One thing I failed to mention is that our soil where we live isn't typical for the Houston area. Most of Houston is built on a dark, clay soil that we affecionately call "gumbo", which drys to the softness of concrete or sticks to your shovel, and everything else, when it's wet. The soil on our property is a sandy soil that is a joy to work with but is really bad about retaining moisture. To help with this I added 4 cu. feet of "organic compost" plus 2 cu. feet of organic "leaf mold compost". And to help with the initial soil conditioning I added a heathly dose of organic fertilizer, which is composted chicken poop (and smells like composted chicken poop). Speaking of smells, the leaf mold compost had sort of a petroleum smells to it. For the price I paid, it might has well have been oil!
For the record, I picked up these compost products and my plants from a great nursery right up the road called The Arbor Gate. I highly recommend it to anyone who has any interest in gardening.
It was at the Arbor Gate that my son Austin and I attended a lecture from an herbalist, Ann Wheeler. She was both informative and funny. I asked her about my critter problem and she told me that two things keep critters out of your garden - roses (apparently funny but true) or a motion-sensor water sprinkler. I thought this was joke too until I looked on Amazon and found them. My wife thinks a good ol' fence is the only way to protect the plants and thinks this is crazy. We'll see but today we have "Cyclops" keeping vigil over my gardens.
Back to the plants....OK, I have 3 gardens. The first garden, which I think catches the most shade, I have set aside for herbs. I planted 2 golden greek oregano, 2 garlic chives, 2 creeping rosemary, 2 Ne'we Ya'ar Sage (per Ann Wheeler's suggestion), and cilantro. I'd like to add some dill and perhaps a container for mint to my herbal collection. Perhaps I'll transplant the sage soon as they will likely dominate the space and should be very pretty center pieces for a flower garden in front of the house.
The second and third gardens I have set aside for vegetables. In the second garden I have planted 6 tomato plants (BHN 444, 2 x Bush Celebrity, Champion VPNT, Brandywine Heirloom, and German Johnson Heirloom). I have also planted an assortment of peppers (Emerald Giant Bell, Super Chili F1 Hybrid, Anaheim, Sweet Banana, Big Bertha Bell, Red Beauty Sweet Bell, Better Bell Improved (TMR), and Golden Summer Bell). Finally, along the front row I have planted zucchini squash (Cash Flow, Ball's Zucchini, Cash Flow).
The third garden I've planned for warmer weather veggies. I went ahead and planted 4 cucumbers that I hope to use for pickling. The rest of the area I'll set aside for okra in April and perhaps some other ideas that come up along the way.
My eldest daughter, Kiah, also suggested that I plant grass around the perimenter of the beds,
which I've done. It looks so nice and inviting. My wife just had to buy this giant dragon fly to commemorate the new garden area, which takes residence in the herbal garden.
For the record, I picked up these compost products and my plants from a great nursery right up the road called The Arbor Gate. I highly recommend it to anyone who has any interest in gardening.
It was at the Arbor Gate that my son Austin and I attended a lecture from an herbalist, Ann Wheeler. She was both informative and funny. I asked her about my critter problem and she told me that two things keep critters out of your garden - roses (apparently funny but true) or a motion-sensor water sprinkler. I thought this was joke too until I looked on Amazon and found them. My wife thinks a good ol' fence is the only way to protect the plants and thinks this is crazy. We'll see but today we have "Cyclops" keeping vigil over my gardens.
Back to the plants....OK, I have 3 gardens. The first garden, which I think catches the most shade, I have set aside for herbs. I planted 2 golden greek oregano, 2 garlic chives, 2 creeping rosemary, 2 Ne'we Ya'ar Sage (per Ann Wheeler's suggestion), and cilantro. I'd like to add some dill and perhaps a container for mint to my herbal collection. Perhaps I'll transplant the sage soon as they will likely dominate the space and should be very pretty center pieces for a flower garden in front of the house.
The second and third gardens I have set aside for vegetables. In the second garden I have planted 6 tomato plants (BHN 444, 2 x Bush Celebrity, Champion VPNT, Brandywine Heirloom, and German Johnson Heirloom). I have also planted an assortment of peppers (Emerald Giant Bell, Super Chili F1 Hybrid, Anaheim, Sweet Banana, Big Bertha Bell, Red Beauty Sweet Bell, Better Bell Improved (TMR), and Golden Summer Bell). Finally, along the front row I have planted zucchini squash (Cash Flow, Ball's Zucchini, Cash Flow).
The third garden I've planned for warmer weather veggies. I went ahead and planted 4 cucumbers that I hope to use for pickling. The rest of the area I'll set aside for okra in April and perhaps some other ideas that come up along the way.
My eldest daughter, Kiah, also suggested that I plant grass around the perimenter of the beds,
which I've done. It looks so nice and inviting. My wife just had to buy this giant dragon fly to commemorate the new garden area, which takes residence in the herbal garden.
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