willsfamilyacres

Veggie Garden Update

August 9, 2018 by Laura

As usual, summers in Texas are a bit rough, with temperatures varying from the high 90s to 110. We had our hottest ever July day. It doesn’t rival 2010, but it has been a hot year with very little rain.

Last year was a bad one for okra, and my poor production has continued this year. I’m not sure if it is root-knot nematode again this year, or the extreme heat. It was the 110 degree day that halted production.

The peppers have had a stellar year, since I added slow release sulphur to the beds, to fix the PH problem. My new favorite pepper is from Baker Creek Heirlooms, called Habanada. It is a non-spicy Habenero, and the flavor is amazing! I only planted 3 plants, but have gotten well over 100 peppers. I’ve been putting them in everything. I also tried Marconi for the first time, and this one will be on my repeat list as well. It is a large yellow bell pepper with great production, and flavor.

Melons produced pretty well, and I am still getting a few.

The tomatillos usually die out in the heat of the summer, and this year they lasted a bit longer. I don’t know how long they can hang on, and if I’ll get any fall production.

Malibar Spinach is thriving, and such a lovely plant.

Summer beans are just starting to produce, with black-eyed peas leading the pack.

Cut and Come Again Zinnias have been the star of the garden. They seem to like a good soaking every 3 days. My vases have been full all summer. I’ll definitely be planting these again.

I’ve let the cowpen daisies take over this year. They spread pretty aggressively, but are easy to pull out so I’ve just let them do their thing. They make the veggie garden pretty, when most things are hanging on for dear life.

As usual, the thai basil has done the best of the varieties. I don’t really care for the flavor, but it is a favorite of the bees. The honey bees have disappeared lately, maybe due to the abundance of robber flies, but I have seen a few bumbles hanging around.

I just started fall seeds this past weekend under the grow lights, so despite the heat, fall is just around the corner!

Posted in okra, pepper, seedlings, Summer, Vegetables, zinnia | 3 Comments »

Wildflower Wednesday

May 23, 2018 by Laura

Gail at Clay and Limestone hosts Wildflower Wednesday each month.

When I moved in over 7 years ago the wildflower meadow consisted of four-nerve daisies, prairie verbena, and mexican hats. I have since added blanket flower, horsemint, winecups, bluebonnets, black-eyed susan, tickseed sunflower and evening primrose.

I also found this alamo vine in the front yard this week. I tried planting this before in the back and it didn’t take, so glad one just showed up on it’s own.

Posted in Uncategorized | 4 Comments »

Garden Bloggers Fling Austin – Kirk Walden’s Garden

May 20, 2018 by Laura

Kirk Walden’s garden was our second to last stop on the Fling tour. The other planners, and I were busy at Articulture setting up for our BBQ Bash and weren’t able to see this spectacular garden and view with the rest of the Flingers. Luckily, Kirk offered to let Pam and I come visit a week later. We went out first thing in the morning to avoid the heat, and beat the blazing sun.

The view is clearly the star of this space, and the design emphasizes this from every angle.

The pool is breathtaking, the higher section giving the impression of a natural hot spring.

A waterfall then flows gracefully to a larger main pool.

It is clear that each plant was carefully chosen to withstand the harsh hillside late-afternoon sun, as well as lushly complement the water. Plants include gaura, pink skullcap, russian sage, snake herb, agaves, roses, palms, gopher plants, and grasses – among others.

Thank you Kirk for sharing your garden with us!

Posted in garden tours | 10 Comments »

Freezing Carrots

May 14, 2018 by Laura

Most vegetables are pretty easy to freeze, the most important thing to determine is whether the particular vegetable needs to be blanched and for how long.

Here is site which gives the times for various vegetables.

The first step is to wash and peel the carrots. Make sure all carrots are in good condition and do not have large cores.

Slice into 1/4 to 1/2 inch pieces.

Bring water to a boil and blanch carrots for 2 minutes. Place carrots in ice water bath.

Drain carrots. Even drained, it is difficult to get rid of all of the moisture. Since I use a Foodsaver, I par-freeze the carrots on a cookie sheet before individually packaging and freezing.

Label and Freeze the packages.

I will use the carrots in marinara, stir fries and soups.

Posted in freezing winter veggies | Leave a Comment »

Bloom Day 4/18

April 16, 2018 by Laura

The spring has been very chilly so far, which is stalling many of the usual April bloomers. The roses aren’t complaining though. This is their best showing to date.

Belinda’s Dream

Peggy Martin

Belinda’s dream is stunning, and smells heavenly, but I am really loving Peggy Martin being the perfect shade of flamingo pink! All of the roses are repeat bloomers, which is a requirement in my garden.

Bluebonnets are still going strong. They start at least a week later in my garden than some parts of town. I think it’s due to the gravely soil, and no additional water.

Silvery-blue agave with bluebonnets, what a combination!

The columbines have also loved the mild spring. They have hung on weeks longer than last year. I am loving how this bed is filling in. I had been unhappy with it for some time, but all it needed was the removal of 3 pale pink pavonias that were extremely happy, but poorly placed.