A Greeting to All the Pros,
I?m never sure what to say in these introductions; maybe ?Hi, my name is Monica, and I?m a plantaholic?, but I?m not willing to give up the addiction.
I?ve lived the last 5 years on the Upper Texas Gulf Coast, about 55 miles (90 km) south of Houston and 8 miles (13 km) inland from the Gulf of Mexico (think hurricanes, think REALLY high homeowner?s insurance).
Our climate here is considered humid sub-tropical. Yearly averages are:
Rainfall: 55? (140 cm)
Humidity: morning 90%, afternoon 64%
Minimum Temps: January 45°F (7°C) to July 77°F (25°C)
Maximum Temps: January 63° (17°C) to July-August 90° (32°C)
Yearly Probability of Temperatures Below Freezing: 1% (or 3.5 days)
We?ve been living the life of USDA Zone 9B/10A for 20 years. This winter El Niño threw a tantrum and we experienced 4 consecutive nights (50 hours) in January of below freezing temps, causing most of our tropicals to turn to mush. Luckily many are now resurrecting from the roots, but many of our gardens won?t look the same for 2-3 years. Our very long growing season will help us out.
Mr. Ideasguy suggested that I give a special ?hello? to Malcolm as we grow a number of plants in common, and I?m very curious about the climate in Devon and how it compares to mine. We have some old (maybe 20 years)
Cycas revoluta specimens that are 3m tall and look like palm trees.
For you veggie gardeners, we grow all year (tomatoes are in now as they?ll be fried by July; then another planting of tomatoes goes in mid-late September), but between pests and diseases crop rotation is a bit more challenging than in milder climates.
I also gardened many years in Minnesota (with a growing season of about 4 weeks
), and had the opportunity to garden in Honduras during an archaeology dig as well as Morocco where I lived off-and-on for 5 years.
As George mentioned in his welcome, I?m a Master Gardener. Believe me, that?s not meant as a qualification of extraordinary expertise, but simply a national program designation. We assist university agriculture departments through Extension Officers to educate the public about horticultural matters and best practices through community speaking engagements, a newsletter and gardening seminars. We also maintain display gardens ? natives, tropicals, veggies, citrus and fruit orchard, small fruits, herbs, general ornamentals ? where we conduct trials, test out new plants and maintain ornamental plantings.
I?m hoping to use Ideas Genie Pro to track our display plants, aggregate trial results, and maybe even have time to enter what?s in my own garden!
Looking forward to tapping your expertise as I venture into Ideas Genie Pro.
Monica
