Keith wrote:
I had a friend who pulled up about a square meter of his lawn so he could
plant 4 tomato plants. They kept dying, despite his best efforts, even
though the grass around that area was fine.

He also had 3 cats, and I asked him where they did their business... he
groaned, and gave up trying to get those tomatoes to grow anymore, it was a
losing battle.

Any cats in your yard?

Interesting idea, but no. Our dog chases away any cats that come in to
the yard. And before you ask whether the dog might be cursing the
garden with contributions of her own, she isn't. Much to my dismay,
her favorite places to poop are those places where humans are most
likely to walk -- the deck, and the pathways.

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If grass once grew there, how about trying an ornamental grass?

"John Ladasky" wrote in message
oups.com...
Hi, folks!

Gardening in San Jose, California -- USDA zone 9, Sunset zone 16.

I have a prominent space at the edge of a (grumble) lawn, located next
to an apple tree, but just out from under the tree's drip line (when
it's in leaf). The spot is about a square meter. It's at the bottom
of a short, shallow slope which terminates at the lawn. The soil is
mostly clay, but has been amended with some organic matter. The site
receives partial shade to full sun.

Grass used to grow in this location, but I have been making efforts to
reduce the size of our lawn, particularly on the sloped parts of the
yard. Over the past two years I have tried two different plants in
this location, without lasting success. Initially, the plants thrive
and grow. About a year later, they croak. My first attempt was with
jagged lavender (Lavandula pinnata); my second, with ornamental quince
(Chaenomeles japonica).

I don't think that I'm committing any blunders with water. Turgor
pressure was good in the leaves of the lavender, right until the point
when it decided to die. I'm actually not sure that the quince is dead
yet -- but it lost about 95% of its leaves in late summer, which was
far too early, even as turgor in the remaining leaves was still good.
It isn't setting buds right now, which it should be doing.

All around the drip line of this apple tree, and even under it to some
extent, plants are thriving. It's just this one spot that refuses to
grow anything. I'm not the kind of gardener who normally likes to
force a piece of ground to do something that it doesn't wish to do.
But I have trouble believing that nothing will grow on this spot
besides the grass that I removed. Help me, before I kill again!
Suggestions are appreciated!

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On 4 Feb 2006 10:05:20 -0800, "John Ladasky"
wrote:

Keith wrote:
I had a friend who pulled up about a square meter of his lawn so he could
plant 4 tomato plants. They kept dying, despite his best efforts, even
though the grass around that area was fine.

He also had 3 cats, and I asked him where they did their business... he
groaned, and gave up trying to get those tomatoes to grow anymore, it was a
losing battle.

Any cats in your yard?

Interesting idea, but no. Our dog chases away any cats that come in to
the yard. And before you ask whether the dog might be cursing the
garden with contributions of her own, she isn't. Much to my dismay,
her favorite places to poop are those places where humans are most
likely to walk -- the deck, and the pathways.

Err...you might want to take her to a qualified dog psychiatrist who
can analyze her "issues"...is there some latent hostility manifesting
itself in her poop-choices?

(Just kidding g)

Persephone

my small dogs dont like grass tickling their butt. they use the walk too. Ingrid

Persephone wrote:

On 4 Feb 2006 10:05:20 -0800, "John Ladasky"
wrote:
Much to my dismay,
her favorite places to poop are those places where humans are most
likely to walk -- the deck, and the pathways.

Err...you might want to take her to a qualified dog psychiatrist who
can analyze her "issues"...is there some latent hostility manifesting
itself in her poop-choices?


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On Sun, 25 Jun 2006 13:15:13 GMT, wrote:

my small dogs dont like grass tickling their butt. they use the walk too. Ingrid

Persephone wrote:

On 4 Feb 2006 10:05:20 -0800, "John Ladasky"
wrote:
Much to my dismay,
her favorite places to poop are those places where humans are most
likely to walk -- the deck, and the pathways.

Err...you might want to take her to a qualified dog psychiatrist who
can analyze her "issues"...is there some latent hostility manifesting
itself in her poop-choices?

Hey, you left out my last line "Just kidding g".

Someone might think I actually MEANT the dog-shrink!

Persephone

Hey, you were able to revive this thread! Google wouldn't let me do
it, since it had been quiet for over 30 days.

I actually posted a follow-up a month ago that no one noticed:

http://groups.google.com/group/rec.g...05fa90c3207fed

My quince was alive. It just went dormant for MONTHS, starting in the
early fall. I find that behavior surprising, given my moderate climate
(Central California, USDA Zone 9, Sunset Zone 16).

Following up again: now that the quince has flourished for four months,
I'm seeing signs of stress again -- some leaf-burn. I can't say that I
understand why! My _Sunset_Western_Garden_Book_ lists Chaenomeles
japonica as a full-sun plant, with moderate to regular water needs, and
I'm supplying that. If anything, the plant gets an hour or two more of
shade than I would usually allot for a plant that is described as
requiring full-sun conditions.

I'm hoping that this plant doesn't go dormant in September again. It's
clearly alive and coping with the conditions, but if it will look bare
and unattractive for over half the year, I may need to talk my wife
into putting something else in that location.


OK, even though animals are officially a non-issue in my garden
problems, here are a few comments about my crazy dog...

Persephone wrote:
On 4 Feb 2006 10:05:20 -0800, "John Ladasky"
wrote:
Keith wrote:
[snip]
Any cats in your yard?

Interesting idea, but no. Our dog chases away any cats that come in to
the yard. And before you ask whether the dog might be cursing the
garden with contributions of her own, she isn't. Much to my dismay,
her favorite places to poop are those places where humans are most
likely to walk -- the deck, and the pathways.

Err...you might want to take her to a qualified dog psychiatrist who
can analyze her "issues"...is there some latent hostility manifesting
itself in her poop-choices?

(Just kidding g)

Actually, we know exactly what our dog's "issue" is. She had
inadequate time with her Mom as a puppy, only four weeks. Apparently,
Mom teaches her pups their toileting habits, and she wasn't through
teaching. We didn't take the puppy away from the breeder too early --
Mom died shortly after the litter was born. Our dog is the only dog I
know that regularly pees in her own bed. :^P

Our dog is a help in the garden, though -- well, she is helpful now
that she has outgrown digging holes. She's a miniature Dachshund, and
her rodent-hunting instincts are keen. We don't have any burrowing
animals around here, but our garden-hating neighbor has a "rat motel"
-- a large stand of Algerian ivy. Occasionally a rat tries to leave
the neighbor's yard and enter ours. It doesn't get far.

+-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-+
| Ladasky Home Solar, Inc.: blowing sunshine up your |
| power grid since March 24, 2005. Fiat lux! |
+-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-+
| Uptime Downtime kWh generated kWh consumed |
| 458 days none 8446 8669 |
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