tel: 512-280-1192 Friday, April 6, 2012
Nursery Notes: shipments of concrete bird baths, yard art,
cowboy boot planters and benches; also colorful annuals and
hanging baskets. Ground Up Bagged Goods Sale continues:
BUY 2, GET 1 FREE! Hardwood mulch, humus compost, Texas
planting mix and more. Thanks to all who stopped by for a visit
at Zilker last weekend. Happy Easter! [Next lecture: April 22:
‘Earth Day Special' with George Altgelt - Geo Growers]
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A New Generation Discovers Grow-It-Yourself Dyes... using
poppy roots, fava beans, mint, rosemary and a myriad of other
plants: from the New York Times: natural dye
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Yelp reviews: "I love this hidden gem in S. Austin," wrote Dillar S.
in a recent review of It's About Thyme. "Super informative staff.
Friendly owners. Wide selection. Pocket friendly prices. What else
do you need?" Thanks Dillar S! We appreciate you helping to
spread the word. Click here - yelp - to write your own review.
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Central Texas Gardener (KLRU-TV): Drought tolerant plants
presented by Michael Cain from Vivero Nursery. On tour, Paul
Lofton's outstanding garden-on-a-budget.. Sat. noon or 4 p.m. or
Sun: 9 a.m. www.klru.org/ctg/
The salsa quintet: peppers, tomatoes, onions, cilantro and lime.
Salsa Gardening
by Chris Winslow
It’s simple to create the perfect salsa garden. All you need is to
grow some peppers, tomatoes, onions, cilantro and lime… and
mix them together in a way that suits your taste buds. Luckily,
most of them grow fairly easily in our Austin area gardens.
Peppers: Plant your favorite type of pepper in a sunny spot in the
spring after the last freeze. The plants will keep producing peppers
all the way through the summer until the first frost of winter.
A clear favorite for salsa is the jalapeno. They come in a number
of heat and size options. If you don’t like your salsa too caliente,
choose the TAM mild jalapeno. For those who like giant jalapenos,
I suggest ‘jumbo Hidalgo.’ Other peppers work well too: chilipetins,
serranos, habaneros, and New Mexico Hatch chilies (Anaheim or
Sandias).
Tomatoes: Plant these at the same time as peppers, after winter’s
last frost.. The most popular for salsa is the Roma tomato. These
are dense and meaty, with low moisture and few seeds. They’re
considered one of the easiest tomatoes to grow, and the plants are
big and prolific.
Onions: Usually started in the fall, onions will produce till the end
of May. After harvest, store them in an airy, dry and cool location
through the summer months.
Cilantro: This would normally be grown in the cooler time of the
year, and presents a challenge in the summer months. As the heat
index rises, cilantro bolts, then blooms and turns to seed. It’s almost
impossible to grow when it’s hot. Option one for cilantro is to shop
for it in the local grocery store. Option two: grow a little ‘summer
cilantro’ (Polygonum odoratum). This Vietnamese coriander flourishes
in our summer heat, and tastes like cilantro with a lemony flavor.
Locally it is called Rau Ram.
Lime: The final addition to our salsa garden. You can grow a
Mexican lime tree in a container or plant one in a protected location.
They need to be shielded from winter temperature below the mid-
twenties.
Put the ingredients all together, and you should have a salsa muy
especial, that’s at least ten times more fresh and flavorful than
anything you can buy in a store.
Happy Salsa Gardening Everyone!
Visit the website: www.itsaboutthyme.com 