By Jannie Vaught This is a practice my Farming Gardening Grandparents did. My Grandfather was also a water dowser using a fresh willow branch that had a Y. He had me walking all over the garden with that branch until it finally went down on its own. And that was a big moment for me. Planting with the Signs……… This is very familiar with mainly … Continue reading Planting By The Signs
By Jannie Vaught Even the growing regions with warmer weather are Waiting. The ease we use to have and the regular dates and schedules are now ineffective due to the usually cold and ice storms we have had and now another volley of cold and wet. This makes it that Wait till the sun shines. Our usual time to plant potatoes is Valentine’s Day Feb … Continue reading This Is The Season Of Wait
By Jannie Vaught This latest cold front taught us many important survival needs. As unexpected as this was for our location, and as sudden as it came in was for this gardener a “Pay Attention”. I do take notice of the weather, and on this occasion, it really caught me rushing about to prepare. I had my faucets and pipes outside wrapped but lost a … Continue reading Pay Attention
By Jannie Vaught Don’t let the name scare you this is not table salt which will render soil unusable for years unknown. This is magnesium-sulfate, a micronutrient that plants need to grow stay green and thrive. For pennies on the dollar. There are 2 types. The one you buy at the drug store or an Agriculture grade. The drug store one is the one you … Continue reading Using Epson Salt In The Garden-Myth or Miracle
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
By Jannie Vaught What Are the essentials needed for starting seeds indoors? They need a good starting mix, heat, light, and Moisture!!! So you have your table up and ready. Your lights are hung above the table and you have your starting cell trays with bottoms trays that are new or clean and a bottom heating pad for seed starting. Lets start with the Starting … Continue reading Seed Starting Time
By Jannie Vaught The early young grasses are showing and the first Bee feeding blossoms the Dandelion are beginning to show. We in central Texas are in Grow Zone 8a with the last frost around mid-march. But my itch to get outside is seriously getting more bothersome by the day. I have learned the lesson of starting too early and starting over, we have a … Continue reading Spring Is On The Way
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
By Jannie Vaught A few of this and that, soil carbon indicators, minerals, and planting dates for zone 8A. We have had snow! Now that is a date to remember! With this comes questions about soil, planting times, and when to keep a weather eye out. Let’s look at soil organic matter in the soil. This is focusing on Garden location, not lawn or wild … Continue reading Snow And This And That
By Jannie Vaught Our gardens are beginning to shape up! Our potatoes have been hilled for the first time, Compost and Phosphorus and Tomato Tone along with some Calcium Nitrate granules all measured and mixed into the compost, wheelbarrow going down the rows and placed at each plant and a handful between for the growing roots to find. All this done or still in process. … Continue reading The Whole Picture Of The Garden
Jannie Vaught, Suddenly growing a garden and raising a few hens for the eggs is not a Hobie but something very important. Seeds are now hard to find and laying hens are also. Chicks are available but those seem to all bought up and under the brooding lights till they get some growth. As this gardener has been steady at doing this using Permaculture methods … Continue reading Growing A Garden
By Jannie Vaught This sweet-faced flowering plant is one of the first to arrive from greenhouse growers as it is a cool weather plant, spring, and fall. They are swept up by eager gardeners and flower growers as we are weary with the winter blahs! And nature is true to us and gives us a bright colorful Pansy. Pansies are descendants of wild violet, Violets … Continue reading Pansy, The Flower With A Face
By Jannie Vaught Vernal Equinox has finally arrived and with it “The Days of Uncertainty.” As the world is placed on hold from a sweeping illness from day to day we never really know or understand the full effect. It has emptied our grocery stores, closed us in our homes and had us elbow bump instead of a handshake or hug. And now the elbow … Continue reading The Days of Uncertainty
By Jannie Vaught As with all season transitions, it is always tumultuous. That’s a nice word for Stormy! Just when we get the tiller and digging tools ready it comes to a storm, but as a generational farmer and now a gardener it just seems normal. Rush get ready, now wait. And in the waiting time get out all those seeds and your garden planner … Continue reading Count Down To Spring Has Begun In Earnest
By Jannie Vaught, It is that time of year when the cold fronts blow in then it warms up and all my garden plans are on hold till that pesky soil temperature reaches 60. My living room is full of Tomato and Pepper starts under lights, most of the soil and garden preparations are ready and wouldn’t you know the dang weeds are already showing … Continue reading It Is That time Of Year
Jannie Vaught As we plan and design our soon to be spring gardens why not think and plan for some new and varied plants to try. When we step into the average grocery store there are approximately 10 vegetables that are almost always available. For some larger grocery or specialty stores, you can purchase a wider variety and more leafy greens. Why not go beyond … Continue reading Beyond The 10
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
By Jannie Vaught Yes, if you find your gardening duties are slow now it just got busy. The onion starts are in the feed stores. Here in central Texas, it is Short Day onions that do best (11 to 12 hour day lengths). Here are some that grow well here. Yellow: Chula Vista, Cougar, Jaguar, Legend, Linda Vista, Mercedes, Prowler, Safari, Sweet sunrise, TX 1015Y, … Continue reading It is Onion And Leek Time!
By Jannie Vaught So many gardens were severely frost bitten, or should I say froze to death, that my message box became full in one day! What do I do and will it survive? If any tender vegetables were out it probably will not be a good producer if it survives. Even my hardy winter worn mustard greens were bent over double. Most of my … Continue reading Trimming Back What The Frost Got
Jannie Vaught To observe the many flowering trees and native plants. The Blue bonnets are up and beautiful, the prickly poppies, white against a backdrop of winter browns and Indian Paintbrush is starting to show, the eye catching orange- red. What has peaked my interest is the Red Bud trees. So as I was looking at these lovely trees I went a little … Continue reading Just A Fine Day To Take A Drive And Walk Around Our Town
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