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Trees are available to use as windbreak, wildlife cover
by Deborah Benge Frost
Midland Reporter-Telegram
By Deborah Benge Frost
Trees are available through the Midland and Sandhills soil & water conservation districts for windbreaks, specimen trees, shade trees and wildlife cover and food sources. Both evergreen and deciduous (drop leaves in fall) trees are available. The deciduous species are offered in bundles of 25, 50 and 100. The evergreens are offered in groups of 30.
There are some excellent species offered, such as bur oak, chinkapin oak and desert willow . There are eight different evergreensbut a few include deodora cedar, Italian stone pine and pinyon pine.
Applications are available at the Midland Soil & Water Conservation District, 684-8722; and the Sandhills Soil &Water Conservation District in Odessa, 498-4071.
The trees, which are grown by the Texas Forest Service, will be available in early February. Begin planning now how and where you will use these trees.
If you don't have a compost pile or bin this is a good time to start.
Begin by gathering leaves, grass clippings and other forms of garden and kitchen refuse. Locate a pile or bin in a convenient but not highly visible site.
Layer brown and green materials in the bin until it is at least 3 feet tall, wide and deep. Pieces should be chopped or shredded to about a 1-inch size. Larger pieces break down slowly and very fine materials tend to pack and exclude oxygen. Fine materials could be mixed with coarser materials to improve conditions for microbial activity.
Moisten the materials as they are added to the pile. Throw a few shovelfuls of garden soil into the pile to add beneficial microbes. The raw organic matter is food for microbes. As they eat the organic matter, it is transformed into humus. For fast composting, the microbes need a 30 to 1 carbon-to-nitrogen ratio to feed on. To get that 30 to 1 ratio, different green and brown materials need to be mixed in to the pile.
Brown materials include leaves, pine needles, shredded paper, shredded limbs, straw, which are high in carbon. Green materials include animal manures, green grass clippings, kitchen peelings and coffee grounds, which are high in nitrogen. If all or most ofyour materials are dry and brown -- high in carbon --add the green by using a nitrogen fertilizer, like 21-0-0 or blood meal.
Plan on turning or re-stacking your pile about every two or three weeks. Re-moisten the pile as you turn it.
By supplying green and brown materials, water and oxygen, you can have compost in six months. Composting also lowers the amount of water, fertilizer and pesticides that is needed.
Learn how to make soil-enriching compost and mulch for your garden and landscape by attending the EarthKind Compost Class, set for 9 a.m.-noon Saturday at the Household Hazardous Waste Facility, 818 W. 42nd St. in Odessa.
You'll receive a compost bin, compost thermometer, compost manual and even compost worms.
The free class is brought to you by Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, Permian Basin Regional Planning Commission, cities of Midland and Odessa, Keep Midland and Keep Odessa Beautiful and Texas AgriLife Extension Service.
To pre-register, call 498-4071.
We live in USDA Plant Hardiness Zone 7, so plants rated for zones 8 and higher are not winter-hardy here. Plant ratings are often found on a tag on the plant, or you can look it up in books or on the Internet.
Fortunately there are several Zone 8 and maybe a few Zone 9 plants that will overwinter here, especially if they are planted early enough so they are well- established.
Lots of loose, coarse mulch around the crown can help protect plants from cold. Microclimates can provide places of warmth due to exposure to the sun, masonry that warms the area, flagstone or rock mulch and concrete that absorb radiant heat during the day and release it at night. Planting tender plants too late in the fall can be a disaster when it comes to overwintering.
For the really tender plant you'd like to carry into next year, there are a few tricks. You can always cover plants with a bucket, box or basket. Before covering, add lots of loose, coarse mulch (leaves aregood) for extra insulation. If they are too tall, you may need to cut or bend their tops so they will fit under the protective structure. Anchor the cover so winter winds don't carry it away. If plants are well-established, water sparingly during the winter months to prevent root rot.
Tender plants that usually come back from the roots could be mulched with 5 to 7 inches of a coarse mulch over the root system and base of the plant before freezing temperatures. This will often protect the tender root structure so it will re-sprout next spring.
Some hardy gardeners build plastic covered frames to protect tender plants. A frame of 2X's, wire or PVC pipe fashioned over a tropical or subtropical plant could then be covered with plastic or row cover (if it only needs a few degrees of protection).
A covered patio can be converted into a greenhouse by covering the open sides with heavy plastic. Patios that are attached to the house are more efficient than isolated patios. For attached patios a door or window can be opened to help warm the air or a thermostatically controlled space heater can be used.
Copper Canyon daisy, Tagetes lemmonnii, is a flowering perennial that will absolutely knock your socks off this time of year with its stunning neon yellow, daisy-like blooms. Plant height is about 3 feet by 3 feet and the foliage is lacy and fragrant. You can see it at the CAF WaterWise Garden.
Trees are available through the Midland and Sandhills soil & water conservation districts for windbreaks, specimen trees, shade trees and wildlife cover and food sources. Both evergreen and deciduous (drop leaves in fall) trees are available. The deciduous species are offered in bundles of 25, 50 and 100. The evergreens are offered in groups of 30.
There are some excellent species offered, such as bur oak, chinkapin oak and desert willow . There are eight different evergreensbut a few include deodora cedar, Italian stone pine and pinyon pine.
Applications are available at the Midland Soil & Water Conservation District, 684-8722; and the Sandhills Soil &Water Conservation District in Odessa, 498-4071.
The trees, which are grown by the Texas Forest Service, will be available in early February. Begin planning now how and where you will use these trees.
If you don't have a compost pile or bin this is a good time to start.
Begin by gathering leaves, grass clippings and other forms of garden and kitchen refuse. Locate a pile or bin in a convenient but not highly visible site.
Layer brown and green materials in the bin until it is at least 3 feet tall, wide and deep. Pieces should be chopped or shredded to about a 1-inch size. Larger pieces break down slowly and very fine materials tend to pack and exclude oxygen. Fine materials could be mixed with coarser materials to improve conditions for microbial activity.
Moisten the materials as they are added to the pile. Throw a few shovelfuls of garden soil into the pile to add beneficial microbes. The raw organic matter is food for microbes. As they eat the organic matter, it is transformed into humus. For fast composting, the microbes need a 30 to 1 carbon-to-nitrogen ratio to feed on. To get that 30 to 1 ratio, different green and brown materials need to be mixed in to the pile.
Brown materials include leaves, pine needles, shredded paper, shredded limbs, straw, which are high in carbon. Green materials include animal manures, green grass clippings, kitchen peelings and coffee grounds, which are high in nitrogen. If all or most ofyour materials are dry and brown -- high in carbon --add the green by using a nitrogen fertilizer, like 21-0-0 or blood meal.
Plan on turning or re-stacking your pile about every two or three weeks. Re-moisten the pile as you turn it.
By supplying green and brown materials, water and oxygen, you can have compost in six months. Composting also lowers the amount of water, fertilizer and pesticides that is needed.
Learn how to make soil-enriching compost and mulch for your garden and landscape by attending the EarthKind Compost Class, set for 9 a.m.-noon Saturday at the Household Hazardous Waste Facility, 818 W. 42nd St. in Odessa.
You'll receive a compost bin, compost thermometer, compost manual and even compost worms.
The free class is brought to you by Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, Permian Basin Regional Planning Commission, cities of Midland and Odessa, Keep Midland and Keep Odessa Beautiful and Texas AgriLife Extension Service.
To pre-register, call 498-4071.
We live in USDA Plant Hardiness Zone 7, so plants rated for zones 8 and higher are not winter-hardy here. Plant ratings are often found on a tag on the plant, or you can look it up in books or on the Internet.
Fortunately there are several Zone 8 and maybe a few Zone 9 plants that will overwinter here, especially if they are planted early enough so they are well- established.
Lots of loose, coarse mulch around the crown can help protect plants from cold. Microclimates can provide places of warmth due to exposure to the sun, masonry that warms the area, flagstone or rock mulch and concrete that absorb radiant heat during the day and release it at night. Planting tender plants too late in the fall can be a disaster when it comes to overwintering.
For the really tender plant you'd like to carry into next year, there are a few tricks. You can always cover plants with a bucket, box or basket. Before covering, add lots of loose, coarse mulch (leaves aregood) for extra insulation. If they are too tall, you may need to cut or bend their tops so they will fit under the protective structure. Anchor the cover so winter winds don't carry it away. If plants are well-established, water sparingly during the winter months to prevent root rot.
Tender plants that usually come back from the roots could be mulched with 5 to 7 inches of a coarse mulch over the root system and base of the plant before freezing temperatures. This will often protect the tender root structure so it will re-sprout next spring.
Some hardy gardeners build plastic covered frames to protect tender plants. A frame of 2X's, wire or PVC pipe fashioned over a tropical or subtropical plant could then be covered with plastic or row cover (if it only needs a few degrees of protection).
A covered patio can be converted into a greenhouse by covering the open sides with heavy plastic. Patios that are attached to the house are more efficient than isolated patios. For attached patios a door or window can be opened to help warm the air or a thermostatically controlled space heater can be used.
Copper Canyon daisy, Tagetes lemmonnii, is a flowering perennial that will absolutely knock your socks off this time of year with its stunning neon yellow, daisy-like blooms. Plant height is about 3 feet by 3 feet and the foliage is lacy and fragrant. You can see it at the CAF WaterWise Garden.
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