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Category Archives: Horticulture
Woollybear Tiger Moth Caterpillars
Woollybear Caterpillars Common Right Now Woollybear caterpillars of the Tiger moth have been a common sight lately in the Central Texas area. These insects are native to the United States and are sometimes called “woollybear caterpillars”. “Woollybear caterpillar” is a more general term that refers to various species of caterpillars that are densely covered in hairs, called setae, and tend to wander. Common Color Variations While these caterpillars can be highly variable for individual species, the common ones seen lately are woollybear (Isabella tiger moth), saltmarsh caterpillar (saltmarsh… Read More →
What’s Happening in Austin’s December Vegetable Garden
December Vegetable Garden Checklist by Paula Wolfel The short lived cold front that passed through a few weeks ago definitely teased Austinites. My basil plants took a beating and my summer squash, cucumbers, and tomatoes that were already struggling from the drought did not survive. But my eggplant and peppers are still going strong, so I face the struggle of every Austin gardener: when do you call it quits and move on to the next season!? Hopefully by now you have your brassicas, root vegetables, and leafy greens… Read More →
What’s Happening In Austin’s November Vegetable Garden
November Vegetable Gardening Checklist from Paula Wolfel November is a beautiful time in the Austin garden: pests start to ease up or disappear and the heat and humidity are also gone. Gardens are filled with brassicas, leafy greens, and artichokes, while root vegetables are starting to pop out from the soil. There are also still so many flowers and pollinators. Summer Harvest and Seed Saving Summer plants that survived the harsh heat and drought of this summer will continue to grow until the first freeze, which the average… Read More →
How to Choose Vegetable Varieties
Have you ever found yourself at a garden center, staring at a rack of seeds or a table full of transplants and wondering how to choose vegetable varieties for your garden? The many selections at nurseries and online can seem a bit overwhelming, and ending up with plants you don’t need can be costly. The following tips may help with the decision making. Plan Before You Buy Assess your garden situation, considering the space you have, the time you can devote to tending plants, as well as the… Read More →
Texas Tarantulas by Wizzie Brown
Texas Tarantulas Use Hair As Defense Tarantulas, also known as baboon spiders in Africa or hairy spiders in South America, are the largest spiders in the world. They can be found on every continent except Antarctica. Tarantulas have two body regions, eight legs, and hairy bodies. Tarantulas that are found in North and South America have hairs used in defense. These tarantulas use their legs to flick hairs off their abdomen and into the face of predators. Hairs cause irritation to the eyes and mucous membranes. Tarantulas can… Read More →
Eat A Rainbow Halloween Style
Eat a Rainbow Presented by Travis County Master Gardeners How do you get almost 400 third and fourth graders excited about healthy eating with Halloween approaching, which is one of the unhealthiest holidays? Answer… use a colorful poster, sparkling bracelets, and interactive teaching to reinforce that colorful foods are healthy. Twelve enthusiastic Travis County Master Gardeners did just that at the Science of Agriculture Event at the Travis County Exposition Center on Thursday, October 5th. The event consisted of eight separate sessions for the Title 1 schools. The… Read More →
In Austin’s October Vegetable Garden
Fall Finally Arrives in the October Vegetable Garden I am so thankful for fall weather. Shorter days and cool mornings have brought back the gardening enthusiasm that the relentless heat of summer usually drains. That small stretch of rain we had last month really helped too. If you haven’t already, take advantage of the mild, frost-free weather this month and get cole crops, root crops, greens, and garlic established in the garden. Try Garlic This Year Garlic makes a great addition to any garden as long as you… Read More →
What’s Happening in Austin’s September Vegetable Garden
September Vegetable Garden Checklist Tips from Paula Wolfel Vegetable gardeners and most everyone else welcome the arrival of September because it means cooler temperatures are on the way. Though the daytime temperatures are still hot, at some point in September, the nighttime temperatures begin to fall. That little drop will take heat stress off of plants and help make our gardens beautiful again. Gardeners are enjoying harvests from the plants that survived their summer gardens such as eggplant, cucumbers, melons, and tomatoes as well starting new with fall… Read More →
Opportunities to Grow as a Gardener in Weather Extremes
Meet “Frovid” On February 12-18, 2021, we thought we had met our garden demise with what we refer to around here as Frovid. After that freeze we felt like our gardens and landscape across our three acre property would forever be changed. We lost so many perennials, succulents, fruit trees, and branches and we thought things would never recover. March rolled around and the massive undertaking of the cleanup was behind us, and thankfully we did not meet our garden demise. Just like the many spring seasons before,… Read More →
What’s Happening in Austin’s August Vegetable Garden
Stay Hydrated and Keep the August Vegetable Garden Going – Tips from Paula Wolfel August is an interesting time for gardeners in Austin. Vegetable gardens consist of plants that have survived or are surviving the heat but have dormant and empty spots from plants that succumbed to high temperatures or pests and diseases. For those who have tomato, pepper, eggplant, squash, melons, and cucumbers that are still going strong, continue to water daily and to provide a water-soluble fertilizer once a week. If you’ve got empty spots or… Read More →