Texas Fall/Winter thread!

Western · Feb 25, 2012

Jim, thanks for the heads up. I planted a couple of Bluebonnets last year we picked up at Lowes to see if they would make it to seed. I will have to go look around now. Tried seed, but they never did a thing for me.

Looks to be like a nice weather weekend:thumbsup:

Bird · Feb 25, 2012

Officially, a low of 32, and we definitely had a frost. But the rains have filled Lake Lewisville within a foot of normal level.

Looks like good weather this weekend; just hope it is next weekend when we're supposed to help our grandson move.

jinman · Feb 25, 2012

Western said:
Jim, thanks for the heads up. I planted a couple of Bluebonnets last year we picked up at Lowes to see if they would make it to seed.

Dennis, I have a thread in the Projects Forum about my bluebonnets. I've NEVER had luck with seeds either. I scraped sod filled with bluebonnet seeds and plants from a tract of land before I sold it. I spread about 25 loader buckets full of that sod over 3/4 acre and have had mixed results. The first year after was pretty good, but last year was the pits due to a dry winter and spring. This year has all the looks of a banner year.

two_bit_score · Feb 25, 2012

jinman said:
Had a light frost this morning and 28 F. The bluebonnets are starting to explode. I haven't seen this many plants before. In a few weeks, ya'll have to tolerate my braggin'.

Any bragging you want to do will be fine as long a you post some pics of those bluebonnets.

.

bindian · Feb 25, 2012

jinman said:
Had a light frost this morning and 28 F. The bluebonnets are starting to explode. I haven't seen this many plants before. In a few weeks, ya'll have to tolerate my braggin'.

Jim,
You are entitled to braggin' rights.

After all, you put in all that effort getting them planted.
hugs, Brandi

ronjhall · Feb 25, 2012

two_bit_score said:
Any bragging you want to do will be fine as long a you post some pics of those bluebonnets.

.

The Great Bluebonnet Project

No Bluebonnets here in the Valley. But some Cactus that have not bloomed in years are starting to bud.

two_bit_score · Feb 26, 2012

ronjhall said:
The Great Bluebonnet Project

No Bluebonnets here in the Valley. But some Cactus that have not bloomed in years are starting to bud.

Beautiful! Thanks!

.

Western · Feb 26, 2012

Jim, interesting thread you posted. What caught my eye was the mention of Indian paintbrush, I have had them start showing up the past 2 years, not in great numbers, but enough to know they are coming in. Mixed areas of BB and paintbrush, is purdy.

jinman · Feb 26, 2012

Western said:
Jim, interesting thread you posted. What caught my eye was the mention of Indian paintbrush, I have had them start showing up the past 2 years, not in great numbers, but enough to know they are coming in. Mixed areas of BB and paintbrush, is purdy.

Dennis, about 10 years ago on Hwy 287 between Sunset and Bowie, the median and shoulders of the highway were solid Indian Paintbrush. I'm thinking that Montague County must have planted them the year before. I've never seen such a solid growth of paintbrush quite like that.

Western · Feb 26, 2012

That would be nice to see, hard to find a nicer sight in Texas than both those flowers in one field in full bloom. When I was on patrol, I would see countless "tourist"

stopping for the "Kodak" moment.

Bird · Feb 27, 2012

The Dallas Morning News this morning says botanists are expecting a bumper crop of bluebonnets and other wildflowers this year.

jinman · Feb 27, 2012

I finally got into my garden yesterday to till it up. It was damp, but tilled nicely. My wife cut back the old dry asparagus bushes from last year and we found three new spears about 10" long and 1/2" in diameter. They were tender and sweet. My wife, grandson, and I each ate one raw and noticed how sweet and tender they are. I'm gonna have to keep my grandson out of the garden if I want to get anymore. He LOVED the asparagus.

While my wife trimmed around the garden with my grandson, I tilled and then hauled in about 9 yd of sand to add. I'm going today to get a few loads of mule manure from my neighbor. We'll try to get onions and potatoes planted by the end of this week.

Photos of tilled garden and about half of the sand I hauled.

pacerron · Feb 27, 2012

jinman said:
I finally got into my garden yesterday to till it up. It was damp, but tilled nicely. My wife cut back the old dry asparagus bushes from last year and we found three new spears about 10" long and 1/2" in diameter. They were tender and sweet. My wife, grandson, and I each ate one raw and noticed how sweet and tender they are. I'm gonna have to keep my grandson out of the garden if I want to get anymore. He LOVED the asparagus.

While my wife trimmed around the garden with my grandson, I tilled and then hauled in about 9 yd of sand to add. I'm going today to get a few loads of mule manure from my neighbor. We'll try to get onions and potatoes planted by the end of this week.

Photos of tilled garden and about half of the sand I hauled.

How far apart are your T-posts for the deer netting?

It will be time to start on the garden here soon but no plants above ground
till 20 May, last frost if lucky.
Ron

Bird · Feb 27, 2012

He LOVED the asparagus

Me, too. Raw, alone or in salads, steamed with or without cheese sauce, or any other way.

jinman · Feb 27, 2012

pacerron said:
How far apart are your T-posts for the deer netting?

It will be time to start on the garden here soon but no plants above ground
till 20 May, last frost if lucky.
Ron

15-20 feet is fine (mine are 12-15). All you want is to hold the netting kinda snug. You really won't have any deer test its strength. You may have other critters test it or chew holes in it, but it ain't a raccoon or possum proof material for sure. I like the wide distance because we just use wire ties and take the fence down on the front side of the garden every spring to do the tilling. This will be the third year on this fence and it is still strong with no notable deterioration. I'm sold on this product.:thumbsup:

Oh yeah. . . I added about 6 cu yds of mule manure today and tilled it in. I shoulda done that last fall, but I'm an expert procrastinator.

Kyle_in_Tex · Feb 27, 2012

jinman said:
Oh yeah. . . I added about 6 cu yds of mule manure today and tilled it in. I shoulda done that last fall, but I'm an expert procrastinator.

I'm a 4 star General at Procrastination...:laughing:

Was that manure kind of stubborn to put down? Does it have the strength of 40 mules?

Western · Feb 27, 2012

jinman said:
Oh yeah. . . I added about 6 cu yds of mule manure today and tilled it in. I shoulda done that last fall, but I'm an expert procrastinator.

You have to have a certification card to be an expert Jim:laughing:My card, says "bum" on it, keep it by the round wood thing that says "TUIT"

Do you have the netting all the way around, or ?? what brand again?

NativeSon · Feb 28, 2012

Bird said:
Me, too. Raw, alone or in salads, steamed with or without cheese sauce, or any other way.

Sauted in olive oil with lots of garlic!!!

Charlie

jinman · Feb 28, 2012

Western said:
Do you have the netting all the way around, or ?? what brand again?

Dennis, I'll have to check again, but there are definitely two separate products out there. One is lightweight and costs less than $25 for a 100' x 7' tall roll. The other one is around $75 for the same amount, but the difference is how heavy the fencing is. The $25 one weighs 2 lb per roll. The $75 one weighs 7 lb. That's the only way you can tell the difference when ordering. I believe I bought mine on sale for around $65 per roll. In my opinion, it's worth the extra money. The lightweight mesh might work for one year. I'm afraid I haven't made that clear when others have asked about the mesh. The one I recommend is the heavier mesh. [ame="http://www.amazon.com/Easy-Gardener-LG400171-100-Foot-Barrier/dp/B000A16T7M/ref=pd_sim_sbs_hg_4"]Here's a link [/ame]to the mesh on Amazon.