February 5 , 2009
From the producer: 11 March 2025
If tomatoes torment you ( growing them , that is ) , this hebdomad nurseryman Max Elliott fromYouthLaunchexplains how he and his Urban Roots young “ farm houseman ” grow bushel of constitutive Lycopersicon esculentum every year . Get his bakshis for achiever from plant to insect ascendence .
On term of enlistment , you ’ll cope with another mythical group of child , from kindergarten to 6thgrade , atAustin Discovery School , where the garden is one of their classrooms . I ’d give anything to have their energy as I groan about all the weeding to do . At least , weed are now groceries for the creature that hops in our house .
Along with “ harvest ” Harvey ’s free food , I ’m glad I left some of the lantanas for the butterflies dashing about last warm weekend , finding a flower here and there . This Gulf checkered lily also spent some time on the grass , doing what I do n’t know , but he was very enthusiastic about it .
And they wish the bulbs , too ! Here ’s a atomic number 16 on the hideaway layer narcissus .
The Gulf fritillary was on it too , but took off when he saw me . It turned out that he ’d recognise my new annual African daisy ( Dimorphotheca aurantiaca‘African Sun ’ ) , a Tom Peace plant I installed the day before . I could n’t resist that color , and neither could this butterfly .
It ’s about this clip every year that I head toThe Natural Gardenerto see what Tom Peace has amount up with this beat . Always , he bestow the old - fashioned petunias that I depend on to scent the terrace . In winter , I keep my containers going in the terrace “ nursery . ”
They do self - seed , though I clip the brownish seminal fluid heads , to plant myself . But I always add up a few transplants to the pots just to make trusted .
The pruners were meddling last weekend . They really get a workout when we cut the cat cove arbor roses to stubs .
For one thing , these climbers really require rejuvenation . Mainly , I was prepping for this weekend ’s chore : cementing in the arbor . The rebar just was n’t doing the conjuring trick with the heavy canes the mandril supports .
With the supreme haircut , I ’ve already given them a slow - release fertilizer . While they recover , I ’ll put on a wearisome hosiery every few weeks . Since that area now gets more Dominicus , and I vow to be more vigilant about weaving their canes horizontally through the arbour , we should have a proficient show by next year . Then , I can wrench off the water treats for these hardy ones : Buff Beauty and New Dawn .
I read in a coney magazine that bunnies like rose prunings , even the thorns . Nervously , I grant Harvey a small one . libertine than a chipper shredder , it was gone . So , he got another one as a dinner party treat , along with a smattering of chickweed I pulled up . I litter box take aim him by putting dandelions in it every night , but this week maybe I ’ll stick in belittled rose pruning . Along with my store - bought fertiliser , I doused the cutback roses with Harvey ’s chipper shredder “ processing . ”
Sadly , the variegated Agave celsiis die into declivity .
I think that everything around them was too boisterous and holding in too much wet . To salvage them , I built up young spots along Amelia ’s fencing with little raised beds of pebble and compost scooped from behind the shed , and cut off the rotting leafage . We ’ll see what happens .
Until next week , Linda
tags :
