Vegetable Plantings

This week I planted my tomatoes and wrapped in cloth to protect against winds, freeze and insects.  I fertilized with a water soluable mix.  I also planted banana peppers, eggplant, basil, and two types of beans (bush and a pinto type).  The onions got fertilizer.  I'm regularly harvesting green onions.  Everyday I'm picking some time of greens:  collards, cabbage, spinach, chard, beets and mixed greens.  The herbs are doing well, too.  Since we are not getting rain, I've set the drip for 30 minutes twice a week.

Spring flowers--but no Spring Rains

Where I have drip lines, I have beautiful spring flowers!  This week I installed drip lines to all the flower pots in anticipation of our next long trip.....plus no rain.  I have geraniums, impatiens, wave petunias and begonias in bloom.  The Texas Gold Columbine are beautiful and spreading everywhere.  A beautiful gold iris is in bloom.  To extend my enjoyment, I took a cutting into the house.  The oak leaves are being dumped heavily and we can't keep the sidewalk clean.  Periodically, Joe is collecting and using as mulch around the yard.  The weeds are picking up but the grass is still dormant.  I'm amazed at how much survived the freezes.  With this drought, I don't plan to replace many shrubs until we get consistent rain.

Vegetable Planting Schedule Off This Year

I'm taking a slow approach to planting my spring vegetable garden this year.  It's been cold and dry such that I'm going to wait until after March 15, even then I'll watch the 10 day forecast closely.  It's drizzling but no real rain today.  Hope tomorrow is better.

I have Tycoon and Valley Cat tomatoes potted up just for the day when it's warm enough.  I'm only planting one cherry tomato this year.  As always, I'll wrap in cloth to protect the young plants from wind, cold and insects.  I've also got banana peppers, egg plant and cucumbers just waiting in small pots.  Later I'll plant bush beans and a type of pinto bean.

Rainbow and Lowe's are having specials on flowers.  This week I bought a flat of impatiens for $.67 each.  Earlier in the week I bought red begonias for $1.00 a six pack.  On special I've purchased two Boston ferns,  two bulbine, two hanging baskets of impatiens, white petunias, white geraniums and red geraniums.  The bougainvillea are sprouting and I set out in a sunny spot.  Yesterday I started placing drip tubing around the deck in planters.  Joe drilled holes in the two copper pots and I filled with impatients or begonias.

First Signs of Spring in San Antonio

The first signs of Spring in south Texas area the blooms on red bud trees and mountain laurels.  Through most of the year, the red bud is a small tree that sticks to the background.....but it's the first to bloom in late winter.  Next is the beautiful Texas mountain laurel.  I think the purple blossoms smell like grape kool-aide.  Once you have a mountain laurel you will always have baby mountain laurels from the seed pods that drop to the ground later in the year.  Fortunately they are easy to pull out from the ground.

The average last freeze date in San Antonio is March 3.  Guess what, it got down to 26 degrees at our house on March 3....just like the average.  We seem to get a warm up to the mid 80s and then an arctic blast hits us again.  I'm definitely holding off on planting my spring garden.  But the winter veggies are still so bountiful.  This week I harvested the red cabbage and made the best German sweet and sourer slaw.  

Another Freeze

We had a freeze last night, February 27.  It got down to 31 degrees.  Another freeze is predicted next week, beyond our last average freeze date of March 2.  It's been a long winter...  We couldn't risk losing plants so we covered the most sensitive pots and other we brought into the garage.  So far we have not lost anything but someday we may get careless.  It would break my heart to lose a plant at this late state of the game.

Spring Gardening Chores

Spring Gardening Chores

By Joe and Susan Noonan, Bexar County Master Gardeners

It’s springtime and there are lots of gardening chores for April and May.   Consider replacing your turf this year with either hardscaping or drought tolerant ground covers. Always remember that in south Texas we are either in a drought, going into a drought or recovering from a drought.

Color

--Warm-season color includes trailing lantanas, cosmos, zinnias, firebush, copper plant, moss rose, purslane, Dahlberg daisy, purple fountain grass, bachelor buttons and pentas.  For shade areas choose from begonia, impatiens, caladiums, coleus and pentas.  Wait on periwinkles until late May.

--Mandevilla, bougainvilleas and hibiscus are great patio plants.  Let your bougainvillea get root-bound and stressed between watering for best blooms.

--Deadhead (pinch/cut off) spent flowers to encourage more bloom.

--Roses should be blooming with color.  Continue to fertilize them for continued blooming.

--Let your wildflowers go to seed before mowing.

--Seeds that may be sown directly in the warm soil include amaranthus, celosia, morning glory, sunflowers, and zinnias.

--Fertilize container plants and hanging baskets plants on a regular basis with a water soluble fertilizer product and be sure that a slow-release fertilizer such as Osmocote has been mixed into the potting medium at the label-recommended amount.

--Remove pansies, snapdragons, dianthus, calendulas, kale and other winter plants when they get ragged.

Ornamentals

--Plant caladium tubers after mid-April when the soil warms and night temperatures are above 60 F.  Caladiums prefer a loose, well-drained soil with plenty of organic matter.  They thrive in shade with dappled light, and their colors of green-white, green-pink or green-red fit into almost any landscape.

--Firebush for sun and firespike for full shade are two of the best hummingbird plants.  Hibiscus, cigar plant, dwarf Chinese trumpet creeper, lantana, and firebush on the patio will bring hummingbirds in close for observation.

Shade Trees and Shrubs

--Do not prune oak trees now.    This is prime oak wilt season.  If you make any kind of wound from a trimmer or mower on an oak tree, paint it quickly with some type of latex paint.

--You can still plant new shrubs and trees in April if they are container-grown.  Use generous amounts of mulch on the surface over the roots and water as the soil dries, usually about once per week through the hot summer.

--In heavily shaded parts of the landscape where grass is difficult to maintain, choose one of the well-adapted ground covers such as English or Algerian ivy, Asian jasmine, or mondo grass.

--Prune pillar or climbing roses, wisteria and Carolina jasmine as soon as they have finished flowering.  Vigorous landscape shrubs will need frequent pruning.  These include eleagnus, pyracantha, ligustrum and photinia.  As spring flowering shrubs complete their blooming, do any necessary pruning.  Prune to retain the natural shape of the plant.

Turf Grass

--Proper mowing, efficient watering and good nutrition are the best way to minimize weeds in turf grass.  Spot apply liquid broad-leaf weed killers on warm days to eliminate henbit, chickweed, dandelions, clover and non-grassy weeds.  Read and follow label instructions.  Always read the labels on lawn products.  For example, Scott’s Bonus S Fertilizer should never be used under oak trees which can be a negative issue in our neighborhood.

--Fertilize your lawn after the second “real” mowing.  A “real” mowing is when you are cutting lawn grass and not winter weeds.  April 15, tax-filing day, is a good target.  Use a slow-release lawn fertilizer with a ratio of 3-1-2 or 4-1-2---Nitrogen (N), Phosphorus (P) and Potassium (K) such as 15-5-10 or 19-5-9 or 20-5-10.

--Mow St. Augustine at 3 inches, Zoysia at 2 inches and Bermuda at 1.5 inches.  Mow when the grass is ⅓ higher than the recommended height.  Never cut off more than ⅓ the height of the blades of grass.

From www.thehillcountrygardener.com  Tom Harris, Ph.D.   See also www.plantanswers.com by Jerry Parsons, Ph.D.

Finding the Right Arborist

Finding the Right Arborist to Trim Your Live Oaks

by

Susan Noonan, Bexar County Master Gardener

Do not trim your live oak trees now.   Wait until July when the weather is hot and the beetle that carries the oak wilt virus is inactive.  The best months to trim live oak trees are during the heat of summer and deep winter.  Always paint cuts on branches larger than 1” with a latex paint.

Before you hire an arborist to trim your trees, do your homework.  Mark A. Peterson, a conservation project coordinator with the San Antonio Water System  wrote the following article, “Finding the Right Arborist” for the weekly SAWs newsletter published on January 20, 2014:

During my long tenure at the Texas Forest Service, people frequently asked for arborist

recommendations.  But as a public servant, I was-and still am-often reluctant to

provide references unless the individuals or companies have gone through an objective

training or screening process.  Still, I’m always happy to provide direction, especially

when it comes to selecting a professional arborist to care for your trees.  For starters,

you’ll want to ask a potential contractor if he practices tree topping.  If the answer is

yes, move on to another contractor.  If the answer is no, proceed by asking for:

1.  Proof of membership  with one of the professional arborist associations including

the American Society of Consulting Arborists, International Society of Arborists, or the

Tree Care Industry Association.

2.  Credentials from the International Society of Arboriculture, which demonstrates

professionalism and a desire to improve his or her knowledge of tree care.

3.  Certificate of insurance, including proof of liability for personal and property

damage, and worker’s compensation.  Phone the insurance company or agent to

ensure the policy is current.

4.  A written contract that fully explains the work to be done, on what day, and the price

per service performed.

Winter is the best time to prune your trees.  Make sure you have the best arborist for the

job.