Gardening Thanksgiving Week
Our gardening continues!
I dug and fertilized a new bulb bed today, planted bulbs in established beds and dug up and potted more tender perennials for the winter. One bag of Earth Smart composted chicken stuff was enough for the entire bed.
A lot of the garlic is coming up, feeding those wonderful bulbs for next summer's harvest. After the first freeze kills them back we will give them a thick mulch. In the meantime they are taking advantage of our still 80-degree days.
I'm watering, too. All the shrubs that have been planted this month have to be watered until the weather cools more. Don't neglect them; they are developing roots even though they don't look like they are doing much right now.
Mothballs saved another bed from the marauding cats. $2 a box at the dollar stores; 2-boxes keeps them out of most of the vulnerable plantings.
The neighbors' cats all hunt in our yard. I watched them falling out of trees yesterday as I sat at the kitchen table.
They climb the trees to gain access to the bird houses. When they find the birdhouses empty for the season they realize they can't get down as gracefully as they imagine themselves to be. So they fuss. Padding back and forth along branches trying to look sophisticated. Then, eventually they just fall down the tree trunk and groom themselves when they reach the ground.
Mildly entertaining since they don't actually catch any birds.
There are a few more small trees in pots to be planted - some red oaks that I bought last spring and left in pots over the summer. You don't realize how many plants there are sitting around waiting to go into the ground until the project is actually begun.
Now that global climate change is inevitable, I've been looking at plant websites for hotter weather than ours. We used to be zone 6b now we are generally considered 7a but gardeners should expect weird weather of all stripes.
Higher Ground's site has information on many interesting plants. Click on the link for "Plants That Thrive in Tough Places" for a chart of them with cultural information. The first list that comes up is A to C. At the bottom of the page, on the left, you can click to go to the other alphabetical pages of heat tolerant plants.
Here's what Higher Ground says about themselves:
Higher Ground is located in southeast Texas, approximately 40 miles from the Gulf of Mexico in U.S.D.A. zone 8b (Sunset zone 28). Our climate, common to much of the coastal South from Houston to Mobile, is marked by mild winters (average minimum 20F) and hot, muggy summers. While the weather and soil conditions are challenging, the long growing season and ample rainfall provide optimal conditions for many exciting plants.
Not that different from our weather in northeast Oklahoma after all.
I dug and fertilized a new bulb bed today, planted bulbs in established beds and dug up and potted more tender perennials for the winter. One bag of Earth Smart composted chicken stuff was enough for the entire bed.
A lot of the garlic is coming up, feeding those wonderful bulbs for next summer's harvest. After the first freeze kills them back we will give them a thick mulch. In the meantime they are taking advantage of our still 80-degree days.
I'm watering, too. All the shrubs that have been planted this month have to be watered until the weather cools more. Don't neglect them; they are developing roots even though they don't look like they are doing much right now.
Mothballs saved another bed from the marauding cats. $2 a box at the dollar stores; 2-boxes keeps them out of most of the vulnerable plantings.
The neighbors' cats all hunt in our yard. I watched them falling out of trees yesterday as I sat at the kitchen table.
They climb the trees to gain access to the bird houses. When they find the birdhouses empty for the season they realize they can't get down as gracefully as they imagine themselves to be. So they fuss. Padding back and forth along branches trying to look sophisticated. Then, eventually they just fall down the tree trunk and groom themselves when they reach the ground.
Mildly entertaining since they don't actually catch any birds.
There are a few more small trees in pots to be planted - some red oaks that I bought last spring and left in pots over the summer. You don't realize how many plants there are sitting around waiting to go into the ground until the project is actually begun.
Now that global climate change is inevitable, I've been looking at plant websites for hotter weather than ours. We used to be zone 6b now we are generally considered 7a but gardeners should expect weird weather of all stripes.
Higher Ground's site has information on many interesting plants. Click on the link for "Plants That Thrive in Tough Places" for a chart of them with cultural information. The first list that comes up is A to C. At the bottom of the page, on the left, you can click to go to the other alphabetical pages of heat tolerant plants.
Here's what Higher Ground says about themselves:
Higher Ground is located in southeast Texas, approximately 40 miles from the Gulf of Mexico in U.S.D.A. zone 8b (Sunset zone 28). Our climate, common to much of the coastal South from Houston to Mobile, is marked by mild winters (average minimum 20F) and hot, muggy summers. While the weather and soil conditions are challenging, the long growing season and ample rainfall provide optimal conditions for many exciting plants.
Not that different from our weather in northeast Oklahoma after all.
Comments
No, not that different either from central Oklahoma (Guthrie) where I live. I have been amazed at the length of the season this year. Thanks for your post on continuing to water and garden into November. It's nice to have another Oklahoma garden blog out here in the blogosphere.
Oh, I'm dying to get over there to see the apothecary garden.
Is it still nice or has it pooped out for the season.
I guess the Thanksgiving freeze will take out whatever is left.