30th April, 2012 - Posted by katherine - No Comments
Here’s a quick tip from thedailygreen:
It isn’t difficult to make your yard, garden or even patio space a haven for beneficial bees. You’ll be helping these important insects, as well as bringing more nature to your back door.
The greater the plant diversity, the more bees and other wildlife your garden will attract and support (including both honey bees, which aren’t native to North America and native bees like orchard mason bees). Always try to choose as many native plants as possible, and consult with local nursery staff or other experts to find vegetation that will thrive in your specific conditions.
And remember, the more bees you attract, the more your gardens will grow, since so many vegetables and flowers require pollination.
For more wildlife gardening tips, see National Wildlife Federation’s gardening campaign or check out The Daily Green’s tips for creating a bird garden.
Read more: http://www.thedailygreen.com/going-green/tips/bee-friendly-plants#ixzz1taBxMm3D
11th April, 2012 - Posted by katherine - No Comments
Check out the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center this weekend to peruse the large selection of native plants and have a guided tour of the gardens. Here’s some info from their webpage:
Friday, Saturday and Sunday, April 13 – 15, 2012.
Members Sale, 1 to 7 p.m., Friday
Public Sale, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday and Sunday
At the Wildflower Center’s Spring Plant Sale and Gardening Festival you can choose from nearly 300 species of hardy Texas natives bred to deal with our Central Texas climate. Feel free to leave your plant purchases at the Holding Area while you finish enjoying your visit, or up until the Plant Sale closes Sunday at 5 p.m.
Admission: $9 adults, $7 seniors and students, $4 UT faculty, staff or students with identification, $3 children 5 through 12, members and children under 5 free.
- If possible, bring your own wagon to haul your purchases
- Plants may be purchased and held for pick-up
- Free cold filtered water, just bring your reusable water bottle, or buy one in the store.
- Friday and Saturday, 10 a.m. to noon and 1 to 3 p.m., Mr. Smarty Plants answers your questions.
- Story time is at 11 a.m. in the Little House Saturday and Sunday. Sunday Kathi Appelt and Joy Fisher Hein read from their book Miss Lady Bird’s Wildflowers.
- Ecopots all day Saturday and Sunday.
- Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., free guided garden walks.
- Saturday, artist Shou Ping will be here from 1 to 4 p.m. in the Mc Dermott Learning Center to visit with the public about her work.
Members Only Sale: Friday, April 13, 1 to 7 p.m. Friday’s sale is exclusively for members of the Wildflower Center. Become a member online or at the preview sale.
We will not be recycling plastic pots at this plant sale, please consider recycling them at your local recycling center.
Lady Bird: one inspirational lady!
4th April, 2012 - Posted by katherine - No Comments
The Daily Green has a tip today about making a backyard garden for wildlife. Here’s their advice:
With the rapid suburbanization of the American landscape that has taken place since World War II (including the recent spurt during the housing bubble) thousands of square miles of open land, farms and forests was built on, displacing wildlife. No matter if you live in the country, suburbs or even the city, you can provide food, shelter and a nontoxic environment for wildlife, restoring some of the lost landscape. It’s not only good for the environment, by supporting a healthy and diverse local ecosystem, but by following a few of these tips, you could watch all the wildlife you want right in your backyard!
Plant native plants.
Native plants will attract and provide food for native animals. Make sure your plants provide a mixture of flowers, nuts, berries, seeds, pollen and nectar for all the different kinds of animals that will be stopping by.
Provide water.
Try putting it in a birdbath, or even go so far as building a pond. Animals need clean water to drink and bathe, so make sure you change the water frequently.
Let it grow.
A little overgrowth will provide cover for animals, giving them the ability to hide and feel more comfortable. The availability of brush, grass clippings and sticks provides the raw materials for birds to build nests.
Avoid chemicals.
Avoid using chemical fertilizers to beef up your garden. Instead, try to make the area as natural as possible by composting, letting wild grasses grow and removing invasive species.
If you’re really interested in making a habitat out of your backyard, check out the National Wildlife Federation’s Certified Wildlife Habitat Program, or the Audubon At Home tips. The Daily Green also has, in partnership with the National Audubon Society, published these 15 tips for creating a backyard bird garden.
I just got a birdbath a few weekends ago and wasn’t creative enough to consider making my own, but check out some of these ideas for making bird baths out of existing things you have around the house, like old pots and dishes. ( It’s not necessarily very environmentally friendly to paint all of these things though before assembling them, so consider making these birdbaths with items you have as they currently are. Made with unpainted terracotta pots these would still be stunning.)
this one is from the culinary cougar…
this one is from Our Creative Life…
and this one of from Home Stories A to Z
And while it’s great to provide animals with water, consider also that we’re in a drought. Placing your birdbath in a shady spot will mean you lose less water to evaporation and you won’t have to refill the birdbath as often. And if you want to be really green, try to think of unconventional ways you can “harvest” water for your birdbath. You could use water saved after you’ve boiled some eggs, for example, after the water has cooled - that water is still clean and would otherwise get poured down the drain. Or if you buy organic veggies, if you rinse your veggies in a large bowl of water before eating them, you could use that leftover water to fill your birdbath- it’s not really water you want to be drinking, but a little bit of dirt in your birdbath water isn’t going to hurt the animals.
Check out this great resource from the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center to look up what kind of native plants grow well in the shade that can go next to your birdbath, and make sure you’re buying drought resistant plants (plants that only need to be watered about once a week rather than every day). And if you live in an area that has a lot of deer, check with the employees at your garden store to make sure what you’re buying is deer resistant.
5th March, 2012 - Posted by katherine - No Comments
I actually have a small amount of broccoli growing in my garden! And a lot of lettuce. This is very exciting for me because these are two vegetables I haven’t had much luck growing. I think the broccoli, small as it is, is starting to flower (the little green sprouts turn yellowish) so we are going to eat the three plants this week. It’s good timing because there was a mix up with billing with our CSA, so we didn’t get our vegetable box this week.
15th February, 2012 - Posted by katherine - No Comments
The Natural Gardener has 2 upcoming classes on organic gardening. These classes are free and sound very informative with excellent speakers. The first is this Saturday and is an intro to organic vegetable gardening, and the second is the following Saturday and covers general organic gardening (not just vegetables). If you’ve never been to the Natural Gardener, it’s a really cool experience if you like gardening at all. Plus if you take a class you get 20% off one item purchased that day. Check them out! Here’s more info from the website:
February 18: Rosina Newton, Horticulturist and Education Coordinator at the Natural Gardener, presents “Organic Vegetable Gardening 101.” Beginning gardeners – or experienced gardeners from other regions of the country – often ask for this class. Don’t miss this opportunity to learn how to create successful vegetable, herb, and flower gardens in Central Texas. Learn site selection, soil preparation and fertilization, planting methods, pest control, and more! Rosina is a 1984 graduate of Texas A&M University in Horticulture and has been assisting customers and serving as horticulturist at the Natural Gardener for over 15 years.
February 25 at NOON: John Dromgoole presents “What it Means to be an Organic Gardener.” John is the founder and owner of The Natural Gardener and Lady Bug Brand, and host of the longest continuously-running organic gardening radio talk show in the nation, Gardening Naturally on KLBJ-AM. He hosts two weekly television segments, Backyard Basics on KLRU’s Central Texas Gardener and The Weekend Gardener on KXAN. John was the host of the first national organic gardening television series, The New Garden, on PBS. For over 29 years John has been answering gardening questions on air; this Saturday John will be live and in person, talking about organic gardening and answering your gardening questions!
9th February, 2012 - Posted by katherine - No Comments
If you’re starting to think about your spring veggie garden, Johnson’s Backyard Garden is having their annual transplant sale March 3. You can find more information from their website here. They say they’ll have a lot of heirloom tomato plants, a well as hot and sweet peppers. I’m a fan of growing my own seedlings but I would love to stop by and get a look at where my weekly vegetables are coming from, and maybe pick up some interesting tomato varieties. And if you’re wondering what you can be planted over the next several weeks (lettuce, carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes, watermelon) , check out the Travis County planting guide here.
16th September, 2011 - Posted by katherine - No Comments
The Natural Gardener is having their last free class of the summer tomorrow, and all attendees will receive a 20% off coupon for one item. Here’s the info from their website:
LAST FREE CLASS OF THE SEASON! Please come join us. Class attendees will receive a coupon good for 20% OFF one item purchased that day! (Excluding bulk soil yard products and sale items. Discount cannot be combined with any other offer.)
Classes are free, and no registration is required. All classes are held Saturday mornings at 9:00 a.m. unless otherwise specified. Most classes are about one hour long. All are subject to change- please call to confirm. Classes are held outdoors under an open air canopy, so be sure to dress for the weather. Arrive early for best seating. Seating is limited- you are welcome to bring your own folding chair.
September 17 – Lauren Woodward-Stanley, of Stanley Studio, presents “Green Roofs: Austin, Texas.” What are green roofs and why do they matter? What is their potential in Central Texas? These vegetative architectural wonders take many forms, colors, and sizes. Especially in the context of drought and urban growth in the region, it is important to examine the role of green roofs as one piece of Austin’s green infrastructure. Green roofs are an exciting opportunity to make our community more resilient and more beautiful! Lauren Woodward Stanley, of Stanley Studio, shares her experiences and comments about green roofs in our area. Lauren is an AIA member and Masters Graduate of UT’s School of Architecture, who cut her teeth on green roofs while in Seattle. She and husband Lars Stanley, a blacksmith and architect, have been growing their design practice and young family on a 2-acre “rurban” compound in central east Austin, complete with a studio green roof. Lauren is a member of the Green Roof Advisory Group initiated by Councilmember Chris Riley to help establish a best practice approach and appropriate incentives for green roofs in Austin. She is also a co-founder of GRoWERS (Green Roofs: Working Expertise, Regional Solutions), which aims to facilitate the design and installation of small green roofs of all varieties across the city.
click here for more info!
23rd August, 2011 - Posted by katherine - No Comments
I’m happy to be back from 2 weeks traveling through India. What a fun, amazing country with a tremendously rich history. But definitely saw some areas with some major environmental problems (as well as severe poverty) that was very upsetting and really damaging to the quality of life there. It was a real eye-opener and a trip I’ll never forget.
I’ve not had a lot of time to get into the Austin news I missed while I was gone, but did find this Statesman page with some fun gardening events coming up. Here are a few that are most pertinent to being green by growing your own food:
- Do-it-yourself day: Vegetable gardens and rain gardens. Master Gardener Tommie Clayton and landscape architect John Gleason speak, followed by a tour of the Zilker Green Garden. 9 a.m. to noon Aug. 27. $10. Registration required. Zilker Botanical Garden, 2220 Barton Springs Road. 974-2550, www.ci.austin.tx.us/green
garden/ggc_training.htm.
- “Experience the Fun of Planting Seeds in the Fall.”Georgetown Garden Club meeting. 1:30 p.m. Sept. 1. Georgetown Parks and Recreation Community Room, 1101 N. College. Free. 512-746-2076, www.
georgetowngardenclub.org.
- Austin Herb Society meeting.Annual members luncheon and general meeting. 9:30 a.m. to noon Sept. 6. Zilker Botanical Garden, 2220 Barton Springs Road. www.austinherbsociety.org.
- Keep Austin Wild classes. Become a Certified Habitat Steward and learn to garden for desirable wildlife and help create, maintain and restore wildlife habitat as part of the City’s Keep Austin Wild initiative. Thirty hours of classes from Sept. 8 through Oct. 6. $40. 974-4009, www.cityofaustin.org/parks/wildlifehabitat.htm.
- From the garden to the table. Williamson County and Cities Health District offers free cooking, nutrition and gardening course. 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. Sept. 13, 20 and 27. WIC Clinic, Round Rock WCCHD Office, 211 Commerce Cove, Round Rock. E-mail cabels@wcchd.org to register.
- Home fruit production seminar. 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sept. 17. A seminar presented by the Travis County Master Gardeners on growing fruit at home. Limited seating. Register and pay online at agriliferegister.tamu.edu, keyword search: Fruit. Room 1130, Austin Community College, 1820 Stassney Lane. $25. 854-9600, www.tcmaster
gardeners.org.
1st April, 2011 - Posted by katherine - No Comments
My husband took this pic of our first little tomoato of the season! It’s not too late to plant veggies in Austin that like hot weather like okra and peppers, and possibly not too late to put in tomato transplants if you’re interesting in starting a garden this year.
23rd March, 2011 - Posted by katherine - No Comments
It’s been awhile since I had any gardening updates, mainly because my fall garden wasn’t very successful and the squirrels ate what little there was. But with the return of warm weather, things are really picking up.
Here is my side garden with cabbages last September
....and here it is now- notice the bird netting to keep out the squirrels
Here is some asparagus I planted last fall with some garlic chives in the front right corner (they grow like a weed) and some kale in the background
An onion I planted last March is finally taking off
Kale from the Natural Gardener that I transpalnted last fall. Also some carrots on either side that grew slowly all winter and took off once it got warmer.
10th February, 2011 - Posted by katherine - No Comments
I was reading Renee Studebaker’s Statesman blog and found a list of tips for growing tomatoes. Renee says now is the time of year to start seedlings so transplants can be started in mid-March, so yesterday I planted 8. I used old yogurt cups and tried to find a warm spot in the house, although that’s a little tricky since Renee says the seedlings should be kept between 70 and 80 degrees and our house is programmed to go down to 55 when we’re at work. Check out her whole article for helpful tips, including these seedling specific tips:
SEEDS: Start seeds indoors under grow-lights or in a greenhouse 6-8 weeks before you intend to plant outside. Press the seeds into moistened seed starting mix or straight vermiculite. Yogurt cups or paper coffee cups work fine as pots. Poke several holes in the bottom for drainage. Keep seed pots moist and warm (between 70 and 80 degrees) until seeds germinate. To keep seeds warm, set pots in a sunny window, on a seed heating mat (or ordinary heating pad) or a warm spot on top of the fridge.
12th January, 2011 - Posted by katherine - 1 Comment
Meee! I haven’t had a lot of success with winter gardening, things have not been growing very fast at all, but I did finally have enough kale to make some delicious Italian soup, like the kind they serve at the Olive Garden. It’s not very healthy and it’s not vegetarian, but at least a small fraction of it came from my back yard. Here’s a link to the recipe - I didn’t use any bacon and used less cream than recommended, and I probably used 5 cups of chopped kale.
- here’s the kale I collected from outside
- and the finished soup!
12th November, 2010 - Posted by katherine - 1 Comment
We finally discovered that a little squirrel has been responsible for destroying lettuce, kale, onions, beets, cabbage, and cauliflower in my garden. You can watch a video of him callously eating my plants here. (I tried to post the video on the blog but either my computer is too slow or I’m not doing it right, so you have to go to youtube to watch it.) Last weekend I bought some (eco-friendly) spray that smells horrible and sprayed it around the garden – I think it’s supposed to smell like pee and deter squirrels, but it didn’t seem to help at all. So yesterday I bought a little animal trap, so if I catch him I can take him far far away and hopefully another little squirrel won’t take his place. The one that’s been eating the garden has a distinctive black head, so I am pretty sure he’s the only one that’s been visting so far.
27th October, 2010 - Posted by katherine - No Comments
I made some shrimp gumbo with all of the okra I’ve been getting from my garden. I had to buy all of the other ingredients I used, so it was only a slightly “local” dish, but still exciting since usually I don’t get enough from my garden to make much.
25th October, 2010 - Posted by katherine - No Comments
We’re still getting a lot of okra and now I’m able to have enough at once to make a dish out of them. I’m thinking of trying to make some gumbo with this batch:
We’re also getting a few oranges which is very exciting. We didn’t realize that they are ready when they turn yellow, so a few went bad and turned brown while we were waiting for them to turn orange. But the ones we’ve had have been pretty good – not very big or sweet, but still tasty.
Over the weekend I went to the Natural Gardener again and went a little crazy. I picked up some cabbage, kale, and broccoli, and also a few drought resistant, deer resistant plants for a side garden I’ve been working on.
Over the weekend someone came and ate a couple of kale plants completely, and also ate most of the leaves off of some beet plants I’ve been growing. So sad! Also, caterpillars have been eating my cabagges - I had been picking them off by hand last week, but I bought some spray at Natural Gardener as well, so hopefully that works more efficiently.
11th October, 2010 - Posted by katherine - No Comments
We had a new raised garden added onto our house, and I’ve been trying to grow plants there that only need partial sun, like broccoli, beets, and lettuce. I’m still getting a lot of okra and peppers from our patio garden too! Here are some pics:
- new garden
tiny lettuce in new garden
orange
okra
kale from the Natural Gardener
bell peppers
7th October, 2010 - Posted by katherine - No Comments
This weekend the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center will be having a plant sale with over 300 species of native plants. Here’s some info from the website:
Did your garden suffer from record drought and heavy freezes? Time for a refill. At the Wildflower Center’s Fall Plant Sale and Gardening Festival you can choose from over 300 species of Texas native plants. The event also features artists and authors signing their works in the store, guided walks and talks and tips for your garden from experts.
Fall Plant Sale 2010: October 9 and 10, Members Only Preview on October 8
Hours: Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m, Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Admission: $8 adults, $7 seniors and students, $4 UT faculty, staff or students with identification, $3 children 5 through 12, members and children under 5 free.
You can see more info about the sale here and you can see a list of plants they will have here - this list is nice to check out because they’ve included a picture of each kind of plant.
20th September, 2010 - Posted by katherine - No Comments
I went to the Natural Gardener again this weekend, and found the vegetable section. It was very impressive! There were all different kinds of cabbages and kale that I had never heard of, as well as broccoli and collard green seedlings, and a bunch of other plants too. Most of the chain stores, like Home Depot and Lowes, don’t even carry fall vegetable seedlings, so it’s a great place to check out if you are interested in starting a fall garden, or you can check out the Travis County planting guide here and figure out what seed packets you need to get a fall garden started. I’m growing a lot of lettuce, broccoli, and brussel sprouts from seed, but I picked up some kale, cabbage, and cauliflower seedlings. Plus we picked up some soil for our new garden.
some veggies for sale
station for bagging your own dirt
15th September, 2010 - Posted by katherine - No Comments
The Natural Gardener has a couple of free upcoming classes on organic veggie gardening – here’s some info from their website:
Thursday, September 23 at 1:00 p.m: Rosina Newton, Horticulturist at The Natural Gardener, will teach her popular class, “Organic Vegetable Gardening 101.” Beginning gardeners – or longtime gardeners from other regions of the country – often ask for this class. Don’t miss this opportunity to learn how to create successful vegetable, herb, and flower gardens in Central Texas.
Tuesday, September 28 at 4:00 p.m: Rosi’s at it again! “Organic Vegetable Gardening 101.” (See Sept. 23rd class description.)
When you attend a class, you get a 10% off coupon for purchases you make that day – hopefully I can make one of these
14th September, 2010 - Posted by katherine - No Comments
Renee Studebaker of the Statesman had a blog entry over the weekend with links to several Austin fall planting schedules here. Check them out if you are thinking of starting a fall garden – now is a great time to try out collards, carrots, lettuce, beets, garlic, radishes, spinach, and more.
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