardening organically. Thus the change to Howard Garret. I lived in the country for 18 of those 20 years on 4 acres. I grew a huge vegetable garden the first few years and was very successful. I canned a lot back then. I went back to work when my son was 3 and never had time for vegtable gardening after that. I didn't do much gardening besides the vegetable garden because of the overwhelming amount of work it was out there. We had horses which took most of my time when I wasn't at work. I divorced my husband and moved to town reluctantly 2 years ago. However, I have really enjoyed just gardening for pleasure, planting shrubs, flowers, and attractive folliage plants. It has been a little easier because I actually have trees and shade! We had a box in the middle of a pasture as well. I do want to move back out in the country as I was so used to the peace and quiet. I am surrounded by kids on all sides including 1 family with 8 kids behind me! My kids are grown and gone now and all I want is a little peace and quiet!

I started most of my vegetable plants from seed without any problems. I started tomatoes and peppers from nursery transplants. If you have any questions about what plants do well here I am a walking encylclopedia. However, I am just starting out learning about organic gardening so I won't be much help there.


Cathy


Top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Mon Apr 02, 2007 4:45 pm 
Offline

Joined: Mon Apr 02, 2007 2:17 pm
Posts: 81
Location: fort worth,TEXAS
hi cathy!
sorry about all the typos...i am dashing in and out making appointments all afternoon/evening...you would think i could spell sculpture as it is a significant part of our life!!!

my veggie seens have germinated, but then NADA. they are just sitting there at the cotyledon stage (spelling again???) (you know, the two little seed leaves). they have been like that for a few weeks now and i am starting to get panicky. is it my soil? they cool days and clouds? my best effor so far has been sugar snap peas - which are actually growing. even the radishes seem to have quit. i took a soil sample to callaway's and hope to hear something SOON! We built lasagna beds on top of the pasture, as it is harder than granite!

glad to have connected with a veggie gal!

chat soon,
merri


Top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Tue Apr 03, 2007 7:35 am 
Offline

Joined: Wed Mar 28, 2007 12:27 pm
Posts: 17
Location: Mckinney,TEXAS
Merri,

What type of veggie is the one that won't grow? If the beds are raised they may be draining too fast. Are you watering regularly? I watered my veggies a great deal. They like a lot of water. What are lasagna beds? I've never heard of those.

Cathy


Top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Tue Apr 03, 2007 9:51 pm 
Offline

Joined: Mon Apr 02, 2007 2:17 pm
Posts: 81
Location: fort worth,TEXAS
hi cathy!
lasagna beds are named for a manner of gardening documented by Pat Lanza. she didn't have a tiller, so she just put wet newspaper over her weeds, and piled compost, manure, clippings, leaves, etc on top, then planted right in the pile! Because our land is rock hard and full of bermuda grass and pasture weeds, we dicided to try this method. I think that after time, as the paper degrades, the soil underneath sould be loosened and 'healed' because of microbe and earthworm action.

You could be totally right about the water. I have been water shy because it has been pretty dark (cloudy) and cool, and i was afraid of rotting them. le sigh. i will get it together!

my newest battle is caterpillers! they are feasting on my onions, and cojuld very well be the trouble with other things missing leaves and stems! solutions?

thanks!!!
merri


Top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Wed Apr 04, 2007 8:12 am 
Offline

Joined: Sat Mar 06, 2004 7:33 am
Posts: 764
Location: Plano & land at Dodd City,TEXAS
Merri-

I think I should have re-read this b/4 I replied to your other post, since you already did lots of the things I suggested.

I bet you have GREAT luck w/gardening NEXT year! It seems to take the soil a while to adjust, unless you are doing raised beds.

Patty

_________________
Plano Patty & Jim


Top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Wed Apr 04, 2007 8:58 am 
Offline

Joined: Wed Mar 28, 2007 12:27 pm
Posts: 17
Location: Mckinney,TEXAS
Merri,

I grew onions in my garden every year and nothing ever bothered them. I assumed it was the strong smell/taste. I would probably refer to Howard Garretts organic brews for keeping the catarpillars away. I don't have any organic experience yet. I joined the website to learn all about organic gardening. I was using chemicals (ugh!) back when I had my big vegetable garden.

Cathy


Top
 Profile  
 
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 8 posts ] 

All times are UTC - 6 hours


Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 1 guest


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot post attachments in this forum

Search for:
Jump to:  
Powered by eWeblife