Thing is, my attention span for stuff is really low. So, I do crazy research on something and then move on to another topic. I need to write some of this shit down before I forget.
The topic at hand is gardening. I'm just gonna write the top 25 things I know so far.
1-Don't mow lawn in summer time if you have Bermuda grass. Keep it atleast at 2 inches. It might turn brown, but don't worry b/c one good rain storm and boom, green again.
2-Aerate and fertilize said lawn.
3- Mulch is a lazy gardener's best friend.
4- So is compost.
5- Do not plant the following things:
- Bradord pears
- Leyland cypress
- Redtip photinia
- Mimosa
- White mulberry
- Hackleberry
- Eastern cottonwood
- Silver maple
- Mint
- Okra
- Things with Japanese in the name like
- Japanese honeysuckle
- Japanese climbing fern
- Japanese chaff flower
- Japanese knotweed
- Japanese spiraea
- Japanese barberry
- Same with Chinese
- Chinese wisteria
- Chinese flame tree
- Chinese tallowtree
- Chinese privet
- Chinese silvergrass
- Chinese yam
- Chinese holly
- Chinaberry
- Oriental Bittersweet
- Porcelain Berry
- Virginia creeper
- Wisteria
- Chameleon plant
- Common violet
- English Ivy
7- Do a soil test and know what pH you're dealing with
8-You need to build your garden slowly. It's a work-in-progress. You can't do it all in a weekend.
9-Bulbs are tough little fuckers. There's different kinds. You can have ones for spring and fall. They shouldn't be mushy.
10- Oh, and don't plant them in a straight row. Dig , throw them in (thought technically, there's a certain way they should be facing but they'll figure it out if they're hardy), and dump soil on top. Done. Clumps. Not rows.
12- Be very careful with vines. Do your research. They look innocent enough but those things will eat your house. Oh, house. Don't plant them and use the house for support. Get a trellis or something.
13- Check the roots. It may look pretty but if that thing is root bound, you better score and hope it'll live.
14- Poop is good. Well, not human poop. But cow poop, mushroom poop, earthworm poop. Those are good.
15- Onions are alliums. They flower into big balls that look really cool.
16- Plant bulbs around Thanksgiving. Put them in crisper of fridge after you buy em in September.
17- Clay soil is a bitch to amend. But amend it you must. Peat moss is your friend. So, is lime. So, is Black Kow. So, is hummus. So, is compost. So, is mulch.
18- Do not look at what you're neighbors are doing...they have no idea what they're doing. Those poor crepe myrtles. Why? Why would you do that to them?
19- It's okay if some of them die. You're learning so expect to fuck up and other times, you did everything right and the effing thing still died. Oh, well. Such is life. Buy more plants. Move on. This is fun.
20.- Invest in good shrubs. Don't just get seduced by the pretty flowers. You need good bones for a garden and that means shrubs. There's lots of good ones.
- Do not plant them too close to each other.
- Do not plant too many infront of house or it will cover up your house.
- Native doesn't always mean best.
- The ones with berries might be a bitch b/c the birds and deer might eat them.
21- Pay your dues to nature: The bees are going bye-bye. And also they tore down trees so you can live where you live now. And butterflies are pretty. Plant some of the following to even out your karma.
- Butterfly bush
- Butterfly weed
- lantanas
- firebush
- zinnia
- yarrow
- bee balm
- black-eyed susan
- salvias
22- Magnolia trees are pretty...pretty annoying. Those leaves are gonna drop and guess who has to pick em up?
23- Look for drought-tolerant plants b/c the world is getting warmer and water is gonna become a rare commodity soon.
24- Succulents are pretty cool. You can grow em and forget em...ok, not forget but they're not as high maintenance as other plants.
25- Full sun is 6 hours a day. Partial is 3-6.
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