by Geoff | Sep 10, 2008 | Gardening
Dolichos lablab in front of the makeshift cinderblock wall that I built off my front porch. Now when I sit on the front porch I see this: The view from the front Once the plants were established I gave them no additional water other than the little bit of runoff that they got when I watered the potted plants on the porch. The vines thrived during the 100 degrees for days on end drought that we experienced in Austin this summer. However, unlike the hyacinth beans...
by Geoff | Mar 27, 2008 | Gardening
As I mentioned in my last post I have a new place in Austin. I am just now starting the vegetable garden. (Yes, late for Austin, but I have been on the road promoting the CobraHead for the last couple of months.) The only photo in this post is the before shot. We have to put a small fence around the yard as our dogs, Zaney and Sweet Pea, are notorious diggers among other things. The dogs’ love of rotten vegetables required me to fence in the compost pile as...
by Geoff | Jan 14, 2008 | Gardening
This morning the lid on the compost bucket in the kitchen would no longer close, so it was time to make the first compost pile at my new home. Unlike my dad, Noel, I prefer to build my compost in layers first with materials high in carbon, then a nitrogen layer, followed by a cap of soil, repeating the process until the pile gets to be three to four feet high. I have to mention here that I learned a large part of what I know about composting from my gardening...
by Geoff | Dec 17, 2007 | Environmental Issues, Gardening
Compost is integral to sustainable gardening practices. It is also a great way to get rid of kitchen waste without putting stuff into the trash stream. We’ve been composting for as long as we’ve been gardening and our system now is a pretty automatic routine. All compostable kitchen waste is stored in a 2 1/2 gallon plastic bucket under the sink. Since we don’t eat any meat at home, most of our organic scrap waste goes into the compost bucket....
by Geoff | Sep 26, 2007 | Gardening, Recipes
Hierba Santa Even though I have been in Texas for seven years, I am still adapting from my northern gardening notions. The seasons seem reversed, with the challenge to beat the summer heat rather than the fall frost. But one of the pleasures of Austin’s subtropical climate is the ability to try new plants. An easy one is Hierba Santa, sometimes called Hoja Santa, sometimes called Root Beer Plant and sometimes called Piper auritum Here is one picture of my...
