Musings on our visit to Peru!

My trip to Peru was fantastic. My family saw the house that I grew up in and they met several of my high school classmates and neighborhood gang members.

My daughter Assisi now calls me a nerd, because my friends told her that I was always the one who made them think twice about doing stupid pranks, or kept them from drinking too much. Most of the guys that my family met, claimed that after I left Peru, they started having problems with the law, and that at one time or another they each spent at least one night in jail. Luckily they were not murderers or thieves, just partiers. I mean real partiers. The wives of all my friends begged me to move back to Peru, since their husbands still had frequent wild streaks.

One interesting note, is that the last house that belonged to my family, was converted into a mall, a very mini mall, so to speak. At one time there was a restaurant, a photography studio, a shoe store, dress shop, a florist and a plant nursery. The photography studio takes up the whole upper level. At ground level, the shoe store and dress shop did not do very well, but the restaurant, the florist and the nursery are doing great. The nursery has taken over most of the space vacated by the clothing stores. I just thought that this was a strange coincidence worth mentioning.

I consider myself a very brave passenger while traveling by car, but while in Peru I feared for my life many times. Our main means of transportation in Peru was by TAXI. Unemployed or moonlighting professionals that use their family cars for means of extra money, drive most Taxis illegally. Many of these cars are in great shape on the outside but you never know what is going on under the hood or worse yet, in the brake system.

As these drivers changed lanes without signaling, or made left turns from the right lane you wonder why so few cars actually had dents or even scratches.

When we first arrived in Lima, and started to tour around the city, I offered the front seat to Sandra so she could have a better view of the city. After her first ride she never took the front seat again. Victor called shotgun once- Only once. During that one ride, I saw him brace himself for a collision three times, he closed his eyes for about 5 minutes and when he opened his eyes, we were next to a large bus that seemed a bit too close for comfort. He screamed. The Taxi driver slammed on the breaks, we all hit our heads against our knees that were touching the back of the front seat. Victor begged me to change places with him. I did not. From that trip on, I had to sit in front reveling in all of the extra legroom, but praying to any Inca god that would save me from a violent death by Taxi. Assisi was just too smart, she always sat in the middle of the rear seat and just laughed at who ever sat in front.

More about Peru later.

Things to Do in November

Plant shrubs, perennials and trees!

Fall is for planting. The benefits of fall planting are many. The cool soil helps promote root growth. The cooler temperatures and extra moisture that we get from rains, ice and snow means that we have to water less, there are fewer pests and disease problems. Basically all that has to be done is to follow proper planting techniques. Trees: For tree planting, these techniques mean digging an ugly hole, placing the tree at the proper depth, not to deep. Backfilling with the excising soil and then top dressing with compost, volcanic products and finishing the chore with a thick layer of mulch. Make sure that the mulch is not up against the trunk of the tree. We learned these techniques from Howard Garrett and have had good success when planting this way.

Last year at about this time, we transplanted several Yaupon trees that had been planted too close in proximity to the house. By doing this I have pulled misshaped trees from under the eve and did not have to trim them all year. Now they are setting fruit, reverting back to a more natural look, and the branches are not rubbing up against the roof extending the life of the roof.

I have one mockingbird living in each Yaupon, which serve as sentinels for the house. The other night one of Victor’s friends, by the name of Rickey, tried sneaking up to Victor’s bedroom window. He disturbed the mockingbird. The mockingbird flew away in a hurry and scared off Victor’s friend. In his hurry to get away from what he thought was a bat, Rickey turned around and ran into a lower branch of the yaupon scratching his face and ripping his shirt. Boy, I bet he had some splainin' to do.

If you do not have a tree to transplant come on over to Rohde’s and buy a tree. We do sell long-lived, disease and insect resistant trees. As a matter of fact, if you call other nurseries and ask for Bradford Pears most of them still carry this much asked for tree. The Bradford pear, Pyrus calleryana, is a bad clone of the Callery pear. It grows upright reaching 30 feet in height, but it is a short-lived tree due to the weak V type branching structure that has a tendency to split away from the trunk during heavy winds.

There are other trees, that other nurseries sell because they are in high demand, but we have decided to forgo the extra sales and only offer quality trees.

There is no cheaper way to help cool the house down, than the proper placement of a tree.

Before you go out and buy a tree, research the growth habits. Make sure that you do not plant a Yaupon Holly in front of a two-story house expecting to shade the second floor.

Do not plant a Chinquapin Oak in front of a townhouse or zero lot line property. The tree will grow so large that it will need constant trimming to keep the branches from causing structural damage or physical harm. Better choices include Vasey oak or Lacey Oak.

If you want Bermuda grass as a lawn, then think about trees that will have more upright growth and will permit enough sunlight for Bermuda grass, but have enough branching structure to shade the house. Small leafed trees such as Cedar Elm and Chinese Pistachio can have branches trimmed a little higher above the ground and still look good. The benefits of the Cedar Elm are many, but for people with pools, enjoy the fact that the cedar elm is a clean tree. It drops all of its leaves in a two-week period sometime in mid November making cleanup quick and easy.

The Chinese Pistachio has beautiful fall color and few insect or disease problems.

Do some tree research here.

Consult with a landscape architect or a designer.

If you were planting the tree in an area where another tree may have died recently, I would recommend applying Beneficial Nematodes to the area where the old root system may be. The decaying wood could be full of bores, carpenter ants or other insects that may infect the new tree causing stress or even death.

We have a customer that planted a Chinese Pistachio at his house, that died a few months after it was installed. Confused and probably a little irate he came into our store and demanded a new tree. Wanting to help, and since he did live near by I went with him to his house. On the way over he told me that he lost a Silver Leaf Maple in his front yard near the area where he planted the Pistachio. He also stated that the arborist that removed the Maple said that the tree died from bores.

As soon as we arrived you could see the typical signs of bore damage on the tree. Sap oozing in irregular patterns from small holes in the bark of the tree, let me know the reason for the dead Pistachio.

I asked him if he had a saw, and when he bought it out, we cut the tree down and several tunnels in the trunk of the tree, proved that it had been borers that killed the tree.

When we got back to the nursery, I sold him a box of Beneficial Nematodes, explained to him how to apply them, and then told him to wait about two months before planting another tree. Three years have passed and the second Pistachio is doing very well and has no signs of bores.

Another benefit for trees, is a product called Mycor. Mycorrhizal fungi are an essential part of all plant growth. Mycorrhizae—which means “fungus-root,” work as an extension of the plant’s root system to help the plant take up soil nutrients and water in exchange for a steady source of sugars. This inexpensive product cost only $7.99 per pound and will greatly increase viability of any tree.

Shrubs: Does your landscape have a shrub that gets aphids, spider mites or scale?

Do you feel compelled to spray all the time to try to keep your problems in check?

If you answered yes to any of these questions try to find out why those plants are not doing well. Could it be that it is just a bad plant for the area? Is the area to wet or shady? Do you have a plant that should be in a sunny location, but is actually growing in shade because the trees in the area are now providing too much shade?

Before you throw these sickly plants away, do some research. If you planted these a long time ago, did you buy them because you liked the foliage or the flower?

After you find out what requirements they need, if you have an area suitable for these plants transplant them to that area. Save a plant and the money!

Of course, even when you transplant a plant that is in your garden, to a new area prepare the soil properly with compost, homemade or purchased, minerals and other additives that will enrich the soil making the plant very happy.

In the Garden Section of the Dallas Morning News on Friday October 26, 2001 H.S. Stevens wrote an article titled “Keep your soil alive for the plants’ sake.”

I would like to suggest this article as mandatory reading. For those of us that listen to Howard Garret, we are used to hearing what Mr. Stevens recommends. Basically he says that if the soils suffer- so do the plants. He recommends building a microbe factory by providing a constant supply of organic matter. That means that even after the landscape is finished you should replenish the soil, by topdressing with compost before redoing your mulch, on a yearly basis.

In the September issue of Organic Matters Warren Johnson talked about the use of cotton bur compost as a soil amendment. If you did not read it now is your chance.

When you’re contemplating re-working an existing bed, first determine the cubic area of the bed. Start with the square footage (length x width) of the bed. With free form beds, you can use an average width and length. Then determine the depth of the bed. With the exception of azaleas, which require at least an 18 inch deep bed, a 12 inch depth is sufficient. The results of these calculations will help you to determine how much organic matter and other additives will be required.

Example: A simple formula for calculating the cubic area of a ten by twenty foot bed twelve inches deep would be: 10’ x 20’ x 1’ = or 200 cubic feet of planting area. The twelve inch depth is converted in this equation to one foot. More complex dimensions may require converting all the measurements to inches. Ex: The equation for a 20’ wide x 30’ foot long x 8” deep bed would be as follows: 20 feet x 12 inches = 240 inches. 30 feet x 12 inches = 360 inches, or 240” x 360” x 8” = 691,200 cu. inches, Divide that figure by 12” to convert it to cubic feet, or 576.0 cu. ft.

Next, it’s necessary to understand that a truly healthy soil contains 25% water, 25% air, 45% minerals and a minimum 5% organic content. Amazingly, it is almost exclusively the organic content that makes a soil capable of sustaining life.

Fortunately, organic matter can be easily added to soils in the form of compost. Everyone who’s anyone in horticulture agrees that compost is the single, most important ingredient you can add to your soil, because it is the repository and primary food source for beneficial organisms that are responsible for providing nutrients, aeration, moisture retention, temperature control and maintaining a balance between the beneficial and harmful forces in the soil.

The best compost is probably that which you make yourself. First because it’s free and second because it means you are recycling many of the waste products that you generate on your little piece of earth.

Leave the leaves alone: In the article from Mr. Stevens mentioned above, he recommends mulching or shredding the leaves before adding to beds or leaving on the lawn. But, he also says that you should add nitrogen to improve the carbon/nitrogen ratio. We like hearing garden experts talk about this, it is rarely that they actually mention this sometime forgotten balance. Now, he does not say use synthetic nitrogen for this purpose. He recommends cottonseed meal. I recommend GreenSense All Purpose Fertilizer because it is more complete and it also has ingredients that will feed the microbes giving them more energy to break down organic matter.

When we go to a customer’s home for fall clean up and leaf removal, we start by cleaning the gutters. This can be very nasty, since some gutters were last cleaned in the spring. There may be just enough moisture and debris to have mosquitoes breeding there. Because of this my guys usually will have on mosquito repellant. After they have cleaned the gutters, they will blow the leaves off of all concrete areas onto the lawn area and mulch these leaves with the lawn mower. If there is an excess amount of leaves they will go over the area again with the grass catcher on and then empty the leaves into a flowerbed leaving a two inch layer.

Periodically the lawn crew will apply fertilizers and microbes to the entire lawn and garden areas.

If you have an excess amount of leaves and all of your beds are mulched properly do not bag the excess for city trash pick up. COMPOST IT!

Lawns: As the leaves fall from trees and insects and small creatures get caught in the cold they become nature’s fertilizer. If Mother Nature fertilizes in the fall, and she knows best, then why don’t you? Apply an organic fertilizer at a rate of 20 pounds per 1000 sq./ft. The organic fertilizers applied in the fall will help to encourages good root development and improve the overall health of your soil.

Apply GreenSense Lawn & Garden Microbial Treatment to help break down excess leaves and thatch, they will also help aerate your lawn and improve water percolation.

At this time you can also apply an amendment like Humate, Rock Phosphate Colloidal Clay, Lava Sand and Green Sand. These amendments will help enrich the soil and improve, percolation, tilth, and microbial activity and root structure.

If the soil is not frozen, now would be a good time to release some worms on the lawn. After receiving your container place three worms for every 100 square feet.

Trees: If you have dead branches that might be hard to detect once the leaves have fallen, you can do two things, one is to go ahead and remove those branches now or draw a diagram that will help you find the branches later. It is better for the tree if you wait until the colder temperatures have forced the sap back down into the tree and it is easier for you because the branches will actually be lighter. Do not prune fruit trees until January or early February.

Now is a good time to fertilize and apply Mycorrhizal fungi.

Bulbs: Pick out your bulbs now, but do not plant tulips or hyacinths until the soil temperature is in the 40 to 50 degree range. This will keep them from rotting Refrigerate your bulbs until they are ready to be planted. Always soak bulbs in a Kelp Solution and put Soft Rock Phosphate Colloidal Clay in the hole at the time of planting. It is nice if you know which part of the bulb should be the top, but the flowering part of the bulbs will find their way up.