Herself’s Houston Garden

There are several ways to compost your yard waste. You can lay it down as mulch on top of beds. You can grind it up with your lawnmower and leave it on the lawn. You can lay it down between raised rows in your vegetable garden. Or you can use a mulching bin.

You want your compost pile to break down aerobically, which uses oxygen. This will prevent odors, and waste from bacteria will be released as heat, speeding up the process and killing weed seed.

If it breaks down anaerobically ( with out oxygen ) it will be releasing methane and it will smell bad. Not much heat will be generated in the pile and weeds will not be killed off.

Compost activators are a waste of money. Properly built compost piles will reduce very quickly on their own.

The carbon to nitrogen ratio is important for maintaining heat and speeding up the breakdown of the leaves and grass, etc. You want a ratio of 30:1 Carbon to Nitrogen. A 30:1 ratio will give you a temperature of about 160′F, 40:1 tops at about 140′F and 60:1 tops at about 120′F. You want a temperature between 110′-150′F. Over 160′F and you kill off the bacteria making your compost, less than 110′ and you don’t kill off weeds and it will take longer to decompose. The proper ratio is achieved by mixing brown and green material in equal weights.

Carbon is found in brown stuff; dried material, fall leaves, corn cobs/stalks, paper, straw, pine needles, newspaper, sawdust etc.

Nitrogen is found in green stuff; eggshells, fruits and vegetables, grass clippings, manure, coffee grounds, meal and garden trimmings. (* note: I’m told if you heat your eggshells first they won’t attract fire ants. If you do get fire ants pour some boiling water on them. )

Do not use: Meat, fish, fats, or dairy products. Weed seeds will be killed if you get the pile to a nice hot temperature excepting grass runners. They will survive so do not add them to your pile.

Turning the pile is not necessary but will speed up decomposition and help heat the pile up. The more you can turn the pile the better. If you turn the compost pile every three days you should be able to reach 160′F, every 10 days 140′F, and once a month will only get you to about 120′F.

The amount of moisture in your pile is extremely important. If you grab a handful and squeeze it should not have water running out, nor should it be so dry as to crumble. Try to keep it about the dampness of a well wrung out sponge. Too much water you gt anaerobic conditions turning the pile sour. Turn the pile after a rain storm. If we are getting lots of rain, cover the pile.

Smaller particles break down faster due to their higher surface area. But keep a variety of sized material in your compost bin. This helps to keep it from packing down and allows air to circulate. You can shred material before adding it to your compost bin.

In the beginning bacteria do most of breaking down of the waste material. As it breaks down and cools down fungi step in to help followed by protozoa. Lastly we have your larger critters like earth worms helping.

You can just pile up your compost or you can use a bin. Any bin will work, just use what makes things easiest for you. You do want it to be a minimum of 3′x3′x3′ or you won’t get a heat buildup. It does not matter if you put your bin in sun or shade. Don’t set it too close to your home or fence however. Set the bin on bare ground and make sure you can reach it with a garden hose.

To build the pile:

Wet ground with garden hose

Add about 6″ of brown stuff

Add about 2″ of green stuff

Mix and water — it is very important to water as you go

Repeat

The pile will heat up and shrink as time goes on. You can add new materials to the pile as you get them.

Use hot pepper flakes to keep raccoons and other critters out of the pile.

Finished compost is dark, crumbly and no longer heats up.

If the pile smells bad it is either too wet or needs more air. If all else is well but only middle is warm the pile is too small. If all else is well but it is not heating up, add more green stuff ( nitrogen ).

If you add compost to your plants before it is done, then it will use the nitrogen in the soil. You will need to add more nitrogen for your plants use.

More information:
How to compost

I bet you all know that you can ship off a pint of soil to be tested and the government will tell you all about it. I’ve known about it for years. I’ve even thought about doing it several times. But I never seemed to get there. This year I will be doing it.

If you go to Texas A&M University Soil, Water and Forage Testing Lab’s webpage you can get detailed instructions, a form to fill out and everything you need to do a soil sample. You can also go to your local extension office and pick up the form and a soil sample bag.

So why is this the best bargain for gardeners? It’s cheap, dirt cheap actually. For $10 they tell you your soil’s pH, Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potassium, Calcium, Magnesium, Sodium, and Conductivity. For $15 they add in Zinc, Iron, Copper and Manganese, for $20 they check the organic matter also and for $25 they add in the Micro nutrients.

Soil testing will tell you exactly what you need to add to keep your plants thriving. So your plants thrive and you are not wasting money on chemicals you don’t need. Fertilizer is expensive. And probably you are using way more than you need. Unless it is a lawn, vegetable or other crop you take away there is likely plenty of most of what you need already in the soil.

The most important part for you is to get a good sample. You want to grab about 10 soil samples. Fetch some from each bed. Samples should be about 1″ across and 6″ deep. Just put your shovel in and grab a 6″ clod of soil. Then just grab the middle column.

Put all your samples in a clean plastic bucket. Mix well. Then fill the soil bag with the mixture and ship it off with your form and a check.

I mailed the test out Jan. 19th and received the results Feb. 2. Amazing, it is a wonder any thing is alive and no wonder I wasn’t getting any tomatoes. Here’s the results:

Analysis	Results	Critical Level	ExtLow, VLow, Low, Mod, High, VHigh, Excess	Recommendation
pH	8.0	6.5	Mod. Alkaline
Conductivity	181	-	None
Nitrate	3	-	ExtLow	1.3 lbs N/1,000 sqft
Phosphorus	34	50	Moderate Need	1.2 lbs P2O5/1,000 sqft
Potassium	80	175	Low	2.1 lbs K2O/1,000 sqft
Calcium	3349	180	High
Magnesium	131	50	High
Sulfur	24	13	High
Sodium	298	-	Low
Iron	27.06	4.25	High
Zinc	3.54	.27	High
Manganese	7.9	1.00	High
Copper	.96	.16	High

4.23 % Organic matter in soil

---

So I need to find fertilizer with a similar ratio to 1.3:1.2:2.1 ( 1:1:2 or 1:1:1 ).Then I want to match the nitrogen needed. 1.3 lbs per 1,000 sqft.I have ~5,000 sqft of lawn and garden so 1.3 * 5 = 6.5 lbs N are needed.Now fertilizer is sold in volume per weight so a bag of 10:10:10 is 10% N. A 20 lb bag would give me 2 lbs of N, I’d need a little more than 3 bags spread evenly over the lawn and gardens. The Extension recommends matching the ratio as close as you can, then buying the correct amount of N.

Since Nitrates are the most important of the plant nutrients and mine were below Extremely Low on the chart I’m not surprised some plants are showing nutritional problems. The recommendation is to put out 1.3 lbs Nitrogen, 1.2 lbs Phosphorus, 2.1 lbs Potassium/1,000 now, and 1.3 lbs Nitrogen/1,000 monthly.

I received a separate recommendation for garden, roses and lawn. But I’m removing the lawn and the rose and garden recommendations were the same. So I’ll just follow those.

Soil conductivity runs from 0-5 for sandy soils, 5-25 for topsoils, and 10-1000 for clay soils. Soil conductivity measures the amount of soluble salts in a soil. Some plants are sensitive to high salts in the soil. Too much may also inhibit seed germination. Usually high salts are caused from too much fertilizer being added to the soil.

To convert umho/cm to ppm multiply your umho/cm * 640 then divide by 1000. So we have about 116 ppm salts in the soil, which is fine. Until it goes over 1400 ppm you shouldn’t see a problem. But remember some plants are very sensitive to salt so it depends on your plant.

Fresh water (1000)< Brackish ( 10,000 )< Saline ( 100,000)< Brine ( 100,000)

Organic matter breaks down quickly in Houston’s climate. Organic matter usually ranges between 2% to 8%. The more there is the better. If it is less than 2% you’ll want to add some organic matter ( compost, mulch, leaves etc ). There are several methods for testing organic matter. So if you are trying to compare from year to year, use the same lab to do the testing.

The purpose of pruning your plants is to clear out old debri and to gently shape your plant. The best time to prune in the Houston area is between Valentines Day and the end of February. Another excellent time to prune a plant is just after it’s finished flowering for the year. Many plants will need more than one pruning a year and that is fine also.

If you prune your plants in the late fall they will get tender new growth just in time for the winter. The new growth is what is most severely damaged by frost and cold so pruning should be avoided in the late fall if possible. However if you have some plants you wish to dwarf or bonsai pruning them late fall will accomplish this. Then just continue to trim off the new growth.

Pruning is a great time to start new plants. Take the branches you have pruned off your shrubs and clear the bottom 6″ of leaves. Dip the bottom of the stem in rooting hormone and stick it in the ground. This works best with your late winter and early spring trimmings. In the spring you should see new growth.

It is best not to prune new trees or shrubs for at least one year. On new trees leave the bottom branches on the tree until the branches reach about 1″ in diameter. This helps the trunk grow properly and strong.

And do try not to contribute to the yearly Texas Crepe Massacre, which takes place every Feb. Your crepes will do just fine with minimal pruning. Cut nothing off your crepe that is thicker than your finger.

To prune:
-Remove all dead branches and leaves

- Next remove any branches that rub against each other or are likely to do so this year

- Step back with a cup of coffee and look for a while at your plant. What shape do you want to encourage? Take your time and think about it.

-Cut to shape but cut about half way down on branches that are too tall. Don’t just cut the top where you want the plant to stop growing. What will happen is the top will get bushy, the bottom will lose leaves and you’ll end with a mushroom shaped plant. Remember you need to let light into all parts of the plant. Don’t block the bottom part of the plant with the top, in other words don’t prune so your plants are top heavy.

See also:
Time to prune the roses
Pruning passion flower vine
Crepe Myrtle

I had started to play with and learn more about photography early in 2007. Then I was reading an entry on a garden blog on why people stay or leave after first viewing your blog. Bad photography was one of the main reasons people bounced immediately. So I made learning about photography a higher priority. I’ve come a long way, and have a long way to go as you’ll see in some of the sites I link to for inspiration. Here’s my best tips and resources I discovered this past year.

1) Don’t shoot standing up. Climb up something, go down on the ground, or go sideways, but avoid standing shots except for landscapes.
( up )

( sideways )

( down )

2) If your camera will let you adjust the aperture do so. Smaller apertures ( higher f stops ) will bring your subject into focus and blur the rest so the subject really stands out. But because you have a small aperture holding the camera steady is even more important in these shots.
( shots with small aperture )


Aperture and F-stop explained

3) Do use Photoshop or Gimp to clean up your photos. A few tweaks can make a huge difference.
Gimp ( Free and available for Windows/Linux/OSX )
Straighten out your pictures with Gimp
Clean up and sharpen photos in Gimp
3 step clean up in Gimp

4) Imitate the experts. Try to re-create a few of your favorite photos. You’ll learn a great deal about their techniques and be able to apply some of those to your own shots.
A photographer’s garden blog
Flickr set Bokchoyboy
Flickr set Sleepless 14
Flickr set Rosemary
Macrology
Dedalus11 Nature Set

5) Use the light. Dawn and sunset give your shots an added color dimension.
( dusk )

6) There are no good photography books, or at least I haven’t found one yet. I have found good web resources.
Digital Photography Blog

7) Take lots and lots of pictures, the film is free.

8 ) Use the macro button ( flower ) on your camera for flower close ups. Some of my best macro shots were taken from a distance away and then zooming in, rather than close up. When taking a macro of a flower open the aperture so that as much as possible comes into focus. ( macro taken close up )

( macro taken with zoom )

9) Hold the camera steady, use a tripod, a table, lean against a tree, lean on a fence prop your arms tight against your body when you shoot. You can’t take a good shot if the camera isn’t steady.

One of the things I most enjoy about garden photography is that is is like having a microscope. I can take high resolution pictures, view them full size on my computer and it is like looking at my plants under a microscope. I find all sorts of things I never knew were there.

Another note for my garden blogger readers: People want full shots, not just close ups of plants. So be sure to include some full plant shots or full garden shots in your blog. And if anyone remembers who had the blog entry on garden blog photos a few months back let me know so I can put in a link.