Terrestrial Ecoregions
It is useful for determining what plants might be native in your area as simply using climate zones does not determine if a plant is native.
I'm just 30 min south of San Antonio, the morning dew we still get (for now) is probably how all my berries got rust, I don't know if your problem is fungal, mites or insects, but this time of year I get all 3, so I treated with neem this morning. I'm sure you want it for the caterpillar and butterflies, but maybe you could treat it and then cover it with a fine mesh, like those cheap laundry bags like this or these for a week or 2 till the neem wears off.
Here’s a link to Amazon if anyone wants to buy it! I just added it to my Christmas list a few weeks ago 😊
I just finished reading Garden Revolution last night and it has great strategies for doing exactly what you want to accomplish.
The containers are here: amazon
The cells may be a little small. The whole tray is only 14 in x 9, but I’m excited to learn as I go.
These are some photos of pre/post misting of the fern spores: https://imgur.com/a/6OAaIuu
For the misting, I use https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07MVZWYFM - it's just a spray bottle with a mist head. It's important to use distilled water! You don't want to look in on your spores and find out you're actually growing mold.
For the boxes, HSF = Hay Scented Fern, Xmas = Christmas Fern, Ostrich = Ostrich Fern, and the "Mix" is the result of me shaking the spore envelopes out (also has fern spores from an unknown fern I collected a leaf from when I was dragged out on a golf outing).
Buy Something like these or make your own. You can use a roll of plastic poultry wire, welded wire, or corrugated drainage tubing.
That will work well enough for rabbits. For deer protection you could try to make larger fences with the help of stakes such as U-Posts or T-Posts. I have had success protecting my veggie garden from deer with just a 4-foot fence. They could easily jump that high, but all of the "stuff" in their landing zone stops them from wanting to try (by "stuff" I mean raised beds, tomato cages, stakes, etc.)
For sure! idk how big your yard is, but start with your trees, then shrubs, then perennials and annuals. So you can layer the plantings.
If you can pick up the book Natures Best Hope. I would highly recommend it, it’s a great read!
I'm not an expert but it looks like you need to spray a fungicide. I had similar-looking brown patches on leaves of a clematis plant. I removed infested leaves and disposed of them away from the house, then sprayed it with fungicide. Totally cleared up the problem.
I bought these pre-made signs: https://www.amazon.com/Foraineam-Weatherproof-Planting-Seedling-Nursery/dp/B08525GN7Z/
And wrote on them using this garden pen: https://www.amazon.com/Artline-Garden-Marker-Outdoor-Resistant/dp/B07DWGJGCJ/
I put the first ones in the garden about 6 months ago, and they're still in good shape.
thanks! no plans, I framed kind of a "tray" on the top (like a sunken flat roof with a slight slope) and lined it with EPDM pond liner. I cut a hole in the side and used a bulkhead fitting to allow for drainage.
If you want I can try to find pictures of the construction that will explain better, if I even took them. It was several months if not more than a year back.
Adding on to some of the comments here, I suggest checking out some general landscape design resources and applying them to native plantscapes.
Here is a book I checked out of the library and liked so much I bought it. She does a great job of walking you through WHY things do and don’t work:
And here is the NC Master Gardeners textbook chapter on landscape design, available free online:
I learned this the hard way. I now look for gardening markers. I got this one for this year as an extra. The one I got in an aluminum label order last year worked great, too.
I did my backyard garden for like $60 - just a sod cutter rental and some native seed mix. This is going to be.......a lot more. I think if this were a big suburban lot - like if I were doing anything larger than this 1000 square feet - I'd do a designed seed planting ala James Hitchmough's technique.
For this space I'm happy to pack in plants from 4" pots, in large part so I'll have solid erosion control probably 2 years earlier than from seed, and it does let me control where the plants start out, at least.
I've gone back and forth with the pros and cons of seeds versus potted a lot just in general, and I have done and seen results of both (although I only have two years of experience so far).
These are the ones I have. 3 Pack Stainless Steel Soil Sieve Kits- 12in 1.7mm Garden Soil Screen+ 10in 2mm Round Hole Sifting Pan+ 8in 2.36mm Seeding Cultivation Tools Set Mud Screening Filter Supplies for Gardening Lawn Patio https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08P859Y25/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_1WEVHNQXVFD90VVC0CKD?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
Nick the trunks and paint on some BrushTox. Wear gloves and avoid getting it on anything else.
BrushTox Brush Killer with Triclopyr, 32 oz https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01BOZ5VPI/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_2AGX4WEV34HMFBTKAKN3?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
Don't order ladybugs, even the native ones carry diseases and will just fly away if your yard can't support them. Ladybugs will come naturally if you create a good habitat for them. They need to eat nectar and pollen as well as aphids. Plant things like sunflowers, asters and buckwheat.
Here's a good book on the subject: https://www.amazon.com/Attracting-Beneficial-Bugs-Your-Garden/dp/1604693886
ftr I’m talking about one of these: http://www.amazon.com/Scrub-Buddies-Sponge-Soap-Dispensing-Handle/dp/B00N40192G
You would probably carry it in a small plastic bucket or a gallon ziploc type bag.
Mosquito Bits and Dunks Is made from Bacillus thuringiensis which is non-toxic to humans, animals, and non-target insect species.
I want to be clear that this product is made from the subspecies israelensis which has not been found to be harmful to honeybees or other pollinators. There are a couple of Bt subspecies that are problematic, (e.g. kurstaki and aizawai) but this product doesn’t contain those.