bringing nature, nurseries and gardeners together Nov 15, 2018
Nursery notes: 20% off all plants at The Natural Gardener this
weekend, including living Christmas trees, and 20% off all pott-
ery, Purchase a $100 gift card, and receive a free $20 gift card.
Over at Barton Springs Nursery 20% off all clumping bamboo,
3 gal. desert trumpet vine $6.99; 6" cobweb spiderwort $4.99. Bee-
brush for $3.99, purple fountain grass, Reeves spirea and Texas
lantana for $3.99, and copper canyon daisy $4.99. ❦
Thanksgiving recipes from the garden: excitement mounts for
garden writer Megan Cain as the fall feast approaches and she
prepares to bring the abundance of her garden onto the family's
Thanksgiving table. Three of her top recipes: Marrakesh carrot sal-
ad, Arabian squash casserole, and coconut quinoa and kale. Find
them here:Creative Vegetable Gardener ❦
____________________________________________________
Improve soil by raking less: writer Terry Ettinger has some good
news to share with gardeners who tire of all of the raking at this
time of year: 'Research has proven that mowing leaves into your
lawn can improve its vigor.' More details at Fine Gardening ❦
____________________________________________________
The Austin Garden is sponsored by Hays Free Press
____________________________________________________
Central Texas Gardener: advice from Greenleaf Nursery Co.
on easy-care plants for structure, screening and groundcover. On
tour, a visit to the Helping Garden Center in Marble Falls, where
neighbors turned rocky land into productive soil. Saturday 4 p.m.,
Sunday 9 a.m. KLRU ❦
Plant Strawberries for the Spring now
by Chris Winslow
Did you know that the strawberry – one of the most sought after
and delicious foods in the world – can be successfully grown in our
area? And lucky for us, they’re easy to grow.
There are two types available to grow in our garden plots: the june-
bearer and the everbearer. Junebearer strawberries are usually set
out (planted) in the fall and winter, and produce fruit throughout the
spring. So now is a good time to plant this variety.
They start producing in February and if the spring is cool, they will
continue to ripen strawberries through June.
As the days begin to get long, these junebearing strawberries will
send out runners (stolons) that will produce new plants. These will
begin to flower when the days get short again.
Everbearing strawberries bloom more in the summer when the days
are long. Our summers are usually a little too hot for great success
with this type of berry.
Here is the most important tip I can pass on to fellow central Texas
gardeners: strawberries must have well drained soil. A good garden
mixture would include about 50% sand mixed with rich compost
and topsoil.
Strawberries also can flourish in raised beds when the drainage is
poor. Also you can grow your berries in containers such as hanging
baskets and strawberry pots.
When growing strawberries in pots, use a good soil-less potting mix
such as Metro, Sunshine or Miracle –Gro. These will provide nut-
rients and drainage, so you won't have to mix amendments into the
soil.
The second most important tip I can suggest is mulching. If you
mulch around the plants, you will keep those roots warm in the
winter and cooler in the summer.
An added benefit to growing strawberries in containers is when the
temperatures begin to rise in the summer you can move the pots
to a shadier and cooler location.
Some varieties to look for are Chandler, Sequoia, and Douglas.
Happy Gardening Everyone!
