by Noel | Apr 6, 2011 | CobraHead, Gardening
It’s been a slow start getting the beds ready for spring planting because of the frequent rain. It’s not raining right now, but everything is wet and muddy. I did manage to get a brand new bed shaped up for planting last weekend. Its only 12 feet long versus the 21 feet of most of my beds. I made it in my compost area and I have another bed the same size about half shaped up right next to this one which I’ll finish off as soon as the ground is...
by Geoff | Mar 22, 2011 | CobraHead, Gardening
This year CobraHead again exhibited at the Philadelphia Flower Show. While Anneliese, Noel and I spent most of our time in our booth in the vendor section extolling the virtues of our wares to the passing public, in the evenings I would get a chance to take in the splendid display gardens. Several truly impressed me, but I tend to spend the most time going back to the ones that inspire me to do something in my own garden. This year The Chef’s Rooftop Garden...
by Geoff | Feb 17, 2011 | CobraHead, Gardening
Over the holidays I discovered that I have borderline high blood pressure, due in part to genetics (Gee, thanks Dad!). Although I already eat a relatively healthy diet and exercise regularly, I’ve been researching what other changes I need to make to reverse the trend in my blood pressure before it becomes a more serious problem. Incorporating more herbs into my diet is definitely recommended. Being a gardener, I don’t just want to buy the herbs, I want to grow...
by Geoff | Jan 31, 2011 | Gardening
While planting my asparagus bed the other day, I uncovered a couple of rough earth snakes. This was the third or fourth time that I have found these insect and worm eating snakes in my garden. These two were smaller, but I have seen them get as long as one foot. I like having the snakes in the garden, but I move them over to the brush pile so that I don’t accidentally stab them with a digging fork.
by Geoff | Jan 29, 2011 | Gardening
I decided to reserve the far bed in my garden for a perennial planting of asparagus and thornless blackberries. I picked up ten asparagus crowns at The Natural Gardener earlier this week and chose UC-72, the variety that they recommend for Central Texas. I have grown asparagus before in Wisconsin, but the planting guide that The Natural Gardener provided had some useful advice. First, I prepped the beds by digging two trenches in one of my raised beds about...
by Noel | Jan 18, 2011 | Gardening
Gardeners are risk takers. They have to be. Nothing is guaranteed with seeds and plants. Even with the best care failures occur. I tried several new things last year and had some successes and some failures, but as usually happens, what works outweighs what doesn’t. Running two businesses keeps me short on time. My garden is most always a weedy mess. It’s gardening on the run. I’m gone many weekends doing trade shows and while I do get...
