The garden reader:

True or false and in-between

By William Scheick

Book Reviewer

C. L. Fornari. Coffee for Roses and 70 Other Misleading Myths about Backyard Gardening. St. Lynn's Press, 2014. 146 pp. $17.95.

Bill Adler, Jr. Outwitting Squirrels: 101 Cunning Stratagems to Reduce Dramatically the Egregious Misappropriation of Seed from Your Birdfeeder by Squirrels. Chicago Review Press, 2014. 220 pp. $19.95.

I am always on the lookout for discussions that correct, revise or complicate repeated (sometimes trendy) gardening beliefs. Sometimes the beliefs turn out to be neither true nor false, but fall somewhere in-between.

Two of my favorite myth-busting books are The Truth about Garden Remedies (2006) by Jeff Gillman and The Informed Gardener (2008) by Linda Chalker-Scott. Now we also have C. L. Fornari's Coffee for Roses.

Fornari's digest-sized book is pleasantly designed for the busy gardener. If you budget yourself to one entry per day, there are enough handy, bite-sized lessons here - each requiring less than five minutes - to last over two months.

Topics include using marigolds or cedar mulch as insect repellants, adding sugar to soil to sweeten tomatoes, bending onion tops for larger bulbs, burying rusty nails to turn hydrangeas blue and positioning stones for drainage at the bottom of containers.

Fornari's prose is companionable and her observations make sense. In Texas, however, the so-called myth of planting clematis with their heads in the sun and their feet in the shade is simply a smart strategy.

Bill Adler, Jr. also sorts fact from fiction in Outwitting Squirrels. This book is presently in its third edition, and for good reason: it is honest, funny and wise.

In an interview appearing in the New York Times (April 10, 2014), Adler explained how he was driven to create this book in 1988: "all day long I started figuring out ways to get rid of that squirrel. I didn't get any writing done; my social life went down the tubes: I'd be on the phone with somebody, I'd see the squirrel and yell, 'Get the blank out of here!' and the person would think I was talking to them.

"So I decided to do the only thing I knew how to do, which was to write about it. The first 20 publishers turned me down, and the 21st said yes; the editor there fed birds."

Adler evaluates currently available feeders in detail and also describes many inventive squirrel-deterring structures. Some of these anti-squirrel contraptions are extraordinarily clever.

If you are a bird-lover vexed by squirrels, these devices will allow you to once again believe that the filching, ever-adapting rodents can be outwitted - at least until a fourth edition of Adler's book is needed. 

The Hill Country Gardener

August is deep summer in San Antonio. Good Xeriscape plants will make it through the month without supplemental watering; others will need conscientious watering to stay prosperous.  

Generally no fertilizing or planting is done during this month.

Birds and Wildlife

Move the hummingbird feeders to the patio.

Change your sugar water every week. Pour the old liquid in a shallow dish for the butterflies.

It's time to plant mari-mums, zinnias and sunflowers this month. Lantanas, firebush, purslane, portulaca and periwinkles are prospering in the heat.

Lantana bloom can be rejuvenated with a string trimmer.

Bougainvillea loves the Texas summer heat; if they're root-bound in the pot, even better.

Prune the roses back.

Trim back petunias and impatiens to encourage new growth.

Thin spring-blooming bulbs.

Pecan trees need 1 inch of water per week over the entire root area.

Apply borer spray to the peach trees this month.

Early apples are ready for harvest.

Moy Grande hibiscus produces 12-inch blooms in full sun.

Gold Star Esparanza produces fragrant yellow flowers clear up until frost.

Stake or support larger-growing plants that have become heavy or are leaning over.

Shade trees can reduce the heat gain in a home by 40-80 percent.

Cotton root rot is stimulated by hot soil temperatures.

This is the second-best time to prune live oak trees.

If you have scale problems on your shrubs, use light summer oil.

Fall webworms may appear on pecan, mulberry, ash, persimmon, and other trees. Spray Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt).

Windmill palm, Mexican fan palm and Sabal palm are especially well-adapted to this area.

Mulch, mulch, mulch.

Remember that newly-planted trees need watering once per week for the whole first season.

In August, all grasses require water to stay green.

When you see your footprints in the grass, it's time to water.

Grub worms eat the roots of grass plants.

Chinch bugs do their damage in the hottest part of summer, in the hottest part of the lawn.

There is still time to establish a new lawn.

Remember when laying new sod; roll the turf to ensure good soil-root contact.

Vegetables

Early August is the best time to start planting the fall garden. Use transplants for tomatoes and peppers and direct seed corn and beans later in the month.

Plant pumpkins in early August. Get the 90-day variety.

Other vegetable crops to plant in August are cucumber, eggplant, lima beans, black-eye peas, peppers, and squash.

Write me at gardener@gvtc.com to get the recommended vegetable varieties for the state of Texas.

Woodway: Dr. Larry Stein, Extension Horticulturist for Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, will demonstrate how to properly prune fruit and nut trees for maximum production at 1 p.m., August 6, at Whitehall Center at the Carleen Bright Arboretum, 9001 Bosque Blvd., Woodway. $10 admission. For more information, visit http://www.mclennanmastergardeners.org.  

Diboll: The long-term plan for a privately-owned estate can be as individualized as the property owner. That includes how the land is managed both now and into the future. Texas A&M Forest Service can help landowners explore options to develop a plan that is right for you. The state agency that works to conserve and protect the natural resources of the state - including assisting landowners in managing their own piece of Texas - will be featured at the Woodland Owners' Workshop August 14 in Diboll. Agenda items include eminent domain, planning for the future, inheritance and property transfer, and what tools and resources are currently available to property owners for making management decisions. TFS has a longstanding practice of providing such assistance to landowners. The workshop is free to the public and will be held at the Lottie and Arthur Temple Civic Center in Diboll from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Lunch is included and continuing education credits are available. Please RSVP by Aug. 8 to Shane Harrington at 936-546-1470 or sharrington@tfs.tamu.edu.

Nacogdoches: SFA Gardens at Stephen F. Austin State University will host the monthly Theresa and Les Reeves Lecture Series at 7 p.m. Thursday, August 14, in the Ina Brundrett Conservation Education Building at the Pineywoods Native Plant Center, 2900 Raguet St. in Nacogdoches. Ethan Kauffmann will present "Green Roofs, Green Walls, the South Carolina Way." Kauffmann grew up in Lancaster, Penn., before attending Clemson University and earning a B.S. in Biology. In 2007 he joined Moore Farms Botanical Garden after eight years at Riverbanks Zoo and Botanical Garden where he managed the zoo horticulture program. In his current position as Garden Director at Moore Farms Botanical Garden, he has led the transition from a private pleasure garden to a non-profit botanical garden. Kauffmann has collected plants across the country and abroad but is always excited to return to the wild places of South Carolina. He feels that horticulture connects us to the natural world and that exploring this relationship is vital to understanding and defining our place in it. Ethan currently resides in Columbia, South Carolina. The Theresa and Les Reeves Lecture Series is held the second Thursday of each month at the Arthur Temple College of Forestry and Agriculture's SFA Pineywoods Native Plant Center. A rare plant raffle will be held after the program. The lecture is free and open to the public, but donations to the Theresa and Les Reeves lecture series fund are always appreciated. Parking is available at the nearby Raguet Elementary School, 2428 Raguet St., with continual shuttle service to the Ina Brundrett Conservation Education Building. For more information, call 936-468-1832 or email grantdamon@sfasu.edu.

La Marque: "Successful Fall Vegetable Gardening" with long-time GC Master Gardener Luke Stripling, 9-11:30 a.m., August 16, at Galveston County AgriLife Extension in Carbide Park, 4102 Main, La Marque; 281-534-3413; email reservations to galv3@wt.net, further details www.aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/galveston . Free.

La Marque: "Gardening by The Square Foot" with GC Master Gardener John Jons, 6:30-8 p.m., August 19, at Galveston County AgriLife Extension in Carbide Park, 4102 Main, La Marque; 281-534-3413; email reservation to galv@wt.net, further details www.aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/galveston. Free.

San Antonio: "It's Not Too Early to Start a Fall Garden"--Backyard Gardening Series will be held 6:30-8:30 p.m., August 19, at Texas A&M Agrilife Extension Service, 3355 Cherry Ridge Suite 208, San Antonio. Learn how to prepare for a fall garden: soil and planting preparation and getting rid of weeds; types of soil amendments and fertilizers; variety of warm and cool season crops; do's and don'ts of fall gardening; successes and challenges of having a fall garden. Presented by David Rodriguez, County Extension Agent-Horticulture, Texas A&M AgriLife Ext Svc. 2 CEUs for Master Gardeners. Cost is $10. RSVP to Angel Torres, at 210-467-6575 or matorres@ag.tamu.edu.

Seabrook: Jim Bundscho, a Montgomery County master gardener, will present a program on aquaponics at 10 a.m., August 20, at the Clear Lake Meeting Room, 5001 Nasa Parkway, Seabrook. For more information, visit https://hcmga.tamu.edu/Public/pubP2.aspx.

Seguin: The Guadalupe Master Gardeners will meet on Thursday, August 21 at the Justice Center, 211 Court Street, Seguin. The meeting will start at 7 p.m. after a social function starting at 6:30. Join Master Gardener Specialists for a Round Table Discussion: Just-in-Time Gardening Refresher for Fall. Attendees will choose 3 small discussion groups to attend. Master Gardener specialists will lead each small group, discussing challenges, solutions, and successes in areas such as: plant propagation; growing herbs, vegetables, and native plants; efficient irrigation, composting; and tree care. For further information visit www.guadalupecountymastergardeners.org or call 830-303-3889.

La Marque: "Strawberries" with GC Master Gardener Robert Marshall, 6:30-8 p.m., August 26, at Galveston County AgriLife Extension in Carbide Park, 4102 Main, La Marque; 281-534-3413; email reservation to galv@wt.net, further details www.aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/galveston. Free.

• Many, many practical and timely garden tips that are for Texas - not Maine or California!
• Organic, earth friendly tips to make your garden grow and prosper
• Lots of space to record your own activities for future reference
• Planting dates and tips for vegetables, flowers, herbs, fruit and lawns

The Vegetable Book

By Dr. Sam Cotner

Finally, back by popular demand and in its fourth printing, the most informative and comprehensive "how-to" book on vegetable gardening in Texas (also, suitable for most other areas of the South) written by the late, great Dr. Sam Cotner, former head of horticulture at Texas A&M University and lifelong gardener. This interesting read has over 370 pages of detailed information on every crop, from Asparagus to Watermelon including problem/solving sections for each vegetable. If you want to maximize your enjoyment and success growing vegetables in Texas, this book is a "must have," whether you are a beginner or a seasoned gardener. Price $34.02

By William D. Adams

The best thing for tomato enthusiasts since the tomato itself! Adams draws on more than thirty years of experience to provide a complete, step-by-step guide to success in the tomato patch. Learn everything from soil preparation, planting, feeding, caging and watering. Liberally sprinkled with the author's easy humor and illustrated with his own excellent photographs, this must-have book has everything you'll need to assure a bumper crop! 189 pages. Lots of color photographs! Price: $31.94

($15.82 if ordered separately)

Remit payment to:

TG Books * PO Box 9005 * Waco, TX 76714

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