By Jannie Vaught This week I carefully went through my seed collection and did a plan for what I want to grow this year along with the much-worn garden journal. We are focusing on the variety we know to grow well for us, Celebrity is one we really like, Italian paste and a cherry for…
By Jannie Vaught A few of this and that, soil carbon indicators, minerals, and planting dates for zone 8A. We have had snow! Now that is a date to remember! With this comes questions about soil, planting times, and when to keep a weather eye out. Let’s look at soil organic matter in the soil.…
Jannie Vaught Seeds for this gardener have very personal meanings. As a seed grower and a seed saver, I am constantly looking close at many varieties of seeds. And I have a great fondness for seeds that are very tiny. It seems that these tiny bundles of potential hold a big productive plant, producing large…
By Jannie Vaught The leaves are falling. Just the other day there was a warm breeze and with it, the leaves began to tumble to the earth. There is a scent to Autumn and for this gardener, it is the drying of the leaves and the sound of them as I walk across the yard…
By Jannie Vaught The National Butterfly Center in Mission Texas is a 100-acre wildlife center and native species botanical garden dedicated to the conservation and study of butterflies. Since many butterfly plants support bees also. Take a moment and go to their web site. www. nationalbutterflycenter.org. for all the latest and up to date information…
By Jannie Vaught Yes, if you find your gardening duties are slow now it just got busy. The onion starts are in the feed stores. Here in central Texas, it is Short Day onions that do best (11 to 12 hour day lengths). Here are some that grow well here. Yellow: Chula Vista, Cougar, Jaguar,…
By Jannie Vaught Plan first, sort seeds and decide what you need to purchase. You can still plant some cold crop plants, Asian greens, lettuce, radish, and spinach. It is also bare root fruit tree season and cane berry time. Most nurseries will begin to have fruit trees and blackberry plants in or will have…
By Jannie Vaught Here are a few of mine: 1. More compost and carbon in the soil. 2. Learn more about starting trees and plants from cuttings. 3. Plant thornless blackberries along fences lines for support. 4. Grow more peppers and okra! What’s on your garden list? Incorporating these as the new design unfolds. It…
By Jannie Vaught I am a seed catalog reader. As I grow more interesting varieties I am often lured away by the siren call of that very pretty plant in the catalog. And boy do I get hooked easily! So after all the reading and examining each page back and front, I get my garden…
By Jannie Vaught Solstice is December 22. This is the final descent into darker shorter days with deeper cold at night. Then the light begins to return on the 22nd. and slowly we climb into lighter mornings and longer days. In some Old Northern customs, they consider this as Spring. Here in central Texas, we…
By Jannie Vaught Time to start planting and preparing for your fall and winter garden and flowers. Kale is a wonder green and will give your food and add to your flower beds through winter. Kale or leaf cabbage is one of certain cultivars grown for edible leaves, although some are used for…
By Jannie Vaught Here are a few. Pointsettia, the many varieties from white to red Amaryllis bulb that is forced and blooms its spectacular trumpet, heralding in the celebration. Paper Whites, narcissus with its erect stems with Sweet fragrant white star flowers. Rosemary that blooms the tiny blue flower, as a sweet nectar for the…
By Jannie Vaught Let’s dive a little deeper on this subject. Habitat, his can be a wooded country site or an urban car park. This is determined by the food plant of the caterpillar and the nectar source of the butterfly. Some butterflies are happy with several food sources habitat and breeding areas while…
By Jannie Vaught As this gardener walks the outside it sure feels like the arrival has been early. Yes, it is cold and as many of you already know the seed catalogs are arriving. So it begins. The planning and selection. First, we get that excited exhilaration of the new items and the great pictures.…
weather By: Jannie Vaught Can you say Burrr? I can and it has taken a large toll on the garden and the creatures that inhabit it. Even my artichokes are looking like they are surrendering to the frozen effect of winters domain. I have done chop and drop, a simple cut down and leave in…
By Jannie Vaught The weather outside is cold! The garden hoops are up and the greens are vibrant! I took a hit on the carry over tomatoes from the summer. Today we are going to look at 2 words used for Tomatoes “determinant” and “indeterminate” what’s the difference? Determinant tomatoes, also called bush tomatoes,…
