Easter eggs pour down…

Weather reports have called for RAIN here in Austin on this Easter Sunday.  We’ve kept our fingers crossed the weather lady/man is 100% right on this one…here in central Texas we desperately need the rain, even if it soaks a few bonnets or two.

Yesterday, in anticipation of the soaking (as much as rain can soak Austin soil which is just a thin layer on top of caliche) we spread compost over weak spots in the lawn–the struggling sod that we placed under our huge magnolia last fall, and the few blades of grass the dogs haven’t rolled over in the back yard.

Sitting here reading some blogs on this promising Easter morning, I finally could hear a downpour.  Yowser!  My dog Dooley made a shaky beeline under my desk (all 95 pounds of him), and I grinned ear to ear at the sound of the bubbling rain.  Wait a minute–bubbling rain? 

Oh for Peter Cottontail’s sake.  I must have cotton in my ears–the bubbling is coming from the stove.  Seriously. Twelve eggs bouncing in the pot that I left on a little too long as I surfed.

But the day is young.  The eggs are cooling–yep, we procrastinated coloring last night but as empty-nesters with no children in sight (son is out of the country) we can twist traditions.

So there’s still time for the downpour that is predicted for early morning.  We’ll color our eggs after coffee and hope the ground is too soggy for an afternoon hunt. 

Happy Easter. Happy Spring. Hope for showers.

Patti P.

 

Thatch is for huts not for lawns…

Gasp; let your soil breathe already…sheesh.

 

Having ears like radar, dragging hoses across our Austin lawn this weekend I swear I heard little gasping noises coming out of my grass.  And I was totally sober.  Once I determined the little wheezers weren’t coming from the hose or my not so little bowsers, I started to leap like a gazelle with thighs across the rest of the lawn in fear that thatch was going to link around my ankles and wrestle me to the ground leaving my husband to find me tied to the lawn like Gulliver (picture a smaller Gullivette in a pretty embroidered tunic—thank you).

 

Making it to the garage I turned on the computer and quickly “wikied” what might make my soil gasp.  I quickly came to the conclusion that I’m suffering from compaction & thatch.  My soil that is.   Serious problem with a semi-simple cure.  Read on.  Especially if you’re looking for a greener lawn to frame your home which you’re getting ready to put on this competitive real estate market for sale…

 

Thatch is meant for huts not lawns.

Thatch is usually dried botanical material (straw, reeds, rushes or heathers) layered on roofs to shed water from material that lies below.  So if you have thatch (layers of live & not so live organic material lying between your semi-green grass and the soil surface) it’s going to be very hard for any precious water, nutrients and vital air to penetrate the thatch and feed your soil.  Thus the audible gasping.

 

How do you know you have thatch? 

Moisten a patch of lawn (don’t make it WET, just moist) and wiggle a screwdriver down into the soil.  If the screwdriver goes down a few inches with ease, you’re probably thatch less and don’t need to read on…oh but do.  I promise to entertain as I love your company.

 

OK, you’re still with me.  Which means I’m wicked persuasive and/or you tried the screwdriver test and it did not penetrate the soil easily.  Did you hear the gasping too?  You have thatch and most likely compacted soil. 

 

In Austin, summer is the time to treat the thatch on St. Augustine and Bermuda grass, so make some lemonade, put on your best brimmed sun hat and get to work; preferably early in the morning when soil is just moist—again not wet—if you work with wet soil, you’ll just make compacted soil balls.

 

Notes to the compulsive and short-cutters:

 

DON’T try MORE water as over watering probably caused your compaction and thatch in the first place.  Once your lawn is compacted water will just run off to your least favorite neighbor’s yard or the street (wasteful) and hits you in your wallet.

 

DON’T add more fertilizer as this probably caused your grass to grow too fast, thus the compaction and gasping for air.  Your grass is suffering from a post- Thanksgiving dinner.

 

DO go to your favorite gardening center (mine is the Natural Gardener in Austin) and purchase a sod corer for $25.

 

What is a sod corer?

A sod corer looks a like an aluminum pitchfork except a corer has only two tines and they are hollow.  This lightweight corer has a bar above the hollow tines where you can place your foot to push the corer down into the moist soil.  The hollow tines push up tubes of soil just like a play dough maker pushes out stars and hearts and moons.  Leave the little tubes of soil lying on top of the lawn and keep moving along pushing up more tubes.  It is kind of meditative or at least brings you back to good Play dough memories…as long as you didn’t eat the stuff. 

 

Note: if you are trying to “aerify” a large lawn you may want to consider renting a commercial rotary sod corer at your local hardware store.  I’m going to continue with my Play dough/aluminum manual sod corer as I don’t want to spew gas or pay for gas to allow my lawn to breathe.

 

Benefits of using the sod corer:

1. your lawn will breathe again because you are loosening up compacted soil
2. the corer will make nice breathing holes in the compaction and thatch
3. coring will stimulate new grass growth & will save you $$$ by reducing water running off
4. your lawn will start to look lush as the corer cuts through roots; just like a starfish, the grass will quickly grow back new “arms” to cover any open spaces

 

So, liberate your grass this Fourth of July!  Let it breathe!  Drop us a line and let us know how your coring fared.  Thanks for reading–Patti P

 

 

Got Fire Ants? Invite them to tea…

 

So are you ready for Fire Ant Week? 

By our favorite South Austin contributor, Patti P.

Here in Austin it’s kind of the reverse of Cow Plop Bingo…you DON’T want the plops, or in this case mounds (of fire ants) on your ”grid” of the neighborhood.  Of course your neighbors don’t want ‘em on their lawn either.  

But if your neighbor works her magic ant herding brew on her lawn before the whistle blows and drives the dreaded red imported fire ants over to your pad when you’re not ready, you won’t be yelling BINGO (unless you have kids under 3 and are really trying hard to clean up your language).

My SW Austin neighborhood (Shady Hollow) has fairly declared May 4-10 to be Fire Ant Week.  Which means cancel all vacation plans, move your birthday to June, start limbering up, and get out your favorite ant baits & killer brews. 

It’s time to protect your turf from Fire Ants which–if they’re not already there–will be attempting to breach your green stuff from the north, south, east & westerly neighbor’s yards.  If you tend to get dizzy from turning full radius, now’s the time to get some balancing pills from your doc; you’ve got to be on an even keel all week–leave a hole in your flank and you’re toast (jam & tea) to waves of evil stinging fire ants.  

My sister from Long Island is so terrified of these critters that she mistakenly or maybe aptly referred to them as “snapping ants” on a recent visit when questioning a tour guide in San Antonio…in Long Island accent: “Hey, you, do you have any of those snapping ants around here?” But I digress, back to the battle…

Fire Ants are for real and are a serious problem.  They smuggled in to Texas around the 1930’s in soil piled in the bottom of ships from South America to help keep them balanced.  Red imported fire ants eat almost any animal or plant and do major damage to electrical systems & mowing, tilling & harvesting equipment.  When disturbed (oh, excuse me for stepping on your precious mound) the ants will emerge aggressively from their pile of soft soil around the queenie ant and they WILL sting you.  Many at one time often leaving white pustules on your skin.  Lovely image, no?   

Many a realtor in Austin has battled fire ants while pounding a FOR SALE or SOLD sign on clients’ lawns–seems the vibration of the sledgehammer disturbs close by mounds and up the leg or into the shoes come waves of fire ants.  One of my favorite rookie (at the time) realtors did not discover he was invaded by fire ants until he was driving his car up the Capitol of Texas Highway…he reportedly pulled his car over to the shoulder and proceeded to disrobe right there on this busy highway.  He drove home in his boxers.  I’d say commission earned.

So how do you battle these non-native fire ants?  In the case of realtors & brief/boxer encounters, I would recommend bringing baby powder, vinegar, baking soda or comfrey in your tool kit.  At the very least, sprinkle a little baby powder on the legs of the sign–reportedly the ants can’t get good traction on baby powder.  If stung, the vinegar, baking soda and comfrey can help soothe the sting.  Of course, if  you’re highly allergic to fire ant stings, get to a doctor immediately.

When participating in your week-long neighborhood mound moving battle,  I’d recommend using organic concoctions rather than synthetic chemical brews (which you surely want to keep out of the water system that you brush your teeth with, eh?).

Your local natural organic gardening center will be a good source of recommended baits & brews.  Some will offer a fresh compost tea (made from manure that is wrapped in a huge tea bag/pillow case over a bucket of water/ teacup).  This “tea” can be mixed with some molasses and citrus oil as a control method.   (You can make your own citrus oil by soaking citrus peels in equal ratio with water for 10-14 days…)

During battle week, many Texans swear (often) by the “two-step” fire ant control method. 

Step 1 is to spread an organic bait laced with a bacteria called “spinosad” on your yard.  Feeding ants will bring the bait back to the mound.  The bacteria in the bait paralyzes the nervous system of the ants and they die–sorry, but they are fire ants.  (But get this, before you spread the bait, you want to be sure that fire ants are on your property and are ready to eat…because the bait can kill the native (good) ants too.  Please don’t kill the beneficial/ good ants unnecessarily because you THINK you have fire ants.  A piece of potato chip or (ugh) hot dog left out near suspected infestations will give you direct evidence that fire ants are present & ready to feed if you soon find it crawling with fire ants.)  Check out pictures of red imported fire ants on the web so you can be sure in your identification.  Then spread the bait.

Step 2 is to directly treat any visible fire ant mounds.  On mounds, an organic method is to use “d-limonere” which is an extract of orange oil.  The oil reportedly destroys the wax coating of the ant’s respiratory system and it suffocates.  Again, I’m sorry but these are Fire Ants. 

If you’re from or in Texas, you surely have some anti-red-imported-fire-ant brews and teas of your own.  Best of luck using them in your reverse neighborhood BINGO. Hopefully your “teas” are organic and you’re willing to share your most successful recipes.  Give us your tea!  We’d love to hear from you.  Thanks.  Patti P.

 

South Austin, where you can be weird and have chickens too.

From our favorite South Austin contributor–Patti P. 

A gaggle of teenagers strutted into a convenience store in South Austin yesterday sporting various t-shirts…the tag line on the back of one boy left me silently applauding…”Old Austin hasn’t died.  It just moved South.”  Kudo’s to the unknown author–s/he is definitely a keen supporter of the philosophy that makes Austin so appealing: Keep Austin Weird.When relocating from Vermont to Austin in 2000, the idea of living in a city that prided itself on being weird wasn’t on my list of criteria for a good match.  However, having lived here for the past eight years I’ve come to understand, totally support and am completely hooked on the notion of Austin’s “weirdness” and can’t imagine living anywhere else.

Weirdness in Austin means freedom to wear flipflops on Christmas Eve and not feel underdressed or disrespectful–you belong and are more important then your footgear.  Seriously.

Weirdness in Austin allows you to celebrate Spam AND Eeyore’s Birthday with pure endorphin-releasing abandon.

Weirdness in Austin means looking forward to sitting with friends & neighbors on the banks of Lady Bird Lake watching for millions of bats to leave their bridge home for evening snacking (right over your head).

While this delightful weirdness occurs throughout Austin, it is especially celebrated South of the Lady Bird Lake, thus South Austin. 

In real estate terms, South Austin includes many neighborhoods including Barton Hills, Bouldin Creek, Cherry Creek, Dawson, Galindo, Horseshoe Bend, South Lamar, SOCO, South Creek, Travis Green & Zilker. 

The further south you go, the more lenient the Home Owner’s Assocations seem to be.  One of my favorite Austin columnists has lived in South Austin for 30 years and frequently amuses with accounts of his creative South Austin neighbors… one neighbor reportedly has a large peace sign on his front lawn–very large–we’re talking trampoline turned on its side with a painted peace sign large.

If freedom of expression is very important to you, you may want to explore some of Austin’s South Austin neighborhoods.  Go online, search on “South Austin” which offers links to many neighborhood associations; read their newsletters and check out the neighborhood school(s).   Check in with your favorite Austin realtor who will be a great source of  information about South Austin neighborhoods.

South Austin may be your new home.  You may even find yourself with your own flock of chickens.

 

SOCO neighborhood–it’s the frosting on our Austin cake.

 

Despite record breaking high temps last week, SOCO–the funky neighborhood & quirky/artsy shopping district south of the Congress Street bridge in Austin, TX stayed oh so cool.   Even the campy cupcake vendor operating out of a vintage silver airstream “Hey Cupcake” managed to keep the icing on her cakes and into the hands of hoards of sugar seekers.

Saturday was the last day of the SXSW music festival here in Austin and as is tradition, free music shows packed cool visitors (you could tell by their shades) & cool Austinites (you could tell by their pink hightops) into every alley up & down SOCO…all you had to do was follow the beat with your hatted head.  

Which my husband & I did from Guero’s live oak courtyard to Homeslice Pizza’s back lot and finally found ourselves nose to fiddle bow in a tented alley with the entertaining Sadie’s (popular Toronto Canadian band (Rock/Psychedelic/Country band fresh back from Europe and on their way to Scandanavia).  Totally satisfied with their revved up version of a favorite Bob Wills tune “stay all night, stay a little longer”– ever rebellious, we opted instead to weave our way through the alley crowd to continue our SOCO hop.

If you missed SXSW, first, there’s always next year and second, you can always get a mini taste (a morsel but enough to leave you sated) the First Thursday of each month as SOCO businesses leave their doors open late into the evening and live music beckons around every corner.  

And don’t sweat it if you miss a Thursday visit.  SOCO is cool every day/night of the week.   

OK-what NOT to miss when visiting (or coming to live) in the SOCO area:

Jo’s coffee–tres popular open-air coffee shop which keeps java hounds happy year-round sipping, surfing and cool people watching.

San Jose Hotel–sister business to Jo’s (literally). Private ivy covered courtyards right off the busy SOCO path.  Reportedly Julia Roberts and Gwenyth Paltrow’s favorite digs while in town so I give these diva mamas two cool thumbs up for their taste.

The Continental Club–opened in 1957 with Glenn Miller & Tommy Dorsey…rocked out with Stevie Ray Vaughn and Joe Ely in the 70’s and is now packed with awesome authentic swinging atmosphere with the best rockabilly, swing & country anywhere.  I think it’s pleasantly haunted with some really great souls.

Hill Country Weavers–should be dubbed Hill Country Knitters as the shop has doubled in size and great fiber selections since knitting fever hit around 2001.  They taught me to knit–I’m forever grateful.

Lucy in Disguise with Diamonds–oh the photo opportunities!  Fantastic costume shop–if you’ve never had a chance to wear layers of crinoline, you have to go into this SOCO shop just to feel the puffy dresses and fuzzy gorillas reaching out to tickle as you make your way through the packed maze of costumes.

Allen’s Boots–this anchoring corner shop will remind you that you’re in Texas.  Booted & hatted cowboys/girls guide you through the impressive isles of boots (I have my eyes on a pair of turquoise beauties)…

And that’s just a taste of SOCO.  You have to come visit.  Stay if you promise to be cool.