Nature’s Way Resources is proud to produce & email you this free weekly newsletter. We have no ads, but sponsors do graciously help support this project as a public service. Please note their names below & show your gratitude for this free service by patronizing their businesses! To become a sponsor, call (936) 273-1200

Nature’s Way Resources owner John Ferguson, “The Lazy Gardener” Brenda Beust Smith and Pablo Hernandez welcome your feedback and are so grateful to the many horticulturists who contribute their expertise

Click here to join our email list

CLICK HERE for PDFs OF PAST LG&F NEWSLETTERS

Winter in Houston? Mercer Arboretum & Botanic Gardens’ (l to r) Gloxinia ‘Bolivian Sunset,’ Azalea Krumb ‘Pink Pearl’ and Mercer’s gorgeous rose garden!

“Feed the birds in winter; in return, they will

feed your soul with the look of gratitude! 

— Mehmet Murat idan, Turkish author

DO OUR PLANTS WISH WE’D HELP BIRDS STICK AROUND

ALL WINTER? YES, THEY DO!

BY BRENDA BEUST SMITH 

Helping birds through winter isn’t just being nice. In long run, they’ll repay you by helping with things like plant pollination and weed control. Why & how?

• First get to know which birds over-winter in your area
• Plant more winter berry-bearing plants and trees to attract them
• Provide food and fresh unfrozen water through bird feeders and heated birdbaths
• Remember, cold temperatures force birds to use more energy to stay warm, necessitating a higher calorie intake 
• If you can afford heated birdbaths, they are available
• For shelter: Leave dense shrubs or tall grasses for birds to hide in during cold weather

Your birds should return the favors!

• In looking for seeds, they’ll help decrease spring weeds that appear in lawns and cultivated soil
• As the weather warms up, new food sources (that you don’t want — like insects, grubs, etc. — become more available for birds!
• Local bird identification books make great Christmas gifts!
• If you want to attract more birds in Spring, offer seeds like black-oil sunflower, white millet, sunflower chips, thistle and safflower. Also: suet, live mealworms, nectar, fresh oranges and apple halves.
• For more on attracting birds, what to plant, etc: houstonaudubon.org/

Just a few of the colorful, cold-tolerant (so far) treasures at MERCER ARBORETUM & BOTANIC GARDEN include, l to r, China Pink dianthis; Jatrophus ‘Pink’; Camellia x Ville Crawford and white Dusty Miller with Dianthus

As promised last week, here are just a few of the gorgeous flowers and plants I just photographed throughout Mercer Arboretum & Botanic Gardens. This North Harris County Precinct 3 park at 22306 Aldine Westfield Road (250 acres along Cypress Creek) has been dear to my heart for personal reason LONG before it became the gorgeous horticultural resource it is today. When you visit, be sure to stop by the Visitor’s Center for specific information on the many different focal points and specialty gardens. Lots of research going on there! Join Friends of Mercer to stay up to date on coming events, and get advance notices of plant sales! (P.S. Thanks, Mercer, for all the great ID labels!)

EDITOR’S NOTES:

• Mark calendar! MERCER’S PLANT SALE FRI & SAT. FEB. 14 & 15: FRUIT & TOMATO VIRTUAL PLANT SALE, Friends of Mercer Botanic Gardens, friendsofmercer.com, 713-274-4166.
• NEW OPEN DAYS: Mercer and all 70 Precinct 3 Parks are now open from dusk to dawn 365 days a year — including Christmas and New Years! Take the family out for a stroll around the beautiful gardens and arboretum trails! (This is new, they have always been closed on major holidays. You heard this first from the Lazy Gardener Newsletter!)

• CLUBS: YOUR SPEAKERS EVER CANCEL AT LAST MINUTE? Video/slides of Houston Botanic Garden & Mercer Botanic Garden would make a great meeting emergency program, if members who go will record what they see!
• GARDENING EVENT CALENDAR (below) Is overflowing with great plant sales and other events in almost every part of the Greater Houston area.
• ATTN. GARDEN/PLANT GROUPS — In wake of Hurricane Beryl, Nature’s Way Resources offers free guided tours of NWR’s extensive nursery/soil/mulch facilities for garden clubs, plant societies and other plant-oriented, organized groups. As usual, NWR’s now-expanded meeting site is free to above groups. Reservations a must for both.

Brenda Beust Smith’s column is based on her 40+ years as the Houston Chronicle’s “Lazy Gardener” column — lazygardenerbrenda@gmail.com Brenda’s column focuses ONLY on the Greater Houston Area

John’s Corner

NEWS FROM THE WONDERFUL WORLD

OF SOIL AND PLANTS # 312

Subject: Compost

  Compost is like any other product we buy and use, there is a huge variation in price, quality and value. There are many ways to make compost which affects the quality of the material. With oxygen or without oxygen, fast or slow methods, all of which affect quality and benefits of the compost produced.

Basically, compost is the end product from biological decomposition in the presence of air from an organic material that was once alive (ex. leaves, grass, food waste, manure, etc.). It is a natural process that is managed to optimize the conditions for microbes that breakdown the material to thrive. This generally involves providing air and moisture, and achieving sufficient temperatures to ensure weed seeds, invasive pests, and pathogens are destroyed.

Finished compost bears little resemblance to the original materials from which it was created. Mature compost is normally dark brown in color and should have an even texture and a pleasant, earthy aroma. Compost products may vary since the properties of any given compost depend on the nature of the starting feedstocks and the conditions under which they were processed.

COMPOST TYPES 

There are no labeling laws in Texas for compost; hence anything can be marketed as compost. However, there is an easy way to protect your family and garden.

Compost can be broken into three basic types based on its quality and usage.

These are Biological, Commercial, and Industrial.

Biological – This is the highest quality compost and therefore the most beneficial in improving soils, preventing disease, making compost tea, etc. This is the product that experienced gardeners often call black gold because it is so valuable to plants. If sold in bags the bag will have holes in it so that air can enter, and the beneficial microbes can breathe and be kept alive. It will have a rich earthy scent and be almost black in color (a very deep chocolate brown) and feels good to hold. It will have a well-balanced population of beneficial microbes like bacteria and fungi. A 40-pound bag will retail from $10- $18 per bag.

Commercial – This is a middle grade of compost made from using fast composting methods and made with less desirable materials like construction debris, etc. It will be in a sealed bag and may have a sour or stale odor. The better manure-based composts may be found here as manure-based composts are often high in salts which can harm soil chemistry and biology. It is dominated by bacteria species with very little fungi. Most annual plants and many weeds prefer soils with an abundance of bacteria while perennial plants and trees prefer a fungal dominated or balanced soil microbial population. A 40-pound bag will retail from $5- $8 per bag.

Industrial – This is the lowest grade of products called compost (often it is not true compost). It is often made by treating woody industrial waste that has been ground up with boiler ash. It is often very black and sometimes will rub off in your hand. It often contains fillers like sawdust and rice hulls which are chemically burned black from the industrial waste. It may be extremely alkaline and high in toxic salts. This is also where biosolid compost which is made from sewage sludge can be found. Due to many toxicities issues several states have banned compost made from sewage sludge. A 40-pound bag will retail from $3- $5 per bag.

For more information on the dangers of sewage-based compost visit: https://www.natureswayresources.com/bio-solids-or-sewage-sludge-revealed

Many products are often marketed as compost when they are not, since there are no labeling laws. Hence the adage comes into play “Buyer Beware”.

For example- Mushroom Compost is not a true compost. It is technically known as “spent mushroom substrate”. Mushroom producers use the word “compost” to help sell and get rid of the waste products from mushroom farms. It is often high in salt, chemicals, and sometimes bad for Gulf Coast soils.

As a result, many groups came together in 2017 to provide a unified definition for compost which was adopted by APFCO (Association of American Plant Food Control Officials) and came up with this unified legal definition for compost.

“Compost is the product manufactured through the controlled aerobic, biological decomposition of biodegradable materials. The product has undergone mesophilic and thermophilic temperatures, which significantly reduce the viability of pathogens and weeds, and stabilize the carbon such that it is beneficial to plant growth. Compost is typically used as a soil amendment, but it may also contribute plant nutrients.” 

Download the Newsletter with Our Events Calendar Below!