Posted on 02/10/2017 2:10:25 PM PST by greeneyes
Is there a reason you don’t want to go with the knockouts? 30 years ago I had about a dozen rosebushes of different kinds/colors in my front yard. They took a lot of feeding and watering in dry Texas heat but I did enjoy them at the time. Now, hubby is wanting roses but if we get some I am definitely going with the less work intensive knockouts.
Thanks for sharing your work TIK. Your list is newer than one I composed in 2008 by hand which is filed in one of many thick files. Much easier to save a document for computer reference now.
(Of course I am too concerned about losing that and must also print and add to file. I began last Tuesday cleaning out our office. I have *got* to go thru all the paper and discard duplicate and out of date info.
“Even if it was safe, I’d still grow heirloom, because I object to a company owning the food supply.”
Ain’t that the truth! That concept makes me as angry as the big profile items affecting our country (of which I shall not speak on this great thread)
TIK - you are way ahead of me in knowledge. But I found root crops to be good in a guerilla garden several years back. I put them near a creek out in the country so they would have some moisture but of course high enough to not rot. Used potatoes, carrots and turnips. Also scattered some cabbage around tho I think the jackrabbits got that. I put these near a swimming hole. Took the kids swimming there and other folks don’t typically know to look for those root veggies.
I got this notion before I ever heard of guerilla gardening because the county sheriff eliminated someone’s illegal crop in the area. I thought if that would grow, other things would work too :)
I don't know about that, but I believe that it's just my enthusiasm for gardening.
When I went to MG training several decades ago, we were encouraged to assist community gardens in the inner-city, and/ or to answer telephone questions from consumers.
When answering phone questions, we had a five foot high rotating resource library, about half the size of a volkswagon, with books, pamphlets, MSDS sheets,
and all herbicide/pesticide data sheets. Alas, much of the information which we had then is outdated and may now be illegal for the general home consumer.
I consider the idea of guerilla gardening an extension of urban gardening or prepping for difficult times
using natural plant camouflage where the uninformed see the plants in plain sight without realizing it to be a food source.
Stunning pictures thanks!
Thanks. I arranged them so that each would be better than the one before. At least in my opinion anyway. :)
I usually have a few tomato plants and peppers to help through the winter, but haven’t really had any tomatoes this year, and we didn’t have any pepper plants that turned out this year either.
I have been canning beef and chicken recently, but need to get a bunch more done. I like to do it in the winter when I need the heat. Then in the summer, I don’t have to heat up the house-just open the jar and eat it or slightly heat it.
LOL. Yes it would make for a distressing and long list if we got side tracked onto all the bad stuff.
I would suggest you pick a spot in advance as to where the roses are to be planted, preferably with some shade,given your hot/dry summer climate
Add amendments ,compost, peat moss, and fiberous material that will retain moisture to the soil, add a balanced garden fertilizer and then do a soil test(including mico-nutrients)
to determine how much lime or sulfur, to bring the soil to the rose optimum ph level to 6.0 - 6.5
Plant your roses, water well, compact the soil slightly, and then cover with a mulch (to retain moisture) of whatever crops are grown in your area(ie: rice hulls,cocoa, leaves, etc.
This method should provide you with the beauty of the roses with little of the ongoing maintenance; most of the effort is done in the prep work/planing, prior to planting.
Love the knockouts, but really want a climber or two.
Agreed the last one is the best. Almost looks like you used a polarizer to get that blue sky.
I didn’t take the photos. I found them on the internet. :)
Well lovely to look at anyway, especially up here in the frozen tundra.
Yes. Sure makes ME wish I lived in the more moderate temperature southern states, as opposed to New York City.
Those canning jars are a blessing that’s wonderful news!
In my world canning jars, seed and plants are better than jewelry :) My husband thought that was wonderful news when he found me. Not sure he would agree right this minute, he’s spending his day building me more shelves for adequate food storage and moving the old outgrown shelving out into my garden shed :)
“Healthy soil generally makes for healthy crops”
Can’t be repeated enough! Time enriching the soil is the best investment in the garden. It’s my toughest challenge. No amount of money spent on a nice landscape is worth as much as proper soil building.
May I add something about digging those tree holes?
Dig an off shaped hole. Not round or oval, just jagged weird shape. Sometimes rounded holes encourage girdling roots as if the tree were to become rootbound in a pot. Pointy edges encourage the roots to grow outward and continue into that surrounding soil. This in addition to the things listed by TIK.
Soils in my area are notoriously bad so I have to make every effort to get that root system out there.
“Look at the new Watercolors rose. Changes colors all day.”
I have not heard of those! I too am in Texas, where did you find those? Are they truly one of the antique roses and do they thrive in central Texas? Sounds like it might be a cool one to satisfy my husband’s want of some roses :)
Let me know about your parsnips please. I have tried them twice here in Texas but concluded our heat is too much for them. They are an item that my husband misses from his youth in Maine. I tried them as a fall crop in a healthy deep bed. The first year we had extreme heat into November and I couldn’t keep the foliage cool. The second year they grew but there just wasn’t enough root to be a parsnip.
They are something we rarely find in the store here. If I do find them it’s on a trip I’ve made to the city. I am allergic to white potatoes and they make a very good substitute for me.
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