your first vegetable garden 🌿 "twig poet" saves forest 🌿 rainwater collection: $5,000 rebates

NURSERY NOTES: the Natural Gardener has two free workshops coming up: Jan 25 (tomorrow) Jim Kamas presents his popular fruits, pecans & berries talk, which will include some pruning in the orchard. On Jan. 28, Teresa Stephens will encourage gardeners to "re-imagine" their lawns. 10 a.m. T.N.G. 🌿

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RAINWATER COLLECTION NEWS: the City of Austin offers up to $5,000 in generous rebates if you install a collection tank by your house. Rainwater Rebate ❦

SWEDISH "TWIG POET " SAVES THE FORESTS: when artist Maria Westerber noticed that her beloved forests were falling to the bark beetle, she moved from depression into action, and with her partner created a renaissance of thou-sands of small native trees, bringing her patch of Värmland springing back to life. Campfire Stories ❦

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RAINBOW CHARD & POTATO PIE: while Johnson's Back-yard Garden stopped all operations back in 2021, thank-fully its scrumptious vegetarian recipes are still on-line. In this one, Megan Winfrew brings together a winning trio of chard, potatoes and gruyere cheese. Plus it is an opportunity for cooks to practice their mandoline skills. JBF ❦

THE AUSTIN GARDEN relies entirely on support from its readers. Please consider making a donation to support this bi-monthly publication. Whether an annual or monthly donation, all are welcomed. (At the moment only 6% of readers support

us.) Many thanks in advance. PayPal link ❦

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CENTRAL TEXAS GARDENER: when Ann and Doug Garrett took over some Blackland Prairie in Jarrell, they decided to devote their energies and resources to the 3 Bs — birds, bees and butterflies. CTG ❦

The Vegetable Garden

by Chris Winslow

For those of you who included "create vegetable patch’" in your list of resolutions for 2025, then I am afraid it is already time to get to work.

In just a few weeks, you’ll be able to plant your asparagus, potatoes, radishes and all kinds of lettuce and leafy greens.

Just a month later, warm season crops such as tomatoes, peppers, green beans, okra, black-eyed peas, cucumbers, and all kinds of squash can be planted in.

Pick a garden site that gets plenty of sunlight and is well-drained, and dig over the soil, adding generous amounts of organic compost.

If you’re not composting all your leaves, kitchen scraps and grass clipping at home, then don’t despair. There are a myriad of choices available at your local garden centers.

Some are made from cow and turkey manure, and others from vegetative sources such as alfalfa and cotton gin trash. Often you’ll find composts that blend these animal and vegetable components together.

You should mix generous amounts of compost into the top 6 to 12 inches of the garden soil. This will help with moisture retention, aeration, and drainage. It gives life to otherwise poor soils by adding beneficial microbes to the soil.

Besides compost, it’s important to add organic, slow release fertilizer. This provides the primary ‘macro-nutrient’ building blocks for plant growth: (N) nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K).

Look for fertilizers which also contain micro-nutrients such as magnesium, calcium, sulfur and iron.

Cottonseed meal and alfalfa meal are highly effective sources of organic plant food. Both also stimulate the growth of existing beneficial bacterias.

Other sources include bat guano, earthworm castings, blood meal and bone meal.

If you’re looking for a blended fertilizer with all the nutrients needed for strong plant growth, Espoma’s Garden Tone is one of my top favorites.

Time’s getting short and the spring 2025 garden season is just around the corner. It’ll be here before you know it. And don't forget to check out the Texas A&M Planting Guide for Central Texas which has all of the best dates for planting your crops. Happy Gardening Everyone! ❦