Seed Starting.

Started seeds for spring 2012.  Somehow the pelleted seeds were damaged, and my totals of pelleted wave petunia seeds comes in at a total of 36, and not the 75 I had planned. 
Next time I purchase pelleted seeds I will try to check if they have been crushed.
The White Shock Wave Petunia seeds came from Park Seed, the Purple and Silver Tidal Wave from Ferry Morse.

The regular Hot Pink Petunias are from seeds collected from the garden. A total of 18 planted. Moss Rose was planted on the rest of the flat.  Mix in color as well as both single and double flowers.

Alyssum, Snaps (First Ladies) and Stock (seeds from Kaos'sGarden.










In addition a full flat was planted of dark red snapdragons, seeds collected from Kaos'sGarden.  Also sprinkled some around the potted pots by the patio, as well as some Alyssum seeds.  Also at that corner two Pink Amaryllis bulbs were planted.  Everything was watered, the clear plastic dome lids were placed on top of the seed starting flats, and secured with bungee cords.

Potted up some Seedlings

Potted up 12 2in pots and 1 quart container of Rock Rose Pavonia lasiopetala.  It's a great shrubby perennial for central TX.  Very drought tolerant and blooms most of the year.  It looks stunning in the morning sun.

Also potted up 7 2in pots of  Blue Plumbago seedlings. Just about a perfect plant.

6 2in pots and 5 quarts with Datura wrightii  One of my all time favorites. 

Onions Part Two

Planted yet another bunch of about 80.  This time it was the 1015Y Texas Supersweet.  They were planted around an apple tree and in the raised bed containing one Iceberg rose.
In the spot between the raised bed and the gate, I also planted one bulb of Red Amaryllis, two  Ruellia brittoniana 'Purple Showers' and one Dahlia _________
All were watered in with a seaweed solution.

Onions Part Two

Planted yet another bunch of onions.  This time it was roughly 75sets in the bunch of Yellow Granex.  They were watered in with a seaweed solution. 

I overextended myself with onions

There are a lot more in a bunch than I first thought and planned for.  I assumed 50 plants/bunch, times 7 bunches, for a total of 350 transplants.

The Bonnie Onions didn't disappoint.  Roughly 50/bunch.  However after planting and counting one bunch of Early White, there were 103 onions in that bunch.  In the White Bermuda bunch there were 73 onion transplants.
Now I am left with 4 bunches and most likely a LOT more than 200 onions, and as shown of the garden schematic, not a whole lot of room.  I might have enough room in the three empty beds to fit lose to 200.  The five big beds can hold an average of 100/section and the smaller ones almost 50.  I guess I'll have to squeeze some here, there and everywhere.  An extension might me necessary to fit in other veggies.  Potatoes late this month, as well as lettuces, radishes and collards.  That is just what needs to be planted in January. 
After planting, the seedlings/transplants got watered with a seaweed solution.  They will receive that approximately every two weeks, and some cottonseed meal (8-2-2) to make sure they have food enough to grow delicious

Onions

I LOVE onions.  They are great raw, cooked...and makes every meal better.  Not to mention they are the one crop that is practically fool proof.  You plant the transplants/sets in January, and then you harvest in spring/summer.  They don't need much and are easy to place pretty much anywhere.  Walking through my garden, they are everywhere.  Tucked between rosebushes, around citrus, anywhere there's an open spot I plant an onion.
Normally I'll plant two bunches of Bonnie's White onions, one bunch Bonnie's Yellow onion, and on Bonnie's Red onion. There's roughly 50 plants in each bunch. 
This year we went a little kookier than usual.  I did plant one bunch of Bonnie's White onions, though I couldn't justify paying $4/bunch and get multiples.  Well off to a great local nursery we went.  Had to see their selection and pricing before I made up my mind.  Well, they had a much better selection, and an easier to swallow price of $2/bunch. Not only are they cheaper, but this nursery specializes in plant varieties suitable for central TX.

So here's what we got.

2 bunches Texas Early White
1 bunch 1015Y Texas Supersweet
1 bunch White Bermuda
1 bunch Yellow Granex
1 bunch Suothern Belle Red

Needless to say I am very fond of the white onions. Planting will take place this weekend after the freeze is over. 
I also got some lettuce seeds that I will plant along some radishes. 

New Year, New Hope

That's right... HOPE.  We got some rain in November and December, yard has greened up.  Mostly cool season annual grass and WEEDS.  At least it's green. 
So after replacing the back fence we are ready for a better 2012.  Hopefully thsi will be a good garden year. 
Started off by spraying Dormant Oil on all our fruit trees.  Well almost all.  Didn't spray the citrus and still waiting for the leaves to fall off the apple trees so they can be sprayed.  We are hoping that with some vigilance, THIS will be the year we can get peaches WITHOUT those pesky worms.
The worms are Plum Curculio, and they are a big problem.
Practically all our peaches last year was infested by them.

We are also spraying nematodes.  According to the person we spoke with at the Natural Gardener, Nematodes search the soil for bad bugs and tortures and kill them.  So hopefully these nematodes will search and find the Plum Curlico larvae and kill them. 

October Garden

It's actually looking better out there.  That's due to the temperatures being much much cooler now.  If I have failed to mentioned it, 2011 is the hottest summer on record.  We had an insane amount of 100+ degree days I think it was around 80...

Still no rain though, so we have made the decision to add gravel.  When it gets cooler we'll cover about 1/2 of the area with decomposed granite.  That way we can have a small lawn area that we'll be able to water.  We as you can imagine, have water restrictions, and that is not a time when having a large yard is fun.  The plumbago does pretty well without a lot of water, and the star of the show would be lantanas.  I did plant some yellow trailing lantanas.  That's right, even though I really don't like yellow flowers, I chose the trailing yellow lantana.  Mostly coz they have done much better around town than the white and lavender ones.  Easy, no fuzz is the way to go!

Why I love Moonflowers

You give them a little bit of water... that's it, and they reward you with crisp white stunning flowers.  Nothing beats the sight when the bush is loaded.  Most I've ever had was 128 flowers at one time.  Pretty impressive for a bush whos flowers only bloom one night.

Sweet August

Or scorching hot August.  Today the most evil corporation in the world(AT&T)finally showed up to finish the work they started first week of July. 
July 5th a giant hole was dug in our front yard.  The guy from AT&T told me a few days, a week tops.  Well that was a load of manure.  For a month we've had our front yard dug up, a sheet of plywood covering the hole, and the very attractive orange utility fencing.  They even places a note on it.  Work to be completed no later than July 15th 2011.  I guess it took a little bit longer than the few days we were quoted.

I will say the independent contractor that dug the hole was very nice.  As soon as the AT&T tech had finished their work, the hole was filled.  Next day they came back and replaced the sod ruined by plywood and dirt. 

 

Soaker hoses

Do you love them or hate them?  I'm kinda on the fence.   During the drought I have used the soakers exclusively in some areas, and the plants seem to get sad quicker than areas I use my small sprinkler on.  Also the small sprinklers only have to be on an area 5-10 min, where as the soaker hoses for well over 30min.
Some seem to work slightly better than others. The smooth ones are still working like they did when I got them last year.   I have found them at the Home Depot. The non- smooth style gets clogged in no time so they are really not cost effective, though they are significantly cheaper than the smooth ones. Either way, in some areas they seem to work, in others, not so much.  I don't think I'll get anymore anytime soon.  Selective watering with the hose and my mini sprinklers seem much more effective.

Another excruciating year it seems.

A guaranteed constant is that time flies. Well in reality, it moves at a steady pace, though you never seem to have enough of it.

After an excruciating cold and dreadful winter, we got to the scorching hot summer. 100+ degrees with no end in sight, and no rain. That's right...nada, zip, zilch.

Over the course of this summer I have come to a conclusion... Rocks ROCK! That's right. They beat the cold, the heat the drought, need no maintenance and no fertilizers or insecticides. Rocks are great.
Texas is in an exceptional drought. Currently the third worst in the history of our great state.
Sadly enough I have decided to "kill" off certain plants. Mainly the ones that need water.
Even the ones with moderate water needs. We'll just stick with the basics. Heat tolerant, drought tolerant AND cold tolerant. That's right. After this awfully cold winter we had, my Aloes and Agaves decided to perish. Really to bad, because I have never watered an agave, so they really would have worked well.
I have been checking the VERY XERIC section at high country gardens.
So much for my love of dahlias. They have all perished in the drought. It is not even possible to water enough IF you left the sprinklers on 24/7. Rainwater is desperately needed, nothing is better than rainwater.