New Years Gardening Resolutions

I would love to hear peoples gardening resolutions for the new year. I know this year I have some resolutions. I am going to try to avoid acid loving plants (my soil is extremely alkaline). Also I'm planning on being more organic in my gardening practices.

I resolve to not try to grow sun loving plants in part shade, I love the plants but they just don't work where I have been putting them, so I have to redo that bed and hope I can strike a pappy balance.
Josephine.

I hear that! I have all shade and am always making that mistake too.

I have already started on mine. I bought a composter! I have been throwing things back into the garden for years now I can formally do some of my own composting.

I'm not going to try to grow so many plants that there is no room for people!
Marylyn, What kind of seeds are you trying to grow? I might be able to help.
lisa

Moving to a new place in June. Will make myself observe the land and sun for about one year and not plant things nilly willy and have a change of heart down the road. I've done this too many times cause just I can't wait. In the mean time I am gathering plants in pots to plant later.

So how is your potting is your tree potting going?

Hi, Lisa! I don't know yet... I haven't started looking very seriously yet. I printed a bunch of seed-starting articles from here on DG and I need to talk to my dh about setting up some lights and shelves, etc, and getting some peat pots. After that... I live in 9a and I have mostly shade. Any suggestions are more than welcome!

I was just wondering because there are many seeds that need to be sown in the ground in the fall-winter in TX. I have seen many people sow the seeds in the spring and thus have very little luck. I don't know that much about shade though except hostas.

Resolution: bulldozer.
More to follow. :>)

Pat, I am intrigued !!!

Sounds like Pat is going to move a mountain or make one!!! LOL!!

Mine is to move all the loose rocks and bricks that have accumulated from making my flower beds in my yard and left along the fence from the previous owner. Also want to cut down a few hackberry trees, and thin an oak and pecan to allow more light to some beds. I am going to try not to add anymore beds this year! Instead I will try to get more plants in the ones I have to bloom and attract butterflies and hummers.

I want more fruit! I still haven't decided what fruit plants or trees to get this year, but I've been mulling it over, exploring the options. It doesn't help that the severe drought persists...kind of makes it hard to get things well established when the only water they ever get is when I water them. Temps are really different today...yesterday it was spring-like, today it's winter again.

We've decided after 8 years that we need to bring in the big machines. Our 1.5 acres was covered in shinnery, briars, prickly pear, native grasses, and various kinds of oak trees when we built the house 8 years ago. I have fought regrowth constantly and unsuccessfully in the areas that we tilled up for flowers and veggies. Robert wants to add a garage/workshop at the back of the property, and while the dozer is here preparing that spot, I want a good deal more scraped clean, except for the good trees, so I can start over. In addition, there's still a ton or more of unusable ground rock and sand left by the water well drillers last year. I moved some of it with my little tractor, but it was like an ant moving a mountain. I have most of my plants already in pots and am digging more as weather permits. It may be months before anything happens, or it could be right away if one of the builder's other projects is delayed. This is what we should have done to start with, but I had no idea how difficult it would be to remove the unwanted growth by hand.

I vow not to buy anthing else just because "it's such a neat plant" and have no idea where I'll put it. I am also bad about buying what I can find rather than waiting for what I want to put in. I have dozens of plants that were "filler" until I could find what I wanted. The only problem is I'm killing DH making him dig to plant something, then later dig it up after it's established and tougher to move. Most of these "oops plants" wind up given away to whoever will take them. I also intend to wage full out war on nut sedge. I will not wait until it takes over a bed and has runners for yards and it's impossible to get all of it out. We completely dug up the iris beds this year just to try to get all that nut grass out. So far, only a little has come back up and I do "weed patrol" every morning. That stuff actually grew into some of the iris rhizomes! We'll have to all check back in about June and see how well we stuck to these resolutions.

Happy Gardening!
Crow