Tips
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April in the Garden – 2023 Edition
Greetings, Lakeway gardeners! Will April showers bring May flowers? Only time and a few heavy rainstorms will tell. April is a wonderful month to be in the Lakeway garden with your hands in the dirt. The danger of frost should have passed (the average last frost day for the Lakeway area can range all the way to April 10th), but be prepared in case of a surprise late freeze. April is the time of year that all warm season plants can be seeded or transplanted. It’s also the official start of regular lawn mowing and irrigation. Flowers, pollinators, hummingbirds, trees and many spring vegetables flourish this month too. The delicate purple wildflower with the…
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Let’s Grow: WaterWise Gardens with the Lakeway MUD
Lakeway Municipal Utility District (LMUD) is hosting a week-long series of water-related speakers from March 27-31 at their district office (1097 Lohmans Crossing). Join us on Monday March 27th at 2pm when the Lakeway Garden Club shares tips for successfully growing drought-tolerant, low-maintenance native plants and how to create a WaterWise garden! The Lakeway Garden Club is free and open to all local area residents. For information about the Lakeway Garden Club, visit https://lakewaygardenclub.com
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Know the 6 D’s of container gardening
To be successful at container gardening requires more than just a pot and a plant. The “6 D’s of Container Gardening Success,” as presented by Texas Master Gardener Kirk Walden, highlights how to have better plant-growing results, with the information given in manageable — and memorable D-letter — chunks. The six D’s are: Design Dirt Diameter Depth Drainage Daylight Of course, each topic has subsets of information. Design Gardeners need to keep in mind how much space is needed. Also, they should bear in mind the purpose of the garden, such as whether it is ornamental or intended to grow fruits or vegetables. There are numerous styles of gardens ranging…
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March in the Garden – 2023 Edition
Greetings, Lakeway gardeners! Will March come in like a lion or lamb this year? Regardless, it is a bountiful time in the Lakeway garden. Flowers, bees, butterflies, trees and spring vegetables will begin to flourish this month. In my garden, the most anticipated moment is when tiny asparagus stalks begin to poke through the dirt – then I know spring is almost here! As we head into warmer temperatures and leave the prospect of frost damage behind, remember to review the Veggie Planting Calendar to plan your spring veggie garden. This Texas AgriLife Extension Vegetable Garden Planting Guide will show you all the ideal times to plant in order to…
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Join us at the Earth Day Open House Celebration
Save the date for the Lakeway Garden Club Earth Day Open House celebration at the Lake Travis Community Library on April 22nd from 12noon to 2pm. All are welcome to join us for some light refreshments and to learn about gardening in our area including native plants, vegetable gardening, container gardens, water wise planting etc. We will even have a fun Earth Day activity for kids to enjoy. See you there!
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How to Outsmart your Weeds Naturally with Corn Gluten
Corn gluten is a natural pre-emergent herbicide to help control annual lawn and garden weeds. Corn gluten prevents a majority of annual weed seeds from sprouting. The dry corn gluten is also a fertilizer containing 9% nitrogen. The liquid form is very convenient, employing a hose end attachment on the bottle for easy application, but does not provide the fertilizing component. Timing is the most important factor in the effectiveness of corn gluten. Corn gluten must be present on the soil before weed seeds sprout (germinate) in order to be effective. Apply corn gluten in late winter and late summer/early fall: Mid-January – This application of corn gluten helps control spring and summer weeds, such…
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2023 Earth-Kind Field Day
Join us at the 2023 Earth-Kind Field Day this spring! Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service and Travis County Master Gardeners announce their spring 2023 Earth-Kind Gardening Field Day to be held Saturday, March 25th from 9 am to 1 pm at the Travis County AgriLife Extension office located at 1600 Smith Road, Austin, TX 78721 (map). Parking is available along Smith Road. The event is free and open to the public. The spring 2023 theme is Container Gardening 101 – for indoor and outdoor gardening. The first 100 attendees will receive a free 5.5″ eco-container and saucer. Workshops will teach participants about houseplant care, growing ornamentals or vegetables in pots,…
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Helping Damaged Trees after an Ice Storm
If your oak trees were damaged by a recent ice storm, you may be wondering what you should (and shouldn’t) do to clean up the damage while also protecting them from oak wilt. While painting fresh wounds on oak trees is important to prevent the spread of oak wilt, wounds that were caused by the ice storm are no longer fresh. In cold conditions, trees quickly stop exuding sap and sap-feeding beetles are not active, so it is unlikely that oak wilt will spread as a result of an initial ice storm event. Things that should be addressed right away include: Broken limbs on roofs, fences or other structures Limbs…
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February in the Garden – 2023 Edition
Greetings, Lakeway gardeners! Even though we are off to a very icy start this month, February is still one of my favorite times in the garden. Spiderwort may be frozen in glass-like ice right now but soon their purple blooms will burst out and herald the promise of warmer weather. Once the ice thaws, it is a great time to enjoy your winter garden bounty of greens, broccoli, carrots and other healthy vegetables. Kids often love to get involved in the garden if they know they can eat some things too! Many vegetable gardeners here in Central Texas find a cooler season to be more productive than a warm season,…
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Successful Gardens Create Thriving Habitats for Birds
What’s a garden without birds? As gardeners, watching birds perched on a branch or visiting a feeder can impart a certain connection to nature that little else does, and many believe listening to their melodies alleviates stress. Birds are the most cost-effective way of reducing the number of pests in your garden. Their young are ravenous consumers of insects, including aphids, whiteflies, cabbage worms, cucumber beetles, grubs, earwigs, stinkbugs and, especially, caterpillars. According to Doug Tallamy, a University of Delaware professor of entomology, one clutch of chickadees, for instance, requires 6,000 to 9,000 caterpillars, delivered by their parents, to sustain them from birth through first flight, which is just over…
