On the Fence (Lizard)

About 4 weeks ago, we were cleaning out some brush on the back 40 (a.k.a. the unsightly brush pile that occasionally builds to Aggie Bonfire size at the end of our driveway), and we uncovered this handsome Texas spiny lizard (Sceloporus olivaceus).


It was cool outside, so he was chilled out. Easy to pick up and he stuck around a bit for a photo. I love having a garden full o' reptiles.

Winter Hoops

Installing these PVC hoops (1/4" diameter, 6 ' long) in my garden beds may be one of the single easiest and cheapest garden projects I've ever done. Just trim and bend. And the end result is protection of these winter greens from the frost.

I think these will also come in handy in the summer when we need to protect the summer veggies from the scorching sun and pesties.

I'm using floating row cover, which you can see rolled up on the edge of the bed in this photo. When it gets cold, the idea is that I will roll the stuff over the hoops and it will make a little warmish retreat for the veggies. The row cover I bought (at Callahan's, because everyone else was out) protects down to 29 degrees, which is largely fine here in Austin. But when we get those crazy colder freezes (oh, I hate you old man winter!), I can double layer it and protect to 26 degrees. If tt gets really really cold, I'll probably pull out the old sheets and throw them over the hoops.

This year, we're trying a new winter protection for the potted citrus too. Instead of a) leaving them out in the cold like last year, or b) moving the heavy bastards into the garage every time it dips below 32 degrees, we are opting for c) put them up against the south facing garage wall and cover them with sheets when needed. The sheets are stapled (for the winter only) on the wall, so we can just drape them over real easy like.

Leaf Mulch

I'm probably violating all sorts of rules by doing so, but I decided to use un-shredded, un-composted leaves as mulch in the garden this year. I figure if it's good enough for the forest floor, it's good enough for the Grackle!

We had a ton of leaves fall after the freeze, and so did everyone else. John swung around the neighborhood and picked up 12 bags of leaves, and I raked all of ours into piles.

I layered the primarily cedar elm and pecan leaves about 4-5 inches thick around the front garden.


My main goal is to suppress all the new weed growth in the front yard, so I figured unshredded leaves would be good for that. Secondarily, as the leaves do their own natural decaying, I hope they will start to turn that front soil into real, nice garden soil - not the hard packed clay that came from years as a lawn.

The leaves pretty well bury the small sedges and such, but those will get large soon enough.

All this moisture and light rain (John's mom calls it "heavy air") will hopefully promote smothering and composting. If we have a dry spell sometime this winter, I may need to soak everything with a hose.

Hope this works...