Herself’s Houston Garden

Don’t forget the Mercer summer plant sale is tomorrow 9-4 Mercer

This is one of those things every knows but no one can tell you why. Everyone will tell you rain makes a garden grow. But I had to find out why.

There was no information to be found on rain water in Houston. If you are from another city you may or may not find some useful information online. I purchased an aquarium water test kit at the local per store and used it on the water.

Here in The Woodlands, and I imagine most of Houston, our tap water has a high kH. kH is the carbonate hardness of water. The higher the kH the more difficult it is to change the pH of the water and the more difficult it is to absorb or neutralize acid. Water kH can be increased by adding baking soda or reduced by adding CO2 ( you can purchase tabs to drop in water at the pet store ).

For your aquarium and pond plants a high kH is good. Over time this releases CO2 to the water which benefits the plants. When I switched from tap water to bottled in the aquarium the plants all died.

The pH of the tap water was 8.5 when I measured it, and the rain water was 6.5, which is where the bottled water I tested came in. pH is very important to plants. pH is a measure of the hydrogen in your soil. The scale runs from 0 to 14, 0-7 being acidic, 7 is neutral, and 7-14 is basic. You really want your garden soil and water pH to be between 5 and 7. More or less than that and most plants will have trouble getting the nutrients that are in the ground. This is why everything greens up after a rain. It is much easier for the plant to use the nutrients that are in the ground at that pH. At the pH of our tap water it is difficult for plants to get there nutrients. The nutrients may be there, but they can’t get in.

So is rain or tap water better for your plants? Both are, at least locally.

Some plants may be extremely sensitive to the fluoride and chlorine in tap water. You’ll know by the edges of the leaves or tips turning brown. Usually just a very thin brown edge and usually just on houseplants. If you have a plant that is sensitive to chemicals, cut your tap water with some bottled water when you water it.

You can help your soil pH by adding peat moss to your soil each year ( see article below ), but you are not likely to change it long term. You’ll see your plants leaves turn yellow while the veins stay green when the plant is unable to take up nutrients. Adding fertilizer, especially one you can spray onto the plant will help. Iron added to the soil around the plant also will help.

Though I am sure there are many other interesting differences between rain and tap water here in Houston, I’m still looking for information. Everything else I’ve been able to test came out the same for both.

More information:
pH soil and plants

Wow I am stunned!

I received the following email this morning. Is it any wonder that gardeners can not get accurate information? Mind you this is someone claiming to be a reporter, not a columnist.

I just love the fair and balanced approach. I can see this reporter’s articles will be full of facts and useful information.

Hello garden bloggers!

I am a reporter from Columbia News Service writing an article about a study that found the fragrance of flowers in urban areas has decreased over time as a result of air pollution.

As famous garden bloggers, I was hoping to ask you questions about your garden maintenance, planting choices and any pollination issues you might have. If you long for the days gone by - clean air, more plants, etc. - you will be the perfect voice in this story.

My deadline is unfortunately quite soon - Thursday evening - but I was still hoping to spend a few minutes speaking with you over the phone; I promise to make time for everyone interested in speaking with me. Please feel free to call my cell phone anytime at xxx-xxx-xxxx. It is rare that I do not pick up a call, but please leave a message if you get voicemail and I will get back to you as soon as possible.

Columbia News Service is a news features wire where stories are written by Columbia University journalism master’s degree students and distributed over the New York Times Wire. My CNS pieces have been published in The Chicago Tribune, Washington Olympian, Indiana Gazette, Palm Beach Post and more.

Thank you in advance for your help!

—

Xxxxxxx Xxxxxx

Columbia University Journalism
Columbia News Service
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So where can gardeners go to get accurate information?

Your local Extension Office, now Texas AgriLife is an excellent source. Most offices have a large volunteer group of Master Gardeners well trained and available to help you.

Another good source is universities. Many have extensive pages online with more information than you could ever put to use.

See my Resources for Texas Gardeners Page for sources I trust.

Mother Jones has a story on Lousisiana’s Mulch Madness. Louisiana’s swamps are full of cypress trees, which can reach 500 years in age. The interwoven roots of the cypress allow them to withstand the strongest hurricane winds. These cypress stands provide a rest stop to half of the US migratory birds and homes to bobcats, foxes, alligators, minks, armadillos, otters, falcons and more. The cypress stands are being cleared to provide mulch. What’s wrong with this picture?

Instead of using pesticides, shock your plants with electricity. Just try not to fry yourself too. Scientists have found non lethal shocks given to plants increase at least one of their protective chemicals against pests.

Pollution decreases flowers scent. I’m sure everyone saw the headlines but pollution doesn’t really decrease the scent. It decreases the distance it travels making it more difficult for pollinators to find the plants.

I’ve been reading Kelly’s ‘Out of Control’ book and chapter 4 has some interesting information for those trying to restore gardens to a more natural state. Not only is it important to keep down chemical use and plant native plants but the order in which you introduce the plants to a garden will greatly effect the outcome of the garden. All gardens stabilize but plants introduced in different orders can mean the difference between a native flower garden and a bed of weeds. Gardening is a chaotic science. ( The full book is online. )

Vanity Fair has a story on the evils of Monsanto ( can we ever read too many of those stories ? ).  This one focusing on the use of intimidation by Monsanto to keep small farmers in fear of the company.

Brrr. It’s been chilly this week with nighttime temperatures dipping into the 40’s. So far the plants don’t seem to mind.

I had put out regular and time released fertilizer last Feb. after my startling soil test. I figured it’d be months before I needed more. But I noticed a few plants showing nitrogen distress Saturday.  So I dusted off the soil test kit and tested some soil this weekend and already that nitrogen in the soil has been used up!

On a good note it’s only been 3 years and already I’ve gone from solid clay to a few inches of top soil in the areas that I didn’t bring in dirt, and 6″ in the areas I have. Things may get used up fast in warm, humid areas but they also build fast. Remember to use pine mulch if you are in the Houston area, not only to protect Louisiana’s stands but because it is less fungus prone and breaks down quickly to amend your soil.

Finally it is raining squirrels outside.  One or  more of the local rats have found they can get to the second floor window feeder by jumping from a first floor roof.  But they miss frequently.  So I’ve been listening to them drop from the roof frantically grasping at the windows below them only to make a nice ‘thud’ when they hit the deck below.  It almost makes not want to move the feeder.