Gardening

*** DRAFT ***

Sandy suckered me into gardening by saying it was for the kids. So, I helped her dig planting beds and plant vegetables and flowers. The first gardens all failed because I had no idea what I was doing. Natives grew well, but it was very difficult to grow store plants or seeds in Westlake, TX. At first, I had no interest in gardening, and only did what Sandy told me. But as my failures mounted, I wanted to do better. Somehow I got hooked, and Sandy backed away. Our gardens were better in Cedar Park, but with somewhat erratic results. The Brazos blackberries, tangerines, and peaches did well. The vegetable gardens did okay with warm-weather plantings. I learned that buying from big box stores resulted in poor-performing plants, with some exceptions. For example, Vincas from Lowe's and Marigolds from Walmart did well. Plants from local nurseries yielded much better results. I also learned that cheaper is not always better, and recommendations are not always accurate. My gardens in Severance, CO, are much better. 

In Cedar Park, I created one large planting bed about 5- 6 ft wide along the backyard's fence. In Severance, I created multiple planting bed islands. Each island is anchored by one or more trees. We've planted 18 trees and 12 bushes. The previous homeowners left us with a blank slate backyard. With islands, it is much easier to walk around the yard and see all the plants. It is also easier to work in the islands.

Groups:

• Facebook Colorado Gardening

Favorite Nurseries:

• Trees:  SiteOne Landscape Supply on Harmony

  • In general, the trees are taller (or have thicker trunks) for the same or lower price than surrounding nurseries.

• Plants: Fort Collins Nursery on Mulberry

• Seeds: The Hidden Stem on Main in Timnath

  • The seeds are replaced annually, and it runs out of some seeds by mid-June. Fresh seeds are the most likely to germinate. The Stem has a very good seed brand and some unusual types.

Apps:

• Google search seems best at identifying plants.

Various other projects unrelated to Home Automation or Raspberry Pi:

• • Irrigation

  • Islands, V trench, and flagstones

  • Mulch

    • Natural color mulch everywhere else; stone mulch is awful; don't use landscape fabric or plastic weed barrier, instead use brown cardboard boxes

    • Cedar mulch around fruit trees

  • Trees

  • Bushes

  • Perennial Flowers

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