Dealing with the Drought

By Ms Sherry

I heard on TV that our area (Calhoun County, Alabama) is approximately 21 inches behind on rainfall. Local newspapers and TV broadcasts have been full of hints to save water. One friend told she keeps several buckets in the bath and saves the water that runs until it is warm enough for her to begin to fill up her tub. Another gardener says she saves the water that collects under the air conditioner and even saves the water she washes some dishes in, although I would think you would need to be careful where you use that water. Out West they encourage folks to have less lawn and more xeriscaping gardens—gardening with plants that require very little water.
This summer has been difficult, especially for gardeners who filled their gardens with beautiful plants during the spring and are now struggling to keep them going. I am trying to help my plants become more self-reliant by watering less often but deeper when I water. I know this one sounds strange to mention, sort of a no-brainer, but I try to set sprinklers not to water driveways and the street. Another important tip is to water very very early and not in the heat of the day when too much water will evaporate.
There are many plants which are drought tolerant but no plant is drought tolerant the first year. A little research before you plant can go along way in helping decide if a plant is going to have high maintenance or low maintenance water requirements. Another way to help shrubs survive that first year better is to plant in the fall so, hopefully, the winter rains will help them get a good start. In our part of the country it appears most plants are available in the spring; but there are plenty still available in the fall. A plus here; by then many are on sale. Catalogues have a good selection all year long. I have also seen a crystal like substance which one mixes with the plant soil to help hold onto the water. Of course, mulching your beds keeps the soil from drying out and helps moderate soil temperature, keeping plants warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer. Amending your planting beds also helps create a better growing environment for your plants.  Healthier plants are stronger plants and more able to survive adverse conditions better.
All gardeners are going to have to become more creative as we try to balance our love of growing with our need to conserve our natural resources—water being one of those.

The Deer Resistant Garden

By Ms Sherry

This is my first post to the Inquisitve Gardener. My name is Sherry Blanton and I am a Master Gardener in Calhoun County. In addition to my postings on this blog there will be postings by David West and Hayes Jackson who are Extension Agents in the Extension Office and also by Paula Ellis-Barnett, also a Master Gardener and editor of our MG newsletter, Sprouts. I hope you will enjoy our posts and join in as we share our experiences in the garden.

Just walked through my garden to check for deer damage. The local deer driven from their habitat by the drought and new subdivisions, are visiting neighborhood gardens more and more frequently. I have lived and gardened in the same house for 36 years and have never had the kind of damage that I have had this year. My garden (and my neighbor’s) has become their virtual salad bar. My hostas have been chewed to the ground. Not the common ones but the fancy ones with large beautifully colored leaves. After the hosta disappeared they turned to the chartreuse leaved potato vine. Next came a calla lily whose beauty I admired every day until it became dessert for a hungry deer. I have asked many of my gardening friends for suggestions as to what they do in their garden. One friend had tried bars of Ivory soap, which he swore worked; however, later he later told me his hostas, tomatoes, and jalapeno peppers were all casualties of the deer. Strangely enough they left his green beans. Other suggestions were full-strength castor oil, hot pepper spray, human hair, and Irish Spring soap. Another friend suggested a solar powered electric fence. The most original answer came from the owner of two Great Danes who said “Get a Great Dane”: guess he has solved his deer problem. The gardening catalogs contain products to be sprayed on the plants which, they say, keep the deer away; I haven’t tried them but wondered if others had. One site recommended fencing in the entire garden with an 8 foot high plastic mesh fencing. I also saw electric fences and, possibly, the best answer, deer-resistant plants. The plant catalogs and various gardening sites remind readers there is no such thing as a deer proof plant. If the deer are really, really hungry any green plant is fair game. There are just plants they like less than others. So if you are just beginning your landscape and marauding deer visit your neck of the wood, select plants from the “deer resistant list.” If you already have, like many of us, gardens full of hostas and other known deer delicacies, the best I can suggest is dig those up and move them to a place where the deer cannot roam. I had thought about feeding the deer in order to decrease their interest in my garden but gardening experts seem to feel that this is a very bad idea for yourself and your neighbors, that this will attract more deer and when the food is gone they will again visit your bountiful buffet. I think I will mention this to my kind- hearted neighbor who has been feeding the local herd.

Here are just a couple of plants that the deer do not find so irresistible; rosemary, oleander (but poisonous to humans), boxwood, Japanese Plum-Yew, Leucothoe, European Privet, Dwarf Sweet Christmas Box, Columbine, and Snapdragons. Just wondering if any of you have a tried and true method to reduce deer grazing in your yard. If you do, please share it with the others who read this site. 

As a gardening friend told me, the deer were here before we were, which is a good point;therefore, the only solution may be to learn to share our spaces with them.

Bald Cypress proves to be very durable tree

By David West

Bald Cypress has been one of my favorite trees for quite some time. The soft texture, upright growth habit and light green foliage are all attractive features, and I find the tree to be uniquely southern. I can’t think of any particular insect or disease problems I have witnessed on this species over the years. The severe drought this year was an excellent test of the ability of Bald Cypress to adapt to stressful situations. What are your thoughts on bald cypress? What other trees seem to have performed well during the drought?
Bald Cypress photos and description

Organic/Heirloom Tomato Field Day

By pbarnett

Welcome to the Inquisitive Gardener! Here is the first post.
An Organic / Heirloom Tomato Field Day event will be conducted on July 24 at the North Alabama Horticulture Research Center in Cullman.  The event will begin at 5:00 p.m.  Hamburgers and hotdogs will be served along with drinks.  This event is sponsored by AAES, ACES and the Alabama Fruit & Vegetable Growers Association and others.  For more information contact the Cullman Research Center at 256 - 734 - 5820 or the Blount Co. Extension office at 205 - 274 - 2129.