Hello and welcome to my little garden spot on the net.
In this little spot I will have gardening recipes, gardening links,
and more.Living in the Gulf coast region of Texas, I can enjoy my
gardens almost year round. With that enjoyment we have little extras
that are not so enjoyable, weeds, insects and hot humid weather in
the summer time.Gardening for me is adding to what God created for us.
This is my personal retreat, planning, planting, and the total enjoyment
of what I've done.Sitting in various spot I can admire, my healthy yard
splattered with my many flowerbeds, watching the birds, hearing the splashing
in my ponds, what a retreat.I have to thank my beloved granma for teaching me
this art, I learned many valuable hints from her..and of course her green thumb,
I think I inherited.



Gardening Recipes

One of my favorite homemade plant fertilizer is as follows:
1 tsp. soda
1tsp. household ammonia
1 tsp. epson salt
1 tsp. salt peter
Stir into one gallon of warm water. Use monthly.

For your Bromeliads, feed fish emlusion once a month

Feed your staghorn plant one banana once a month, this might
sound crazy but the staghorn plant will thrive.



Gardening Hints
Throw you lawn clipping and fall leaves into
your flower beds, make sure to not cover your plants, this is
excellent mulch. You can also Compost your coffee grinds, egg shells,
and add that newspaper that you was going to throw away. layer it around plants
and it will elimante weed and also makes excellent organic compost.



My favorite bird is the Hummingbird

There are several ways to attract hummingbirds, but to attract and
keep lots of them takes a little effort.If you want lots of hummers,
put out several feeders. Hang them in different locations around the
property, not all necessarily in view of each other. Hummers are
territorial so it helps to have several locations, though when you
have large numbers of them they will feed together.(And swarm like
flies around the feeders-- really something to watch!)
The formula is 4 parts water to 1 part sugar.
Don't use red food coloring or honey.
The red plastic on the feeder will be enough to attract them, and
honey, it's reported, is not good for hummers. Clean your feeders
each time you refill. I use a toothbrush and bottle brushes. Use a
little bleach if necessary when cleaning, and be sure to rinse well 3
times before refilling. It's not unusual for the hummers to come
right up to you when hanging up a fresh feeder. They'll sometimes
even drink from it while you hold it in your hand. Fearless!



Mosquito Repelant
Start out by roasting garlic in the microwave, squeezing the pulp
out and spinning it in the blender with a little oil.
Then add water and some blue food coloring, and put the concoction
in the fertilizer dispenser that hooks to the hose.(the color was so
you know when it was done dispensing)
Mixing garlic powder with water works just as well and is less trouble.
Just spray it all over the grass, vegetation and everything.
It will be effective immediately and the smell does go away quickly.
It lasts for me about 2 weeks or until we have a hard rain.



Weed Killer
Mix 1 gallon white vinegar, 1 cup table salt, and 1 tablespoon dishwashing
liquid together and spray on weeds. To do so, remove approximately 2 cups of
vinegar from the jug, pour in the salt and dishwashing liquid, then return
the 2 cups of vinegar to the jug. Close the lid and shake to mix. Transfer
to a spray bottle (after shaking to mix the ingredients) as needed. It works
as well, if not better, than Chemicals, but is much cheaper. Be careful, it
will kill whatever you spray it on it on the weeds in the heat of the full sun,
you will have an effective weed killer.



Gardening Links
Randy's Garden Line
Direct Seeding Guide for Texas.
Jerry Baker Home Health and Garden
Houston Chroncile Gardening