Many Gardeners Grow Herbs

By Jannie Vaught It is either in a specific herb garden or right along with all the vegetables. We often think of basil, chamomile, fennel, catnip, coriander, lavender, mint, summer savory, marjoram, tarragon, oregano, chervil, lovage, parsley, dill, lemongrass, verbena, rosemary, bay, melissa, hyssop, thyme, and the wide variety of sage. Sage is our simple, beautiful, and delicious cultivar today. Salvia Officinalis is one of … Continue reading Many Gardeners Grow Herbs

DreamweaverartsJune 7, 2022June 6, 2022

Our Dry Soil

By Jannie Vaught Our dry soil finally received some much-needed rain which did liven up the gardens, again the heat is on the way and back to the controlled watering. Something I use for dry heat times is growing in semi-shade and full shade. Here are some plants that will thrive in semi-shade. Basil, Cherry tomatoes, Swiss chard, spinach, lettuce, eggplant (will be smaller), and … Continue reading Our Dry Soil

DreamweaverartsJune 1, 2022May 31, 2022

The Humble Radish

By Jannie Vaught This is a fast growing early to plant must have in my gardens. The radish belongs to the Cruciferae family and its scientific name is Raphanus sativus L. or the mustard family. It is a annual or biannual plant. It has a thick fleshy root , varying in shapes and size, of a red, white, pink or dark brown skin, there are … Continue reading The Humble Radish

DreamweaverartsMay 24, 2022May 22, 20222 Comments

The Drought Conditions Are Setting Heat And Dry Issues With All Gardens

By Jannie Vaught The unfortunate plants I have in the direct sun in the raised beds are sun-scorched or have given up. This is with good soil, regular soaker watering, with some extra water. The only plants that are thriving and slowly are those with some shade. Fortunately, the fruit trees are holding their own and are heavy with fruit. And will give us fruit … Continue reading The Drought Conditions Are Setting Heat And Dry Issues With All Gardens

DreamweaverartsMay 18, 2022May 15, 20222 Comments

Understanding Seed Packets

By Jannie Vaught Pretty pictures with growing information. The pictures are often photos of the “Best” fully-grown vegetable. And when the one you planted didn’t look like that picture you are wondering what happened? Let’s start out with Your growing zone. Most packets will have a small picture of North America with colors going across from top to bottom. Find where you live and there … Continue reading Understanding Seed Packets

DreamweaverartsApril 25, 2022April 24, 2022

We Are Into Some Frosty Weather

By Jannie Vaught We had been unseasonably warm through November and December. We entered winter, but it felt like T-shirt weather. For this gardener, this puts me in a constant weather alert position. As I watched what was happening to the north of us it became very concerning that we may have another “Killer” freeze. We have been preparing all summer and repairing the old … Continue reading We Are Into Some Frosty Weather

DreamweaverartsJanuary 5, 2022January 3, 2022

April Is Full Of Surprises

By Jannie Vaught One day we are running the cooler and in a few days a cold front is dipping into our region and we are back with the heater on. What does this mean for the new plants in the garden? Plants at 39 degrees can feel the chill and will need a cover to be safe. Tomatoes which are now beginning to flower … Continue reading April Is Full Of Surprises

DreamweaverartsApril 28, 2021April 25, 2021

The Garden Itch

Jannie Vaught This is always the time of year when many gardeners have a serious case of “Garden Itch”. The waiting for official Spring is a waiting game. We are having high and low temps. One day is t-shirts and the next minute its layers and gloves. Still, the “Itch” to get planting is hard to ignore. It is almost Feb 14 potato planting time … Continue reading The Garden Itch

DreamweaverartsFebruary 18, 2021February 15, 2021

Yes, It Is The Seed Starting Time for This Gardener

By Jannie Vaught This week I carefully went through my seed collection and did a plan for what I want to grow this year along with the much-worn garden journal. We are focusing on the variety we know to grow well for us, Celebrity is one we really like, Italian paste and a cherry for salad and garden snacking. It is pea time and we … Continue reading Yes, It Is The Seed Starting Time for This Gardener

DreamweaverartsJanuary 29, 2021January 26, 2021

The Scent Of Autumn

By Jannie Vaught The leaves are falling. Just the other day there was a warm breeze and with it, the leaves began to tumble to the earth. There is a scent to Autumn and for this gardener, it is the drying of the leaves and the sound of them as I walk across the yard under the trees. That’s the scent of Autumn. With that, … Continue reading The Scent Of Autumn

DreamweaverartsNovember 18, 2020November 16, 2020

This Autumn Is Looking To Be A Very Good Growing Season

By Jannie Vaught With cooler weather, my personal time outside has greatly increased. That means plants, feed the soil turn the compost, and plant the seeds. I am having some insect pressure and that just tells me that all of the living creatures are preparing for the winter. Pecans are falling and some leaves are turning. With that, the thought of turning on the oven … Continue reading This Autumn Is Looking To Be A Very Good Growing Season

DreamweaverartsOctober 21, 2020October 19, 2020

Autumn 2020

Jannie Vaught In the northern hemisphere begins autumm on September 22. If you have noticed the ash and elm trees, even some of the mulberry trees are dropping leaves and are beginning to change from green to yellow. The light is shifting and our length of the day is shortening and with cooler temperatures, the leaves stop their food-making process. The chlorophyll starts breaking down … Continue reading Autumn 2020

DreamweaverartsJuly 31, 2020July 30, 2020

Designing Your Garden, Landscape, And Applying A Design That Has “Feelings”

By Jannie Vaught Yes, how about a happy, healing, or relaxing garden design? Take some time to look at all 3 levels. Ground level, mid-level and upper story. Are you trudging to the back to plant, water and compost or can you enjoy possibly a curved walk under fruiting or flowering tree a row of native grasses, flowers, and grains along the walk to the … Continue reading Designing Your Garden, Landscape, And Applying A Design That Has “Feelings”

DreamweaverartsJuly 10, 2020July 9, 2020

It Can Be About Temperature And Humidity

By Jannie Vaught Last week a fellow gardener showed up at my door. Her question was “why aren’t my tomatoes setting fruit? We went through the regular questions, are you feeding them on a regular time schedule? Are they in cages or staked? Are you pinching off the lower limbs and removing the succors? And are they in the shade, full sun? Do they have … Continue reading It Can Be About Temperature And Humidity

DreamweaverartsJune 23, 2020June 19, 2020

The Fabulous Fava Bean

Jannie Vaught Last winter was the first time I even considered fava beans or broad beans other than butter beans or Lima beans. These were just not in my library of eating or growing. So I researched the fava. Favas are a specific kind of broad bean which includes, lima, fava, and some runner beans. Favas are a cold-weather bean often planted with snow peas … Continue reading The Fabulous Fava Bean

DreamweaverartsMay 15, 2020May 13, 2020

Butterfly The Canary In The Coal Mine

By Jannie Vaught The National Butterfly Center in Mission Texas is a 100-acre wildlife center and native species botanical garden dedicated to the conservation and study of butterflies. Since many butterfly plants support bees also. Take a moment and go to their web site. www. nationalbutterflycenter.org. for all the latest and up to date information you can wish to find. They say the butterfly is … Continue reading Butterfly The Canary In The Coal Mine

DreamweaverartsFebruary 11, 2020February 10, 2020

What The USDA Growing Zones Mean

By Jannie Vaught Have you ever wondered about the USDA growing zones and what does it mean to you as a gardener or a farmer? Let us get a definition. The USDA Hardiness Zone map divides North America into 11 separate planting zones; each growing zone is 10*F warmer (or colder) in an average winter than the adjacent zone. Zone 8 Texas is one of … Continue reading What The USDA Growing Zones Mean

DreamweaverartsDecember 18, 2019December 17, 2019

The Beauty Of The Seed

By Jannie Vaught “The beauty of seed is rivaled only by their purpose.” Seed Savers Exchange. Definitions that will clear up the usage of these terms. Sustainable: able to maintain at a certain rate or level. Renewable: not depleted when used. These are just two of the many descriptive words now used when someone is describing their “Natural ” lifestyle choice. I find this overuse, … Continue reading The Beauty Of The Seed

DreamweaverartsDecember 2, 2019December 1, 2019

It Is The Quiet Time In The Garden

By Jannie Vaught Which is a good time to brush up on seed saving, I am using the Book The Seed Garden The Art and Practice of Seed Saving from Seed Savers Exchange. If you are interested in going deeper into seed and plant identification this is a good book to have. Definition; Taxonomy and Nomenclature is the science that identifies and classifies plants according … Continue reading It Is The Quiet Time In The Garden

DreamweaverartsNovember 25, 2019November 21, 2019

Why I Save Seeds

By Jannie Vaught Being born and raised in a farming and gardening family, now it is called “homesteading” my grandparents and parents always saved seeds and plant cuttings. This was as normal as cooking dinner. They walked the Trail of Tears, with seeds, and were relocated to central California after the dust bowl. My Uncle Coy Vaught farmed with a mule team and worked the … Continue reading Why I Save Seeds

DreamweaverartsNovember 22, 2019November 20, 2019