by Geoff | Dec 15, 2010 | Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day, Gardening
I took a couple of shots today in my east Austin yard for Bloom Day. If you don’t know about bloom day, check out May Dreams Gardens
by Noel | Dec 7, 2010 | CobraHead, Gardening
Less than three weeks ago I posted about my new grow light setup. I’m happy to report that things are working out well. We picked our first small salad today. The top picture shows thinnings and cuttings of a salad mix that germinated profusely. The mix can be seen in the second flat from the right in the second picture. On the far right I’ve got a flat of lettuce mix which did not have spectacular germination, but is still putting out some nice...
by Geoff | Dec 3, 2010 | Gardening, Recipes
This past spring I planted a small herb and ornamental garden in my front yard. Since I live in Austin with its periodic droughts and water restrictions, I look for plants that thrive without a lot of supplemental watering. Two herbs that did well for me were Mexican Mint Marigold and Mexican Oregano. Two distinct species, Lippia graveolens and Poliomintha longiflora, take the common name Mexican Oregano. I planted the former in my garden. When I planted the...
by Anneliese | Nov 18, 2010 | CobraHead, Gardening
You may remember that last month we announced an essay contest in which participants were asked to write about a young gardener. Today we are pleased to announce the winning entry was written by Sharon Reed. Sharon chose to write about her nine-year-old grandson, Fisher. Here is her letter and a picture of one of Fisher’s favorite places in the garden. I am a Master Gardener and provide advice to many gardeners in the community, but the most important...
by Noel | Nov 16, 2010 | CobraHead, Gardening
I started playing with LED grow lights three years ago when I bought three small LED spotlights from a vendor I met at the Cincinnati Flower Show. My initial approach to using the lights was very haphazard. I mainly used the spots to augment natural light from the south facing glass wall in the sunroom for starting vegetable seedlings in the spring. The results for enhancing plant growth were noticeable and LEDs are way easier to work with than fluorescents and...
by Noel | Nov 14, 2010 | Environmental Issues, Gardening
I was digging horseradish roots out of the compost area when I uncovered a little spotted salamander. They seem out of place here. I would expect them in much wetter areas, but I come across them frequently so I guess they like the garden surroundings. Judy was cleaning up our leek harvest nearby so I put the salamander in the wheelbarrow she was using while I fetched the camera. I took the picture and returned the little creature back to where I had found it. ...
