August
2003
"The garden must be prepared in the soul first or else it will not
flourish."
-- English Proverb
"Your garden will reveal yourself."
-- Henry Mitchell
"Everything in life is speaking, is audible, is communicating, in
spite of its apparent silence."
-- Hazrat Inayat Khan
"Connection with gardens, even small ones, even potted plants, can
become windows to the inner life. The simple act of stopping and looking
at the beauty around us can be prayer."
-- Patricia R. Barrett, The Sacred Garden
In times like these, we need inspiration. Since the garden is almost
always an analogy for the broader picture of Life, we can often look
to the garden for the lessons of Life. In the midst of summer in the
Sunbelt -- when the tomatoes may have succumbed to a blight or stink
bugs or spider mites; when the landscape may be showing signs of "tapwater-itis";
when the heat may addle our brain occasionally -- we need resources
to help us keep our peace of mind until the weather cools. August is
no time to be doing very much hard labor in the yard. This month, rather,
we can dip into our own personal treasure chest of creativity and find
the gems of wisdom there.
Where do we find that treasure? There are as many positive sources
of wisdom as there are seekers. Some of us find great renewal in watching
a rainstorm approach, feeling the wind and the drop in temperature and
even dancing in the raindrops. Sometimes it is an act of wisdom to just
say, "To Hades with adulthood!" for a moment and let the rain fall on
us and our green allies alike. Sometimes a walk through the woods can
be so uplifting that it changes our life. Another time, simply gazing
into a flower, noticing all of its intricacies, can stir a revelation
in us. "He is happiest who hath power to gather wisdom from a flower,"
said Mary Howitt, and I encourage readers and myself alike to find the
wisdom and peace that comes from spending time in nature.
One way to find pleasure in nature is to gather together as many gardening
buddies as possible (or one special gardening friend) and do something
horticultural together. For two out of the past three Independence Days,
I have joined at least a half dozen other horticulturists for a float
down the Guadalupe River. I love hanging out with other gardeners; we
are such a dorky bunch. While others were drinking beer and floating
down the river, we were drinking beer, floating down the river, and
saying things like, "Look at the knees on that Bald Cypress!" or "Ooooh!
There's a Buttonbush!" I swear the flower on that Buttonbush (Cephalanthus
occidentalis) looks like fireworks, and it always seems to be in bloom
on the Fourth of July. To me, it is absolutely inspiring experience
to float down the river, seeing the bankside landscape from the river's
perspective. There are no billboards, no car exhaust nor honking, and
very little traffic, if you take the section of the Guadalupe upstream
from the dam.
Another way of enjoying nature is to take a hike on one of the beautiful
Central Texas nature trails, especially wherever there is access to
swimming. Twin Falls, at the southwest corner of Mopac and 360, is a
lovely bit of Mother Nature's landscaping, accessible by a relatively
short hike. A longer hike on that same trail will get you to Sculpture
Falls. The quality and quantity of water in these swimming holes is
wholly dependent on recent rainfall. For more information and nice photos,
go to http://www.texasoutside.com/sculpturefalls.htm.
There is also the beautiful Hamilton Pool, a 232-acre nature preserve
which includes a 45-foot waterfall falling into a large creek-fed swimming
hole. Call (512) 264-2740 before driving out there. It is about 30 miles
west of Austin on FM 3238; the parking lot only holds 75 cars; and swimming
is dependent on water quality. For more information, go to http://www.texasoutside.com/hamiltonpool.htm.
Blue Hole is a lovely, very cold swimming hole in Wimberley; call (512)
847-9127 for more information. Krause Springs is located about 35 miles
out Highway 71 West and can include camping. According to Texasoutside.com,
it is "possibly the most beautiful swimming hole in the state." See
http://www.texasoutside.com/kraussprings.htm
for more information, or call the Krause's (830) 693-4181. For more
information on these and other area swimming holes, visit a helpful
website, http://www.thirdrock.com/itm/dest/north_america/usa/texas/austin/swimming.holes.html
Closer to home, we have over 50 miles of trails in the Austin Parks
and Recreation Department, including 25 greenbelts. Our beloved Barton
Springs is still a favorite source for cooling off in the summertime.
Call (512) 867-3080 for more information. The official website for Austin
parks is http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/parks/parks.htm.
However, I found a more helpful and interactive website for Austin greenbelts
to be http://www.texasoutside.com/bartongreenbelt.htm
What else can a gardener do in the month of August? Host a Homegrown
Potluck, featuring dishes containing at least one homegrown ingredient.
Visit a new nursery, or several -- alone or with friends. Bring along
a cooler of refreshing beverages to stay hydrated, of course. An interesting
experiment might be to have a list of standard questions to ask the
staff. For example, "Do you carry the Buttonbush?" "What do you recommend
for amending a clay soil?" "What organic method do you recommend for
getting rid of aphids?" "Fire ants?" Go ahead and test their customer
service, the (likely varied) answers you receive, and their knowledge
of organic gardening. Of course I am biased in favor of my own nursery,
The Natural Gardener, where the answers would be "Yes" "Compost and
Medina brand or Lady Bug brand Soil Activator" "Insecticidal Soap or
a blast of water" and "Ascend ant bait or Beneficial Nematodes." However,
inspiration can come from many different sources, and one of my goals
this summer is to explore other nurseries, as well.
For those gardeners looking for an inspiring activity that involves
being in the air conditioning, rent a movie (or two or three) that includes
some kind of gardening scene. Two movies that came to my mind are "Green
Card," with Gerard Depardieu and Andie MacDowell, and "All That Heaven
Allows," with Rock Hudson and Jane Wyman. I admit, gardening may only
be a small background feature of some of these movies. In "Green Card,"
the character played by MacDowell tends a gorgeous penthouse garden.
In "All That Heaven Allows," Rock Hudson plays a gardener who tells
a sweet story about the Goldenrain tree (Koelreuteria paniculata) in
Wyman's yard. When I polled some of my gardener friends, here are some
of their great horticulture-related movie suggestions. Sharon, nursery
manager at The Natural Gardener, suggested "The Secret Garden." (Of
course! Why didn't I think of that?) Jacob, the Compost Tea Brewmaster
at The Natural Gardener, suggested "James and The Giant Peach" and "Edward
Scissorhands." (Fabulous!) Michelle, owner/operator of Living Sky landscaping,
recommended several good movies: "A Bug's Life," "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn,"
"Microcosmos," and the perennial favorite, "The Wizard of Oz." (Remember
the apple trees throwing their apples at Dorothy and friends? Scarecrow
in the corn field? The poppy field?)
Another indoor or shade tree project for August could be to start
learning the Latin names for your favorite plants. I may never have
learned Latin names on my own if it hadn't been required of me in college.
However, now that I have some taxonomy under my belt and have gained
some familiarity with the meaning behind the names and the characteristics
of certain plant families, it has made gardening much more interesting.
Take the Rosaceae family, for instance; it includes roses, pear, apple,
plum, peach, loquat, photinia, Indian hawthorn, strawberry, blackberries,
and raspberries. It helps a gardener to know that many members of the
rose family tend to be susceptible to fungal diseases. For example,
the roses, photinia, and Indian hawthorn are prone to black spot, among
other diseases, while the fruit trees -- especially pear -- are prone
to fire blight.
One family of plants that would require a lifetime to master are the
composites: the Compositae (old name) or Asteraceae Family (new name).
This family of plants may well be the largest; it contains 22,000 plants
worldwide. These plants are most commonly known by their "composite"
flowers. Composite flowers are actually made up of sometimes hundreds
of florets. Think of a sunflower, an aster, or a daisy. Each outside
"petal" is actually an entire flower, known as a ray floret, and the
brown or yellow center is made up of sometimes hundreds of disc florets.
Each disc flower in that sunflower turns into a sunflower seed. There
are so many different kinds of yellow composite flower species that
they have earned the moniker "DYC's" -- "darn yellow composites."
Another interesting family to know is the Bean Family -- the legumes,
or Fabaceae family -- which contains about 9,000 species worldwide.
These plants, including clover and bluebonnets along with the obvious
beans and peas, have a special relationship each with specific bacteria.
When the correct Rhizobium bacteria is present in the soil when the
legume seed is sprouting, the bacteria enters the root hairs and forms
nodules on the roots. There, the bacteria gathers nitrogen from the
air and "fixes" it into a form that fertilizes the legume plant. This
allows us to grow more beans and peas without the need for a nitrogen
fertilizer. In addition, when plants such as alfalfa, clover, or cowpeas
are grown as a cover crop or "green manure" crop, they can actually
fertilize the soil. "Legumes furnish far more nitrogen to our crops
than farm manures and fertilizers combined," according to the original
1959 edition of the Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening, by J. I. Rodale.
This is accomplished by digging the legume crop into the soil before
it flowers, and allowing it to decompose in the soil.
When looking at the Latin name of a plant, (also known as the scientific
name or the botanical name) the first name is the genus, and it is capitalized.
The second name is the species name. Both names should be italicized,
or underlined separately. Another interesting fact about the scientific
or botanical name is that when a plant has been given the species name
"officinale" or "officinalis," it means that that plant had been known
"officially" as a medicinal plant. For example, Valeriana officinalis,
or Valerian, is used medicinally to induce relaxation or sleep, and
Salvia officinalis, or Garden Sage, has been used as an astringent and
to aid digestion. Other species names may be descriptive. Bouteloua
gracilis is buffalo grass, and the gracilis describes the "graceful"
or "slender" nature of its leaf blades.
Two other highly recommended pastimes for the last full month of summer
are browsing through Half-Price Books for gardening and nature tomes,
and exploring Tom Spencer's website. The former is dangerous: that is
how I ended up with THREE different editions of the Encyclopedia of
Organic Gardening! (But I just had to have that original 1959 edition
-- it's a collector's item!) The latter suggestion, however, can do
no harm; it may even epitomize the meaning of inspiration. Tom Spencer
is best known for hosting "Central Texas Gardener" on KLRU also hosting
"The Greenthumb Hour" on KLBJ-AM. There are many gardening websites
out there, but none that I have found match the beauty of Tom's at www.soulofthegarden.com.
It is a work of art in word and photograph. Thank you, Mr. Spencer.
May we find moments in every day to be grateful: grateful for air
conditioning, (or, alternatively, grateful for our heat tolerance) grateful
for friends, and for our relationship with and dependence on the plant
world. Enjoy!
August
2002
"Summer is the time when one sheds one's tensions with one's clothes,
and the right kind of day is jeweled balm for the battered spirit.
A few of those days and you can become drunk with the belief that
all's right with the world."
-- Ada Louise Huxtable (1921 - )
US critic, editor
"A perfect summer day is when the sun is shining, the breeze is blowing,
the birds are singing, and the lawn mower is broken."
-- James Dent
In "Charleston, W.Va., Gazette."
"The more clearly we can focus our attention on the wonders and realities
of the universe about us, the less taste we shall have for destruction."
-- Rachel Carson (1907 - 1964)
Biologist, writer, ecologist
What a surprise July was! After the torrential rains we received, our
landscapes began responding as if it were spring again. It seems like
just another meteorological reminder that we are not in complete control
here. However, now that we are back into what seems to be a normal,
hot summer, except for the extra moisture in the ground, it is still
time to let the landscape rest. Goodness knows we shouldn't be sweating
and grunting around the yard, with no body of water in sight, planting
poor, defenseless plants in 100-degree-plus weather! While there are
a few veggie seeds, like okra, corn, beans, and squash, which must be
planted by the end of the month, or else it's a no-go for the season,
most everything else would prefer to be planted in September or October.
When you do get the urge to garden, now is the time to plan. It is
time for armchair gardening. Look through gardening magazines for ideas.
(Just realize that planting suggestions in most of these national gardening
magazines are made by people who have never been to Texas). Plan for
more color, more variety, more natives. Plan for seven generations:
plan to plant at least one tree this fall. Plan a sustainable landscape.
Plan to go organic starting this fall. (For you readers who are already
organic and for whom I am preaching to the choir, please forgive me).
There's no better time to turn over a new leaf than right now. It is
like the warning label on the package of cigarettes: Quitting chemicals
right now greatly reduces the poisoning of the earth, posterity, and
you. Dursban has recently been banned. However, we are still living
with DDT, even though it has been banned for almost two decades. Researchers
at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles have found byproducts
of DDT in the amniotic fluid of about 10 of the 30 pregnant women they
tested. The best explanation I've read as to why we should be concerned
about these compounds being in our living system, whether it's our body,
our soil, our food, or our drinking water, comes from Judy Barrett,
editor of the local publication, homegrown:
"...These poisons are not selective. If a substance is designed to
attack the nerves of living creatures, it does just that. It doesn't
distinguish between insects, gerbils, poodles, and people. Of course,
the size of the creature will influence how quickly the effect is
felt and how deadly the poison is, but the effect is still there."
Speaking of drinking water, here are some more unsettling statistics
from our very own City of Austin:
- In Northwest Austin, nutrient levels in urban springs are eight
times greater than springs in undeveloped areas. [This is not good.
Excessive nutrients can create algae blooms, at best.]
- Herbicides (Atrazine, Simazine) and insecticides (Diazinon and Carbaryl)
have been recently detected in Barton Springs.
- Diazinon has been detected in Barton Creek at four times the level
known to harm aquatic life.
- Common herbicides are consistently showing up in sediments collected
from water quality ponds: 2,4-D ‚ 57% of the time, MCPP ‚ 100% of
the time.
- DDT and chlordane (both long banned) are still present in sediments
in Town Lake.
Where do these things come from? Some huge spill from a chemical manufacturing
plant upstream back in the 60's? No, they come from our everyday urban
yards and the farms upstream that produce the food we eat and feed our
children.
What can we do about it? The answer is, "whatever little step we can
think of, one step at a time." Did you ever notice when you learned
a new word, or heard about a certain book, all of a sudden you're hearing
that word or hearing about that book all the time? Well, as soon as
we decide we are willing to learn something new, or we're ready to make
a change, all kinds of help and information comes our way.
For example, when we're ready to get rid of those old bottles of poison
in our garage or the bottles of poison in our cleaning cabinet, we can
take them to the City of Austin's Household Hazardous Waste facility
on Tuesdays or Wednesdays from noon to 7:00 p.m. It is located at 2514
Business Center Drive, which is just east of I-35, off of Ben White
at Burleson. Their very helpful website is www.austinrecycles.com
or they can be reached at 974-4343 for more information or for better
directions. Their facility services any City of Austin or Travis County
resident, and only household wastes, not commercial wastes. They accept
pesticides, herbicides, paint thinners, paint, gasoline, antifreeze,
motor oil, oil filters and other automotive products, cleaners, photographic
chemicals, household batteries, car batteries, aerosol cans, pool chemicals,
fluorescent bulbs, and mercury. As their website indicates, none of
these products should be disposed of in our household trash. For commercial
wastes, we can go to the city's web site: Hazardous Waste Disposal for
Small Businesses at www.ci.austin.tx.us/sws/cesqg.htm
or call 974-4334 or 974-4345 for more information.
While the organic or "green" options for home and garden may be harder
to find than the chemical choices, they are out there, and are on the
increase. Some of our local nurseries, like The Natural Gardener, carry
organic yard care products. We can also visit Whole Foods, Sun Harvest,
Wheatsville, or that little store in South Austin called Eco-Wise for
safer home care products and for more information and resources.
Now, let's get back to planning in the garden and landscape. Fall is
officially just a little over a month away and ‚ at the risk of repeating
ad nauseum ‚ it IS the best time to plant in Texas. The fall vegetable
garden is often the easiest. Trees, shrubs, and perennials planted in
the fall have three seasons to get their roots established before summer
rolls around to stress them.
Now is also the time for us to consider turning some of that water-,
time-, and money-hogging lawn area into a more xeric landscape. We can
research some great native or well-adapted plant choices at our local
nursery specializing in such, or in books such as Howard Garrett's Plants
for Texas; Gardening Success with Difficult Soils by Scott Ogden; the
Garden Guide for Austin and Vicinity compiled by the Travis County Master
Gardener Association; and Native Texas Plants by Sally and Andy Wasowski.
This last book has become available again, after being out of print
for the last year, and we are pleased to have it back.
Now is the time for us to plan the planting of more trees. To receive
a low-cost tree planting guide or fruit tree planting guide, contact
TreeFolks at 512-443-LEAF, or check your local nursery for copies of
their guide. Give TreeFolks a donation if you can; they are a local
non-profit organization planting trees and educating folks about trees
all over the Austin area. Find out just how many trees they've planted
in Austin by checking out their website, at www.treefolks.org.
Now would be a great time for us to turn our yards into wildlife habitat,
if they don't already qualify, and we can even get recognition for our
efforts. An indispensable book for this process is Texas Wildscapes
- Gardening for Wildlife by Noreen Damude and Kelly Conrad Bender, as
mentioned last month. To find out about the "Texas Wildscapes Backyard
Habitat Certification Program," contact the Texas Wildscapes Coordinator
at Texas Parks and Wildlife at 512-389-4403.
Of course, summer is also prime time to play in the water. Consider
installing a pond in your landscape. If we follow the design principles
of permaculture, or just common sense, we can build a pond in our yard
in a low spot, wherever the water naturally pools after a heavy rain.
Find out about the Austin Pond Society - and over 35 other garden-related
clubs - by calling the Zilker Botanical Gardens at 512-477-8672. There
is a Newcomers Club, or we can even join "Weed People!"
Finally, another idea for the summer months is to visit our local farmers'
market or farm stand and experience the freshest produce available,
outside of our own home garden, along with other delightful finds such
as goat cheese, herbs, flowers, and perhaps handcrafted treasures. The
Garden Guide mentioned above contains a complete listing of farmers'
markets, farm stands, as well as all of those gardening clubs at Zilker.
There are so many resources in the Austin area for the inquisitive
gardener and homeowner. Summer can be a time to transform our own landscape
and our home into a safer, healthier environment. Summer can be a time
to meet new people who share our interests. Summer can be a time to
expand our understanding of our part in the ecology of Central Texas.
Have fun!
August
2001
August. It is our last sure chance to go to the beach, to the Pedernales,
to Barton Springs, Hamilton Pool, or Krause Springs for cool relief
from the blazing heat. While September is likely to have some August-like
temperatures, this month is our sure-fire opportunity to get that Texas
heat soaked into the marrow of our bones, enough to last the whole winter.
Let's grab the sunscreen, the wide-brim hat, the drinking water, and
go!
Goodness knows we shouldn't be sweating and grunting around the yard,
with no body of water in sight, planting poor, defenseless plants in
100-degree-plus weather! While there are a few veggie seeds, like okra,
corn, beans, and squash, which must be planted by the end of the month,
or else it's a no-go for the season, most everything else would prefer
to be planted in September or October.
So, there's your excuse! When was the last time you had a vacation?
Vacations are a very good idea. I practically had to be talked into
a vacation this month, and it's been two years since I had a vacation!
I don't understand this reluctance! For those of you who haven't taken
a break in a while, please take care of yourselves this month, and at
least plan for a little extended weekend getaway.
When you do get the urge to garden, now is still time to plan. Look
through gardening magazines for ideas. Just realize that plant suggestions
in most of these national gardening magazines are made by people who
have never been to Texas. Plan for more color, more variety, more natives.
Plan for seven generations: plan to plant at least one tree this fall.
Plan to go organic starting this fall. There's no better time to turn
over a new leaf than right now. It is like the warning label on the
package of cigarettes: Quitting chemicals right now greatly reduces
the poisoning of the earth, posterity, and you. Dursban has just recently
been banned. However, we are still living with DDT, even though it has
been banned for almost two decades. Researchers at Cedars-Sinai Medical
Center in Los Angeles have found byproducts of DDT in the amniotic fluid
of about 10 of the 30 pregnant women they tested. The best explanation
I've read as to why we should be concerned about these compounds being
in our living system, whether it's our body, our soil, our food, or
our drinking water, comes from Judy Barrett, editor of the local publication,
homegrown:
"...These poisons are not selective. If a substance is designed to attack
the nerves of living creatures, it does just that. It doesn't distinguish
between insects, gerbils, poodles, and people. Of course, the size of
the creature will influence how quickly the effect is felt and how deadly
the poison is, but the effect is still there."
Speaking of drinking water, here are some more unsettling statistics
from our very own City of Austin. They show us that our every action
creates a result.
- In Northwest Austin, nutrient levels in urban springs are eight
times greater than springs in undeveloped areas. [This is not good.
High nutrients can encourage algae blooms, at best.]
- Herbicides (Atrazine, Simazine) and insecticides (Diazinon and Carbaryl)
have been recently detected in Barton Springs.
- Diazinon has been detected in Barton Creek at four times the level
known to harm aquatic life.
- Common herbicides are consistently showing up in sediments collected
from water quality ponds: 2,4-D - 57% of the time, MCPP - 100% of
the time.
- DDT and chlordane (both long banned) are still present in sediments
in Town Lake.
Where do these things come from? Some huge spill from a chemical manufacturing
plant upstream back in the 60's? No, they come from our everyday urban
yards and the farms upstream which produce the food we eat and feed
our children.
What can we do about it? The answer is, "whatever little step we can
think of, one step at a time." Did you ever notice when you learned
a new word, or heard about a new movie, all of a sudden you're hearing
about that word or hearing about that movie (or book, etc.) all the
time? Well, as soon as we decide we want to make a change, or learn
something new, all kinds of help comes our way.
For example, if you want to get rid of those old bottles of poison
in your garage, or even in your cleaning cabinet, you can take them
to the City of Austin's Household Hazardous Waste facility on Tuesdays
or Wednesdays from noon to 7:00 p.m. They are located at 2514 Business
Center Drive, which is just east of I-35, off of Ben White at Burleson.
Their website is www.austinrecycles.com or you may call them at 462-4343
for more information or for better directions. When I called, I found
very helpful folks there, like Tony Davee, who was very willing to answer
my numerous questions. Their facility services any City of Austin or
Travis County resident, and only household wastes, not commercial wastes.
They accept pesticides, herbicides, paint thinners, paint, gasoline,
antifreeze, motor oil, oil filters and other automotive products, cleaners,
photographic chemicals, household batteries, car batteries, aerosol
cans, and pool chemicals.
While the organic or "green" options for home and garden may be harder
to find, they are out there, and are on the increase. Try your local
nurseries which stock organic yard care products. Visit Whole Foods,
Sun Harvest, or that little store in South Austin called Eco-Wise for
more information and resources for safer home care products.
Getting back to the subject of planning ahead in the garden, why not
integrate some pest control as you plant this fall? By using companion
planting, a gardener can employ certain plants in the garden or landscape
to repel harmful insects. With companion planting, one can also use
the other qualities of individual plants to their best advantage. There
are two classic gardening books by Louise Riotte which spell out the
principles of companion planting in an easy format: Carrots Love Tomatoes,
and its sequel, Roses Love Garlic. The titles refer to the observation
that certain plants grow best when they are planted next to their companions
in the plant world, and far away from their adversaries. A third book,
by Sally Jean Cunningham and Rodale Press is entitled Great Garden Companions.
It has a world of helpful hints for the vegetable garden, as well as
companion planting information.
Here is just a sampling of the wisdom a cool gardener in August may
acquire by reading one of these books:
(Note: CLT = Carrots Love Tomatoes; RLG = Roses Love Garlic; and GGC
= Great Garden Companions)
Ant: (To repel ants, use) "pennyroyal, spearmint, southernwood, (and)
tansy." (RLG)
Basil: "Basil helps tomatoes to overcome both insecs and disease, also
improving growth and flavor." (CLT) "Rue and basil are incompatible."
(RLG)
Beans: "Generally speaking, ...all (beans) will thrive when interplanted
with carrots and cauliflower. ...Beans grow well with beets, too, and
are of aid to cucumbers and cabbages." (Note: This will only work in
Texas in the fall garden, which is the only time it is cool enough to
allow all of these to be planted at the same time). Marigolds ... help
repel the Mexican bean beetle. Summer savory ... improves their growth
and flavor as well as deterring bean beetles. ...Beans are inhibited
by any member of the Onion Family - garlic, shallots, or chives... (CLT)
Broccoli: "Like all members of the Cabbage family, broccoli does well
with such aromatic plants as dill, ...camomile, sage, peppermint, and
rosemary, and with other vegetables such as potatoes, beets, and onions."
(CLT)
Chinaberry: "This shade tree repels grasshoppers..." (RLG)
Conifers: "The turpentine substances washing from the leaves of conifers
such as pine trees will inhibit the fermentation process of compost
piles... Pine needles make an attractive mulch and will increase the
stem strength, flavor, and productiveness of strawberries... Pine needles
contain terpene, which ... has an inhibiting effect on seed germination."
(CLT)
Cucumber: Cucumbers ...like beans, peas, radishes, and sunflower. ...Sow
two or three radish seeds in cucumber hills to protect against cucumber
beetles." (CLT)
Deer: "Some people plant soybeans and corn as a lure or trap crop for
deer; others plant castor beans and foxglove to repel them." (RLG)
Flea beetle: (Flea beetles are repelled by) "wormwood, mint, and catnip."
(RLG)
Nasturtium: "Nasturtiums will repel squash bugs and so will cigarette
ash and other tobacco residue if placed with the seed when it is planted."
(CLT)
Peach: "Garlic planted close to the trunk will protect against borers."
(CLT)
Rose: "All the alliums - garlic, onions, chives, and shallots - are
beneficial to roses, protecting them against black spot, mildew, and
aphids. ...Garlic and onions are particularly beneficial to roses. ...(T)hey
cause the roses to produce a stronger perfume in larger quantities."
(CLT)
Sunflower: "Sunflowers and potatoes have an inhibiting effect on each
other that results in both being stunted." (RLG)
Strawberry: "They do well in combination with bush beans and spinach.
Strawberries will benefit if a few plants of borage, also a good attractant
for honeybees, are grown near the bed. Lettuce is good used as a border."
(CLT) (See also "Conifers" above).
Tomato: "Tomatoes and all members of the Brassica (Cabbage) family repel
each other and should be kept apart. Tomatoes also dislike potatoes
and fennel." (CLT)
These listings are only the tip of the iceberg regarding the information
available on companion planting. It's just one more tool we can use
to make our landscape function better as a self-sufficient environment
with the least amount of remedial input. Taking advantage of each plant's
benefits makes sense.
Along the same lines, working with the natural cycles of weather makes
sense, too. We don't feel like going outside and working in the garden
in August because it's not a good time to work in the garden! Likewise,
we want to be near or in water when the temperatures reach the triple
digits. Therefore, this month, swimming and watering plants is just
what the doctor ordered.
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8648
Old Bee Cave Road
Stacey
(Rosina) Newton is a graduate of the Texas A&M University (Aggieland)
Horticulture Department, class of 1984, and has been in the environmental/horticulture
field ever since. She learned everything she knows about organic gardening
while working at The Natural Gardener, starting in 1997.