Progress

I can't believe how well things are growing. Our tomatoes are HUGE, and are escaping the confines of their cages. We have several tomatoes on the plants, and I think the Coreopsis planted in front of them discourages stink bugs.

We also have two new addtions: a Fuerte and a Mexicola Grande avocado tree. If we can keep them pollinated, we should have avocados all but 2 months out of the year. I think they've got some growing to do before they fruit, but we're hoping for the best. I'm going to keep them in large pots for the time being. I'll put them in the ground if another tree fails.



Our blackberries, raspberries, and strawberries are doing very well. We've got several large blackberries, and they've started to change color from green to deep red. They have also started to put out new canes for next years cropt. We have just a few strawberries, but they're still blooming, and the raspberries are just beginning to bloom. The raspberries seem to be doing extremely well in their pots, unlike the blueberries. I've lost two so far. They may need to be planted in the ground with peat moss to really take off.

Look at all the lemons!

Our big bell pepper

Our pole beans are taller than I am.
We've got Monarch Caterpillars on our butterfly weed!
We still have a few pests to deal with though.

Herbs

Peppermint, Fennel, Garlic Chives, Rosemary, Oregano, Sage, Thyme, Epazote, Lemon Catnip, Lavender, Basil, and one other I can't remember. These perennials make up our new herb garden. This weekend I went to the Arbor Gate (big selection of healthy looking plants) and picked up 12 herbs. I had hoped to plant parsley, cilantro, and tarragon, but I couldn't find them. Even more disappointing was the cats' reaction to the catnip. They didn't seem affected by it at all. Perhaps it's because I got Lemon Catnip, which is reported to do better in our humid climate. It also wilted after Dr. B planted it, but she didn't water the herbs after tranplanting them. As of this morning, it looked like it was perking up very nicely, and all of the herbs have grown noticeably. In addition to the culinary value and unique scents, most of these are self seeding and attract beneficial insects.

I'm beginning to worry that some of these aren't actually perennial. The signs at the Arbor Gate said 'Perennial', but I noticed some of the little plastic labels on the plants said 'Annual'. We'll see what happens. Even if they are annual, we still get to enjoy fresh herbs all spring and summer long, and they're pretty cheap any way. And if they are truly self seeding, they won't need to be replaced next spring, they'll just come back in the same place.

Lemons and Limes

While at Caldwell's Nursery, I also picked up an Improved Meyer Lemon and a Mexican Thornless Key Lime. They didn't look very good, but the price was right. The leaves on the lime were a few, and mottled green and yellow as if it needed to be fertilized or was suffering from some sort of mineral deficiency. Most likely nitrogen. It did have several little blooms, so hopefully all is not lost. I'll see if I can revive it with a little attention and Osmocote.

The lemon looked just OK, but it did have several small fruits beginning to grow. Hopefully they'll be ripe and ready in August. I haven't seen any more blooms, but more may appear as the tree becomes established. I planted both in large pots so I can bring them inside when it gets cold. They're supposed to be dwarf to semi-dwarf varieties that do well in containers, with fruit that makes excellent pies and margaritas.

Peaches

This weekend Andrew and I drove down to Caldwell's Nursery in Rosenberg, TX to look for Cara Cara Pink Navel oranges. The two they had in stock didn't look very good, and Andrew wound up getting one for free because it looked so bad. Despite the poor state of the citrus, the had a some very nice looking peach trees. I picked up a Tropic Snow and a Red Baron. According to Urban Harvest, the Tropic Snow ripens before the peach's main insect pests can get it, and the Red Baron is just an awesome cultivar. If all goes well, we should have peaches from mid-May to mid July! The Tropic Snow already has one peachlet, which I'm afraid is probably all we'll get this year. With proper pruning and care, hopefully next year will be the year of the cobbler.

Blackberries!

The blackberries were the first thing I planted this year. They are Kiowa blackberries, reported to be the largest, thorniest, best tasting, and most Houston tolerant cultivar available. Dr. B and I bought the last three they had at the Arbor Gate. They didn't look like much, just little thorny sticks. However, it didn't take them long to become established and start flowering. In retrospect, I probably planted them much too close together, but they don't seem to mind. I can always transplant one or two if needed.


Most everything else I've planted will most likely require a year or so to become productive, but not these guys. Earlier this week I noticed small berries beginning to grow. As of last night there were five, and the plants are continuing to blossom and grow. I may only get a handful of berries this year, but that's pretty exciting for someone who has never been able to keep a plant alive before. Dr. B suggested we save as many as we can and make a cobbler. If we don't have enough this year, we'll definitely do it next year.

Apples and Blueberries

Yesterday afternoon I had another package from Ison's waiting for me. The apple trees and the blueberry bushes seemed to be packaged with a little more care than my previous order. The plastic wrapping was filled with moist wood pulp to keep the roots from drying out.

I honestly hadn't thought about trying to grow apples here. I didn't think it would get cold enough, and that is the case for most cultivars. However, Anna and Dorsett are reported to do well here with a minimum of chill hours required. Anna requires Dorsett to be a pollinator, so I bought one of each with the intention of planting them next to each other.

Unfortunately, I had not yet cleared the site or prepared the soil. To keep them alive until this weekend, I potted the trees in 5-gallon buckets. (I drilled holes drilled in the bottom) I was low on potting soil, so I made a mix of 50% topsoil, 50% potting soil. I think this actually gave the trees a little more stability than purely soft potting soil would have. After being potted, watered, and just decompressing after being packaged, they didn't look half bad. I even noticed a few little blooms on the Dorsett. These varieties are ripe in June, so I don't expect any fruit this year, but I hope by next year they will be well established and well positioned to give us a good crop.


The blueberries looked a little dry, but in alright shape. I wasn't sure what variety to get, so I got one of each reported to grow well in Houston: Climax, Premier, Tiftblue, and Brightwell. For whatever reason, Ison's included an extra Tiftblue, but I'm not complaining. I hadn't prepared the site for the bushes yet, so I potted them in potting soil and gave them a little Osmocote fertilizer. Once I finally get all the brush cleared, I'm going to plant them under the tall pine trees by the shed. They require acidic soils and heavy mulch, and the pines should provide both. I'll head over to Walmart this weekend an reload on mulch and get some peat moss to mix in with the potting soil.

Strawberries in Hanging Baskets

The strawberries I got from Ison's didn't look very promising when they first arrived. They were $8 for 25 strawberry plants, and I thought I had been swindled. They came as a bundle of bare root little sticks, and certainly looked dry, dead, and disappointing. I planted three plants each in eight hanging baskets (97 ¢ each at Walmart). I used regular potting soil, covered the surface with 1/2-inch of mulch, and watered them well.

Much to my surprise, within 24 hours the little guys had seemingly come back to life. Every plant had at least a little new growth and color. Hopefully, they will produce some berries by early summer. From what I've read, strawberries have a very difficult time surviving our scorching summers, but they can be productive if treated as annuals. I decided to plant them in hanging baskets to reduce potential problems with pests, and to conserve space in the vegetable bed. According to Ison's, they need 1.5-inches of water a week to produce.

I hung all the baskets under the eave of the porch, where they will hopefully be somewhat shaded. Strawberries need the sun, but can't take the 98° Houston heat. Dr. B's impatiens wilted on the first day when hung here. If the strawberries can't take it, I'll try to move them back towards the porch by a foot or so. I don't want to hang them directly over the porch because I don't want them to drip on the wood deck. Others using this method have been able to produce 1 pint of berries per plant with adequate fertilization. I'll be adding a little Osmocote slow release fertilizer tonight. I'll be ecstatic if I get one good berry, let alone 24 pints! That's a pretty good return for a $16 dollar investment, considering the strawberries at HEB were $4 per pint.

Elsewhere in the yard, the pathetic looking muscadine grape vines and Dorma Red raspberries appear to be coming back to life as well, just not as quickly as the strawberries. I really should have planted all of them earlier in the spring, but I figure a late planting this year with a focus on growth and establishment will pay off in bigger production next spring.

Welcome to the Farm

We bought the house on Walford Dr. in September of last year. It had a large backyard, shade in the afternoon, a covered porch, a garden shed, and a small orange tree of unknown cultivar. When spring came around this year, we began to look into building flower beds and planters around the porch.

It all started with a bag of pecans my grandmother gave me. She has several pecan trees, and I thought I would like one too. I picked one up at Walmart, planted it, and then realized I knew nothing about pecans. While researching fruit and nut trees, I happened across Urban Harvest's website one night, and agricultural hell broke loose. I purchased Dr. Randall's book at the Arbor Gate in Tomball, and began planting fruit trees and plants like a man possessed. As of this writing, the roster includes:

• 1 Desirable Pecan tree (Walmart)
  
• 3 Kiowa Blackberry vines (purchased bare root at the Arbor Gate)
• 1 Okitsu Satsuma (Arbor Gate)
• 1 Repubic of Texas Orange (Arbor Gate)
• 2 Pong Koa Mandarins (Mercer Arboretum & Botanical Gardens)
• 1 Cara Cara Pink Navel Orange (Arbor Gate)
• 2 Everhard Navel Oranges (Plants for All Seasons)
• 2 Moro Blood Oranges (Plants for All Seasons)
• 10 Muscadine grapevines (bare root from Ison's and potted from Plants for All Seasons)
• 24 Chandler Strawberry plants (bare root from Ison's)
• 6 Dorma Red Raspberry vines (bare root from Ison's)
• 1 Garnet Sash Pomegrante (Arbor Gate)
  
• 2 mystery orange trees (were there when we moved in)

Blueberry bushes, Apple trees, and another pomegranate are on the way.

In the raised beds, we planted tomatoes and peppers given to us by Plants for All Seasons (thanks for the freebies Victor!), and I planted two rows of pole green beans from seed packet I got at Lowes.

It's not all edible. Dr. B has really increased the landscape value in the front of the house. She planted flowering perrenials all along the border of the raised beds, and three Endless Summer Hydrangeas in the back yard. In the front, we cleared out all the ivy/jasmine from the bed, and planted Encore Azaleas. Last weekend I ripped out the bushes by the front door, and she planted four more Endless Summer Hydrangeas. All along the border of the front bed are Gerbera Daisies. In hanging baskets above the door she has been keeping red, pink, and white Impatiens, which are doing very well after their near fatal stint hanging off the back p0rch. Impatiens don't like too much sun.