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drippy_gw

Maybe a Texas gardener soon

drippy
9 years ago

It is looking likely that I will be moving to Austin soon. I would appreciate any information you would like to share about what to expect in soil make-up, climate conditions, etc. I already know Austin is zone 8b, which is a full zone warmer than where I am now. But it does frost there occasionally, doesn't it?

Thanks in advance.

Comments (9)

  • southofsa
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Welcome to Texas!

    I'm not from Austin, but there are a lot of gardeners here who are. If I remember right, it depends on what part of Austin believe it or not. I think west or east of I-35 is important. And maybe the soil is a little different if you're in the south or north area? Not as sure about that.

    I do know I LOVE Natural Gardener nursery in the SW part of Austin. A ton of information and ideas.

    Good luck- Lisa

  • kitchendetective
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I am 60 miles from there, but share certain soil characteristics. Caliche abounds in certain areas. Of course, there are micro-climates. Austin can grow lavender as a perennial, yet I cannot. Sadly. Yes, it does frost occasionally. If you will be in the Hill Country, more so. There are city rebates available on things like rainwater collection and compost systems. I love trips to The Antique Rose Emporium in Industry and Breed and Co. (if you want to blow $$$). I agree with everything southofsa says.

  • wantonamara Z8 CenTex
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    It really matters WHERE you live in Austin. North south, central , East and west. Even with that there are differences even in close small areas.. Do you know where in Austin?

    I lived in Central Austin a couple blocks from the colorado river. It was a red clay cut bank with river gravel , BUT it had been worked for 100 years and was very fertile and in the city it is closer to being Z9 most winters. Where I live now is 30 miles west and I am not at 400' above see level but at 1390' above see level in the limestone/caliche hills , BUT I also have a patch of "red death clay" that if worked and broken up is more fertile than the thin caliche bracket soils. I bring in dirt. Even in the bracket soils, their is huge differences. One can go from a sandy valley to solid rock. How high up you are will change the type of limestone you are in. I am in Walnut limestone, a new soft limestone and then it gets harder and harder the lower your go. The microorganisms change with the limestone layer. East of IH35 one gets into the black clay (more fertile but flatter). North is an outcropping of chalk. More rattlesnakes east of Austin, but they are here but I have never seen one on my dry land.

    I do not know where you are coming from but as you know , we are in a drought and Austin is in Stage 3 drought so get to know how to garden with natives and xeric plants. One is allowed to water once a week or maybe it is two weeks, I forget. They might be restricting all outdoor watering soon, so IF you come from one of those damp areas of the country where it is cool and lush.,sit back and learn what works before you start buying the plants that you know about.

    We do get frosts. I like to say we get three 3day winters a year. But they can be a doozy or totally insignificant. usually they do not last long and we are back to above freezing. One never knows. Weatherbell is forecasting a cold winter this year. Normally Winter is a great vegetable growing season and the use of a floating row cover can increase your yield significantly and let you do succulents galore but it can also increase your heartache when the bad freeze comes. We do a lot of wrapping plants , throwing old blankets on our yards, stuffing big pots with leaves . The yards look a mess when the big frost blows through. I got down to 16F this year and another night of 19. The nurseries sell tender plants too, so one has to be aware of the Zones that the plants are rated too. We have all ended up with dead plants. They sell LOTS of tender Agaves, so watch out. Some are great.

    My favorite nurseries are The Natural Gardener (they do free classes), Barton Springs Nursery, and the Great Outdoors. Geo Dirt and the Natural Gardener have quality bulk compost and dirt. Geo Dirt has a xeric sandy Xeric mix that I mix with crushed granite for my cactus. I like the hill country dirt from the natural gardener for my .

    If you tell me in what area of town. I can be more specific. Getting your soil tested is important because PH does vary. PH is mostly alkaline, but some areas are more than others.

    This post was edited by wantonamara on Sun, May 25, 14 at 19:03

  • daninthedirt (USDA 9a, HZ9, CentTX, Sunset z30, Cfa)
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Wantonamara has it right. With regard to soil quality, it makes a big difference where you are. Parts of the city on the east side have absolutely wonderful "blackland" soil. The soil (and water) everywhere in Austin is slightly alkaline, so if you're coming from an area with somewhat acidic soil, you'll have to make some adjustments. Since the tap water is somewhat (but not highly) alkaline, and you need a LOT of it in the heat, trying to acidify the soil is kind of a losing proposition. So forget about blueberries.

    The caliche will test your mettle, if you're gardening in an area that hasn't been gardened before. You'll likely have 6-8 inches of soil on top of large slabs of broken limestone (that's caliche). That's what developers do when building a house. They lay enough dirt that can barely support a lawn. You can make an excellent garden bed, but it'll take some heavy digging, slab lifting, maybe demolition, and you'll end up with a big pile of limestone slabs. Nice for decoration. Ah, no cellars here! Putting a below-ground cellar in would probably require lots of dynamite.

    If you have a well dug bed, just add a lot of compost/manure, and you'll be up and running in no time.

    Not sure if you do it where you are, but Austin is definitely a year-round gardening climate. My tomatoes go in in late Feb/early March, and are producing in April. Peppers are perennials, if you protect them from the freezes. I have stands of peppers that go back several years. My winter peas go in in November, as do many winter crops. Sort of a lull in August.

    As to freezes, we can have a winter with no freezes, or one with quite a few. This latter winter was a cooler one, with temps down to 22F (and my peas survived!) We probably had a dozen nights with freezes. Quite rare for temps to get below 20F, though. Several weeks of 100+ temps in the summer.

    Now, you probably deal with squash vine borers where you are, which is by far the biggest insect headache for me here. No, you won't get away from them by coming to Central Texas.

    But you need to consult the experts, as listed above, and this is a great forum to learn from. Welcome to Texas.

  • drippy
    Original Author
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Thank you all - this is useful, even though I don't know yet what area of Austin we will be in, or even if we are coming yet (depends on job situation in the next 3 weeks) - I just wanted to get a little bit of a feel for the situation. I'm actually originally from New England, so moving to Alabama was already a big change. I have been giving very serious thought to xeric and native landscaping, but I do love my vegetables, too. Right now I am spoiled with an acre and a half to work with, albeit it's red clay, and I've had to keep two compost bins working to stay on top of it.

    It's encouraging to me to see that you are able to garden in spite of the drought - the press on that here makes it look pretty scary. Yes, we have squash vine borers in Alabama; had 'em in Massachusetts, too. I've all but given up growing squash, as I garden organically and am much too lazy to deal with them. Squishing cabbage loopers by hand is exercise enough for me!

    Thanks again for all this information - I'm sure I'll be back in touch in a few weeks if the job situation pans out.

  • wantonamara Z8 CenTex
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    WOW, Daninthedirt 22degrees!!! You are a lot warmer than me. I got to 16 this winter west of town. Are you centrally in the heat bubble? I lost a lot of agaves because of the damp soil and cold.SEE, It does depend where you are in Austin..

    I live off of rainwater and I have a 20 X 20 vegetable garden. I did a raised bed garden and brought in dirt for it. I have been living off of grey water for the garden and things look pretty good. I am bringing in dirt for my cactus garden because there basically nothing over the limestone grade where I want cactus. It is easier and fewer chiropractor visits to just bring in dirt. Everything is natives and xeric. There is a lot that grows beautifully out here.

    I am an ex New Englander also.

  • daninthedirt (USDA 9a, HZ9, CentTX, Sunset z30, Cfa)
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Yeah, it was toasty here in central Austin compared to the outlying areas. You live off rainwater? Nice. Now, I should have said that acidifying the soil is a losing proposition UNLESS you're using rainwater. Have you managed to acidify much?

    Ah, ex New Englander. I was a kid there. But I cut my teeth gardening-wise out west, where Squash Vine Borers dare not tread. You can flip some squash seeds into a bed there, and be buried in zukes a few months later. Had I known about them then, I might have prayed for some SVBs to help keep things under control.

  • wantonamara Z8 CenTex
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Yes, 100% rainwater for all needs. We ran out for two months in the big drought. I like to set a goal to be full at the end of May.The dirt is so alkaline that water does not effect the PH as far as I can tell, but the plants do a lot better on them. We were down to 1/8th tank (20,000 gal)On 2/12/14 and we had to go on an extreme water diet to meat my end of May goal.. I was trying to keep my distance from people. I did feel a bit third world. BUT we are FULL TO THE BRIM now and that gives us 3 months with ease. I hauled grey water to the vegetable garden. That gets old but is very effective. I am doing key hole gardening this year and that directs the water to a centralized root zone.

    I used to garden right down by Deep Eddy and had no problem with many tender plants. I think if I look on the map, Z 8a-8b boundary runs through my kitchen now on top of this hill (1390' above sea level compared to the 400' in town).. I struggle with aloes. BUT in the summer it cools down quickly at night and tomatoes fruit a lot longer than in town.

  • castro_gardener
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Drippy, a good blog to subscribe to is called Digging by Pam Penick, and she has lots to share about her garden yard in Austin. If you can't grow your squash anymore, there are some great farmer's markets in Austin where you could pick some up. Hope your job situation is what you want! If you do get situated here we have a plant swap just south of Austin in Manchaca in the spring and fall. Watch this Texas forum for announcements on the Exchanges page.