CONVENTIONAL GARDENING ISSUES

LOOKING at old class documents and notes, I found this article written by David A. Korstad, from Sedgefield Atlanta, an  interior landscape merchant, selling, leasing and maintaining plants.  His focus is particularly interesting when putting things in perspective.  Why readers in USA or Australia for example, have shared their views about reiterative rants in terms of the dull gardenin practice/installations in Puerto Rico, with: 'we have the same here'.  If that is true,  then the root of the problem is similar.

I suggest while reading, to think about exterior landscaping. The principle of  profit and convenience from nursery people is the same anywhere. After one thousand posts, it is the first time I let one of them, in his own words describe what plant selection and gardening really i$$.

Schefflera, Areca palm, ferns, grape ivy and aralias are th most commonly used plants that I feel need the most care.

Schefflera, for many years the standard of the industry, is simply not resistant to any insects.  Mites, scale and mealy bugs will all infest the plant and are very difficult to get rid of. Since you must coat the underside of every leaf when using a contact insecticide, it is virtually impossible to kill all the insects.   This plant requires high light which compounds the insect problem, because the hotter it is, the fastest the insects  reproduce.

Areca palm is similar to schefflera as far as the disease problem.  It is not resistant  and is very difficult to spray. One other concern with this plant, is the watering. Be careful not let the plant wilt. Most other  varieties will rejuvenate after a good watering, but arecas will not ever be as attracive as before.

Ferns are  one of the most popular and sellable indoor plants, yet constant attention they demand, presents a maintenance problem for most of us.  The leaf shedding,  the amount of indirect, not direct,  light they need and the fact they can not be allowed to wilt are all major concerns.

Until recently* I have never thought of grape ivy  or oak leaf ivy problem plants, but the constant and losing battle I have been fighting against --powdery mildew-- has changed my mind. We have tried virtually every fungicide  on the market with almost no success. I would be interested to know of anyone else's experience with this problem.

Aralias are extremely sensitive to temperature changes,  watering practices, pesticides and virtually anything other than perfection.  While they are some of the most beautiful and unuauL plants we have to use, I do not know that have good luck with them. However, I will continue to buy them
because I know of nothing that can compare to a full, lush aralia.

These are just a few of the plants I use in my business.  I realize there are many more available.  Bromeliads, jade,
nephytis, Norfolk island pine and cactus, are all very popular 
plants that I use.  However, I will be here all day if I were to list every plant available to us.

A few other aspects of buying and selecting plants  that I consider important are in no particular order of importance,  cost versus quality, selling for profit and your holding area.

Obviously, we are all  very cost conscious  with today's economic situation.** I always try  to buy the best quality plant I can find, but I now  have to consider the cost versus the quality more than ever before. The wholesale of plants has been steadily increasing over the last years and most growers are predicting even higher costs.  This has meant that sometimes I can not afford the best quality because the market
will simply not bear my increased sale price.

We are all in this business to make a profit and often this means we have to buy the cheaper plant.  I do not mean that I will buy a plant of low quality,  but one that may not be the best.  

The holding area you have should also influence your selections.  Many people, myself included, are now using warehouses or other enclosed structures rather than greenhouses.  The fact that you will probably have less light
means you should select more lower light plants.  You will not 
be able to hold as many ficus, schefflera or other high light plants as you might like. This is specially true if you do not turn your inventory every three to five weeks.

My final advice is to beware of bargains.  Unless you have carefully checked all aspects of the plant. I would not buy bargains.  Most of these so-called bargain plants have either been sun grown or are plants the nursery has picked over.

Selecting quality plants to sell to the public is the reputation most of us live on. You should be prepared to spend time and money if you expect to do a good job.     

Editor's Note

*2002

** Before the financial/real estate bubble burst 

What can be added?  I had a once in a while commentator from Indonesia into the nursery business.  She stopped dropping by as my critical view on nurseries grew more abrasive. I rarely read articles like this.  It makes me think of pork bellies,  real estate and stock market.

If you think most or all gardens as in Puerto Rico stink, here, above are the reasons.  I am sorry to say/write this, but the pathetic situation in garden design/installation here and there where you are, is a result of market trends, demand and offer.  A critical stance, original plant selection seems water and salt, a drop in the ocean.

But if you are a wise gardener, you should not be trapped in buying plants like those mentioned in this article prone to insect pests and diseases even if  they are 'high quality' in the nursery, in your residence, they will surely pass away.

Judge your own context, inside or out, it will allow to see beyond  the  pretty flower or garden.  

that is that 

 

 

  

Unti


 
    

ILLUSTRATED FAT PEOPLE AND CONVENTIONAL GARDENING ISSUES

 a bizcocho manati, su hijo, orca, el molusco 

 el mas feo, Roberto Ramos Perea, el mostro morbido, sin
olvidar a Jennifer Gonzalez, danha ropa en
la Camara

IF you have the looks of a sea lion, have joined the Fat Acceptance Org, dear and not so reader, you will not like this.
Fat and morbid obese are ugly really ugly to see when visiting the mall, Sam's or Costco. It is an ugly and costly pandemic for the state and another element in overwhelming ugliness that is Puerto Rico.

Fat and morbid obese too often use food for consolation, it does not matter if they are adults or children.  Anxiety, boredom and lack of activity are part of the picture.  Some fools blame fast food joints and sodas, but just like the NRA position on guns: People kill people, guns do not.  One should be accountable for his/her actions. 

Parents with little ugly orcas, rhinos and sea lions should be fined or jailed for not taking care of what their offspring eat and drink.  I do not know the point of reiterating that portions of what one eats is part of the problem, besides of what the hell is that you eat.

If you exercise like yours truly, but eat like people in Man vs Food, you are wasting time. The point is to burn an amount of calories greater than the total, eating less is one way, eating healthy foods,  right portions another. If you are a couch potato, is also fine. After all most people I observe at the gym, did not even play with their feces in infancy. It isevident when they are in the threadmill or with dumbells, stiff, zombie like moves.

In brief, feel no pity for foolishness. Morbid obese are--like smokers--ruining the medical system with diabetes, high blood pressure, osteoarthritis, joint problems and you name it, carrying all that excess weight like nothing.

WHAT is it to me, some 
may ask being handsome 
and all...Well beauty and
health should be 
everyjuan's concern in 
every  day life, be it your own
body or the garden at home.
Please,
do not even think about
the opposite, as argumente,
bulimics and 
anorexics, they are also 
ugly but occupy less space 
and are one in a million, at
least from my objective 
mall observations.

Editor
Small Font Note

P 

PHOTO

BY 

PEPITA JIMENEZ

Free Lance Photographer
At Plaza

UPS OOPS RAN OUT OF
ENERGY...TO BE CONTINUED

THE DEATH OF HOPE

WHILE watching RTV.ES  the Spain cable channel I, see a super fast train, very nice looking, with stops in necks of woods to leave 4 passengers, a two lane highway in the middle of nowhere, mostly pasture soils, that no one uses. a  huge convention center in Mallorca, half built, without any money to finish and no need for it.

One gets the exact same feeling when watching some videos of Detroit, Michigan.  Abandoned urban spaces without any purpose, with lots of wood, metal, concrete, bricks to be recycled.  I think they should dismember them building in pieces and donate them to those leaving in plastic/zinc/cardboard tents in Haiti.  It would be cheaper, than building from scratch, plus the empty spaces could be returned to 'nature.

In Puerto Rico the state of law has become one of fraud.  The latest trick to steal the elections around the corner, is to allow people in bed as in Alzheimer, paraplegics, retarded and such to 'vote'. Prisoners are allowed to vote also.  It reminds one of Lance Armstrong that winner of the tour, a sophisticated cheater for seven years, with a great desire to win.

The only thing positive in numbers is the amount of drugs,  mostly cocaine, in one kilo packages.  There is money in this business, demand and offer.  Which is the contrary of what every country in the world except for very few can offer its citizens.

I doubt very much things will go back to what they used to.  The markets are saturated with automobiles for example. When I heard some companies will reduce/stop production, that was that.  It seems that the USA model of buying like no tomorrow, with loans left and right was cool for some time, however, when the fever got out of control and bankers, stock brokers and tax evaders joined they left a great mess looking much worse day by day with grave implications for the unemployed and retired populace or those who still have a job or survive with sub employment.

I do laugh here and there. When I read/hear about education, particularly the college one, what a waste of money and effort. Imagine for example, a lawyer, in a saturated lawyer market with a college debt of  $150,000 without any job prospect or one with the Legal Aid Society, having to move back with mom and pop.  What about the mayority with silly degrees in literature, history, social work, political science, those will have to flip burguers in BK or Mickey Dee.

Some final words for meditation. If the state, anywhere, gets some efficiency going, being able to capture everyjuan involved in drug manufacture and distribution, where are the jails to keep them inside?  The problem is like highway vs vehicles in the road. One can never built them fast enough to stop/eliminate/reduce the jams.

IT seems that only at home things are some what fine and dandy. Having lost thirty pounds in 2012, now a member of Planet Fitness, I am looking handsomer than the previous decade, still not fond of being photographed as so many people in FB or garden blogs.  Bai di guey, I have never seen so many ugly people, morbid obese together at any time in my 61 of age.

The garden is now happier going through the cool/wet season. 

That is that. 

MOMO AND LALO UNDER THE BOU

           HERE for the first time in the south side under the Bouganvillea, Momo the black subdued one and Lalo the exuberant, or Ebony and Ivory if you prefer.

At this time, for a couple of  weeks Lalo will be kicking Momo's butt during their daily five times a day sparring events, but later it will be another story.

  MOMO like his white brother, was a stray one, left by a bridge. in one of our highways in Yabucoa.  One of my wife's friends driving by saw hin all wet and scared in a rainy afternoon.  His arival has been a blessing. Now the energy and bad habits of the second have decreased significantly.

THE CHINAMPAS FROM MEXICO

 A couple  of weeks ago I found in a pile of books in a garbage can this one, 'The Mighty Aztecs', by Gene S. Stuart, not so hot in some ways, but excellent in others, like  those regarding the wise, organic agriculture practiced by the aboriginals from that country, originally half of what USA is today.

If one considers the healthy gastronomy developed in Mexico, the fact they have conquered USA with it,  is evident when looking at Taco Maker the fast food joint to name one.

One thing leads to the other, intelligent agriculture, equals a healthy, pragmatic diet since what is planted is determined by the availability of water, knowledge of soil conditions and weather without a Harvard degree.

Here this brief article for those gardeners interested in the subject and/or improving their own gardening practice with edibles or ornamentals.  




Investigating Chinampa Farming
by Virginia Popper
Excellent preservation at CH-AZ-195 provides information on plant use and farming activities for the two hundred years of occupation

---

Maize growing on chinampas
How the Aztec Empire fed the burgeoning population of its capital, Tenochtitlan, has long intrigued researchers. Most of Tenochtitlan’s estimated 150,000 to 200,000 inhabitants at the time of Spanish contact were not food producers. The system, known as chinampas, of draining swamps and building up fields in the shallow Basin of Mexico lakebeds, was a remarkable form of intensive agriculture that Jeffrey Parsons of the University of Michigan suggests provided one-half to two-thirds of the food consumed in Tenochtitlan.
At the time of Spanish contact, shallow lakes covered approximately 1000 km2 of the Basin of Mexico. Archaeological surveys show that large expanses of the lakes were converted into chinampas. Today the lakes are almost completely drained and covered by urban growth, but a few pockets of chinampa agriculture survive, including the popular tourist attraction, the “Floating Gardens of Xochimilco.”
Several ethnohistoric and ethnographic sources describe a range of building techniques, agricultural practices, and crops grown on chinampas. In general, chinampas are rectangular fields 2 to 4 m wide and 20 to 40 m long, surrounded on three or four sides by canals. Chinampa farmers pile up layers of vegetation and mud or dirt to raise the field surface to about 1 m above the water level.
This type of construction and the labor-intensive methods of chinampa agriculture help overcome the main limits to agriculture in the Basin of Mexico: variable rainfall, frosts, and soil fertility. The proximity of the field surface to the water table usually provides adequate soil moisture for crops. If not, irrigation water is readily available in the canals. The water also ameliorates nighttime temperatures, reducing the chance of frosts. In the past, soil fertility was maintained by periodically adding vegetation, household refuse, and organic-rich silt dredged up from the canals to the field surface. Among their labor-intensive practices, chinampa farmers plant seeds in specially prepared seedbeds, later transplanting the seedlings into the fields. In its most intensive form, cultivation is year–round.
We know little about the origins and development of chinampa agriculture. Although some researchers suggest that chinampa agriculture began as early as the Formative period, around 1400 bc, no fields have been securely dated prior to the Early Aztec/Middle Postclassic period (ad 1150–1350). In 1981, Jeffrey Parsons directed excavations at several archaeological sites in the Chalco and Xochimilco lakebeds to explore the development of chinampa agriculture.

     that is that

BETWEEN TURF AND CONCRETE THE FIRST DECADE

 

This was my canvas in 2002, after my return from New York.   The lawn took over ninety minutes with the best and quieter trimmer in the market, a 14 pound Stihl, and a  Great States 3' push mower to maintain it as you see.  Both have been collecting dust since 2005.

The residence in Bayamon, facing south,  was a project built in the sixties. It  had a big yard with many over sixty species collected by Rengui, my inlaw, during thirty years.


 
 

The difference between then and now is radical in many ways. The inventory was not mine, except some I planted during my stay, as these shown. The soil, orange/yellow clay, slippery when wet and hard as concrete when dry.  The temperature,  rains and breeze more frequent and much cooler.

The noise from neighbors left, right and front similar, and different somehow from what we get from the indigent riff raff next door now. 

Last night me wife and I dropped by for a rosary.  A Catholic ritual for the dead.  Donha Juanita, a nice lady two houses down.  Memories, dusty and forgotten from me childhood came back in a flash, when me mother took me to church without much choice. 

Of all this healthy vegetation photos, only the cypress planted by us, (circa 1984) and a gardenia, planted later, remains in 2012.

 

NOT all was foolish lawn maintenance, noise and CO2. The north side was my favorite spot.  It had more weight in terms of composition. Texture, color, height, more aesthetics if I may. The space dominated by this Cestrum diurnum,  a daily magnet for 
butterflies, beetles, hummingbirds, Spindalis, zorzales, ruisenhores, pitirres and Anolis lizards.  The Crotons were significant.





S same at ground level.






 NOW fast forward to 2004, our current residence.  This is what we found when we moved. The sterility, glare and dullness could not be worse.  With some imagination, patience and vision, the abominable north side started to change, becoming my favorite area, and that of a few readers of this space, and others in FB.



 

The photo below is evidence of the changes taking place that same year. The soil, when available, is ninety five percent sand with a tittle orange clay. The heat is more intense, with saline breeze to season the whole. The high bed to the right was all ferns, ninety five percent were eliminated, leaving a croton in the middle with a couple of gardenias planted later,  and a variety of  species not to be enumerated at this time.





 IN my opinion, most of the time in a humble mode, there is no other garden like this in Puerto Rico or the Caribbean.  The over one hundred botanical collection is just one thing.  The intention, focus, regarding the urban concrete/asphalt context with flora and fauna in mind, makes it unique, until further notice or anyjuan could prove otherwise.

Any garden is really a work in progress. Many plants survive, others pass away completing their life cycle, diseases, insects or exiled.  The joy and pleasure of watching all those creatures visiting the premises for nectar, food and/or housing is beyond any recognition by peers, mostly outside this forsaken island.

However, there is some pride involved.  When any visitor drops by offering a comment or not, agreeing with my views or not is also a little part, with some weight regarding my practice, theories and opinion.

FINALLY, I thank all of you able to separate grain from straw.  All peers gardening with dirt/sun/heat or just the monitor, with vision, beyond the surface, designing practice considering the variables making intelligent and pragmatic ways/blogs, deserve my respect and appreciation no matter where you are in the five continents.

This first DECADE  gardening with clay or sand was not easy. Moving away from conventional gardening--turf, palms, ficus, hedges--, noise and pollution, custom and use,  worn out paths, leave my ways outside.  In the beginning, I went through intense bitter/sour/sweet periods, thinking of them donkeys
led to the water, refusing to drink, but that was then.

  Peace and tranquility have arrived with the job done, aware of the unfinished task left, a satisfaction hard to define/describe.  To your left, on top, are a couple of photos showing the looks of north/south now.


A NOTE FOR
 ARCHITECTS/LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS
LANDSCAPE DESIGNERS

in Puerto Rico all the above stink beyond belief.
On top,
not one of the many with such tittles publishes anything,
not even some photos as constated in their
architect headquarters in Calle del Parque, or
the school of architecture, University of Puerto Rico,
a horrendous building with a landscape installation
surely inspired by the abominable Brasilia,
by Roberto Burle Marx.  Believe it or not!





MORE PHOTOS
http://www.flickr.com/photos/verdeazul1/






.