![ItsAboutThyme_logo[1] by you.](https://farm3.static.flickr.com/2453/3680390926_a47790c3da.jpg?v=0)
It's About Thyme tel: 512-280-1192 March 18, 2011
Nursery Notes: we have tomatoes and peppers aplenty, and eggplant
too. Fresh shipment of bougainvilleas in full bloom (photo above)
arrived this week: hot pink, gold and a white/pink mix - for just $19.99.
Spring annuals are all looking good: marigolds, petunias and begonias.
Plants to attract hummingbirds and butterflies also in stock: butterfly
bush, lantana, salvia greggii. We've had a great week here at the nursery -
a big thank you to all our customers - and we are looking forward to next
weekend's Zilker Garden Festival.
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Rock party tonite! As promised we are having our unofficial SXSW
music event at 7 p.m. this evening (Friday), with Manchaca's finest...
the rockin' Easy Hill Gang. Please join us. BYOB.
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Free Lecture this Sunday at 2 p.m - Guided by Nature: an Intro to
Natural Landscape Design with water-wise Native Plants.'
(March 20). Presented by Caroline Foley of Diamondscape Landscaping.
This innovative company boasts a 20 year track record of beautiful
landscapes, expert advice, quality workmanship, and quantities of satisfied
customers. No wonder judges at the 2011 Austin Spring Home & Garden
Show named them "Best of Show." This presentation is not to be missed!
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Next Sunday (March 27) at 2 p.m., The Perfect Sustainable Sunday
Brunch presented by national award-winning cook DeAnne Pearson.
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Central Texas Gardener on KLRU this week: Andrea DeLong-Amaya
(Wildflower Center) suggests some native plant solutions for
troublesome spots; a visit to the Hausmann's home, Lazy Acres. Saturday,
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The second annual Wildflower Center photography contest is now
underway - with cash prizes promised, and publication of your shots.
For entry form: photo contest
Tips on Tomatoes
by Chris Winslow
Lots of questions from customers this week about tomatoes....
When is it safe to plant tomatoes? The simple answer is: when the
last of the freezes and frosts is behind us. The average last freeze date for
the Travis / Hays county areas is the first week of March. The last frost
date was on Tuesday (March 15).
It’s important to remember that these dates are averages. Two years ago
the tomatoes in my northern Hays county garden were toasted by a very
late frost on April 7.
late frost on April 7.
If you ask organic farmers at the Sunset Valley Farmers Market for a safe
date, you get a variety of answers. One said that if Easter Sunday is in early
April, she plants the following day. (Easter is late this year: April 24.)
Another farmer said it was safe to plant when the mesquite trees budded
out. Yet another said mesquites can be fooled, and the safest indicator is
the pecans. After their leaves come out… it never frosts.
I then spoke with Edgar Chaves at Finca Pura Vida in Fayettville. His first
crop has already been planted. He gets an early start by surrounding his
plants with cages and covering them with protective row cover if frost
is in the forecast.
Why so early? Edgar likes to take advantage of the cooler weather because
tomatoes don’t set as well when the temperatures climb in the nineties.
What varieties of tomatoes will I have the most success with?
The most popular is the suitably named Celebrity. Gardeners grow this
The most popular is the suitably named Celebrity. Gardeners grow this
tomato 10 to 1, and everyone loves the taste. Other popular varieties:
Merced, Big Boy, Better Boy, BHN 444, Carnival, Valley Girl, and Amelia.
Most gardeners concur that cherry tomatoes are bullet proof and will
continue to produce even in the hottest of summers.
The most popular cherry tomatoes: Sweet One Hundred, Big Cherry Large,
Sweet One Million, Small Fry, and Yellow Pear. My two favorites are Juliet
and Sun Gold. They produce handfuls daily… and these of course rarely make
it to the kitchen because they're so sweet!
A new tomato to try is….
The Phoenix tomato has a mid-size fruit that’s highly adapted to hot
The Phoenix tomato has a mid-size fruit that’s highly adapted to hot
conditions. It’s a vigorous plant with good leaf cover and will set fruit
in hot and dry conditions. Happy Gardening Everyone!
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