by Geoff | Jan 22, 2014 | CobraHead, Gardening
Last weekend, my dad, Noel, visited me in Austin, so I put him to work helping me in the garden. It was mid-January; that meant onion planting time. To start your own onion seedlings indoors, you should do so 8-10 weeks prior to planting. In Austin, that would have meant sowing them in October. Since I hadn’t done that we first went to the Natural Gardener, where I picked up Southern Belle red, Bermuda white, and Texas 1015 yellow seedlings. All three...
by Noel | Jan 18, 2014 | CobraHead, Gardening
This seed storage system is easy and inexpensive. It uses readily available off-the shelf CD storage boxes and zip-lock sandwich bags. It can be expanded as needed. Instructions follow. Prior to starting this system last year, I had my seeds mostly in a file folder box in zip lock bags, but the box was unwieldy, not large enough for all my seeds, and the file folders did not lend themselves to storage of really fat seed packets like corn, or home saved squash...
by Geoff | Jan 6, 2014 | CobraHead, Gardening
I’ve struggled to keep a corner of my garden free of Bermuda grass. The grass rhizomes keep sneaking under the drip irrigation tubes. They infiltrate the garden bed and reduce vegetable production. This year I decided to take that section of the garden bed out of production for the season and put it under a mulch to knock the grass back. I’ve also decided to divide my beds into 4′ x 4′ sections for planting and rotation purposes. Since...
by Noel | Nov 23, 2013 | CobraHead, Gardening
It was 19 degrees today with a low of 2 predicted for tonight. I knew it was time to harvest the leeks before they froze into the ground. We’ve had a lot of below freezing temperatures, but I had the leeks well covered with a layer of agricultural fabric topped over with a layer of polyethylene. I was hoping they were doing alright. To my pleasant surprise, the earth under the cover was soft and moist even though the ground surrounding the leek bed was...
by Noel | Nov 17, 2013 | CobraHead, Gardening
Comfrey and Compost PilesI can’t remember how comfrey (Symphytum officinale L.) got introduced into my garden, but it probably came from Geoff when he worked at Nokomis Gardens in East Troy, Wisconsin, about sixteen years ago. It’s now firmly established just north of the garden beds and west of the compost area. The plants are gradually expanding their area of control and comfrey can become a pest with its ability to spread, but I’m welcoming...
by Noel | Sep 24, 2013 | CobraHead, Gardening, Recipes
I planted beets the last week of August for a late fall harvest. I had used old seed so I planted them thickly, but they still germinated heavily. So we’re now thinning them and using the baby beets in salads, as a vegetable side, and in drinks. The greens are looking great. Here’s a plate of them. We use roots and all, just wash the whole plant. Judy took half the beet greens, and added half a frozen banana and some raspberries we picked last...
