UberlootsGardening with a Gaming Perspective

Why Uber Loots you ask? Well, Uber Loots is a gaming term I got from World of Warcraft and I am a big gamer. (Uber essentially means super fantastic, and Loots are kind of like rewards.) I love just about every game I have ever played, everything from paintball to Mario Brothers to checkers. So I have a tendency to look at things as games or self challenges. Like pushing yourself to run one more mile by envisioning that nice comfy chair waiting for you at the set finish line. Completing a game or overcoming obstacles usually has a reward and so does gardening. Uber Loots are your reward for doing well in WoW and loads of fresh produce, fewer trips to the store, healthier foods, are your rewards for gardening. That’s my new game or challenge if you will, gardening and seeing how much I can cut the cost of our grocery bills and how much food I can grow in our extremely tiny urban yard here in Houston. An area I am new to, so learning is going to be part of the process.

Through trying and experiencing we learn even though sometimes there are failures, we learn from that as well. I did, as a child, do some gardening before with my family, but in a much different climate in a place where space was not an issue, we had acres and acres of land. Not to mention soil you could till (as opposed to the clay we have here), much cooler temperatures, a large tiller to do the heavy work, and far fewer insects to eat our plants. Also we used chemical fertilizers and heavy insecticides to help us out, which at the time we did not know of the possible health risks associated with them.

So now, I seek to learn the gardening ways of the Houston area in an organic manner if at all possible, while building the ecological soil and insect web conductive to organic gardening (something I am learning more about through reading). I have been reading up on some of the challenges Houston gardeners face and I thought it would be interesting to catalog my experiences and findings for others with similar goals and questions. Gardening has a lot of rewards, I remember as a child that few tastes can compete with a home grown tomato fresh out of the garden or corn on the cob straight off the grill with a bit of butter. I plan to learn when the best time for planting various vegetables in Houston is and what gardening tactics will provide the largest yields of fresh produce without hurting the environment.

Soon I will write an “About” page to go into more detail on my exact goals. Also, I welcome any advice you seasoned gardeners out there are willing to share. I am even considering forums so we can all share some hints and tips here and there and maybe we can all learn together. I cannot wait to learn more about organic gardening, raised beds, indoors and container gardening methods, as well as how to reduce all the pest insects around here without killing the beneficial insects.

It is my hope that with some time and experience I can help others in the area avoid the mistakes I will invariably make and that by making this site I can garner more of an interest in gardening in general. Especially gardening in the city where space is limited and by my age group where it seems there is a diminished interest in growing things. I am willing to do the research and find out what the best techniques are and through trial and error, I will share the results with anyone willing to come along for the ride. Let’s make a bounty of fresh produce and turn it into tasty meals that even those of us who aren’t veggie lovers can enjoy. So, I heartily welcome anyone and everyone out there to Uber Loots!