Friday, March 25, 2011

My Back My Garden

I have begun preparing my garden for planting which means turning the soil and working in compost.  I use a spading fork.  The first few times I do this in any year my back complains mightily, not just the muscles, but the spine itself.  I have a kind of arthritis that attacks the spinal column, the rib joints and my feet. Most of the time, I can ignore the pain.  This was not the case this time.  I had trouble walking the day after working in the garden and only managed a hunched over shuffle. Needless to say there was a delay in returning to my garden.

On Saturday, March 19, I purchased four tomato plants.  Usually, we have no freeze after March 14 although we will have what my grandmother called an "Easter spell" of cold weather in the weeks before a late Easter.  A native Texan, whose garden fed her family, she was uncanny in predicting the weather.  She's gone now so I am on my own.  I have decided to put my faith in meteorology and plant as soon as possible.

I added leaves and fertilizer to the bed I had turned compost into and turned it again.  I use no pesticides, but I am not a pure organic gardener.  I use a time release fertilizer that comes ready to apply and will not burn the plants.  In addition, it will not harm the earthworms and other beneficial insects.  Besides, I have a Ph. D. in Chemistry and believe that there are natural and man made substances that can be used together. I don't use pesticides because what will kill pests may not be good for us either.  Texas homes were treated with chlordane for termites for years before it was banned.  Now it is difficult to find soil uncontaminated with chlordane breakdown chemicals.  Know your chemicals!

After working the garden plot again, I planted my tomatoes, four different varieties: Solar Set, Celebrity, Sweet 100, and Brandywine (an old Amish variety).  I have my doubts about Brandywine in the Texas heat; we are far from Amish country.  I try different varieties every year.  I will purchase three more tomato plants this week to complete the tomato plots..I still have to turn that plot.

The good news: my back complained briefly about the digging and turning I did, then quieted down to its normal background growl of discomfort.

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Could Jesus Vote in Texas?

Photo by pncsmith
The Texas Senate enacted a law to require a photo ID before you can vote. The majority says it is to prevent voter fraud. This, of course, is not the purpose. The purpose is to disenfranchise the old, the poor and the disabled; all of whom would not vote as the majority in the Senate desires. The House is now considering the bill.

Why do I believe this?

Because I was raised in Texas and remember the poll tax. My Yankee grandmother moved to Texas with my native Texan mother after WWII. My grandmother was shocked to discover she had to pay to vote. I can remember my mother explaining the pernicious nature of the poll tax. The poll tax was designed to keep the poor and especially African Americans from voting. The poll tax was successful.

The 24th amendment to the constitution of the United States was passed to end the poll tax. President Lyndon Johnson, a Texan, said, "There can be no one too poor to vote." The Texas Senate is determined to put lie to that. Voter identification is a Republican scam to reduce the number of voters more likely to vote Democratic.

Now, to vote you will need a driver's license or state photo ID to vote. This means you must be able to pay for those documents. In addition, you must be able to go to your local driver's license office and wait a considerable length of time to have your photo taken. If you are old, infirm or poor, especially if you don't have a car, this becomes a daunting task. Just as in the past, when the poll tax could only be purchased in the courthouse downtown, now the modern poll tax will be just as hard to access for the portion of the population that the majority of our Senate want to disenfranchise.

Texans should be ashamed, but like their senators, too many would rather not see these people vote. "Afterall, if these people were fit to vote, they could get an ID, " is now the mantra.

Jesus said what we do to the least of these, we do to Him. Could Jesus vote in Texas?

Monday, March 7, 2011

The Garden is Winning

I am still pruning away the dead branches and bushes that were a result of this year's unusual low temperatures. Yesterday I removed the obviously dead branches on the primrose jasmine.  I cut down more hackberry saplings.  I am sure if left alone, hackberry would take over this part of Central Texas. Hackberrys are the trashy neighbors of the tree world.

When I moved to this house as a child, there were three large hackberry trees in the front.  Within 5 years, they had all had to be removed, but their offspring continue, even 50 years later. I have a friend with a chainsaw who I hope to enlist in my hackberry war.

While hackberrys reseed and grow at an amazing pace, my elm in front is dying.  The largest tree in the front of the house, I will be sad to lose it.  Two summers ago, we had a real scorcher with weeks in the 100's.  I watered as often as allowed, but the tree simply could not stand the heat.  I had hoped last year's mild summer might rejuvenate the elm, but it did not. This year a few feeble sprouts have appeared near the trunk, but none of the branches have buds.  I will wait a few weeks, but I don't have much hope.

My last project yesterday was to begin preparing my vegetable garden.  I turned over and worked in compost in a four foot by four foot area yessterday.  I was reminded that I did all the work myself with a garden fork when I woke this morning.  Every joint had a complaint.  I have a variant of rheumatoid arthritis, so some joint is always on the warpath, but this was more universal.  I moved from bed to chair to medicine cabinet.  Now, all but my spine has hushed.  I know that my spine will continue its wails for misuse through all planting season.  So far, I have succeeded in ignoring its fuss.

I will put four tomato plants in that square, trying out a denser planting than in past years.  I also plan to plant more peppers this year.  If I have time today, I will prepare a plot for my radishes and carrots.

Saturday, March 5, 2011

Cleaning the Garden

The first warm days have come after a particularly bitter winter( temperature as low as 16 degrees Fahrenheit in the city).  I covered many plants and brought all I could in, even my pencil plant, but suffered heavy damage to plants who seldom experience temperatures below freezing.

All my plants are outdoors once again.  The hanging baskets have suffered from feline predation while inside; the spider plants no longer have spiders.   The tricolor dracaena has a flat-top courtesy of whichever cat climbed into my office.  The office is off limits, but even with the doors closed some of my cats can squeeze between frame and door.  The house is  97.  Its entitled to have some sagging doors. The only casualty was the avocado plant that was hidden behind the sanseveria and did not get watered.  Even the ficus did well this year.

Photo by briweldon
Outside was a disaster.  My yellow jasmine (texas nomenclature) or primrose jasmine (jasminum mesnyi ) is now two-toned with a top layer of tan, dead branches over the budding green ones below.  I will trim the jasmine in a week or so when I can see which branches will flower or not.  The nandina which is at least 60 years old did just fine.  The cane is putting up shoots from the ground.  The sanseveria on the south side of the house have frozen to the ground. Those I covered on the east side have some damage, but will recover.  The cacti are just fine, but the cereus is dead. The parent cereus is alive and well in a pot.  My salvia and my "I don't know what you are" plant( purchased two years ago at a thrift shop sale and unlabeled) are fine. My herb garden is fine, but I need to plant some basil and cilantro soon.  Basil doesn't make it through winter and cilantro gives out in the heat. All together I am happy with the survival rate.

I have removed obviously dead cane and trimmed the lantana to about two inches tall..  Lantana must be cut back or it gets too leggy to be attractive.  The lantana already has green leaves showing next to the ground.  I will save the cane to use as stakes in the garden and put the lantana trimmings out for the brush and clippings pickup.

I need to start preparing the vegetable garden.  I did not plant last year because I assumed I would lose the house.  Since I am still here, I will tempt fate and put in some vegetables.  Tomatoes need to go in first to ripen before the heat comes.  A few radishes and maybe carrots might be fun.  I have some decisions to make.