 -We just passed the Hunter’s Moon. According to The Old Farmer’s Almanac, it is believed that this full Moon came to be called the full Hunter’s Moon because it signaled the time to go hunting in preparation for the cold winter ahead. We are now going into a waning period of the Moon—from the day after it is full to the day before it is new again. As the moonlight decreases night by night, plants are encouraged to grow roots, tubers, and bulbs. It’s always best to try to plant with the coming rains which are in the forecast. DIRECT SEED Beets Carrots Radishes Turnips TRANSPLANT Bunching Onions Garlic WHERE TO BUY Buy organic soft-neck or hard-neck garlic from grocery stores. The Natural Gardener and Cultivate Holistic Supply will have bunching online transplants in October. MORE IDEAS For more ideas on Ornamentals, Perennials, and Herbs, visit the Central Texas Gardener and The Natural Gardener lists online. Download the Texas A&M Extension Planting Chart and Varieties. RELATED VIDEO The teaching beds at Zilker Botanical Gardeners were looking vibrant this past Saturday after the rain and temperature drop. It's almost sweater weather and lucky for us the red cotton we planted this summer finally starting to show their bolls. We probably had enough cotton to make a sweater for a squirrel or a fake spiderweb halloween decoration! This was our first year growing this fiber plant and we will share more later on the growing process.
There are still lots of nightshades and mallows to harvest. Peppers, eggplants, okra, Jamaican sorrel, beans. The three sisters or milpa was looking upright with the help of the pole beans and silks and ears were forming nicely. The fall asters couldn't be more vibrant just in time for pollinators passing by. We also covered our brassica's with tulle. Scroll to the video below on how to use old prom dress material to protect brassicas from cabbage loopers. Thanks to all the Austin Organic Gardeners that came out to plant peas and help keep the teaching gardens looking beautiful.  We just passed the first quarter and the moon is now waxing gibbous going into a full moon. Now is also a time to seed-in plants that fruit and seed and can handle a cold snap if we have one. If you already planted these things, remember that it’s a good idea to succession plant and grow twice as much as you will need in case of disease and pest. As always, it’s best to transplant and seed-in with coming rains.
DIRECT SEED According to the Old Farmer's Almanac, you should soak pea seeds before planting, as it will help germination. A good rule of thumb is to soak the seeds in water overnight prior to planting. This will make them grow faster. MORE GARDEN TASKS 🌾 Plant cover crops in areas you want to replenish for spring. See our comprehensive guide on our website. 🌳Plant all trees, shrubs, and perennials. 🐟 Use fish emulsion to get green growth and do weekly foliar sprays with liquid seaweed to provide plants with hormones and nutrients needed for stress and to prevent disease and pests. 🌼Sow spring wildflower seeds including poppies. Collect deadhead flowering plants. 🍂It’s also a good time to start composting because leaves are starting to fall. 🌷Fall is a good time to transplant, trade, or give away your divisions of daylilies, bearded irises, violets, wood ferns, cannas, and other herbaceous perennials. For more ideas on Ornamentals, Perennials, and Herbs, visit the Central Texas Gardener and The Natural Gardener lists online. Download the Texas A&M Extension Planting Chart and Varieties. We see the future! This past Saturday we volunteered with longtime AOG member David Kraemer at the Blackland neighborhood community garden project. The gardens have a cistern, which is working again and we love peering into the retro- futuristic looking orb cover. David brought us to the present and gave us a tour of the land trust /affordable housing project that started in the '80s to prevent UT from expanding on the east side. Volunteers from the neighborhood more recently started growing gardens in traffic circles and in raised wicking beds.
With the help of volunteers and special guest @samthefungi we built new raised beds in the easement using recycled rubber tires. Of course we added some recycled mushroom blocks to help break down the woody matter in the soil so that it is bioavailable to plants! This process is also sequestering carbon in the soil. 🌍🍄💗 Sign-up to get recycled blocks for your garden. David knows a lot about growing warm season greens and we couldn't get enough of the Egyptian spinach or Molokhia This green is packed full of nutrients and we felt like Pharaoh's eating it. We harvested peppers and Jamaican sorrel. We did some seed saving of poppies and nigella or love-in-a-mist. These ornamental flowers are ready to be direct seeded and will bloom in the spring. David also gave us oxblood lily bulbs to take home. David is a pillar in the Austin Organic Gardeners community and we appreciate his generosity and love of gardening.  Fall is a great time for planting veggies in Central Texas and now is the time to get things started if you are planting leafy greens from seed both outdoors and indoors.
We just passed the New Moon phase and are now approaching the First Quarter and are in Waxing Crescent. During the waxing of the moon (the period extending from the day the moon is new to the day it reaches its fullest point), the moon pulls moisture upwards. Seeds do well during this time because moisture is available at the surface of the soil. DIRECT SEED OUTDOORS
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May 2024
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