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Tag Archives: grow vegetables
Seed Swap at Wells Branch Community Library Plant Clinic
Master Gardener Plant Clinic and Seed Swap at Wells Branch Community Library The Wells Branch Community Library is hosting the Master Gardener Plant Clinic during their seed swap event. Several Master Gardeners will be available to answer questions on the best plants for the Austin area, lawn care, fertilizers, pest management, landscaping challenges, vegetable gardens, and native plants. Look for their table at the Wells Branch Community Library, 15001 Wells Port Dr, Austin, TX 78728. In addition to sharing their experience and training, several publications are on hand… Read More →
What’s Happening in the Austin September Vegetable Garden
The September Vegetable Garden Checklist by Paula Wolfel Last month’s heat most likely affected your vegetable garden. Although daytime temperatures usually remain hot throughout September, we should start to get a break with lower nighttime temperatures. The drop in temperatures will help relieve heat stress on plants and some of your vegetable plants may recover, but it depends on the extent of damage the heat caused to your plants, water availability, and fall temperatures. If your summer garden did not survive or if you are ready to be… Read More →
What’s Happening in the Austin August Vegetable Garden
The August Vegetable Garden Checklist by Paula Wolfel What a treat we have gotten with this summer’s rain! My garden definitely looks different this August than it has looked the last few years at this time. Rain barrels are filled up and the plants that have survived the heat are looking happy. We are not out of the clear yet though. August usually brings high temperatures and little precipitation so keep an eye on the radar and supplement watering with irrigation and use shade cloth when your plants… Read More →
In the July Vegetable Garden
It’s Hot in the July Vegetable Garden If you’re a new gardener in the Austin area, you’re probably wondering what you’ve gotten yourself into. The heat advisories have already started! The U.S. Drought Monitor tells the story. Over 2/3 of Travis County is now tagged as Abnormally Dry. Dry conditions mean that the soil has a reduced capacity to capture and store heat, exacerbating the high temperatures we are already experiencing. High nighttime temperatures cause many varieties of tomatoes to produce sterile pollen, which means your plants are… Read More →
What’s Happening in the Austin June Vegetable Garden
The June Vegetable Garden Checklist by Paula Wolfel June is a fun month in the garden. Although the heat starts to set in, most Austin gardeners are still reveling in gratitude for April and May’s rain. Plants are green and growing and harvest is abundant. With that said, this time of year many Austin gardeners are disappointed to find what once was a thriving squash or pumpkin plant has died. If you grow a plant in the squash or pumpkin family then you are most likely very familiar… Read More →
What’s Happening in the May Vegetable Garden
Austin’s May Vegetable Garden Checklist Tips from Paula Wolfel May provides a window when a few more vegetables can be planted before the summer heat arrives, but is mainly a month when Austin gardeners tend to the plants that were put in the ground earlier in the spring and start harvesting. Many gardeners are harvesting beans, peas, tomatoes, squashes, radishes, carrots, lettuces, and squashes, to name a few. Unfortunately, also in May, insects and diseases are in full force. Pill bugs, tiger moth caterpillar and the saltmarsh caterpillars… Read More →
Plant Clinic at Wheatsville Co-op Plant Sale and Sustainability Fair
Join the Travis County Master Gardeners Plant Clinic at Wheatsville Co-op We’re excited to bring our plant clinic at Wheatsville‘s Second Annual Plant Sale and Sustainability Fair. We’ll be doing a Compost demonstration and discuss how it contributes to sustainable gardening. We’ve also got a selection of free vegetable and flower seeds available while supplies last. The Master Gardeners on hand can answer questions on tree trimming, vegetable gardening, landscaping small spaces, butterfly gardening, the best plants for the Austin area, fertilizers, and pest management. In addition to… 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 →
In the January Vegetable Garden
Freeze Wallops the January Vegetable Garden And just like that the hard freeze arrives and wipes out a good portion of my January vegetable garden. Happy new year to you too mother nature! Like many of you, I’ve been gardening like crazy up until a few days ago and enjoying constant harvests from just about everything. I was even picking okra! But not anymore. All those tender vegetables and herbs are blackened and shriveled from the hard freeze that hit my Austin garden. I’ve been paying attention to… Read More →