New Book of Days

April 4, 2025 by HTV9

Here are some things I’ve learned over a few years gardening in Texas on my patio.
– Granular as well as liquid organic fertilizer is needed for stuff to survive here since it gets so much water. Compost also really helps as does topping up the soil with more potting soil when it gets low. Once every couple of weeks works fine as long as it’s not too hot. Sparingly for the granular and liquid stuff, lots for the compost. Hold off on too much of this during the really hot parts of the year; do this only like once every month and a half then. And if you add mulch feed the soil right underneath it.
– Potting soil is good. So is mulch on top of it. I like cedar mulch.
– If you don’t want to water every single day, set up a sprinkler system on a timer for each day in the hotter parts of the year. This is definitely what you need for tomatoes. Mint too
– Watering yourself just before and after sunset works fine unless it’s a humid month like May or early June in which case it has to be done in the morning so the sun burns off any extra
– Starting seeds in a setup like this directly in each pot actually works for some seeds but not for others
– In really hot times in the summer, leave the pots on drip trays or something similar which keeps the water at the bottom, and water both the bottom saucer and the top surface of the mulch/dirt
– Put stuff on top of a table and about four feet apart, to get more air circulation when it gets humid, to prevent mildew
– Don’t take plant pots inside in the winter unless you want a new ant farm. Therefore, don’t grow anything that won’t survive long periods of freezes mixed with heat waves. Or just plan to swap out one year’s annuals with something else you grow next year
– Prune whatever needs it when it needs it and do it religiously
– Sweeping and/or hosing off the patio prevents excessive ants and snails

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