Greenhouse Project of Fall 2010

If you have been wondering why it has been so long since you heard from me, it is because I have been busy building a greenhouse. This project begun 2 years ago in my thoughts as one day I was looking out my art studio window. Thinking how I needed something pretty to inspire me when I looked out that window. A greenhouse and garden came to mind. So for the next few years I collected items from family and friends to build my dream. Then my daughter’s boyfriend came on the scene and was ready and willing to start such a project and we did in the month of November. We finished the actual greenhouse Christmas Day, but the garden and patio with the finishing touches on the greenhouse were completed in January.


To see how we started and finished go back to my website on the Garden Page there is a slide show.

How to Store Seeds

Start with dry seeds: When collecting seeds from your garden make sure that they are completely dry before trying to store them. If the seeds develop mold then they are not usable. For additional tips on drying seeds go to http://www.organicgardening.com/) I wash mine to remove any pulp and then place them on several layers of paper towels. Then put them in an area with no direct sunlight but good air flow for a week or so, then can move them to a permanent storage container.
Packing: Once the seeds are thoroughly dry it is time to place them in some sort of envelope that can be marked with the variety name, date and any other helpful gardening information. Then place them in some type of resealable storage container. You will need a container that will seal out humidity and rodents. It is best not to use cloth, paper or a thin plastic bag. For extra protection from moisture add some dry milk powder or a desiccant such as silica gel to the bottom of the container.
Storage area: You need to then find a good area that is cool, and dry. Most seeds remain viable at a constant storage temperature of 40 degrees or lower. This makes the refrigerator a good choice. If you do use the refrigerator when you take out the container let warm to room temperature before opening it up to remove the seed packets.
Seed Viabilty: Even when you do all the right things seeds may not be viable, so it is best to check them out before doing all of the hard work of planting. To do so spread about 10 seeds from each packet on a wet paper towel, fold it, then place into a plastic bag, seal and label the bag. Allow these bags to remain at room temperature for a week or more. If all 10 seeds sprout, you're in business. Even it only 6 do go ahead and use the seeds just sow more thickly to allow for the seeds that may not germinate.

Chart of Expected Life Span of Stored Seeds

1-2 years          

            Corn               

Onions & leeks

Parsley

Parsnips

Peppers

3-4 years

Asparagus

Beans & peas

Beets

Cabbage Family

Carrots

Squashes & pumpkins

Tomatoes

5-6 years

Cucumbers

Lettuce

Melons

Spinach

Fall Vegetable Planting Guide for Central Texas

You can almost taste those fresh Fall veggies, and feel the cooler weather.  Well at least with a good imagination.  Eventhough the weather is still so hot, it is not too early to plan your fall garden.

Here is a list that I took from Texas Extension.  If there is no notation next to the plant variety then direct sow seeds.

Beans, Snap and Lima                August 15-Sept 15
Beets                                         Sept 15-Oct 31
Brocolli (transplants)                  Sept 1-Oct 31
Brussell Sprouts (transplants)     Sept 1-Oct 31
Cabbage (transplants)                Sept 1-Oct 31
Cabbage, Chinese (transplants)  Sept 1-Oct 31
Carrots                                      Oct 1-Oct 31
Cauliflower (transplants)             Sept 1-Oct 31
Swiss Chard                              Sept 15-Oct 31
Collards (transplants)                 Sept 1- Oct 31
Garlic                                        Oct 1 - Nov 31
Greens, Cool Season                Sept 15- Nov 31
Kale (transplants)                      Sept 1-Nov 31
Kohirabi (transplants)                Sept 1- Oct 31
Lettuce                                     Sept 1- Dec 31
Mustard                                    Oct 1-Nov 15
Onion, bunching                        Sept 15-Oct 31
Onion, bulbing                          Jan 15-Feb 15
Parsley                                     Sept 15-Oct 31
English Peas, Snap & Snow      Sept 15-Sept 30
Shallots                                    Oct 1-Dec 31
Spinach                                    Oct1-Dec 31
Squash, Summer                      Aug 1 - Sept 15
Turnip                                      Oct 1-Nov 15
Tomatoes (transplants)             July 15-Aug 15


Happy planting.  Keep checking my website as I post the ever changing garden each month.
until next time,
Laurie

Love of Gardening Even In The Heat

You know that one is a die hard gardener when the actual temperature outside is 109 degrees and you still have the desire to be outside and garden.  I feel very couped up inside, like in the dead of winter when I cant get out and do some type of gardening.  So I have decided to not stay in completely but be smart about when I do get outside.  In this heat we really need to remember to stay hydrated, and in the shade as much as possible, taking breaks every 15 minutes.  Also getting out very early or late in the evening seems to good times.

It is time to think about the Fall garden in Texas.  Some plants like pumpkins, gourds etc... need to have their seeds already in the ground so by the time the first frost arrives you have gathered your crop.  The Texas Extension Agency has a wonderful pdf. one can download for Spring and Fall planting times.  So start carefully working on getting your Fall plant beds ready for the yummy cooler weather crops.

Summer Survival

It is so hot here I read that you definately could fry an egg or maybe a chicken or two.  My poor birds are trying to keep cool.  This one I caught dusting herself, 

 Others I have seen seeking shelter under my covered porch.  Bless their hearts they still are laying eggs, though not as many as usual.

One of my cats I caught napping under a chair on the same back porch.  She's got the right idea.

Animals aren't the only things that need some shade in the extreme summer heat.

My plants need help too.  I just placed a thick layer of organic hay on top of the soil.  With French Intensive gardening the ground should always be covered either with plants growing or some type of mulch.  It keeps the nutrients in the soil for the plants and also moisture.  The great thing about this is as it deteriorates it is composting right in the garden.  One thing to remember, grass on top of the soil.  Never mix it into the soil because instead of adding nutrients the nitrogen in the grass will rob the plants of nutrients.  Always lay it on top.

The strawberries need some extra help.  These Sequoia varieties were planted last October 2009.  I really need them in a bed with more shade, so for now I am trying to keep them alive with hay and a shade cloth.  I even have a landscape cloth around the roots of the plants, but this heat is almost too much for them.  If they survive I will move them to the front bed in October.  Strawberries should be planted in the same bed each year, dont have to rotate them out like other crops. 

Plants that handle the heat and butterflies love

ZinniasTithonia or Mexican SunflowerRed Sage

These are all plants that survive even our most brutal summer temperatures and another bright surprise is the beautiful butterflies that visit them throughout the day.  Especially in the morning hours when the temperatures are much cooler, swarms of these beautiful insects visit my garden.  So nice of a treat when everything else is struggling including myself this time of year.

Been Much Too Long Between Visits

I know that it has been much too long between visits on this blog.  I have been busy in the garden and in my artwork, therefore have been dedicating my time to my other blog, "Inside the Studio with Onetallartist."  Today I have decided to finish what I have slowly been doing, eradicating plants from the garden.  Some of them have done all they could to serve me with fresh vegetables or fruit, others were still trying to hang on, but now I cannot.  I am too hot and tired to enjoy the garden right now.  So I just pulled up most all of my vegetable plants with the exception of a few cantaloupe and tomato vines. 

That is one of the things I hear the most out of myself and my family members, it is too hot in Texas during the summer.  As I age, I tend to agree more and more with them and their desire to move to a more moderate climate.