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Are you new to Somervell County and wonder just how you are supposed to garden in our rocky, cactus filled soil? Or do you just need some inspiration for something special in your landscape? Maybe you want to turn your efforts into more sustainable methods?

Mark your calendars for Monday, January 31, 2022 at 6pm at the Somervell County Citizen’s Center, 209 SW Barnard, Glen Rose, as the Somervell Master Gardeners will be hosting Robin Blood from B. Blumen Flower Farm. Robin will explain how she turned a cactus field into cut flower farm in just a few months all while maintaining sustainable and environmentally friendly practices. B. Blumen Flower Farm in Godley is a no-till, chemical and pesticide free business growing beautiful fresh cut and many edible flowers for the public.

Check out Robin’s work at B. Blumin Flower Farm at https://www.bblumenflowerfarm.com/

 

My gardening friend gave me a plant.
She says “You CAN’T kill this, I’m sure that you CAN’T”.
It looks so perfect in that cute little pot.
You think to yourself, ‘she says I CAN’T kill this…
well really, why not’?
Upon closer inspection you decide she is right,
Its perfect perfection means it can’t be alive.
But alas, a real gardener would never bow low
to give a fake plant.
But how do you know?
As you drive away with your plant in the seat,
You dare to reach over and rub a green leaf.
YES, it does have that rubbery feel.
I CAN’T kill this plant because it is not real.
Now that’s resolved and
you’ve shopped the last store.
You go to your car and open the door.
You throw your purse in and it lands on the plant.
That’s how you know you CAN,
though your friend says you CAN’T.

Valerie Freund
Somervell County Master Gardener

 

Mary Ann Steele

Somervell Master Gardener

We all know them, but we don’t love them.  Weeds, the despised plants that creep into our flowerbeds and scatter across our lawns, can be tackled more effectively when you know what you’re dealing with.  You’ll never be able to completely rid your yard of these plant pests, however, preventative steps and early removal before they take deep root or go to seed will help you limit how much time you spend weeding later in the season.

Follow these tips to make weeding less of a chore. 

Aim to start weeding early in the spring.

Weed when the soil is moist. It’s essential-and much easier- to pull whole plants by their roots. Try to do it right after a rain, but if that’s not possible, first give the bed a good soaking then weed the next day.

Weed on a dry sunny day. The weeds you remove on a sunny day will shrivel in the sun. Hoe annual weeds on a sunny day making sure to sever the plant from its roots.  If weeding on a cool, overcast, moist day, collect and remove weeds from the garden.

Protect yourself!  Wear tough, well fitting gloves. Consider nitrite or latex-dipped gloves found at garden centers or automotive or paint stores. Invest in a kneeling pad or knee pads to make weeding more comfortable and to keep clothes cleaner.

Use chemicals as a last resort.  Herbicides can be effective on mature plants. Some herbicides attack grasses only and are good choices for flowerbeds.  Other herbicides are “non-selectives,” so they kill every thing they touch. FOLLOW ALL LABEL DIRECTIONS EXACTLY! Repeat application may be necessary to kill mature weeds.

Herbicide options:

• Burning or horticulture vinegar – these post-emergence options are most effective on newly sprouted weeds, particularly annuals, without a tap root.  Neither method should be used on lawns.  Burning with a flame weeder should be done only on moist, calm days to prevent fire from spreading.  Vinegar based herbicides require special handling because of the high concentration of acid which can burn skin and eyes.
• Pre-emergence herbicides – if you have a severe weed problem, applying a pre-emergence product on you lawn or flower gardens in early spring helps prevent weed seedlings from growing before they germinate, but it allows established perennial plants to grow. Pre-emergent herbicides will not kill established weeds.
• Post-emergence herbicides – For tenacious enemies like poison ivy or brambles, selectively and carefully spray or brush on a foliar herbicide on a non-windy day following the label’s directions.  DO NOT place weeds killed by a chemical herbicide in the compost bin!

Some annual weeds are: henbit, chickweed, prostrate spurge and ragweed.

A few perennial weeds are: bindweed, dandilion and nettle. 

It’s not easy, but  it’s nice to hear that there are simple ways to get rid of weeds. But the fact is you will always have to keep weeding if you have a lawn or garden. Keep these keys to weed eradication in mind: prevent weeds from sprouting, destroy weeds quickly if they do sprout, and pull and discard weeds before thy bloom and make seeds.

The Somervell County Master Gardeners are excited to introduce our new members Mary Collier, Victor Eichhorn, Valerie Freund, and Ray Wheeler.  They are a wonderful addition to our group!  The interns completed a 50 hour course, and are currently working toward their 50 hours of volunteer work to earn the title, Texas Master Gardeners.  Mary, Victor, Valerie, and Ray have taken on the refurbishing of the landscape at the Historic Farr House at Heritage Park.  The house is located next to the Master Gardener’s Paluxy Heritage Gardens.  Stop by and check out the wonderful work being done.

Mary Ann Steele

Somervell County Master Gardener

 

If you don’t have the space for a vegetable or fruit garden, consider the possibility of container gardening.  A patio, deck, balcony, or doorstep can provide enough space for a productive, attractive display.

The benefits of container gardens extend beyond bushels of fresh produce.   When growing in these closed system environments, you can manage soil and pests.  A container garden is a sure way to introduce children to  the joys and rewards of vegetable gardening.

Container gardens can serve as easy to manage closed systems but they are prone to certain problems:

1. Tall spindly plants – caused by insufficient light or excessive nitrogen – remedied by moving the container to a sunnier area or reducing feeding intervals.
2. Plants yellowing from the bottom – caused by excessive water – remedied by reducing water intervals and checking for proper drainage.
3. Plants wilting – caused by poor drainage and aeration – remedied by increasing drainage holes.
4. Marginal burning of leaves – caused by leaching the container with tap water.
5. Plants stunted in growth – usually caused by low temperature or low phosphate – remedied by relocating the pot to a warmer area or increasing phosphates in fertilizer.

A repurposed bathtub, old water or feed trough – just about any vessel can work as a container but it needs to be sized correctly and must drain well.

As a closed system, a container can sustain only so many plants.  It’s important to limit the number of cultivars based on your pots  and the eventual size of the plants.

The container’s size will be determined by the plant grown in it.  Shallow rooted crops, such as lettuce, peppers, radishes, and herbs, need a container at least 6 inches in diameter with an 8 inch soil depth.  Bushel baskets, half barrels, wooden tubs, or large pressed paper containers are ideal for growing tomatoes, squash, pole beans, and cucumbers.

Containers should drain well so the plant’s roots, which require both air and water, don’t drown or become water logged.  All containers, whether clay, wood, plastic, or ceramic, should have an adequate number of holes in the bottom for proper drainage.  Setting the containers on a solid surface, such as a cement or patio floor, reduces drainage so raise the container 1 – 2 inches off the floor with blocks of wood to solve the problem.  Also, adding 1 inch of coarse gravel to the bottom of a container can improve drainage.

The stuff that goes into the container, the plant media, delivers all the water, nutrients, and physical structure and support that your plants need to grow vigorous roots, stalks, leaves, and fruit.  Unfortunately, soil from your yard isn’t a good choice.  A fairly light weight mix is needed for container gardens.  The growing medium will need an occasional water soluble fertilizer boost.

With your seeds, containers, and growing medium prepared, it’s time for the fun part: planting your produce patch.  Read the back of your seed package to determine when to sprout your seeds and how many hours of sunlight they need.

After planting, gently water the seeds being careful to not displace them.  As the seedlings pop and start to grow, thin them out so they have plenty of room to grow.

Container gardening makes it easy for everyone to grow produce.  Whether you have a few pots of fresh herbs on your window sill or a patio filled with flats of tomatoes, eggplants, squash, and pole beans, any space with warm sunshine makes a great place.  Before long you will be hunting for sunny spots for even more pots.

Garden Wisdom

“For all things produced in a garden, whether of salads or fruits, a poor man will eat better that has one of his own, than a rich man that has none.”

John Claudius Loudon

Scottish Botanist (1783-1843)

 

 

 

 

 

 

My name is Merilyn Cranford and I have found being a Master Gardener to be a wonderful learning
experience. I have gained many friends along the way who enjoy ‘digging in dirt’. However, my first
gardening teacher was my mother. She always loved being in her gardens and seeing the fruits of her
labors as she watched one season blend into another.

From her instructions, I learned that a healthy garden begins in the kitchen. She saved coffee
grounds which she buried in her flowerbeds to improve the soil. Also, table scraps always found their
way to her garden.

So from year to year as my husband and I moved from place to place, I tried to remember and copy
what I learned from her. My mission was to have something growing/blooming around the house.
Therefore, in December 2000, we moved to a new home in Glen Rose and I had to start from scratch.
Needing a lot of help, I finally got around to signing up for a master gardener training class in 2007.

Well the rest is history as I have been a member of the Somervell County Master Gardeners Association now for 13 years including a number of years when I served as a secretary.  It has definitely been an enjoyable experience as I have made many friends and have learned enumerable tips and short cuts.  One of the fun things I learned to do was to regrow a poinsettia plant so it would sprout leaves that eventually turned red the second year of growth.  I truly surprised myself at the results.

So, if you are looking for a gardening group to join, come check us out.  We meet at 10am the third Wednesday of each month at the AgriLife Extension Service.  Come join us.

 

 

Shirley D Smith

Somervell County Master Gardener

 

 

Have you ever heard the word “microclimate” and wondered just exactly what is that?  You may have some vague idea but just have not taken the time to do the research to find out exactly what it means.  I accidentally found my microclimate at my house, and it has been a great place to protect some of my plants this winter.

Here is a really simple definition I found:

A microclimate is the local climate difference of a small area within the surrounding area and can offer different growing conditions in the larger USDA Hardiness Zone.  The conditions of microclimates are determined by plant orientation and exposure to heat, light, water, and wind.

Because of lack of space, I could not move all of my potted outdoor plants into my garage for the winter.  There is an area just outside my kitchen dining area that gets the west sun and always seems to be warm or hot, depending on the season.  It is also right next to the outside wall of the house so it is protected from the wind and absorbs lots of winter sun. As an experiment, I tried placing in that area 3 geraniums (that bloomed), a mountain laurel I am growing from seed, a spider plant, a color guard yuccca, and 1 chrysanthemum.  They were doing great.  When the forecast arrived that “snowmeggedon” was headed our way I made room and moved them into my garage.  They are now back into my microclimate and doing well.

Since doing research for this article, I am now looking at my property with an eye to crating spaces that might grow plants I would not have otherwise tried.  I have a large stand of oaks near my home and that would be a great place for hostas and other shade-loving plants.  Do you have an area that is moist a lot of the time?  Think about a water garden or a bog garden there.  The south side of your house gets lots of winter sun so it might be a great place to put more tender seedlings until ready to put in your veggie garden.

I have a desert garden that gets the full hot summer sun.  Because I have put only plants there that are sun and heat-loving, they do well.  Being a successful gardener takes thought and planning  and a lot of just plain old luck sometimes!

Happy gardening.