Nematode Nick's Landscaping

A Beautiful Yard Naturally

Organic Thymes

    I am afraid that the days of unlimited water available to us for landscape purposes are over.  Even during non-drought years it is important to us to keep our water usage as low as possible.  That does not mean that the days of beautiful landscapes are gone or that we must replace our turf with rocks and boulders.  What it means is that we need to look at our landscaping with a new perspective.  We have been blessed for years by living in a sub-tropical climate that will grow a large variety of non-native plants as long as we could supplement their water needs which were often several times more than our average rainfall.  Now we must start looking at using native or adapted plants in our area.  In South Central Texas, where the mild winters make for long growing seasons, the rain patterns are what causes us to need very special plants.  As an example Seattle is lush and green and most people recognize that in Seattle it rains all the time.  Well what most don’t realize is that the average yearly rain fall in Seattle is 37 inches and the average yearly rainfall in San Antonio is 33 inches, only 4 inches less than Seattle.  The difference is we get our rain fall in large amounts at one time.  I have heard our weather described as drought with intermittent flooding.  It takes very special plants to handle that type of dry/moist cycles.  Xeriscape does not mean ugly landscape.  According to Wikipedia;

    “Xeriscaping and xerogardening refers to landscaping and gardening in ways that reduce or eliminate the need for supplemental irrigation.”  Over the past few years more and more Xeric plants are becoming available.  (Plants other than Cacti and Yucca’s.)  Shrubs, trees and groundcovers that are either native or adapted are becoming more available.  We will have to adjust our views on what constitutes a pretty landscape but not by much.  Reducing the turf areas in a landscape and replacing existing water hungry plants can give you a beautiful and water smart landscape.  (less turf means less mowing, Hooray!!)  Contact Nematode Nick’s.  We offer Landscape Design and Installation that is water smart, less maintenance, organic and beautiful.  You can save money, water, energy and have a beautiful yard naturally with Nematode Nick.

For more details check out our website.  www.nematodenick.com

 

 

Nematode Nick can speak at your Garden Club, Home Owners Association, Neighborhood Associations or just about any other organized group interested in Organic Gardening, Landscaping or Plant Selections.

 

 

To request a date click here.

Nematode Nick’s Landscaping

April 6th, 2009

Plant of the Season

  The widely adaptable dwarf Mexican petunia (Ruellia brittoniana) has been named a Texas Superstar^TM by Texas A&M University            

 

Mexican petunias are very adaptable and will tolerate wet and dry soils. They prefer full sun but will tolerate shade; however, since flowering is light-related, the plants will flower less in shade

 

Although Mexican petunias are drought-tolerant once established, they perform best with regular irrigation during droughts and with regular feeding of high phosphorus fertilizers. They are disease- and insect-resistant and only rarely bothered by snails and caterpillars.

 

In good soil, the plant will reseed true, but is not as invasive as others in the species. Recently, a dwarf pink version of Katie called Bonita^TM was patented and introduced by Color Spot Nurseries.

Jennifer Regar

 

 

 

 

Dwarf Mexican Petunia

 

Hardiness: Zone 8

Exposure: Full sun or partial shade

Size: Individual plants usually less than 1 foot tall by wide; spreads quickly by self-seefing.

Bloom Time: Early summer till frost.

If you follow these guidelines you will eliminate the most common plant problems.

 

1.  Proper plant for the area.       This includes size, sun, soil, zone and moisture. 

 

2.  Place the plant the proper distance from structures and other plants.      

 

3.  Size, that cute little plant you bought at the nursery has grown up to be huge.  Know what the plant will look like and how large it will be when it matures.

 

4.  Plant at the proper depth.  Normally the same depth of soil as in the pot.

 

5.  Mulch, but don’t let it touch the trunk.

 

6.  Proper watering practices.  Check with you nursery professional for each particular plant or email us and we will give you our recommendations.

 

What is green and goes to a summer camp?

A Brussels' scout.

Dilly Dip

 

Ingredients

1  8-ounce package low fat cream cheese, softened

1  8-ounce carton low fat dairy sour cream or low fat plain yogurt

2  tablespoons finely chopped green onion

2  tablespoons snipped fresh dill or 2 teaspoons dried dill

1/2  teaspoon seasoned salt or salt

Milk (optional)

Assorted vegetable dippers, crackers, or chips

 

Directions

1. In a medium mixing bowl beat cream cheese, sour cream or yogurt, green onion, dill, and seasoned salt with an electric mixer on low speed until fluffy. Cover and chill for 1 to 24 hours. If dip thickens after chilling, stir in 1 to 2 tablespoons milk. Serve with vegetable dippers, crackers, or chips.

2. Makes about 2 cups dip

     Happy Spring everyone and welcome to our second addition of Organic Thymes.

Spring is my favorite time of the year.  I sit, not so patiently, during January and February, surveying the browned countryside gloomily waiting for it to start turning green.  Then with the touch of God’s hand, the brown begins to change into this beautiful lush green landscape.  The wild flowers begin to blanket the sides of the roads and everything looks happy again.  When anyone ask me what my favorite flower is I always say the Bluebonnet.  I have Bluebonnet “stuff” in every room of my house.  Unfortunately, our lack of rain has made Bluebonnets scarce this year.

     In our last issue, I talked about cool weather herbs.  I planted my dill, cilantro, and parsley a couple of weeks ago and hope that they will survive long enough to produce enough of the herbs so I can put some in the freezer for later.  I keep a jar for each herb in the door of the freezer and keep adding to the jar each time I harvest more than I need at the time.  You do not need to let them dry out before you freeze them.  Just wash, pat dry with a paper towel and drop loosely in the jar. They will keep indefinitely and will always be available when you need some for your favorite recipe.  Harvest your herbs often even when you do not plan to use them at that time.  This causes your plants to get bushier and fuller.  Remember the jars in the freezer???

    Last time I talked about Cilantro.  This time I want to talk about Dill.  Dill is an annual plant with light green, feathery foliage.  The leaves are thin, tiny spikes that can be clipped with scissors and sprinkled into salads, soups and sauces.  My favorite is to sprinkle fresh dill on chilled, sliced tomatoes, cucumbers and sweet onion rings marinated with vinegar and sugar.  In late summer, Dill produces a beautiful yellow flower mass that dries well and eventually becomes the dill seed used in many dishes including our favorite pickle recipe.  However, be aware that dill is also the main source of food for the caterpillars that eventually grow into the Swallowtail Butterfly.  They can strip your dill plants to mere sticks in a day’s time.  If you don’t want to kill the caterpillars (I don’t) just plant lots of extra dill, some for you, some for them.

    Dill is a member of the carrot family and can be started in the Spring by seed or transplants.  It likes full sun and moist soil.  If it dries out it will go straight to flower.

 

Until next time,  Happy Gardening                                             Leslie Vann

 

All About Herbs

Recipe

Going Green

Organic Products

Medina Hasta Gro Plant Food  is an indoor/outdoor plant and shrub fertilizer.  I had heard of Hasta Gro several years ago and frankly did not believe all the “hype” about it.  I did some testing on my own and found the product to be all that people said it was and more.  If your plants need an immediate boost or a short term fertilizer this is the product to use.  You will get quick and amazing results with Hasta Gro.  Be sure to use according to the label. 

Testimonial

Joke

Gardening requires lots of water - most of it in the form of perspiration.
- Lou Erickson

My family has known Nick Vann as a professional landscaper and organic gardening specialist for the past two years. When first meeting Mr. Vann, we were impressed by his thorough knowledge of Texas gardening. He spent time drawing out a landscaping plan with a variety of options for us to consider -- all within our budget. Mr. Vann has an impressive understanding of Texas soil, vegetation, and can explain what plants and trees work best for the type of soil and shading/sunlight available.

Mr. Vann listens, When we told him that we wanted very low-maintenance landscaping, that is exactly what he gave us. He makes meeting your landscaping goals easy. When we expressed an interest in putting in a limestone border, he not only gave us a reasonable price, but also had the specific amount of limestone we needed set aside to pick up at our convenience. Talk about service! Mr. Vann is also friendly, professional, and willing to provide personal attention and helpful advice whenever we ask. We do not hesitate to contact Mr. Vann when we have a landscaping or gardening question. Our landscaping has never looked better -- it now offers beauty year-round with minimal attention.

We are very happy with the quality of work Mr. Vann provides; in addition to the value Mr. Vann has placed on a continuing positive relationship. He is not only an expert in his field; he also takes pride in the quality of the product and service he provides. We are happy to recommend Mr. Vann for any landscaping job you may have...He has impressed us to no end!

Seminars

Questions or comments?

E-mail us at nick@nematodenick.com

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What am I gonna do about the drought????

 

Summer is on  it’s way and so is the water rationing.  You don’t have to loose your landscape.  There is a lot you can do to reduce the damage caused by the drought.  The most important step in protecting your investment and keeping you property presentable is to stop using chemicals and use only organic products in your landscape.  Most chemical fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides contain salts which draw water out of the plants and microbes.  It only makes sense that in an environment where moisture is at a premium that anything that removes moisture needlessly would be a detriment.  Synthetic fertilizers will offer the plant material nutrients as they pass through the soil.  If the plant needs that nutrient at that particular time then the plant can use it.  If the plant does not need the nutrient while the chemical is passing through the nutrient just goes on by.  Some researchers claim that less than 10% of the nutrients in chemicals actually reach the plants. 

Using organic products reduces the stress of the salt induced burning of the plants.  The result of using organic products and regaining the balance to the soil reduces the amount of water needed overall.  When organic fertilizers are used the soil is made healthy and healthy soil has the nutrients available to the plants all the time.  Healthy soil is teaming with microbes which beak down the organic matter and turns it into nutrients for the plants.