Hi everyone! I just joined DG and thought I would say hello.
I have been renting and just moved into my new house this year. I have always been into gardening, but now I have space to really do it, and not just read about it.
I'm looking forward to getting to know everyone.
Is anybody else in San Antonio?
-James
Hello, New guy on the block
You should be in good company in SA.
Welcome to DG. Have you been a long-time TX resident, od did you come from somewhere (like so many of us)?
Welcome, James! Glad to have you with us.
Thanks guys. Nope, I am a San Antonio native. I lived in Florida for a few months just before and after hurricane Opal. That was fun.
How is everyone's garden doing now? Our weather is still in the 80's and everything is growing like it's springtime.
Welcome to DG James.
Welcome to the Texas forum, James! :-)
~ Marylyn
Can't speak for others, but my radishes are up, cabbage sets taking off, cilantro (new sprouts all the way to flowers (2nd time this year)), volunteer basil everywhere, and the parsley I allowed to go to seed has presented me with a new crop.
Still need to harvest the other 1/2 gal of chili pequin, and dig up some of the horseradish to see how big it is.
Since daylight saving quit - not much time to work in the garden - and i won't risk discovering "new" fireant mounds in the dark.
I know what mean about losing the daylight. By the time I get home from work it is already dark. You know, I have been pretty lucky with the ants so far. I haven't seen any fire ants at all. But I do have these tiny black ants. They don't bite, but they are everywhere! Even without the biting they still creep me out. I went to check my mail a couple nights ago and when I pulled my hand out of the mailbox it was COVERED with the little ants. I tried to play it cool, but my neighbors probably thought my hand was on fire.
This message was edited Nov 14, 2007 3:33 PM
Welcome to Dave's garden and the Texas forum James, you will have fun here, if you have questions about Texas native plants, don't hesitate to ask.
Josephine.
Hi Jmcdowell ~ glad you joined in! What are your plans for gardening at your new home? Have you gotten a start or still in the design stages.
The only new plants making a showing here are the garlics and multiplier onions. The summer blooms are fading and I soon need to move them in or mulch for winter protection.
I'm just NW of S.A. White Mistflower is starting to peter out a bit...the butterflies will miss it. The giant cosmos plants and the tall Lion's Ear are still blooming. And a couple of kinds of salvia are also blooming. Welcome to DG!
Missouri City, TX-that is interesting! :)
Welcome, James!
I'm in Houston. I'm the funny one, or so I've been told. Growingin veggies in Earthboxes, Sago Palm nursery, and composting my heart out. Humongous worms in the compost bin.
We have periodic Round-Ups to get together. Just had a second gathering of Houston gardeners. Do check out the upcoming events/announcements forum. It lists activities in your area...again, welcome aboard.
{{{{{Podster}}}}}} you have dmail.
Hi ~ Misty! Glad to see you in Tx. Knolan ~ you also have Dmail 8 ))
Morning everone.
Podster, when we moved in all we had in the back yard was a flat square of dirt and weeds. We laid the sod, but I left free form flower beds running all the way around the yard. Then I planted some annuals and they quickly died. My soil is like solid clay and I guess they didn't like it. I planted a couple little crepe mrytles and some oleanders that are doing well. Then I found a small family owned tree farm in atascosa county and their prices where amazing so I bought a Vitex that they had trained as a standard about 9 or 10 feet tall, 3 more crepe myrtles 7-8 feet tall, and a large tree about 15 feet tall and wide.
In the meantime my flowerbeds were overwhelmed with weeds so I pulled them all out, covered them with landscape fabric and hauled in 130 bags of mulch. That has helped, but I REALLY need to ammend the soil.
Linda - Thanks for welcome. I don't have any Salvia's yet, but the ones at my office are blooking like crazy. I snagged some seeds from one of them and did a little germination test ( I heard they are hard to get going) I have one little seedling under lights now, we'll see if it makes the winter.
Gymgirl, thanks for the info. I'll definately be on the lookout. Never seen an earthbox before, but I googled it. How cool!
Hi, James! A bit late in spotting your post, but delighted to welcome another San Antonian. I'm down the road a bit from Linda in Helotes. The folks beyond my back fence are in Leon Valley. Ugh - the back fence is a mess and it will be four weeks yet before the fencing contractor can get here to replace it. In the meantime the tree people have to clear a downed mesquite, a dead and downed palo verde, and several hackberries just beyond the fence that are dangerously dropping limbs having been doomed by mistletoe. My garden beds are inaccessible at this point, so I am anxious to get these gigantic jobs completed. Meanwhile, though, I am beginning to see the tangerines ripening and the lemons will be ready next month. I have a couple of kumquat trees ready to set out, and have some muscadine vines and an apple tree coming. It is also seed catalog season, so there is always something attracting attention.
San Antonio is a great place to garden...challenging and rewarding, never boring! There are quite a few of us here, although some of the regulars haven't been posting much lately. Hope you will keep us up to date on how your garden adventures are going. Yuska
Thanks Yuska, I lived in Leon Valley just before I bought my house. Now I am bit closer to Lackland. Wow your garden sounds like fun. I haven't considered fruit trees yet. Are you going to keep them pruned to picking height?
Linda, I didn't realize you were in Helotes. I love it there. I ran the apartments there (Elm Hollow) for years when it was built.
Hey pod, making my way around all the forums! :) SLOWLY :)
Misty,
With my primary job, I get to travel around the USA. Many years ago, was at a client in Joplin, MO - the hotel clerk noticed that city name, too, and asked where it was. I couldn't resist, told her, "Just a few miles from Iowa Colony".
Both are just outside Houston.
Boy I am glad I didn't ask you where it was! LOL :) I just thought it was pretty neat to have "Missouri in Texas"!
Too late to think about pruning. The fig trees are enormous, but the cardinals and woodpeckers help me by harvesting the upper branches. The squirrels show their annoyance by chattering at me when I try to harvest the pecans. Greedy little creatures...they're already plump from raiding the bird feeders for sun flower seeds.
I love flowers, but my main gardening emphasis is food production. Flowers come with it, of course. On warm days in March I open the windows to enjoy the wonderful fragrance of citrus.
Ah, yes, clay! I remember going to the hardware store shortly after moving in and being astonished at the huge display of heavy-duty mattoxes. I soon learned how necessary they are! Hard black stuff that is slippery when wet, and full of rocks, all sizes. I'm convinced they're breeding down there, because more keep appearing in beds that have been reworked numerous times. But on the plus side, the stuff is bound to be rich and healthy, because it grows such magnificent weeds!
Yuska
I was thinking the same thing about the weeds. If they can grow so fast and furious, surely I can get some other stuff to grow. lol.
Did you see the episode of Gardening by the Yard with the fruit tree guy? He showed some techniques for planting trees close together and keeping them about 6' tall. It seemed pretty interesting.
We can also order semi-dwarfs and varities that are naturally smaller. Figure at least a couple of feet more in height and a fuller crcumference than the catalog description.
I have seen a pruning technique that cuts off the main trunk header at about six feet. The side branches then reach out and up in somethiing of a bowl fashion. Quite effective, but unnatural looking to me. I wonder if the practice might not also shorten the life span.
I thought the same thing. Seems very aggressive to me.
Do you start plants from seed?
Yes, I do, at least for vegetables. I grow primarily heirlooms, and that's the best way to get the varieties I like. Baker Creek (rareseeds.com) is a very good source.
Actually I live WAY out in the country, past the Helotes area. Caliche and rocks...makes a person envy even hard clay, because caliche really kills most plants. Raised beds....it's the best thing invented since the wheel! I buy a load of topsoil every year, sometimes two...and I do add compost. I make raised beds and amend the soil I've already got. Keep in mind, it takes tough plants to survive and flourish in our part of Texas. Stuff that has to be babied and coddled and watered constantly...well, tough love can apply to plants, also. I kick those things to the curb! I like natives and xeriscape plants. I do have one fig tree and a peach tree and some blackberry plants. Also a native plum which hasn't made fruit yet. I garden for butterflies also. One site I use for seeds is Plants of the Southwest. They even have veggie seeds, which I've started to use. And I make pilgrimages to Natives of Texas near Kerrville and Schumachers near New Braunfels. My favorite nursery in S.A. is Rainbow Nursery on Bandera Rd.
Rainbow - Bandera - yep, that's the one!
I've been to Rainbow Nursery and it was awesome! There were miles and miles of really cool plants! I loved their display with the red canoe filled with flowers. I hope to go back there next time I go to SA.
Janet
Did someone mention Rainbow Gardens? lol.... My favorite place... :)
Howdy James....another San Antonian here....welcome to Dave's... :)
Melanie
Linda, I plan on raising my beds sooner or later. I want to use stone, but I would need something like 350 linear feet and after my visit to the stoneyard I decided I had to wait on that expense.
I love Rainbow Gardens too. One of the managers there used to live at my apartment complex in Helotes. He was so friendly and knowledgable, plus he was constantly planting trees and flowers in our courtyard. One summer he cancelled his vacation so he could stay home and make sure a new tree he planted got established.
I also like Millbergers nursery on 1604 past 281.
Hey Melanie, nice to meet you.
welcome, jmcdowell. hope to meet you at one of the plant swaps in the future.
I'm going by Milberger's Nursery tomorrow for their blood drive. They love getting my Type O blood. So do the skeeters...I'm probably number 1 on their list also. Hope those are gone for the year after this cold front. Anyway, here's Milberger's site with blood drive info.
http://www.milbergernursery.com/sale.htm
Linda, are you taking any vitamin B1? It doesn't stop all of the TX vampires, but it keeps must of them from landing to do "their thang".
Bubba, I take a multivitamin every day. Don't know if that counts, but it sure doesn't keep the skeeters off.
No, need to augment with 50-100 mg B1. We used to canoe/kayak/camp for several years - found out about B1 from one of the canoe outfitters. It takes about 3 weeks for it to begin working. I usually quit about now and start again with the first sign of warmth in Feb/Mar.
DW doesn't follow my lead and is eaten alive.
Interesting, I have never heard of that. I get eaten alive whenever I spend any time outside. I will definately be trying that!
Now aren't you glad you found Dave's Garden?
Yeah, I'm loving it. Although I'm sure I am spending WAY too much time here. lol
And this is just one thread in one forum - welcome aboard again.