January 12 , 2012
Anticipation|Peach trees|Italian design|Insect control|Ponds
Somebody think it ’s spring !
I hold dear fragrant old - fashioned petunias for cascading perfume in my spring and summertime terrace containers . Warm wintertime days prompted an up-and-coming splurge at the base of a potted sweet Olea europaea ( Osmanthus fragrans ) . Since they ’re hard to find , I insure them when temps dip below freeze , though an old tablecloth was fine when we briefly pip 27 ° .
In January , it ’s more usual to see violas . I go back and away on winter annual , but ca n’t resist a few of these edible beauties .
Just a few hebdomad into wintertime , already spring ’s given us a heads up . When ‘ Country Girl ’ mama wear out and I snip them to tidy rosettes , naturalizing medulla will flower power athirst insect .
I do n’t mind the hold for poppy and spuria irises , too , since I ’m dandy on wintertime foliage that anchors our attention until explosion Clarence Day .
Thanks to rain , last year ’s poppy and larkspur ejaculate come back from self - appointed spots among bearded fleur-de-lis and winecups . For me , anticipation is half the fun !
Many gardener ca n’t wait to find fault their own constituent fruit this summer!To fill your bucket with peaches , this week Tom meets withJim Kamas , Texas Agrilife Extension Horticulturist from Fredericksburg .
Get a few of Jim ’s techniques from the stain newTexas Peach Handbook , co - authored with Larry Stein , Texas AgriLife Extension Horticulturist , published byTexas A&M Press .
In our brief primer , Tom and Jim distinction mixture natural selection per call for chilling hours and pruning tips . Here ’s a before pruning movie .
And after .
Jim note what to do now about plum curculio ( the book include very exhaustive designation and control of disease and pest ) .
Every paragraph is pack with spot - on information , admit horticultural insight in general!you’re able to also satisfy Jim in personfor his innocent shop on fruit , nut case , and berries at 10 a.m. January 14 atThe Natural Gardener .
obtain out more : For tips on growing yield , ballock and berries , check outAggie Horticulture ’s Home Fruit & Nut Gardening guide .
Daphne excuse how to grow turn out - and - make out again lettuce , like Travis County Master Gardener Sheryl Williams ’ late capitulation harvesting from her ever abundant garden .
Depending on atmospheric condition ( always ) , we can keep on seeding through early March . I found more two hebdomad ago and they ’re come up like unrestrained . Lettuce is somewhat cold hardy , but for safety , cover if we drop below 40 ° , especially if you have small single coming up . Like every plant , variety and microclimates make a difference .
My acquaintance Mary Wachsmann , who publish at Food Joy , and document her nummy recipes with her tv camera , is loving heirloom butterhead ‘ Speckles ’ in balcony pots . Lettuce is gross for small space and container !
Find out more . go over out the freeTravis County Master Gardener workshopson planting vegetables and spring up care . “ Planting Spring Vegetables ” is Jan. 14 from 10 a.m. – twelve noon .
insect , like our torpid perennials , are time their egress to chomp on our fruit and shade Tree . Daphne explains how to fend them off with horticultural ( abeyant ) oil .
Daphne take down : “ This is the metre of year that we can spray horticultural oil on yield trees , as a necessary preventative , or other Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree that have had problem , to course check overwintering insects , specially in their egg , larvae and nymph stages . . . They can also see to it many fungal pathogens by blocking their admittance to attendant plant tissue , where they can well occupy . ”
But if you do n’t get around to it , here ’s this week ’s success story!In strike 2010 , friend Bob Harper sent us his red oak leaves that had been skeletonized by earlier insect .
Daphne take note that the blighter were long gone , so the best thing to do was to keep the tree healthy . Recently , Bob ’s neighbor Richard Alwine nabbed this guessing of a pest - free , felicitous Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree !
On tour , visit avid gardener Cecilia Neuhaus , who was ready to cut back on upkeep and water . In her new garden , she lick withLandscape Architect Tait Moringto capture the heart and soul of Italy with depressed - maintenance patios and formal walkway that blend flowers and food for thought , wildlife and soothing introspection , on her Lake Austin miniature “ Grand Canal . ”
To winterize your pond , fountains and Pisces , get wind from Steve Kainer atHill Country Water Gardens & Nursery .
Until next week , Linda
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