Karl's Garden Blog

Where have I been? Why the quiet?

Well, not much happened this fall in the garden. I got some tomatoes and the Burpee Big Boy turned out to be a prolific fall producer of very sweet slicers. The Black Krim cranked out a few small fruits for fall, and the Sweet 100’s were their usual reliable selves. If they live past the snow expected tomorrow, I should have some carrots and kohlrabi … although I may not get to harvest them, because I just bought a house across town that’s frankly a bit of a wreck.

In August, I decided I wanted to start looking. By September, I had a real estate agent. I put my first offer in on October 9th, we submitted several contracts, but because it was a real-estate owned property (had been foreclosed, didn’t sell at auction…), we didn’t end up closing until the 30th. I moved in over the past week.

Here’s the house from the street:

… and more importantly for the garden blog, here’s the backyard, which will get several 4×4 raised beds sometime next year…

There are some gorgeous crepe myrtles, but they need to be pruned badly … and a few of them need to come out. (One was growing into the gutters and pulling them down.) There’s two wonderful live oaks in the front yard, and a huge white oak in the backyard.

The house itself has water leaks in several places that need to be resolved, all of the fence posts need to be replaced, the landscaping is a disaster of missteps and misdeeds, and every last bit of plumbing in the entire house leaks like a sieve and needs to be replaced. It’s also filthy inside and out and generally needs TLC.

Around the foundation, because of the risk of termites in the microclimate where the house is located, I’m planning to put at least a foot and a half of river rock and then plant native Texas grasses, succulents (cacti, agave) and arid shrubs with extra wildflower color spots. This should also help the foundation, which is extremely drainage-challenged at the moment and at serious risk of settling and cracking badly if something isn’t done.

I have a *lot* of work ahead of me before I’ll be planting vegetables!