As you can see, working in the Drought Tolerant Garden is not all work and no play.  Come join the fun!

Pruning Roses in Central Texas in February

Click on the link above “WCMG Gardening Tip: Asparagus plant care in January” to see the video. Adjust the volume as needed at the bottom of the video.

Vegetable Garden Report for December 2017

December Totals:
Fresh produce: 454.96 pounds (includes 40 pounds of purchased potatoes)
Canned donations: 0 pounds
Monthly total: 454.96 pounds

Quarterly totals – October 1-December 31:
Fresh produce: 916.5 pounds
Canned donations: 111.07 pounds
Monthly Quarterly total: 1,027.57 pounds

Annual Totals for 2017:
Fresh produce: 4,024.628 pounds
Canned donations: 934.20 pounds
Grand Total: 4,958.828 pounds

 

The 2016 total for fresh produce was 3,822.285 versus 4,024.628 pounds for 2017!

December 2017 Hands on in the Garden Training

27 people attended the December 30, 2017 Hands on in the Garden Class on Seed Saving taught by Master Gardener, Jane LaComette.

Jane discussed selecting, cleaning and storing vegetable and herb seeds and presented a short video from the Seed Savers Exchange. This was followed by a hands on activity cleaning and packaging various vegetable, herb and flower seeds. Participants took the seeds home after class.

The Hands on in the Garden class is open to the public and is the last Saturday of each month unless noted otherwise on the Events Calendar on this website. The topic changes each month and is relavant to the gardening activities for that month. Below are some photos from the December training.

 

Harvest totals for November 1-30, 2017 are:

Fresh produce: 208.53 pounds

Canned donations: 111.07 pounds

Monthly total: 319.60 pounds

 

Running totals for the period January 1-November 30, 2017 are:

Fresh produce: 3,569.668 pounds

Canned donations: 934.20 pounds

To-date-total: 4,503.868 pounds

Vegetable Demonstration Garden Report for October 2017

Fresh produce donated for October, 253.01 lbs
Year to date-total: 4,184.268 pounds

 October Garden Activities

• Platform, stairs, handrails and ramp installed
• Rain water reclamation system worked on
• Welcomed new members to our garden family
• Got three great heavy-duty donated picnic tables assembled
• Plantings for this month include beets, cabbage, purple lima beans, kohlrabi, turnips, collards, elbon rye, rutabaga, carrots, lettuce, kale
• Installed three new raised beds
• Put in chicken wire for varmint control
• Removed old raised beds and got rid of debris
• Weekly testing and some repairs on irrigation system.
• Routine weeding.
• Routine pest control for rats, fire ants, aphids and bunnies
• Sprayed pear tree for scale.
• Worked on irrigation leaks.

The last Saturday of every month we have a Hands on in the Garden training class open to the public.  The topic changes each month.  This month’s topic was Drought Tolerant Plants taught by Master Gardener Jodie Beach.  A classroom presentation was followed by a tour of our Drought Tolerant Garden.  Below are some photos from the training.

Vegetable Demonstration Garden Report for September 2017

Donation of 39 pounds of produce and 408.66 pounds of canned and fresh purchased vegetables  to The Caring Place and  Heaven’s Harvest.

Total for 2017: 3819.3 pounds.      Harvest included  okra, squash, peppers (both sweet and hot), eggplant, herbs,  sweet potato leaves,  radishes, beans, butter beans, southern peas, Mexican sour gherkins and a few hang on tomatoes.

September garden activities

• Shed, fencing, tools and wheel barrows are all in place from Grant Funds.
• Platform, stairs, handrails and ramp materials purchased and will be installed
• Rain catchment system purchased and will be installed.
• Welcomed new members to our Master Gardener garden family
• Betty Jo’s son’s company donated three heavy duty picnic tables.
• Plantings for this month include squash, carrots, beets, potatoes, bunching onions, kale, radishes, peas,
• Installed one new raised bed
• Received load of soil compost and mulch.
• Spread mulch where needed and helped other gardens.
• Worked on empty rows getting them ready for planting
• Removed pomegranate trees by shed to accommodate the ramp and stairs
• Filled in trench to prevent someone tripping.
• Received and planted donated pomegranate tree
• Weekly testing and some repairs on irrigation system.
• Routine weeding.
• Routine pest control for rats, fire ants, aphids and bunnies
• Sprayed pear tree for scale.

During August 2017, Williamson County Master Gardeners donated 356.44 lbs of fresh garden produce to Williamson County Charities. (The Caring Place, Heaven’s Harvest Food Bank, Round Rock Area Serving Center and the Annunciation Maternity Home.) The rain from Hurricane Harvey damaged some plants and slowed working in the garden. (You don’t want to work the soil when it is wet.)

So far for 2017, 3209.25 pounds of garden fresh vegetables and canned food have been donated. This total included canned goods donated by members to supplement late summer totals, that fall off with the heat. Fresh produce in August included okra, squash, peppers (both sweet and hot), eggplant, herbs, cucumbers, beans, peas and tomatoes.

Garden Rain Gauge showed 5.54″ in August.

Shelving units and storage racks were installed in the shed making it very organized. Also garden implements were purchased with grant funds including wheelbarrows. New fencing was ordered to accommodate large items and make the area more attractive

We welcomed new Master Gardener volunteer members to our garden family and hosted women from various areas of the State Extension Service on a tour of the garden.

This month we planted squash, potatoes and fall tomatoes. The potatoes will need to be replanted as the heavy rain from Harvey has caused some to start rotting in the ground from the excess moisture.

We installed tomato cages and moved the compost bins to accommodate new fencing in the shed area and started preparing empty garden rows for planting.

Did routine weeding and trimming in the garden, routine pest control for rats, fire ants and bunnies along with weekly testing and some repairs on irrigation system.