by Geoff | Mar 11, 2013 | Gardening
Last month I noticed that a two foot section of sugar snap peas had been cut down almost to the ground. I inspected the damage expecting to see evidence of squirrels or some other mammal, but instead discovered that my arch-nemesis, the leaf cutting ant, had returned. I saw them methodically carrying away pieces of pea leaves, bigger than their own bodies. I have a leaf cutting ant nest somewhere on my property, probably underneath my front porch. I can’t...
by Geoff | Jan 28, 2013 | Gardening
It’s January in Austin and already time to plant early spring crops. I took advantage of the tomato trellis that I used last year to support this year’s snap peas. While cleaning out the bed, I worked around a lemon balm plant. Once I got the bed cleaned out, I added a couple of buckets of compost and created furrows for the peas. I wanted to take advantage of the space in the center of the bed, so I transplanted the Chinese Kale that I had started...
by Geoff | Sep 24, 2012 | Gardening
Earlier this month Anneliese and I had a chance to visit Ecology Action, in Willits, California. Ecology Action is the research farm of John Jeavons, author of How to Grow More Vegetables than You Ever Thought Possible on Less Land than You Can Imagine. Given that this book had a huge influence on the way that both Noel and I garden, it was a big deal for me to finally be able to visit the site. John Jeavons wasn’t available, but another John, who is currently...
by Geoff | Aug 15, 2012 | Gardening
My friend Ted Skenandore of the Tsyuhehkwa Center has been growing pea and sunflower micro-greens and explained his method to me a few months ago. Now I’ve been growing them for myself as well as with the young people of the Save Our Youth program. These are his directions. My comments are in parenthesis. Fill a 11″ x 21″ tray with small drainage holes half full of potting soil. (The standard black greenhouse trays that are referred to as 1020...
by Geoff | Jul 26, 2012 | Gardening
I garden year round in Austin, so there is no point at which I “put the garden to bed”, as is often done in more Northern climates. I never get to start with a clean slate for the next year’s season. At any given time in my garden I’ll have recently planted sections that are often still months away from harvest, sections in peak production, sections that are still producing but well past their peak, and sections that need to be removed. During peak planting...
