I'm finally getting around to putting my poor TN daylilies in the ground. I'm ashamed to say I lost some of them in the move, as well as all but one of the other perennials. Ashamed because it's mostly my fault. You see, I dug and potted them back in the fall, and they sat in the pots through the unusually cold winter. Not really a problem for daylilies but the others couldn't take it. I didn't take a lot of care when I potted them. Hey, I moved daylilies from MI to TN in plastic grocery bags! Pots were a luxury. So anyways, when I got them here, they went on the ground along the backside of the house. Where they've been ever since. That area is fully shaded so they were getting no sun to speak of. I lost all the ones in the smaller pots, some of which were rather special. I was going to lose them all if I didn't get them in the ground.
One of the reasons I hadn't planted them is that I didn't know where I wanted them yet. It finally occurred to me that I needed a nursery bed, and the best place for it was on the east side of the house near the water tap. I took herbicide to the turf and waited for it to die. It took 2 sprayings to get it all. Then summer kicked in, and that corner starts getting sunny about 10 am. It was scorching there. I could only work there early in the morning, and sometimes I'm not good about getting motivated that early.
Finally got motivated yesterday. The other reason I was dreading the job was what I expected to find when I began digging. In TN, my land was made up of sandy soil and stone. Lots of stone. I couldn't go an inch without hitting a stone. I don't have the power to dig a hole with a normal shovel because a stone would stop the shovel cold every time. I discovered my favorite digging tool was my BFS (Big F-ing Screwdriver). It's a heavy duty 18" flathead screwdriver that I acquired from work a long time ago. It served as a sort of pry bar, but in TN it became my most valuable garden tool. I started a hole (on my knees) by loosening the soil and stones with the BFS, and then a hand shovel to pull the dirt out. And that's how every hole was dug thereafter.
The first hole I dug here was for the mailbox. Sure enough, it was lousy with stones. I hoped it was just that it was next to the road, and the sewer line is there. Makes sense there would be a lot of gravel in that area. Imagine my surprise and pleasure when I began to dig in the nursery bed. Nary a stone! Really? That would be awesome! I realized I didn't see much stone where the land was cleared in back either.
Yes! I can dig it! By the way, that comes from an old song (60's?). Can't remember the band, but I can clearly hear the song in my head.
I can dig it, you can dig it, we can dig it.
Can you dig it, can you dig it, baby?
Not only was there no stone, the soil is really very nice. I expected the usual southern red clay, but that isn't prominent. It's there, but well balanced with topsoil and sand. That's almost the perfect blend for garden soil. Clay, topsoil and sand. The only thing missing is humus, and this could be present in back where there had been years of leaf litter. This is could be the best property I've ever had for gardening.
In other news. Fire ants. Yes, I am so blessed. Didn't have any experience with these little nasties in TN. There were quite a few large mounds on the property when I moved in. So far, I haven't been attacked. Well, once. I was standing near a mound observing it, and one got me on the ankle. Yep, it hurts pretty good. I can imagine how horrible stepping on a mound would be. And these things swarm out of the nest in a second. Any vibration, even a light tap on the ground near the mound brings them out. Must watch my step at all times. If the mound is destroyed , like from mowing or weed-whacking, they simply move a few feet away and start a new one.
I looked into controls, and found several options since this is a common southern problem. Decided to try Orthene, made by Ortho. It's a fine white dust that's sprinkled over the surface of the mound. I didn't know how it worked so I went online to research. Found many reviews on Amazon, and almost all of them were glowing. Apparently the way it works is that the ants track the poison dust into the nest. This stuff smells seriously toxic so I wondered how well it would work. Surely ants would avoid something like that? But I could see it was being transported away. The dust gradually disappeared from the surface of the mound. If the mound was already dead or abandoned, the dust didn't go away. I think I can add my own glowing review to this stuff. I'm seeing fewer and smaller mounds now. I'll probably always have to watch my step, but at least I know I can minimize the danger.
The south is cooking now. High 80s and 90s. I've kicked on the AC in the house, and only work outside in the early morning before it heats up. I have plenty to do inside. Like painting. I want to get painting the main rooms. Got colors picked, just a matter of getting the paint and getting on it.
tnt
Natureschild
5 days ago
