Cypress Vine – The hummingbird magnet!

Posted on September 2, 2010 by Jay White

Hummingbird migration season is upon us. Because of this, we have so many ruby throated and black chinned hummers in our yard that my wife is filling our two feeders everyday. While the hummers seem to appreciate the sugar syrup that she makes for them, they always head first to the only thing that is still really blooming in my garden; cypress vine.

Cypress vine flowers on my potager fence. Photo by Ramez Antoun

Cypress vine (Ipomoea quamoclit) is a member of the morning glory family and as such grows very well in our hot Texas summers. It is a tropical plant that is native to Mexico and Central America. It is a lovely vining plant that can grow 20 feet or more in a single season. Cypress Vine has loose, feathery foliage that is covered with hundreds of tiny, tubular flowers. The star shaped flowers can range in color from deep red to almost white and they are irresistible to butterflies and hummingbirds. Other common names for this plant include Hummingbird Flower, Star Glory, and Cardinal Plant.

Cypress vine is very easy to grow. Start seeds when the soil has warmed up to around 70 degrees. It prefers full sun but can tolerate light shade. Cypress Vine likes to be kept in moist, rich, well drained soils but it will grow in just about any type of soil and will tolerate some dry periods. Cypress Vine is a quick grower and can produce blooms in as little as 45 days. You can fertilize with a high phosphorus fertilizer right before the first bloom to enhance its flowering. Cypress vine readily reseeds itself so once established you will be able to enjoy this plant year after year.

Cypress Vine on the arbor

Because of its vining habit, Cypress Vine needs support. I planted mine against the western fence of my potager. This fence has an arbor over the gate and I wanted it to spread over both of these structures. All of the growth you see in these pictures came from two vines.

Unmanaged, Cypress vine will grow in and over anything that is in its way. Since mine is on a fence, I trained it to grow up and out toward the arbor. This kept most of the runners in check. Some runners did grow down into my daylilies but I simply pulled them off. The plant did not seem to mind one bit. Cypress vine is also an aggressive self seeding annual. All of those lovely flowers produce tons of little black seeds. So, if you plant Cypress Vine, be prepared to have lots of it in years two and three.

All of this from two vines in the first season!

Cypress Vine is a very lovely and very hearty plant that thrives in our climate. It is easy to grow and looks great on a fence, trellis or arbor. This self seeding annual is relatively disease and pest free and will provide you with a flush of blooms from May through late fall. If you can tolerate its aggressive growth habit it will reward you with a beautiful late summer garden full of butterflies and hummingbirds.

*This article was published in the September issue of “Hort Update” (http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/newsletters/hortupdate/2010/sep/)

Internship at Bayou Bend

Posted on August 9, 2010 by Jay White

As part of my degree, I recently performed an internship at Bayou Bend. If you are not familiar with Houston’s hidden gem, then read on! Bayou Bend is a treat for all lovers of history and gardens. And … since it is an all organic garden, it should be of interest to those of us who are interested in more than just growing. Hope you enjoy it!

History – The Bayou Bend Collection and Gardens is the home to the Museum of Fine Arts Houston’s collection of decorative antiques. The home houses one of the best collection of American antiques in the world. The grounds consist of 14 landscaped acres that contain eight separate gardens.

The back terrace of Bayou Bend

Miss Hogg was the heir of an oil operation that eventually became Texaco. She used her family fortune for many philanthropic purposes. In addition to Bayou Bend, her family legacy includes Memorial Park, River Oaks, The Houston Symphony and the Museum of Fine Arts. She was also instrumental in preserving Texas history and the culture as evidenced by her preservation of many early Texas buildings at Warrenton, Texas. In addition to these civic pursuits, Miss Hogg was a champion for mental health facilities and equal education opportunities for minorities.

The Hogg mansion was built between 1927 and 1928. At the time the house was built the property was “nothing but a big thicket”. Miss Hogg was an avid gardener and nature lover. Her vision from the beginning was to ensure that the property remain mostly a native lower coastal forest. Only one tree was removed during the building of the house. Over the next several years Miss Hogg created eight separate and unique gardens on the property. Three of the gardens are named for mythological goddesses or muses (Clio, Diana and Euterpe).

The Clio garden after a spring flood in 2008

The other gardens are the White, East, Butterfly and Carla. The final garden is the manicured native woodscape. Miss Hogg donated her home and gardens to the Museum Of Fine Arts Houston in 1957. They were opened to the public in 1966.

The gardens of Bayou Bend are now under the direction of a true Master of Horticulture, Bart Brechter (B.S. Horticulture, Stephen F. Austin State University), Curator of Gardens. Mr. Brechter is tasked with maintaining these gardens in accordance with the original plans drawn out by Miss Hogg. He uses only plant materials that were planted during Miss Hogg’s lifetime. The main feature of this garden is the azalea collection. Bayou Bend is home to one of the most complete collections of Southern Indica azalea’s in America. He uses 100% natural methods for maintenance, fertilization and pest control. He is also responsible for a large collection of trees. The River Oaks Garden club pays for all of the tree maintenance at Bayou Bend. Mr. Brechter has also been able to establish a dogwood on the property as a new cultivar, Cornus florida, “Bayou Bend”. He is in the process of propagating cuttings from this tree. Sale of these cuttings will go toward the up keep of Bayou Bend.

Plant Propagation – Due to its charter, the Bayou Bend gardens are allowed to only use plant materials that were in the garden during Miss Hogg’s lifetime. Many of the azaleas and other plants are “antique”. This means that they are older varieties that have fallen out of favor with the nursery trade. Because of this, Mr. Brechter acquires much of his plant material through propagation. To aid in this he manages a greenhouse on site that he shares with the River Oaks Garden club. On my first visit to Bayou Bend, Mr. Brechter had me repot 52 varieties of camellias. These cutting were in large flats filled with a 100% Perlite mixture. They had been in the greenhouse since last November. My first step in the propagation process was to create the potting mix. I used a 1-1-1 mixture of Perlite, commercial potting mix and composted hardwood mulch. Once the mix was ready I used it to fill quart containers. I would then gently remove the cuttings from the Perlite tray and evaluate for rooting. If the cutting showed root development it was repotted in the quart container. Once a tray was filled with the one gallon pots, the tray was moved outside to the shade cover area in the greenhouse compound and watered.

Camellia cuttings that I potted during my intership

On my second visit, Mr. Brechter had returned from a meeting of the Texas Azalea Society in Nacogdoches, Texas. While on this trip, he took cuttings from 31 varieties of hollies from the SFASU Mast Arboretum. These cutting were wrapped in wet newspaper stored in zip lock baggies in a refrigerator. We filled large trays with Perlite and began to disassemble the cuttings. Before planting, we treated all of the plants for pests by immersing them in a mild solution of water and orange oil. Once treated, I cut the stems at a 45 degree angle on a node. I stripped all but three or four leaves from these cuttings and then inserted them into the Perlite. Once a tray was filled and labeled, the tray was placed under the mister.

Grounds Maintenance – Bayou Bend is essentially a 14 acre public garden. The site contains large swaths of St. Augustine turf and many formal and informal landscape areas. Much of the grounds are planted in perennials. The bulk of these plantings are the azaleas for which Bayou Bend is famous. These azaleas make Bayou Bend spectacular in the spring and it is the anchor of the annual River Oaks Garden Club’s annual Azalea Trail. There are also many beds that are planted with annual color. Mr. Brechter buys many of these annuals from specialized growers that provide him access to many of the antique varieties of plants he requires. In spring, Mr. Brechter uses a purple pansy that is currently only available from one nursery. Another spectacular example of annual plantings is the beds at the front of the house. As you approach the house from Lazy Lane Boulevard, the shaded drive opens to a circular driveway. Where the drive meets the driveway are two large beds that are bordered with mondo. Each spring, these beds are filled with over 10,000 tulips. The tulips are then followed with 5000 pink caladium bulbs (Carolynn Wharton) which are removed and stored at the end of the season as well. All of these plantings are maintained with natural methods.

Begonnias on the East Terrace

Bayou Bend’s many perennials are planted in beds that have been worked with compost and mulch for years. This soil provides excellent drainage and nutrients for the plants and aids in water conservation. The perennials receive minimal pruning. All plantings receive a deep layer of hardwood mulch every year. This mulch is allowed to decompose and provide addition organic matter to the soil. Tender annuals receive a soil and foliar application of Bio Matrix. All weeding is done by hand.

Pesticides/Fungicides – Mr. Brechter only applies pesticides on an as needed basis. The garden is relatively pest free. Mr. Brechter attributes this to an abundance of plant materials that are naturally resistant to most of the insects and fungus that are found in gulf south. Also, the organic methods used attract beneficial insects, animals and birds which in turn help keep down the pest problems. When an insect outbreak is spotted (this happens most often in the greenhouse area), Mr. Brechter sprays the infested plants with an Orange oil solution. Orange oil is effective on aphids, mites, lacewing and other common nursery pests.

Earth-Kind – When this directed studies program was approved, I was supposed to help Mr. Brechter start an Earth-Kind certification trial for azaleas. During my first two visits, we began work on the trial. Mr. Brechter had worked with Texas A&M Extension to establish the parameters of the test. It was determined that we would plant three plants of five varieties in a bed of about 1000 sq’. The azaleas were to be planted in unimproved soil on 6’ centers. Irrigation was to be supplied by a drip system that connected to a pop up heads in the existing irrigation system. The plants were to be monitored for three years. During that time they would be provided with minimal feeding, pruning and pest control. Over the course of the next three weeks, we picked a site and cleared it. We manually removed all vegetation from the area with grubbing hoes. The ground was lightly broken and then raked smooth. We then laid out the plant spacing. Once this was done, we selected the azalea varieties to be used. For this trial we planned to use 1 Encore variety-Autumn Embers, 3 Southern Indica varieties: Formosa, G.G. Gerbing and George tabor and 1 Kurume variety called Fashion.

On week three, we were going to install the irrigation and the plants. However, Mr. Brechter was asked to hold off on this trial. He was informed that the Earth-Kind program was under going revisions and A&M would prefer he wait. Because of this we were not able to begin the experiment.

Tatume’ – The wonder squash with many names

Posted on June 9, 2010 by Jay White

Some of the best things in the world happen by accident; Post it Notes, potato chips, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups and my discovery of Tatume’ squash. While three of these accidental discoveries yielded vast quantities of money for their inventors, my discovery yields pounds and pounds of a fresh, flavorful, and versatile squash.

Between work, grad school and the remodel of my house, my garden has not received the time and attention it normally gets. Since it was a little late in the spring when I built my potager, I decided to speed things up a bit by purchasing established vegetable plants for my garden. I bought my plants from the left over’s of the Texas A&M Horticulture Club’s Annual Plant Sale. I bought several varieties of tomatoes, egg plant, watermelon, and fennel. When I went looking for squash though, there were only two types left; white summer squash (we call it UFO squash in our house) and a variety that I had never heard of called Tatume’. I grabbed the last summer squash and two of the Tatume’.

Tatume' vines and flowers in my potager

I soon realized that Tatume’ was no normal squash. In a little over a week it has sent out vines that were over six feet long! Everywhere a node lay against the ground, it rooted and sent out more shoots. In two weeks time, half of my garden was over run by these two aggressive plants. I was afraid it would cover the entire garden but I was comforted by how lovely it was. The vines were covered with beautiful big yellow flowers. Once it flowered, the growth rate decreased. I decided to do some research and see what I had gotten myself into.

Most of the squash that we grow come from the species Cucurbita pepo. Tatume’ is a variety of this species. C. pepo is a native of Meso-America and archeological evidence shows that gardener’s there have been growing varieties of it for the past 8,000 to 10,000 years. In America, squash is generally divided into two categories based on when they are harvested. Summer squashes like yellow crook neck, zucchini, and pattypan (UFO) are harvested in their immature state. Immature squash have a soft skin, seeds and flesh. Winter squash like butternut, spaghetti, and acorn are simply squash that are allowed to ripen fully on the vine before they are harvested. Winter squash have a thick hard skin and their flesh is generally firmer and sweeter than summer squash. Tatume’ is one the rare varieties of squash that can be harvested as either a summer or winter squash.

Young Tatume'

Tatume squash is an open pollinated variety (heirloom variety) so you can save the seeds from year to year. The fruits are round or oblate in shape. Their skin is stripped green and they resemble a small watermelon or pumpkin in there immature form. It is best to harvest Tatume’ when it is about the size of baseball. If left to mature, their skin will become a mottled deep green and they can grow to almost the size of a soccer ball.

Tatume’ appears to be the squash of many names. Many seed catalogs list it as Tatume’ or Tatuma but I have also seen it listed as round zucchini and Mexican zucchini. In the markets of Mexico, it is most often called calabacita (little pumpkin).

Whatever you call it, it is a very versatile and flavorful little squash. It is a staple of Mexican cuisine. Mexican cooks use this squash in soups, breakfast dishes, casseroles and as a stand alone side. This year, my wife and I have used it in lieu of yellow squash in all of our squash recipes. We have fried it, baked it, boiled it with onions and made it into a casserole. We even harvested and sautéed the blossoms. However, our favorite thing about Tatume’ is the way that it cooks on the grill. Tatume’ is more flavorful than yellow squash and its flesh is much firmer. Its round shape and firm texture allows it to be cut into thick round patties that are perfect for the grill. A little EVOO, garlic salt, season salt and fresh ground black pepper make for a simple but delicious summer side dish.

A ripe Tatume' ready for the grill!

Tatume’ is a squash variety that posses all of the traits that make squash one of my favorite summer vegetables to grow. It is hardy and productive. Its long vines produce a fabulous show of big yellow flowers that draw bees into the garden. It is tasty and versatile in the kitchen. My accidental experiment with Tatume’ has convinced me to add this to my keeper list. I highly encourage you to try it in your garden as well!

*This article was published in the June 2010 issue of “Hort Update” (http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/newsletters/hortupdate/2010/jun/)

Cheap Tomatoes

Posted on May 11, 2010 by Jay White

A friend at work told me that she wanted to start growing her own vegetables as a way to cut down on her grocery bill. I encouraged her to start a small garden but I warned her that she probably would not be saving money by doing so. She was not to be deterred. She had done the math! She would grow tomatoes in hanging baskets that cost $19 each. Since each plant would produce 10 pounds of tomatoes her cost would be just $2 per pound. Any fool could see that was cheaper than what Whole Foods was charging for a pound of organic tomatoes.

After a couple of weeks I checked in on my friend to see how her hanging tomatoes were doing. She was pretty pleased with all things horticultural, but she was a little dismayed about how much she had spent. The two hanging bags set her back $38, soil and tomatoes were another $20. Then she had to figure out a way to hang them. Since her patio did not get enough sun, she fashioned a rolling support out of galvanized pipe and fittings and a patio umbrella stand. This cost her another $100. My friend had learned a very important lesson. Gardening can provide you with many things. Unfortunately cheap food is not usually one of them.

I am happy to report that my friend did not allow her initial start up costs to deter her gardening efforts. In fact, she has now expanded her gardening operation and is successfully growing herbs and veggies in giant pots in her yard. She no longer tries to justify her hobby as a money saver. She now gardens just for the fun of it! She is growing her own food, spending time out doors, reading books and talking to other gardeners. She has definitely caught the gardening bug.

A lovely pot of chard and parsley at Thompson and Hanson’s in River Oaks

Watching my friend get so excited about gardening put me in a reflective mood. I started wondering, “What is it about watching things grow that makes me, and countless others like me, kind of nutty?” What exactly does gardening provide that makes us return to this pursuit year after year? I know this, gardening provides me with a link to my past. As I get older being connected to my history gets more and more important. I also get the majority of my exercise and all of my sore muscles and back aches in the garden. It gives me a place to express my creativity and it provides me with a window into the wonder of life. Gardening relaxes me, humbles me and keeps me ever watchful and hopeful. It is place where I gather and pass on my knowledge. I have talked to many gardeners and they all seem to agree. The garden is a place where we invest our time, talent and resources. We all receive many gifts from the garden. Unfortunately, cheap food is not generally one of them.

Here are the links for the vendors mentioned in this article:

http://www.thompsonhanson.com/

http://www.gardeners.com/Outdoor-Planters/OutdoorPlanters_Dept,default,sc.html

Honeydew (and we ain’t talking melons)

Posted on May 5, 2010 by Jay White

Have you ever felt a light mist fall upon you as you stood under a tree on a summer day? The next time you feel this, stick your tongue out, and taste it. It is sweet. This sweet tasting liquid falling from the sky isn’t manna, it is aphid poo! Well, not poo exactly, but it is excrement from the back side of an aphid. Honeydew! That’s right, honeydew is aphid poo!

Aphids have modified mouth parts that allow them to drill directly into the phloem and extract all of the rich carbohydrates and sugars that it needs. Once they “tap a vein” there is so much food available under so much pressure from the plant that the phloem just passes right through their little bodies and right out of their butts! So now that you are completely grossed out, stick your tongue back in your mouth and ask “What do honeydew and aphid anuses have to do with gardening?” Well, a lot actually.

Aphids on a fallen rosebud

I first learned about this interesting little tidbit in “Applied Physiology of Horticultural Plants”. This fascinating course is taught by a true Master of Horticulture, Dr. Leo Lambardini (http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/faculty/Lombardini/Lombardini.html).

Our class was discussing how to get a pure sample of the contents of the phloem for analysis. Since the phloem is a VERY TINY internal structure of a plant it is basically impossible to mechanically “tap” into it and get a pure, unadulterated sample of plant juice. So a brilliant horticulturist solved this difficult problem by applying something he had observed in his study of aphids. Since aphids attack a plant in the same way that a mosquito attacks you, this scientist decided to gas an infested plant with CO2 to kill the little aphids. Then, he snipped the bodies away from the mouth parts that were still in the plant. This gave him literally thousands of “straws” from which to gather samples. Brilliant! I love it when someone figures out how to make something useful out of something basically useless. And … Let’s face it, aphids are basically useless to us gardeners.

If you have spent much time in the garden, you are probably very familiar with aphids. These tiny little pests are quite common and quite annoying. They have the cutest little knick name: plant lice. Aphids do more damage to agricultural and horticultural plants than any other species of insect. Aphid infestation can cause decreased growth rates, mottled leaves, stunted growth and even death. In fact, one species of aphid almost entirely destroyed the wine industry in the 1870’s. They also contributed to the spread of the “Late Blight” fungus that caused the Irish potato famine. And, let’s not forget the honeydew. So not only can aphids harm your plants, they can harm you as well.

And what about that honeydew? Turns out, it is harmful too. Lots of various molds and fungi that attack plants grow very well in honeydew. Have you ever seen that black stuff covering your crepe myrtle’s leaves? Well, that is sooty mold and it is growing on the honeydew left behind by the aphids.

Luckily, aphids are easy to control. There are a lot of chemicals that you can spray. But spraying chemicals today is frowned on by all of the shoppers at Whole Foods and by most of the regular viewers of Oprah. Luckily, there are many ecologically friendly alternatives. The easiest is water. Once you start seeing signs of an infestation, get your water hose and spray the plant. If the impact doesn’t kill them, falling onto the ground usually will. There are also bio-friendly pesticides that have show some promise. Neem and Lantana are two of the best. Also, don’t forget that lady bugs LOVE aphids. So, go to your local nursery and buy a container of ladybugs and set them free in the area of the aphids. They are a natural predator of aphids and do very good job ridding your plant of these pests. Besides, who doesn’t love lady bugs?

Aphids cause untold dollars worth of damage to agricultural crops each year. They also cause problems for the gardener. With a little observation and a little effort the home gardener can control these pests. So the next time you find yourself getting “misted” under one of your trees, or all of the leaves on your crepe myrtle turn black, head for the hose or unleash the lady bugs!

Gourds-The King of the Cucurbits

Posted on April 16, 2010 by Jay White

I love gourds. I mean I really, really love gourds. I am not sure where my obsession comes from. I know that my earliest plant memories involve gourds. I remember watching them grow beside the road leading to the cattle pens at my Aunt Sarah and Uncle Tom’s farm. I also remember him teaching me to use a 12 gauge shot gun. He would throw some old gourds into the air or float ‘em on the tank and let me shoot until my shoulder hurt. My Aunt Sarah always kept the really big ones. She would drill holes in those and hang them up for the birds. She also kept the “interesting ones”. She would put those in baskets on the table or up on shelves for everyone to admire and marvel at.

I am fairly certain that I have never planted a garden that did not include gourds. I do not understand why more people don’t grow these natural marvels. You can’t kill them. They can grow literally feet in a day. They will cover a fence or a yard with lovely vines bursting with big showy flowers. Kids love them and so do the bees.

I am not particular about what type I grow. I love all of them equally: bottle, kettle, egg, luffa, apple, dipper, or decorative. In fact, there are so many types of gourds I can grow a new variety every year for the rest of my natural life and never get to the end of the varietal list.

Gourds are members of the Cucurbitaceae family. This family contains most of the vine crops that we crow in the South (or the world for that matter). Melons, gourds, cucumbers, squashes and watermelons are all cucurbits. In fact, there are 125 genra with 960 distinct species. Agriculturally, this is one important plant family. Last year the US produced 4 billion pounds of watermelon alone. That amounts to 15.4 pounds of watermelon consumed by every man woman and child in America.

Luffa flower on my garden fence

Now a days gourds are used mostly for decorative and craft purposes. A quick Google query of “gourd art” will bring back pages and pages of truly amazing art being created with gourds. I love making gourd crafts. I have made the obligatory bird house. But, I have made so much more. I have carved them, I have stained them and wood burned them. I have painted them and glued seeds to them. For a while I was so into my gourd crafts that my family bought me a very nice wood burner that they knick named “The Gourd Burner 2000”.

Last year, my wife Sally and I grew luffas. After we harvested them we dried, cleaned and bleached them. We put some seeds in an envelope and attached it to the “bath sponge” with a red ribbon. The luffas were so popular that we ran out and still have a list for next year. This year, we are growing apple and egg gourds. Our kids are going to use the apple gourds for decorative items in their houses. My wife’s second graders will use the egg gourds to make Christmas ornaments and Easter eggs next year.

Some of the gourds I decorated using the “Gourd Burner 2000”

I feel that gourds are an under appreciated vegetable in the Southern garden. They are easy to grow, attractive and useful. What more can you ask of a plant? I highly recommend that you try running a few of these over one of your garden fences!

Building a Potager

Posted on April 13, 2010 by Jay White

I have a problem. Actually, I have two BIG problems; black clay and coastal Bermuda grass. These two things have been a pain in my gardening side since the first time I tried to till a portion of an old coastal field and turn it into a vegetable garden. I live on a patch of blackland praire in Washington county Texas between Brenham and Burton. Over the years I have tried everything to tame the grass and improve the clay. All of my efforts have fallen woefully short. The clay is still either sticky or hard as a rock, and the grass always returns.

Two years ago, I began experimenting with raised beds. I tilled up the clay and added about four inches of mushroom compost. This improved things somewhat but I still could not keep the grass out of the rows, and ultimately the beds. At this point I should point out that I try to be an organic grower. I am not yet 100% weaned off of my traditional ways, but I am now using about 90% organic methods to try and control my weeds and bugs.

My first raised beds

Last year, the additional organic material really started to pay off. The vegetables were great. I simply planted and applied a heavy layer of hardwood mulch. Then I declared war on the weeds and that sticky mud that invariably happens when you water around black clay. I laid down weed paper in the rows and covered this with bricks. I also tilled in beds around my garden fence. I filled those beds with daylilies and petunias and large planters. I also added the weed paper and hardwood mulch to these outside beds. The bricks worked great for controlling the mud. But the Bermuda came back with a passion. Evidently Bermuda and many other weeds, enjoy a little organic matter as much as the tomatoes.

I was now thoroughly frustrated with my grass problem. However, I did note my two big successes. The additional organic material was definitely paying off and the bricks had solved the sticky mud issues. Now I was determined to figure out how to get the weeds under control.

I started reading and I came upon two concepts that I hoped my help me solve both of my problems: square foot gardening (the Mel Bartholomew method) and potagers. Mel Bartholomew and his method of creating super rich soil and close quarter plantings seemed to hold some promise. As I read more about both topics, I began to feel that combining Mel’s ideas about soil and close quarter plantings with the French concept of a kitchen garden might finally give me dominion over the weeds and the mud.

A real French potager

The term potager comes from the French term jardin potager. The potager is designed to provide all of the vegetables, herbs and flowers for a household. The potager is not just functional; it is expected to be beautiful as well. Because of this, annual and perennial flowers are grown right along with the vegetables. Plants in the potager are often selected as much for their form and texture as they are for their nutritional value.

Another thing that I have learned about gardening (or any other endeavor for that matter) is that it helps to have a plan. Since the creation of my potager would require an investment of time, talents and money, my wife insisted I have a detailed plan. I was lucky on this one. I am currently taking a Landscape Design class with Casey Krueger at Texas A&M. With his help, I created a very respectable and doable design for my potager.

Day 1 – Armed with my plan and an army of future son-in-laws (I have four daughters so I really do have a small army of future son–in-laws), we literally dug-in and started to build. First, we built the forms for my raised beds. This required a few carpentry skills, a few basic math skills, and a lot of manual labor.
Day 2 – Since the beds were now in place, we began to dig out about five inches of soil from the bottom of all of the walk paths. After this was done, we covered the walk paths with approximately 8 layers of newspaper and five inches of decomposed granite (take that weeds!). We then laid the bricks. Once the bricks were in place, we added a thin layer of decomposed granite to the top and used a broom to work the granite dust into the gaps between the bricks. After a good watering, the unplanted potager was ready to go.
Day 3 – This was the day for soil preparation and planting. To prepare the beds I used a modified version of Mel Batholomew’s formula. Since my clay has no problem holding water, I left out the suggested vermiculite and peat moss. What I did add was compost peat, cotton bur compost, farm style composted cow manure, mushroom compost, and an alfalfa and humate mix. I bought all of these items from the Plants N Things nursery in Brenham, Texas. We mixed all of these ingredients together on a couple of big tarps. Once it was mixed we wheel barrowed it into the raised beds. Finally, we used my Mantis tiller to mix it all into my existing soil. Now it was time to stick things in the ground. I planted tomatoes, squash, watermelon, and bronze fennel that I had purchased from the Texas A&M Horticulture Club’s Annual Plant sale. I also planted Contender bush beans, Swiss chard, sunflowers, apple and egg gourds, Chinese long beans, and Hyacinth beans for the trellis. One bed stayed intact throughout the build. In it I have onions, shallots, radishes and lettuces. Once all of the seeds are up I will again put down about six inches of hardwood mulch.

My unplanted potager

I am very excited about the promise my new garden. I am hopeful that the granite base and the bricks will keep the weeds and the mud at bay. I also believe that if a few weeds do pop up in the raised beds they will be easy to pull. Remember how I said I was about 90% organic? Well I hope to keep that percentage. However, after all of the time and effort that went into this potager, I have decided that organic or not, at the first sign of a weed invasion I am buying weed killer!

A version of this article was published in the May 2010 issue of “Hort Update” (http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/newsletters/hortupdate/2010/may/)

Welcome!

Posted on December 3, 2009 by Jay White

Welcome to the Masters of Horticulture! My name is Jay White and I am a 49-year-old non-traditional student working on a Master’s of Science in Horticulture at Texas A&M University (Whoop!).

Coming to A&M has been the second best decision I have ever made. I am the round peg that finally found the round hole. I am surrounded by the best and brightest of the horticultural world and I am truly blessed to be able to learn so much from so many talented people.

While at A&M, I discovered that I liked writing about gardening almost as much as actually growing things. That led to this blog. I chose to call my blog “The Masters of Horticulture” because it was my intent to document all I learned on my path toward my M.S. in Hort. The blog has evolved into a place that not only highlights the amazing things I am learning, but also highlights the many amazing horticulturists that I encounter as I wander down this horticultural path. I call these people “Masters of Horticulture”. By listening to and working with those that are masters of the horticultural arts, it is my desire to one day be just like them.

I hope you like the blog. It is my sincere desire that, somewhere in its pages, you will find the tips, tricks and tools necessary to help you become a master of horticulture too. I will be posting weekly, so check back often!