A SAD LOSS . . . IT’S WINTER – THINK ‘TREES’!
LIKE BEING ‘AU COURANT’? Coralberry (Symphoricarpos orbiculatus) is a Texas native whose winter berries are the same color as Pantone picked for its famous 2023 “Color of the Year” —”Viva Magenta 18-1750″! Why this color? Pantone says it’s “…a new signal of strength…a pulsating color whose exuberance promotes a joyous and optimistic celebration…” Okay! If you were receiving the Austin-based Lady Bird Johnson National Wildflower Center’s newsletter, you’d already know coralberries’ vivid berries remainthrough winter on a small, mound-shaped, deciduous shrub that will, coincidentally, be available at NWC’s big upcoming Winter Woody Plant Sale, 9am-1pm Sat., Jan. 14. Who else would tell you these things!
JANUARY & FEBRUARY are prime tree- and shrub-planting months in this area. Planting trees in these months gives time to set strong, deep roots before our much more challenging summer heat, drought and monsoons set in. All three are much harder on trees than our occasional freezes, if a mulch of fallen leaves & pine needles provides sufficient and heat to insulate root systems.
Nurseries are getting in their prime stocks and organization are gearing up for huge sales of (hopefully) varieties that do best in this area. Given our subtropical climatic bent, local recommendations are the safest route to take. Look for news of Greater Houston area Master Gardeners and other organizational sales . Many will be listed in our calendar below, such as: SAT. JAN 28: MONTGOMERY COUNTY MASTER GARDENER FRUIT & NUT TREE SALE & COUNTRY STORE , 9am-Noon. (8am program). AgriLife Extension, 9020 Airport Rd, Conroe. mcmga.com/event/2023fruit-nut-sale/, 936-539-7824 SAT., FEB. 11: FORT BEND COUNTY MASTER GARDENERS FRUIT TREE SALE, 9am-noon (or sell-out), Fort Bend County Fairgrounds Barn H, 4310 Hwy 36 S, Rosenberg. 281-341-7068. fbmg.org SPEAKING OF URBAN HARVEST, if fruit trees are high on your agenda, don’t overlook these free information sheets. that list 30+ fruit and nut varieties that do well in our area. (pdf downloads). Even better, join! urbanharvest.org NOTE! Don’t see YOUR County Master Gardeners or group’s Tree Sale here or in our calendar below? Check out: mastergardener.tamu.edu/county-programs/. EMAIL gardening-only events to lazygardenerbrenda@gmail.com. (Check STRICT calendar submission rules below.) * * *
PEACE IN THE SUBURBS. I’m getting more feedback on HOA negotiations between native plant enthusiast and established restrictions. This situation has been around for a very long time and the changes I’ve seen are amazing.
Way back when natives for gardens first became a retail focus, rather uncomfortable-yet-understandable situations arose. “Make it look INTENDED, not UNTENDED” was one of the advice quips that made the most sense to me and it’s my observation that those native plant advocates who followed this advice are responsible for the détente we’re seeing in neighborhoods all over our area.
It took an whole village of gardening experts and enthusiasts to create a retail and more educational atmosphere where interested gardeners were able to actually follow this practical advice and please neighboring homeowners in the process!Now comes more great download steps in this gardening evolution: The Native Plant Society of Texas has a free new booklet filled with advice on “Dealing with Your HOA’s.” Easy PDF download. The National Wildlife Federation’s “Greening Your Homeowners Association.” * * * DON’T FORGET TO CHECK BELOW FOR UPDATED CALENDAR EVENTS! Brenda Beust Smith’s column in the LAZY GARDENER & FRIENDS HOUSTON GARDEN NEWSLETTER is based on her 40+ years as Houston Chronicle’s Lazy Gardener Email: lazygardenerbrenda@gmail.com * * *
SOIL TESTING LABORATORIES (With Good Reputations)
I often get asked for recommendations for soil testing services, hence I compiled a list of laboratories I have used or at least familiar with, that have good reputations. Most soil labs doing soil chemical analysis use a strong (concentrated) acid digestion method as they are quick and inexpensive. The problem is that plant roots do not live in strong acids. The weakness of this method is that the amount of nutrients shown on a strong acid test may not be available for the plant to absorb under normal conditions. For example, this could be caused by a lack of biology releasing and making required nutrients available. This type analysis has led to many soils being ruined and problems made worse by the application of artificial fertilizers that were not needed. To use an analogy, one may have a lot of money in their investment account or stock market portfolio, however it is not readily available. This compares to one’s checking account where there may not be as much money but the money is instantly available. Similarly, the strong acid test methods show total nutrients (investment accounts) and the weak acid tests show what nutrient are available for plants to use (checking account). Hence, the weak acid test is far more useful to gardeners. I personally prefer lab analysis that show both total nutrients (strong) and available nutrients (weak). This allows a gardener to determine if it is a nutrient shortage, a biological issue and nutrients not being available to plants or some other cause.
Chemical Testing:
International Ag Labs – A Biological Approach to Agriculture 800 W. Lake Ave. PO Box 788 Fairmont, Minnesota 56031 (507) 235-6909 https://aglabs.com/services/soiltesting.html
The test of choice for Dr. Reams and International Ag Labs is the weak acid test. This test uses a chemical extract that was patterned after the exudates that roots give off. It is called the Morgan Extract. The Morgan extract is a “universal” extractant, meaning all major nutrients (including phosphorus) and many micronutrients can all be measured in the one extract. Dr. M.F. Morgan developed the Morgan extract in the 1930’s and 40’s at the University of Connecticut. This test more accurately reveals what the plant can actually utilize from the soil. This was the test Dr. Reams used to see what he was looking at. What was Dr. Reams really looking to see with this test? Nutrients that are biologically active. This test closely relates to the visual symptom’s plants display. Plants may be grown directly above limestone bed (calcium carbonate) but show a calcium deficiency. The Morgan test picks this up and shows a low reading of biologically calcium even though there is plenty of calcium in the soil. Throughout the years the weak acid test has stood the test of time and it hasproduced brilliant results. Dr. Reams built on this test and determined the ideal nutrient levels and ratios that we use today as benchmarks. When the soil is balanced according to the available nutrients it produces an abundance of high-quality plants and produce.
Perry Agricultural Laboratory, Inc. P.O. Box 418 54 East Bowling Green, MO 63334 (573) 324-2931 http://www.perryaglab.com
A & L Great Lakes Laboratories. Inc 3505 Conestoga Drive Fort Wayne, IN 46808 (260) 483-4759 https://algreatlakes.com/pages/services This lab offers both soil and plant tissue chemical analysis.
San Antonio Testing Laboratory, Inc. 1610 Laredo St. San Antonio, Texas 78207-7029 (210) 229-9920 https://www.satestinglab.com/ This lab offers conventional soil testing as well as heavy metal and testing for many types of environmental contaminates.
Wallace Laboratories 365 Coral Circle El Segundo, CA 90245 (310) 615-0116 https://wlabs.com/
Wallace Laboratories’ agronomic soil analysis not only includes pH, salinity, the concentration of soluble salts, and sodium but also for all 14 essential nutrients and over a dozen toxic metals including arsenic, cadmium, lead, and mercury at no extra cost. Recommendations and interpretations are also provided with the report. Plant Tissues are analyzed to optimize the growing conditions and to fine tune your landscaping site.
TPSL (Texas Plant & Soil Lab) 5151 W. Monte Cristo Rd. Edinburg, Texas 78541-8852 (956) 383-0739 https://www.tpslab.com/ This lab offers testing for soil, compost, plant tissue and heavy metals. They used to offer both strong and weak acid tests but I have not used them in awhile. A & L Plains Analytical Laboratories 302, 34th St Lubbock, TX 79404 (806) 763-4278 http://www.al-labs-plains.com/
Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service- Soil, Water and Forage Testing Laboratory 2478 TAMU College Station, Texas 77843-2478 (979) 845-4816 https://soiltesting.tamu.edu/
Servi-Tech Laboratories 1816 E. Wyatt Earp P.O. Box 1397 Dodge City, KS 67801 (620) 227-7123 (800) 557-7509 www.servitechlabs.com This lab can perform conventional soil nutrient testing and in addition offers heavy metal testing.
Biological Testing: Earthfort Biological Testing 635 SW Western Blvd., Corvallis, Or (541) 257-2612 https://earthfort.com/soil-testing-lab/ Note: The testing laboratory was split off from the Soil Food Web organization and is now known as Earthfort. This lab will look at the microbial content of the compost (bacteria, fungus, protozoa, nematodes, etc. In many ways this information is more important than the chemical analysis. Soil Food Web is now an educational, certification, and consulting service organization established by Elaine Ingham, PhD. www.soilfoodweb.com Comment: The chemical testing from International Ag Labs and the biological testing from Earthfort gives a gardener the most complete and accurate information about the health of their soil. NOTE: On Friday April 14th, 2023 Elaine Ingham, PhD will be teaching a workshop in Houston for gardeners, on soil biology as part of OHBA (Organic Horticulture Benefits Alliance) educational series. To register go to www.ohbaonline.org. I have had the privilege of knowing Elaine for over 30 years. Dr. Ingham is abrilliant scientist and a tremendous lady whose work has revolutionized our understanding of soil science and plant health.
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ABOUT US
BRENDA BEUST SMITH WE KNOW HER BEST AS THE LAZY GARDENER . . . but Brenda Beust Smith is also:
- a national award-winning writer & editor
- a nationally-published writer & photographer
- a national horticultural speaker
- a former Houston Chronicle reporter
When the Chronicle discontinued Brenda’s 45-year-old Lazy Gardener” print column — started in the early ’70s as a fun side-project to reporting, it then ranked as the longestrunning, continuously-published local newspaper column in the Greater Houston area. The name, she says, is not just fun, it’s true. Brenda’s gradual sideways step from reporter into gardening writing led first to an 18-year series of when-to-do-what Lazy Gardener Calendars, then to her Lazy Gardener’s Guide book which morphed into her Lazy Gardener’s Guide on CD, which she now emails free upon request. Brenda became a Harris County Master Gardener and, over the years, served on theboards of many Greater Houston area horticulture organizations. She hosted local radio and TV shows, most notably a 10+-year Lazy Gardener specialty shows on HoustonPBS (Ch. 8) and her call-in “EcoGardening” show on KPFT-FM. For over three decades, Brenda served as Assistant Production Manager of the GARDEN CLUB OF AMERICA’S “BULLETIN” magazine. Although still an active broad-based freelance writer, Brenda’s main focus now is THE LAZY GARDENER & FRIENDS HOUSTON GARDEN NEWSLETTER with John Ferguson and Pablo Hernandez of Nature’s Way Resources. A native of New Orleans and graduate of St. Agnes Academy and the University of Houston, Brenda lives in Humble, TX, and is married to the retired Aldine High School Coach Bill Smith. They have one son, Blake. Regarding this newsletter, Brenda is the lead writer, originator of it and the daily inspiration for it. We so appreciate the way she has made gardening such a fun way to celebrate life together for such a long time.
JOHN FERGUSON John is a native Houstonian and has over 27 years of business experience. He owns Nature’s Way Resources, a composting company that specializes in high quality compost, mulch, and soil mixes. He holds a MS degree in Physics and Geology and is a licensed Soil Scientist in Texas. John has won many awards in horticulture and environmental issues. He represents the composting industry on the Houston-Galveston Area Council for solid waste. His personal garden has been featured in several horticultural books and “Better Homes and Gardens” magazine. His business has been recognized in the Wall Street Journal for the quality and value of their products. He is a member of the Physics Honor Society and many other professional societies. John is is the co-author of the book Organic Management for the Professional. For this newsletter, John contributes articles regularly and is responsible for publishing it.
PABLO HERNANDEZ Pablo Hernandez is the special projects coordinator for Nature’s Way Resources. His realm of responsibilities include: serving as a webmaster, IT support, technical problem solving/troubleshooting, metrics management and quality control. Pablo helps this newsletter happen from a technical support standpoint.
