Farm, Ranch & Garden see more »

What’s That Weather Doing?

In case you are a newcomer to the Texas Hill Country, this has not been our typical Spring, Summer or any season so far this year. We have experienced one of the coolest June and July months ever, and yet another record high August, except for those two teasers Fall days toward the end of the month. However, if you have been around just a few seasons you will find that there is nothing but very broad weather patterns. The old saying "If you don’t like the weather, just wait an hour or so and it will change" certainly applies to the Texas Hill Country. According to Bob Rose, the chief Meteorologist for LCRA, we are in for a Winter with a La Nina effect. The La Nina is the dry cycle of weather. Personally I feel like we are going to have a really cold Winter, notice the early arrival of the awful crickets?

I am noticing that the Ashe Junipers (Cedar Trees) are really loading up, it leads me to think that we may be in for a stronger than last year, "Cedar Fever" season. It is not time to pick the berries of the Ashe Junipers to make tea. That will be later in the season, closer to the end of October and November.

Garden Duties

This is the month that we can start planting our Fall gardens. I already have my Fall tomatoes in and they are doing well. I cut back my tomatoes from this Summer, so they will grow back and produce tomatoes longer. Check with your local garden centers and nurseries to see what Fall veggies they have on hand.

The end of the month and the first part of October is best to plant Wildflower seeds. Begin to think about where and what you are going to plant. Remember to go to Wild Seed Farm outside of Fredericksburg and see what all they have available. Their web site is www.wildseedfarms.com or call them for directions and hours 800-848-0078. You are in for a real treat.

September is a great time for dividing bulbs for your Daylilies, Bearded Iris, Shasta Daises, Liriope, and Cannas. This is a wonderful time to share these with family, friends and fellow gardeners (hint, hint).

Now is the time to prepare your Caladium bulbs for next season. They need to be harvested after their tops die. They need to be dug up before the first freeze (we have some time, like a couple of months). There will be more on this subject next month. This is just a notice of what is to come.

Lawn care is critical this time of year. They need to have an application of beneficial nematodes, and separately a soap spray for fungicide. Also later this month the lawns need to be fertilized. Next month we will apply corn gluten for the control of sticker burrs and other pesky weeds.

There is a more extensive list of duties in my book, "Gardening in the Texas Hill Country".

In order to make enough oxygen for one person you need 625 square feet of lawn. 1.57 billion hours are spent mowing lawns in the USA each year. 7 billion gallons of fresh water is used for residential landscaping every day. 800 million gallons of gas is used by lawn mowers annually. When you water in the middle of the day you lose 30 percent of that water to evaporation.

On the average, a family will spend $70.00 a year to grow their own veggies, and then they will harvest about $600.00 worth of produce. Sounds like a really good investment to me. What do you think? These figures are from Popular Science magazine.

Have You Noticed?

If you leave the land alone after you have cleared it, that within what seems like a relative short time, nature wants to put it back like it is supposed to be. I have been noticing that all over my place and other places. I am seeing Live Oaks and other native trees pop up, even in areas where others have died! The vines, grasses, shrubs (like elbowing bush) just seem to want to fill that void we created when we clear the land.

Quote this Month

"In every walk with nature, one receives far more than he seeks" John Muir

Till next month! Keep your souls and your soles in your garden! Remember the True Master Gardener: Jesus said, "I am the vine; my Father is the Gardener." John 15:1

Have questions or comments? Contact Bill Luedecke at The Luedecke Group Realtors, P.O. Box 1632, Bertram, TX. 78605 (no Post Office in Oatmeal) or email bill@texasland.net. For additional gardening web sites, go to his web site; www.TexasLand.Net