Planted pawpaw. Everyone has some sort of limitations in gardening. It's too hot, it's too cold, it's too wet, it's too dry. All kinds of things can be problematic. My issue is my soil. And yes, maybe, it could be worse. I don't know how. Maybe if I lived in the Sahara desert... I could … Continue reading Planting Fruit Trees, In Garbage Soil: Pawpaw Edition
Had to net the mulberry tree. The new green growth will harden like this before I get the net back off, so it will have a sort of weeping form. That's fine by me because I don't like climbing ladders to mess with fruit trees. These mulberries are way ahead of anything else in the … Continue reading Crazy Garden Updates
This Easter we went to our family's low country shrimp boil in San Antonio. I love the food every year! This year though, was a bit different. I discovered last year that I can't eat wheat. I've developed an allergy to it, and it's pretty serious. The wheat sensitivity, is way back from climbing up … Continue reading Best Damn Rainbow Fruit Skewers And Dip Out There!
Like most things: Texas does grubs on a giant scale. I think these are Hercules beetle grubs, but it's an: "if you build it they will come" thing. Anytime you bury uncomposted material, like straw or cardboard, you will get these down here. They mostly eat dead, rotting things, but I have had them show … Continue reading Grody Grubs
I'm in San Antonio. I grow Asian persimmons and have done so for about twelve years. The first tree was a dud. It was an astringent persimmon, a Saijo. It was fantastically sweet, but had the texture of a water balloon filled with snot. Varying degrees of ripeness from the Saijo. Persimmons can be cooked. … Continue reading Non Astringent, Asian Persimmon In South Texas
I'm going to have to block the bottom of my fence. My dog is an exterminator. I love that he keeps the opossum population down but I'd rather he not get a cute baby bunny. And still, I don't want this guy in my garden. Yay. One more thing to work on. We've had armadillos … Continue reading Friends In The Garden
If you are my age (in my 50's), you might remember the music at the bottom of this post. It's music we don't hear anymore. But in the past: I always heard it at grandma's. I remember eating cereal in the morning at grandma's house. The radio would be on, first came the farm report: … Continue reading In The Garden
Sitting out in a protected area strengthening the plants. You put your seed out. You watered them in. You waited. Where are they? If you live in Texas, or the south in general, I'll give you some ideas about what could have gone wrong. If you know what these are... You know what this is. … Continue reading Where are my seeds?
Second cinder block bed. I've got drain tile coming but it's late. Still need to line this one with pond liner. Spring is when I get serious about my garden. Weather is nice. Trees are coming in the mail. I build beds and start corn and all sorts of good stuff. The last couple of … Continue reading What Have I Been Up To?
(This is my opinion. Maybe other people have a different experience.) I used to love Goodwill. I have lamps, silver plated candlesticks, milk glass... just a bunch of random great stuff I purchased there over the decades. I don't own anything worth much, but I own some stuff I think is really cool. Little online … Continue reading Why Can’t You Shop At Thrift Stores Anymore?
So, this year I am starting really late. I'm out beyond where I should be, to be planting corn and potatoes. But, hey, you work with what you got. Because I was so sick a few weeks ago the weeds in the yard are tall and happy and laughing at me! Oh yes, they think … Continue reading Oh, The Weeds…
Fig pushing out leaves. Random fig I took a cutting from, when I was pushing a stroller through the neighborhood, about 12 years ago. I got a lot of plant starts back when my kids were in diapers. I had a stroller sling to carry (and disguise) my pirated plant pieces! This is a Celeste … Continue reading Fig, Breba Crop. Spring in San Antonio
Well, it depends on what is growing in the pot. If it's flowers you can use bait or poison. No big deal. But this is a fruit tree. I could try drenching with a bucket of neem oil, but I just don't think that's going to do it. How do you know you have ants … Continue reading What Do You Do With A Pot Full Of Fireants?
The pear is covered in bees and butterflies, drinking nectar. Usually I've got better control over my beds, but I barely made it around the yard. At least I'm not still in bed. Gotta be a good sign! Blueberry flowers. Daylillies are up! Blueberries and weeds. I have a lot to catch up on. The … Continue reading Crazy Good Signs Of Spring
Heavy flowering in my pear tree. It's a little cool out today, but not a danger to the blossoms. Low chill sweet cherry. I put two of these in last year. Royal Lee and Minnie Royal. They made it through our scorching summer last year. Hoping for good things this year! My son's lemon tree. … Continue reading Springy Dingy
These bananas are giants. Quite a bit of work to prepare the bed for winter. Just like the fruit, cut stalks quickly turn black from oxidation. What banana stems look like on the inside. I used a pole saw on these. However, it was a lot of work. This year I'm going to buy an … Continue reading Over Wintering Bananas, In San Antonio, Texas
An all in one product. I took these photos of the moon: in my car, at the bus stop, in the morning, through a dirty windshield and propping my phone up on my steering wheel to steady it. If you wonder why my photos are as clear as they are: it's my phone. If you … Continue reading Crazy Photos From The Garden
I am doing my spring yard cleaning. Up first was the birdbaths. I rinsed and wiped them out. Then I put vinegar and water to fill them. Then I put paper towels to hold the vinegar on the ring of scale (from my gunky, high pH, calcium and lime filled tap water) around the rim. … Continue reading Spring Cleaning part 1
Photos from the end of last year's experimental fruit bed. Above that is: a current bloom on my son's lemon tree. The cherries shot up, even in our miserably hot, dry summer. These are cut low to keep their canopies low so that I can net them easily to keep the squirrels and other rodents … Continue reading Crazy Photos From The Garden
When I'd walk through the fields and there would be deep cracks in the soil, it was Kansas summers. The smell of sweat and hard work, it was Kansas summers. Getting sprayed with "Off", examining mica rocks my grandmother had gathered, cigarette smoke drifting past me and the adults drinking Coors beer on folding chairs, … Continue reading In Those Times
Crazy Green Thumbs 