tel: 512-280-1192 Friday, Aug 9 2013
Nursery notes: weekend sales - 30 percent off all palm trees: pindo,
Mediterranean fans, windmill palms, Canary Island phoenix palms,
and sago palms: 7 gal. $42 (reg. $60) 15 gal. $87.50 (reg. $125)
and sago palms: 7 gal. $42 (reg. $60) 15 gal. $87.50 (reg. $125)
30 gal. $175 (reg. $250). / Veggies: lots of tomatoes in stock (it's not
too late for a fall crop); also a great selection of fall vegetables are
arriving every week. Currently in stock: broccoli, cabbages, Brussels
sprouts and cauliflower.
Sago palms, (Cycas revoluta), on sale this week:
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Herbes de Provence: this blend of herbs found in numerous French
dishes can easily be mixed at home to suit your taste. Here's local
gardener/writer Lucinda Hutson's versionn of this herb mix, from the
pages of Edible Austin: herbes de provence
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Survival Gardening in the Heat: as temperatures soar in August,
this is the perfect time to view Marjory Wildcraft's video with advice
on black-eyed peas, okra, sweet potatoes, and lamb's quarters.
How to grow Wheat Grass
Wheat grass is the young grass shoot of the common wheat plant
Triticum aestivum. You can harvest the seedlings after just a week of
growth, and then juice them, and you will be holding in your hands an
incredibly rich source of chlorophyll, vitamins, amino acids, minerals
and enzymes. For the home gardener, growing a crop of wheat grass
couldn’t be easier.
Recipe:
Fill a 4” pot to about ¾ full with straight vermiculite or 50-50 with com-
post. Cover the surface with wheat grass seed (I use ‘hard red spring
wheat berries’)
Cover the seed and water in gently with a fan type sprayer. Be sure to
water two or three times for the first two days, and then just daily after
germination. The wheat grass seedlings should be ready to harvest after
5 to 7 days of growth.
Then just throw your crop in the juicer, and drink the liquid from a shot
glass. Besides the health benefits for humans, some folks buy and grow
wheat grass for their indoor pets. Your cats will thank you for providing
fresh grass to their diet. Dogs love it too!
During the second part of the month, plant your Brussels sprouts.
August in the Garden
by Chris Winslow
1. Mulch & water Your vegetable garden, landscape, flowerbeds and
trees need some help to make it through this torrid month. Mulch, and
water deeply.
2. Lawn care Your grass also needs deep, infrequent watering (5 day
schedule) and keep the cutting height for your lawnmower as high as
possible. This will help shade the roots and conserve water.
3. Vegetables This is the month to start your sweet corn, okra, snap
beans, cream peas and black-eyed peas from seed. Because the first
frost is likely to occur within 100 days, use transplants for your
peppers and tomatoes. During the second half of this month, plant your
broccoli, cabbage and Brussels sprouts.
4. Fall tomato deadline The window for planting fall tomatoes closes
at the end of August. Some growers feel that this is the best season for
tomatoes. Tomatoes planted in August reach production maturity towards
the end of September, when the temperatures (hopefully!) are cooling
down, creating optimum conditions for fruit set.
5. Survive! While it is nice of you to nurse your plants through this
brutal month, it is even more important that you look after yourself.
Here are three gardening rules that you must follow. A. Garden early
in the morning. B. Wear effective sunscreen and a large brimmed hat.
C. Drink gallons of water. Happy gardening everyone!
Visit the website: www.itsaboutthyme.com Visit the nursery:11726 Manchaca Road, Austin, 78748
