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🌸 Wow the turmeric is blooming at Zilker this week. Don't miss these beautiful flowers in the Hartman Prehistoric Garden. We also have turmeric growing in the perennial beds thanks to the generous donations from member Steve. We plan to have Steve show us how to plant ginger and turmeric later this year.
🍅 We are still seeing tomato fruits. The sungolds are hanging on and our weekly foliar sprays of seaweed and insecticidal soap seem to be helping. We plan to leave some of the indeterminate varieties but also take cuttings and start new plants. See the Tim's Tomato Tip video to learn how to do this. 🍉 The watermelons are still growing and you can tell that they are ready when the closest tendril on the vine is dry and brown. If it is green it needs more time. 💦 Be sure to leave water for birds and wildlife so they don't find the water in your juicy vegetables.
🍈 This week we enjoyed some of the fruits of our hard work. The melons are starting to ripe and you can tell that they are ready in the same way you can tell watermelons are ripe. Just look for the closest tendril on the vine to see if it is dry and brown. If it is green it needs more time.
🍅 We can't believe we are still seeing tomato fruits. The sungolds are hanging on and our weekly foliar sprays of seaweed and insecticidal soap seem to be helping. We plan to leave some of the indeterminate varieties but also take cuttings and start new plants. See the Tim's Tomato Tip video to learn how to do this. 💦 Be sure to leave water for birds and wildlife so they don't find the water in your juicy vegetables.
🕷 Seeing some helpers including a yellow garden spider. The main benefit of spiders is that they eat insects. Spiders can help control flies, mosquitoes, moths, beetles, wasps and other insects, keeping their populations down. This helps protect you from being bitten or stung while you're working in your garden, and it can help your plants by reducing the number of hungry insects in the area.
🦎 Catch a cute moment with a small anole in the melon patch. Male anoles have a pink colored throat fan (called a dewlap), which is used in both territorial and courtship displays. They eat insects like grasshoppers, moths, grubs, and beetles. ⻌ Walking sticks are herbivores. They have chewing mouthparts and eat the leaves from the tress, shrubs and other plants on which they hide. Walking sticks are generally not considered to be a pest, though large populations may defoliate plants to a noticeable degree. 🍅 Many of our Cherokee purple tomatoes were being eaten by wildlife because of the drought. Be sure to leave water for birds and wildlife so they don't find the water in your juicy vegetables. 🐟 We continue weekly foliar sprays of seaweed and insecticidal soap. We're starting to see more aphids and mealy bugs on some of the cucumbers that are fading out with the heat.
Here is what we were seeing this week in the teaching gardens Zilker Botanical Garden:
💦 Watering is the most important task these gardens and we are so grateful for the recent rains. The gardens have irrigation and we also get extra moisture from the Ollas. 🍉 The melons are starting to take off. We are most excited about the Kajari melon and we hope we get to it before the wildlife. 🦗 Tomatoes are still ripening and this week we didn't see any stink bugs! We are using insecticidal soap and seaweed foliar spray. The seaweed is like a stress wrap and gives the plant nutrients it needs for growth. We have lots of exciting things coming including in-person classes at the teaching gardens once a month on Saturday mornings. Planning and seed starting begins in August! We will be out there every Saturday until then tending through the summer. Join us!
🌱 We planted more cover crops of buckwheat and cowpeas to make sure we are protecting and providing nutrients to the soil.
🦗 Tomatoes are still ripening and this week we didn't see any stink bugs! We are using insecticidal soap and seaweed foliar spray. The seaweed is like a stress wrap and gives the plant nutrients it needs for growth. 🦎 Seeing some helpers including a baby anole lizard. Male anoles have a pink colored throat fan (called a dewlap), which is used in both territorial and courtship displays. They eat insects like grasshoppers, moths, grubs, and beetles. We have lots of exciting things coming including in-person classes at the teaching gardens once a month on Saturday mornings. Planning and seed starting begins in August! We will be out there every Saturday until then tending through the summer. Join us!  We are approaching the summer solstice and another full moon. June’s full Moon—typically the last full Moon of spring or the first of summer—is traditionally called the Strawberry Moon. This name has been used by Algonquin, Ojibwe, Dakota, and Lakota peoples, among others, to mark the ripening of “June-bearing” strawberries that are ready to be gathered.
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. DIRECT SEED / TRANSPLANT Ginger Peanuts Purple Yam/Ube Sweet Potatoes Sunchokes Turmeric It is too late to grow your own sweet potato slips which we did at home using two methods. The soil method produced up to 75 slips and we planted them at Zilker Botanical Garden a few weeks ago. If you haven’t grown your own slips you can buy them at local nurseries such as the Natural Gardener and Tillery Plant Company. You can even plant small organic sweet potatoes directly in the soil. 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. |
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September 2022
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