jnnwyman's Blog at GardenStew.com

Texas Wildflowers

jnnwyman — Mon, 13 Mar 2006 08:12:49 -0500

Author: jnnwyman
Posted: Mon Mar 13, 2006 1:12 pm (GMT 0)

Texas Wildflowers:

Most people think of Texas as growing lots of cactus. NOT true. The beautiful tall cactus is in New Mexico, Arizona, and Nevada. I'm not sure about southern Calif.

Links:

http://www.rice.edu/armadillo/Wildflowers/Project/wild4.html

http://www.mmcinc.com/wildflowers/wildflow1.htm

http://pages.prodigy.net/jospencer/

http://www.lnstar.com/mall/txtrails/wildflowers/flowers.htm

http://newtontxnetwork.com/tour/flowers/

http://www.interplaza.com/wildflowers/sixthstop.htm

Scroll down the screen and click on pictures to enlarge:
http://www.io.com/~maddog/photos_f.htm

http://www.mmcinc.com/wildflowers/wildflow1.htm

http://pages.prodigy.net/jospencer/

http://www.lnstar.com/mall/txtrails/wildflowers/flowers.htm

http://newtontxnetwork.com/tour/flowers/

http://www.interplaza.com/wildflowers/sixthstop.htm

Scroll down the screen and click on pictures to enlarge:
http://www.io.com/~maddog/photos_f.htm

Texas Spring Flowers

jnnwyman — Mon, 13 Mar 2006 08:04:56 -0500

Author: jnnwyman
Posted: Mon Mar 13, 2006 1:04 pm (GMT 0)

Pictures of Spring Flowers in Texas

Click "Next" on the bottom right hand side for more pictures:

http://www.jimharrisononline.com/Springtime2003p1.htm

Southwestern Soil (USA)

jnnwyman — Mon, 13 Mar 2006 07:59:13 -0500

Author: jnnwyman
Posted: Mon Mar 13, 2006 12:59 pm (GMT 0)

West Texas has Adobe Soil which is a sandy clay. Without water, our soil becomes hard. Since water "stands" on Adobe Soil before it soaks in, it is best to water for about 20 minutes, stop, let the water soak in, then water for another 20 minutes.

Adobe Soil when mixed with grass, straw, water, poured into a brick mold, and left to sun dry, will turn into a brick substance. The type that was used in the old days to build southwestern and Mexico houses. Since there is very little rain fall in West Texss and Mexico, these houses could stand for hundreds of years. Patching was very easy, just whip up a batch of soil, straw and water, patch, and let sun dry to harden.

You are probably now asking yourself how ANYTHING could possible grow in such soil. All it takes is "water".

But if a gardener does not want to work with this sandy clay, they can use above the ground flower and vegetable beds. Also called raised beds. Click onto this link for above the ground beds' pictures and information:
http://www.eartheasy.com/grow_raised_beds.htm
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Caliche:

The southwestern states often have a vain or two of "caliche" threading its way through the good soil. A white chalk substance that plants will not grow in. The following info is from the College of Agriculture, The University of Arizona:

"What Does Caliche do to plants?
Caliche causes three problems in the yard or garden.
The caliche layer can be so tight that roots cannot penetrate through it. The result is that plants have only the soil above the caliche to use as a source of nutrients and water and normal root development is restricted.

The same conditions that restrict root penetration also reduce water movement. Water applied to the soil cannot move through the profile if a restrictive caliche layer is present. The restricted water penetration can contribute to problems arising from inadequate root aeration and can lead to accumulations of salt in the soil surface. Both problems, lack of aeration and salt accumulation, reduce the vigor of growing plants.

The pH (acidity or basicity) and free calcium carbonate in a caliche soil are often high enough to cause iron to become unavailable for plants."

Here again is where above the ground beds come in handy.

Welcome to Texas Gardening

jnnwyman — Sun, 12 Mar 2006 11:12:35 -0500

Author: jnnwyman
Posted: Sun Mar 12, 2006 4:12 pm (GMT 0)

Texas is a BIG state. Our hot summer months are June, July, August, September, with October being hot to warm in some years. Gardening in each section of the state is different:

East Texas and Northeast Texas have forests, lakes, Lots of rainfall, farming of all types. Gardening is year round, but sometimes there are cold snaps that slows it down a bit.

West Texas is close to 800 miles away from East Texas and is semi-desert with temps up to 100 degrees in the summer months, very little rain fall, no lakes, no trees except those planted by man in the cities and towns. It is mostly flat open plains where cattle graze on thousands of acres (100 acres are needed to feed one cow, ranches are very large.), sheep herding has also become popular. There are large farms that have to be irrigated. Home gardening is very popular in the cities and towns and is big business for plant nurseries and gardening centers.

Northwest Texas, which it the panhandle, has beautiful canyons and wildlife.

South Texas stretches from Louisiana to the country of Mexico and is on the Gulf of Mexico, there are miles and miles of sandy beaches with tropical gardening year round in the cities and towns.