Do you look back at what worked and what failed for you? I review my year, maybe because I am going paperwork and creating end of year reports. I have not really done this with my garden though. I remember what worked, what did not, and I have ideas for the future. I am considering the drought and its effects on my garden this last summer, so I want to think about how I should proceed in a better way. I am viewing my failures, since we can learn so much more from them than a success.
    My biggest failure was the design for the spinnable compost bin. My design worked well with a small amount of kitchen waste, but when I loaded the bin with yard waste, the bin collapsed. I came up with a plan to repair the bin, but I went in a different direction. The problem is space. I had a good deal of wood, so I made this compost/recycling/work center behind my shed. The spinnable bin worked well for kitchen waste, but I wanted a larger compost production method, which for me meant the standing bin. The space where the spinnable bin was located could be used for planting.
    Giving more of my yard over to garden beds was a good decision for me. I have mentioned the trend away from lawns, and we each have to discover what is best for our lifestyles. I know that some people lament the loss of the American lawn, but I did not want to be a grass farmer. I am going to slightly extend the current layouts of garden bed to lawn, yet I feel that I have achieved a good balance. The children have play areas, and many of the plants did better than the grass.
    Another failure of sorts was planning out plantings. For the most part this did work out; however, I should consider plants that do well in droughts, or when I plant. I began focusing more on sowing seeds, which is more economical. Established plants going into the garden have done better, so next year I want to do better with starting seeds in flats, then moving them into the garden.

    I also had mixed results with my vertical garden. Again, the problem is starting plants from seeds. During the hot summer months, the seeds sprouted, but the plants had a hard time. Even though our autumn was warm with little rain and water restrictions still in place, the nasturtium started from seed enjoyed my vertical garden. I want to try more vertical gardens next year.
    Did I actually save money by growing my own vegetables? I think that I broke even. The drought caused me to water more, which was an expense, and as I said, I wasted money on plantings that failed due to a lack of watering. I did obtain most of my vegetables from my own garden. My method of gardening has allowed plants to return from seeds. Each winter I find cilantro popping up. Each spring brings spinach. My winter vegetables are producing food again. To be more successful, I have to plan out ways to save on water while producing vegetables.
    Reviewing my problem areas gives me ideas for the coming year. I really should sit down in January to create a plan. Part of this plan has to include preserving produce. I prefer to eat seasonally, but traditionally in Texas, the later months of summer are not good for vegetable production, and preserving vegetables was how families fed themselves.

From a Houston garden to the table - A site dedicated to gardening and cooking in Houston.

My wife is not always happy when she sees me setting items aside to save. I have been saving the containers from plants that I purchased. They are not recyclable. My daughters have played with them, but I had another goal in mind. She really began to wonder why I was saving the bags for the mulch. I kept telling her that they would be useful. She thinks that I hoard items just for the sake of keeping them. Maybe I am trying to reuse to much; however, this time I had a plan that worked out well.

    My daughters are seed crazy. If I let them loose in Southwest Fertilizer, they will be purchasing far too many seeds. Yet as my vegetable production increases, I am finding that using seeds saves money. We decided to sow the seeds in flats, instead of broadcasting them in the garden beds. All of those saved containers were pulled out. I think that the girls had the most fun washing them. You want to wash the containers to prevent any cross contamination. We then filled them with a potting mix. We pulled out seeds for kale, broccoli, onions, rutabaga, parsnips, and parsley. We watered these, and then placed the flats into the mulch bags. These bags were clear plastic with printed material on one side. The printed side went on the bottom. These mulch bags did have holes, but this set up did work like the seed starter kits.
    After a few days, all of the seeds were sprouting. We placed these starter kits in a shady area under a tree. The girls went each day to check on their plants. We will be letting them grow a bot larger before we begin to thin them out. We will want them out of the bags before thinning. Why, my older daughter asks. Well, we want the seedlings to become stronger. We pick the best ones. Let them grow bigger in the container, before setting them into the garden. We should have a good growing season.

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We still have the summer heat, yet the nights have been cooler. Morning dew seems to be helping the plants; I do not see them suffering from a lack of water. This may also be due to the fact that we are not having the triple digit heat every day.I have been looking forward to the Fall planting season, and I have several plants already in the ground. Mainly, I have focused on seeds. This is a practical way to obtain more plants at a better cost; however, water restrictions may have cost me a few plants. What has bothered me is that certain plants simply do not take when I attempt to grow them from seed, so I have to look to other sources.
   Seed packets make sense to me if you want enough vegetables to add to your family’s diet at a reasonable cost. Of course, saving your own seeds, or letting plants be self seeding, is the most cost effective means of obtaining plants. Sometimes plants do not transfer well from those seed starter kits. I also admit that I like the ease of skipping those starter flats, but I think if you really want vegetables for your family, you have to to work with that method. I have been fortunate that many seedlings have taken hold in the garden. There are a few plants that I want, but do not seem to grow when I am trying to use seeds. Celery is one vegetable that I have tried and failed growing.
   I have been to my regular haunts to see if they are stocking up on the next season’s crops. I did find parsley, cilantro, arugula, and a few other herbs. I ended up buying some of these delights for my cooking. There was also the tomato and pepper plants available. I guess these are the standard go-to vegetables, and I was not looking for them. I headed over to Buchanan’s Nursery in the Heights, since I was in the area, and I did find some items that I wanted. I had to buy the Ricola mint, considering that lozenge seems to always be in the house in the winter months. I also found epazote. This herb used to be in my garden, but then it disappeared. This is not to everyone’s taste, but I do like using a bit of the leaves when cooking beans or stews. I was surprised to see the great variety of herbs and vegetables already available, since I had not seen too much in other places. I spotted the celery, so I bought five plants.
   Do you use celery? Someone told me that celery is not used much in the United States. I am not sure if that is true, but the person was a chef. I also often hear that celery offers no nutritional value. Again, I do not know if I can believe that fact. The vegetable does provide fiber. I like to make snacks with celery, and I like to cook with it. Maybe buying celery to grow would not be seen as cost effective. You may spend three dollars for a plant, so purchasing a stalk from the store could be cheaper. Growing celery in your own garden does ensure better quality, and you can turn the plant into a value investment. Instead of harvesting the entire plant all at once, harvest a few stalks from each plant each time that you need celery for a recipe. The plant will last longer, and you will  not be spending three dollars per bunch of celery.
    I still prefer seeds over plant purchases. I can find an unusual variety of a vegetable when looking at the plants (is that a red okra that I see in the corner?), but I do not think that this is the best means of being wise with my money. I think this thought comes into play when we do look for other plants for our gardens. I found a dwarf bamboo for $5 in a two gallon pot at one nursery. This is not the time of year that people usually purchase this plant. The bamboo was also small. When it matures, it will fill in the space quite well. I think some people buy plants at their full size to have that instant effect. I think others do not look for the bargain. Two years ago I purchased ornamental grasses at the end of Fall for a good price. They will never last, I was told. I still have them in the yard. I might not drive out to Buchanan’s often, but the trip can be worth the drive when I come home with objects of my desire. Maybe I should check out a few more nurseries around town.

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The drought may be taking its toll; the heat and humidity has made some outdoor work unbearable; yet I have been delving into my garden. The biggest project, which is still ongoing, has been the treehouse. This is a platform above the shed, which is below the canopy of a tree.  This space has been great for lunches. Most other work has revolved in preparing the garden for different events around the home (my older daughter’s birthday being the prime event).  I still want to fuss with the plants, and somehow work more towards my vision of a sustainable garden. I saw that a few peanut plants were popping up, which made me think of hardy volunteers. I had never concentrated on peanut plants, but I think this one may have come from a squirrel dropping the seed. I did have a few lettuce plants grow from seeds that had fallen, so why not try again.

    My lettuce had gone to seed. My process had been to allow the seeds fall where they may. This has worked with other plants. I found that my New Zealand spinach discovered its perfect home. When I try to encourage this spinach to grow in other areas, I often fail. The plants know best. My lettuce has not been as successful. I find it growing well in my grass, but the seedlings are trampled or mowed. Then I find a few spread through the garden beds. As I was sitting in the yard, watching the wind blow leaves past me, I thought that I should try taking the lettuce seeds off of the plant. I pulled the lettuce from the ground, stripped the seeds, spreading them into the mulch dirt mixture. My hope is that more lettuce plants will grow where I desire them to grow.
    I experienced success with this technique of encouraging seeds to produce new plants. The idea is to have my vegetables become hardy volunteers. We plant seeds at the optimal time for sowing, or we plant them when we hope to make use of them. Cilantro is my favorite example. This herb is so common in my summer cooking, but its growing season is the cooler months in Houston. No wonder my summer efforts ended in failure. I spotted arugula seedlings in one bed. I am hoping that they will last till the cooler months when I know this green will do better. The arugula must have decided the time was right, so I will see what happens.
   Lettuce has not been the only plant to undergo this experiment. Cucumber seeds have fallen, as well as eggplant. I feel that I should spread the seeds around the garden to see if I can find the best places for these vegetables. I place them where I think the conditions are proper, or where I feel they would look good. Jungles may be good, but living in a neighborhood means that I do have to nod my head to garden design. I think the success of this experiment will also rely on the right plant choice. Lettuce may grow in Houston, but the plant may not be suited for being the hardy volunteer that I hope for. That will be part of the lesson.

From a Houston garden to the table - A site dedicated to gardening and cooking in Houston.

My Katya runs to pick another flower for a passer-by. I wonder how I manage to keep any flowers in the garden. The children have always been friendly to others in my neighborhood, even when they have not been to friendly. Katya decided that the wealth of flowers should be shared. My wife is convinced that this constant picking has led to the plants producing more flowers. I think that there is more to it than that, but deadheading (removing the dead flowers) does help. My only problem with the little girls picking flowers has been their tendency to yank the entire plant out of the ground. The other issue was that I was trying to harvest seeds.

    The Chinese broccoli had a white flower. Katya asked if she could pick it. I say no, thinking of a possible seed pod. She pulls at the flower anyway, ripping the plant from the ground. The flowers from many vegetables are nice in the arrangements of my daughters, so I am not too bothered, but I did not have many of these plants. This led to Katya and I having a conversation about seeds. I am happy with letting the plants seed an area on their own; however, I think that if I want better production (and to save money for next year), I should collect the seeds, and to grow them in optimal conditions. Keeping seeds is not too hard. When the seeds have dried out on the plant, you can place them in an envelope, marking the name. You can then store several seeds. This works with most seeds from your vegetables. For Katya, we began going through the garden to find seeds in various stages of readiness. She planted all of them, just in case.
    This exploration brought us to our peas. Katya and Sakura have been harvesting peas for meals practically every day. I did not think that these vines would be so prolific. They took the pods when they are quite young (sugar snap peas), so I have been preparing them like snow peas. There have not been enough peas each day to make a side dish from peas alone though. Katya and I looked at various pods to see how the seeds are developing. Katya wants to explore more seed growth since this investigation. She found almonds in a store with their furry covering still in place, so she wants those seeds to investigate further.
    Mulch alone does not prevent weeds. Having a tick growth of plants does limit weeds. When looking at one patch of ground, I noticed leaves that I could not identify. Aha, weeds, I thought. Then I remembered that a neighbor had given me a few native plants. I was reminded that many of our garden plants are not natives recently. Driving by a nursery in Dickinson, my son spotted a container with “Hamburg- Sud” (Hamburg-South). I am not sure how many plant varieties come from Germany, but I knew a man who took regular trips to Germany as a buyer, and he indicated that quite a few plants have their origins there. Natives do not often have the spectacular flowers of these selected plants, so they do not strike one with their beauty as quickly.  I do want to incorporate more natives into the garden. A mass planting of a native is as wondrous to see as any other mass planting. If they are accustomed to the rainfall of my area, then I do not have to water as often. Lastly, I have a good chance of obtaining volunteers next year in my garden, filling out empty spaces. I do like seeing flowering plants mixed in with my vegetables; it gives neighbors the impression of landscaping rather than vegetable garden, and that is my aim. Vegetables can be wonderful plants in the landscape, and by bursting them out of a confined space, we can grow more of them without the neighbors thinking “farm”. If they are thinking that way, they may want me to stop. Although everyone realizes that the garden is filled with vegetables, they ask about the unusual specimen plants (like the agave) or the flowers.
    Taking a turn in direction, I wanted to mention one last thing about plants for people selling their homes. This time of year is the big selling season, and as I walked into my front door, I thought about a factor that would make a home more desirable: fragrance. The path leading to my door first passes by these antique button roses, which bring a light scent to the air. As I walk onto the door, I am now passing by jasmine, which is coming into bloom. This jasmine variety has a rich fragrance. These are two simple plants to have in your garden, which may attract more than bees. They may attract a buyer.  Just an odd thought to impart, but would that not be nice for a buyer? 

From a Houston garden to the table - A site dedicated to gardening and cooking in Houston.

I had a problem with squirrels around my home. They disrupted my seed trays, so I decided to plant directly into the ground with most plants. I like to mix up how I get my plants. Some I start in pots; some seeds go into the beds; and some plants I buy from the nursery. Unfortunately, the squirrels have been a bit more active this year, so I see signs of their digging in the garden beds, and I am not sure why they went after my seed trays. Still, the seedlings are growing, but it has meant more watering than I was expecting. Having the seed beds in trays under cover or in a green house means less watering, because the soil does not dry out. When the seeds are in the garden bed, you have the sun and wind drying out the soil, so more watering to keep the seeds viable. I am spreading hair from my dog around the garden, but this has not worked as well as I had hoped.

    Luckily, I am saving on water with this rain. This weather has been pretty good for the garden, but I was not getting any rain in my garden. I am trying to cut down on water usage though, so I am looking into ways to prevent excessive watering. I am mulching heavier this year, and I am using the water reservoir method that I tried last year again. The idea comes from Peruvian farmers who create a compost layer below the dirt for the bed. This layer saves water for the plants above. This seemed to help last year, but I admit that t takes some effort to do this in your garden beds (remove the dirt, put in your compost material, then recover with dirt). As for mulch, I am trying out more cedar mulch in the garden as a way to prevent certain pests from hanging about. This worked well around the patio one year, but you do have to renew the cedar. I am favoring lava rocks more. The make a good, fairly permanent mulch, and the bits of rock that break off benefit the plants.
    I like the fact that I can go out each morning to harvest lettuce for a lunch.
This can be a strange time for harvesting, because the winter vegetables are going to seed, and the spring vegetables are not ready yet. I do find it strange that more people do not let their vegetables go to seed. Is it a space issue? A few gardeners told me that they have ripped out their winter vegetables, because they are no longer producing, but I do like the flowers, and then I can harvest the seeds. If we want a sustainable garden, we should be interested in seed harvesting for the next crop. As for the coming crop, the pea shoots have tips that could be gathered. Peas are great, but the tips of the plants can be harvested for stir fries or for salads. Some of the lettuce has really grown well. Moreover, I have been gathering basil for meals. The tomato plants are already setting flowers. I would love to see the pepper plants and eggplants start to grow.
    The most fun I am having in the garden is with the plant choices of my daughters. My son is older, so he does not participate as much, but the little girls have an excitement about gardening. The littlest one, Sakura, picked pink flowers for the patio. This pink theme has worked out well in this shady spot. Katya wanted a celiosia for her mother and a marigold for herself. She planted them side by side amongst the eggplants, so that she and her mother would be close. Mother and daughter had fun with a picnic by their flowers. My chrysanthemums are coming back, as are the asters. The big surprise for me was to find a viola growing in the beets. I did not expect that to be a hardy volunteer. I also have transplanted the Gerber daisies that were coming back after the frost to a front bed. Finally, the geraniums are coming back. My wife does not care for them (she associates them with death, since they are used in cemeteries in Mexico), but I have always loved them (I have always seen them in the gardens of German Americans, so maybe we associate them with life?). All in all, I hope for my rain, so I will not have to water as much.

From a Houston garden to the table - A site dedicated to gardening and cooking in Houston.

Last week turned out to be much busier than I thought it would be. Besides work, I ended going to a few gatherings/ meetings. One was to set up a plant exchange event in my neighborhood; we will be calling it “Plant Yourself in the Community”. I have been asked to speak at this event about how landscapes can effect the home.At the Houston Green Scene Mixer, I found myself talking about gardening quite a bit. Particularly we ended discussing fruit trees and vegetables. Even on my inspections, the landscape became a topic. In my own garden, I thought that I would have a quiet week. I was doing some final pruning to clear tree branches growing near my electrical lines and others that came down to hit me when walking by (these being from the neighbor’s trees growing over the fences. I found myself placing quite a few plants in the ground.

    I went wild with seeds. I think that I will have a field of carrots. I am spread carrot seeds to be a border planting around some beds, while another bed had the seeds strewn across the field. I feel that the light green foliage will make a nice edging. I planted bush beans in one long thin bed to one side of the house. This bed already contains bunching onions, and I threw quite a few pepper seeds into that bed for later. These were poblano peppers. No the time for those seeds, but I have so many that I wanted to see if they will grow. Lettuce started in pots went into the garden beds. These will not do well in our heat, but the cooler months of spring are good. Also for fun, I spread cumin, fenugreek, and anato seeds. I am not sure when these should be planted in Houston, but last year they seemed to prefer the less severe heat. Okra seeds went into one bed. Lastly, the trellis fence is complete, so I planted cucumber seeds. On the non-vegetable front, my daughters picked out two types of sunflowers and petunia seeds. (They also want to plant summer squash right now, but I think that this may be best in pots indoors. The secret with seeds and new plantings is keeping the ground moist. I do a light watering every other day.
    My tomato plants which I had started suffered from a squirrel attack. I found that Southwest fertilizer was selling new plants. I also spotted them at other garden centers. I bought around ten plants. My daughters zeroed in a strawberry plants and herbs. I planted the strawberry plants amongst my onions. The roots from the strawberries will not disturb the onions. I am expanding my herb collection. In the past, I focused on certain culinary herbs, but I thought that other herbs for fragrance will delight the girls, and those happened to be the ones that they were picking. My wife is concerned that we have enough mint. Is she planning a mojito party? I assured her that we already have enough mint.
    My coleus cuttings are coming outside. I cannot wait to have these colorful plants around the yard, but I have placed them in pots for the moment. I am trying something new this year. I took cuttings from an antique rose that I have in the front yard for propagation. I like roses, but in the backyard they have suffered the dog. This rose is a small button rose, which has a wonderful light fragrance when you walk by it. I took fresh green canes that had little buds for new leaf growth on them. I pruned off the leaves. I stuck these canes into a moist potting mix. I did not use rooting hormone. I have heard that it is not necessary. I want to see if that is true.
    This is one of the best times of year to be in a Houston garden. My family is taking many of our meals on the patio. The landscaping scene is not quite beautiful yet. We are imagining what will come, which makes us happy.

From a Houston garden to the table - A site dedicated to gardening and cooking in Houston.

As my wife opened the front door, she and my daughters began to shout with glee. They beckoned my son and me to come quick. They had discovered that the plum tree had set flowers, and these were glowing in the morning light. The tree had already began to display these flowers, but they had not noticed till this scene unfolded before their eyes. Most of my winter vegetables have been going into bloom to prepare us for a new generation with seeds. I notice vegetable gardeners who rip the plants out of the ground when this happens; however, I like to have the seeds spread to see what will arrive in my garden again.

    With care, you can plant seeds earlier. I usually wait for signs that my winter garden is coming to an end, and then begin to plant seeds in the open spaces which I have already prepared. Both girls love going to buy seeds. Katya, three years old, picks out what she wants to eat, but recently, she has focused on the flowers that she would like to have. Sakura, one, whose name means cherry blossom, has her own choices, but I have not been able to discern any pattern other than a mad rush to grab as much as she can before I halt her progress. My teenage son has his favorites, but being a teenager, he is too cool to get excited about picking out a seed packet.

Soil preparation

I begin by cleaning out spent plants, remnants of mulch or debris, and then turning the soil. A hoe or small camping shovel are the weapons of choice. My goal is to remove all weeds, roots (pine tree roots are common invaders into my vegetable beds), and to provide air spaces, where new roots can grow and water can gather. After the initial tilling, I add my compost, lava sand, and maybe an organic fertilizer. The compost is fairly rich with organics, so I frequently leave off with the fertilizers till later. I go back and till again, to mix everything together.
    In beds where plants are growing, I am more careful with this process. Once I have harvested a row of vegetables, I go through the preparation steps for that section. With that method, my gardens always are in production.

Planting seeds

A good rule of thumb with seeds is that you plant them to the depth of their width. This means fine seeds need a very light covering while larger seeds go deeper. I have used tow methods when planting: the broadcast method; and carefully setting up rows and spacing.
    By letting the seeds fall where they may by casting them may not be the most efficient means to achieve the greatest production amount. The broadcast method is great for children though. This method also creates a more natural look to the plantings. I do try to guide my daughters to cast the seeds in a general area. After the seeds have landed, we comb our fingers through the soil to bury the seeds. Both girls run to the hose, because they know that watering is next (both enjoy dousing themselves with water). When the shoots pop up, the girls and I thin the plants down. The baby plants go into a salad or a stir fry. We leave the strongest looking shoots, but this does not always work with children in the garden.
    Setting up rows is a better way to ensure proper spacing. I eyeball distances, but you can create a planting board with notches for typical spacing measurements, with one side being the straight edge . I take whatever is available to make a straight line. I make a trench with my hand to the needed depth, and follow packet instructions to find my spacings.
    I use the broadcast method more often, since my daughters always want to help. I do not mind the lack of efficiency, because the family time is worth it. With all of these flowers, I have teachable moments. We watch the bees or other insects come by the flowers. Later, we will see the seed pods form. We will harvest seeds for next year’s crop, but we will watch as the seed pods open up to release their gift. Katya becomes so fascinated with these baby plants, and she wants to help them spread through our garden and neighborhood.

From a Houston garden to the table - A site dedicated to gardening and cooking in Houston.