Seasonal Accommodations

Some might find it hard to believe that gardening could be anything like frenetic, especially if you sprouted 250 or so plumeria from seeds three years ago, and now about two-thirds of them need repotting into something bigger. While grown around here as potted tropical plants, plumeria are in fact trees and, while they tolerate the cramped sort of life that a nursery pot provides, their roots long for as much space as a grower can provide. The trick is that, if you put your plumeria into a huge 20 gallon pot, you better jump out of the way, because it will grow 12 feet high or more, and spread.

And then you have to find a barn or some really large heatable place to keep it through the winter, because it can’t handle anything approaching freezing weather. And you have to find a way to drag that giant plant into and out of shelter. Thus, I’m repotting into 3-gallon pots, which still will give me some pretty large plants by the end of the summer.

I also created a living space to accommodate those plumeria varieties (and hibiscus, too) that have trouble tolerating the intensity of our Semi-South Texas sun come June or so. This was accomplished with the help of a 20-by14-foot piece of 50% shade cloth, some rope, eye hooks and special plastic clamps that quickly attach cloth to rope.

(Shade close is strong net-like and fairly inexpensive material that reduces the sun’s intensity by a set percentage. So 50% shade cloth reduces the sun’s intensity by half. You can buy it at nursery supply houses. Start with an online search for “shade cloth.”)

I already had a narrow piece of 40% shade cloth strung in place like an awning over the strip of land between my east workshop wall and the neighbor’s fence. This has served well as a nursery for young seedlings and recently propagated new plants. The new shade zone amounts to a big awning coming off of the south side of the workshop. One corner of the front is attached to that neighbor’s fence, and the other is tied to a giant fig tree.

You may detect from the photo above that the arrangement isn’t destined for Better Homes & Gardens, but it’ll do the job and is out of sight around the corner from the more fashionable portions of the grounds. Heh.

The last couple of weeks really have been kind of frenetic, garden-wise. One of my seed vendors finally got around to sending 30 sets of shallots, which should’ve arrived here in USDA Zone 9 sometime in January. I plowed the last of the back-garden raised beds yesterday, and planted the shallots even though I fear they may burn out before plumping up in our hot mid-summer. I filled in the rest of the big bed with a couple of rows of green beans.

Also new to the garden were several basil plants. I hate to admit it, but had to patronize a local Home Depot to get the sweet basil. I’d rather have bought from one of my two favorite local retail nurseries, but for the second year in a row, neither has been able to keep this most common of basil in stock, if they ever had any at all. The fact there’s such a demand for it that it’s always sold out should have told somebody something.

But the small nurseries dropped the basil ball, and now the big box stores apparently have picked it up. Word has gotten out, as I found out about the Home Depot basil from a neighbor. The last thing the little mom-and-pop nurseries need is to have their loyal customers start traveling to the big chain stores to do their garden shopping. But this one was of the mom-and-pops’ own making.

Next year my answer will be to grow basil seedlings under my vegetable lights along with the tomatoes and peppers.