Vegetables
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Embrace the Beauty of Texas Superstars this Fall
Do you need help choosing plants for your landscaping needs? Are you looking to create a beautiful, low-maintenance garden that thrives in our Texas climate? Consider incorporating Texas Superstar plants into your landscape! These plants have been rigorously tested by Texas A&M AgriLife Research to ensure their superior performance in our challenging conditions. Fall is an ideal time for planting in Texas since the cooler temperatures reduce stress on the plant’s root system leading to more rapid root growth and ultimately a healthier plant. We suggest that gardeners follow the Earth-Kind® principles when planting a Texas Superstar® or any other desirable plant. These principles provide recommendations for plant placement, soil, spacing,…
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Let’s Grow: Brassica Vegetables
What Are Brassica Vegetables? Brassicas may be associated with cool weather and root cellars, but this massive family of flavorful, easy-to-prepare cold crops has something to offer year-round. Brassica vegetables are part of the genus Brassicaceae, or mustard family. Brassicas are also categorized as cruciferous vegetables (Cruciferae), or members of the cabbage family. Brassicas are among the most commonly cultivated vegetables in the world, and some of the most nutritious vegetables you can eat. The Brassica oleracea family of vegetables contains hundreds of subspecies with a range of health benefits, like vitamin C, vitamin K, beta-carotene, and glucosinolates. Brassica vegetables are also a great source of soluble fiber. 15 Favorite Brassica Vegetables…
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Celebrate Summer’s Bounty with a Classic Provençal Ratatouille
The sun is shining, the days are long, and gardens are overflowing with the vibrant flavors of summer. What better way to celebrate the season than with a classic French dish that showcases these fresh ingredients? Today, we’re diving into ratatouille, a Provençal vegetable stew bursting with color and taste. The cute Pixar movie Ratatouille is also worth a look if you haven’t seen it yet too! This French vegetable stew is a symphony of textures and tastes. Tender eggplant, zucchini, peppers, and onion mingle with juicy tomatoes, all bathed in a fragrant herb sauce. It’s a vegetarian masterpiece that’s perfect as a main course, a delightful side dish, or…
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Grow Big in a Small Space: The Magic of Square Foot Gardening
Dreaming of a bountiful harvest but limited on space? Look no further than square foot gardening (SFG)! This revolutionary method, developed by Mel Bartholomew, allows you to maximize your yield in even the tiniest of balconies or patios. What is Square Foot Gardening? Imagine your garden bed divided into a grid of 1-foot by 1-foot squares. Each square becomes its own mini-ecosystem, planted with specific vegetables, herbs, or flowers according to their spacing needs. This eliminates wasted space and allows for intensive planting. Benefits of Square Foot Gardening: High Yields: SFG utilizes a special, lightweight soil mix that promotes healthy growth, leading to impressive harvests from a compact area. Low…
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Cultivate Longevity: Your Guide to Blue Zone Gardening
After our Lakeway Garden Club Spring mixer last week, we had many requests to share more information about Blue Zone gardening. Enjoy! Have you ever wondered what the secret is to a long and healthy life? Look no further than the Blue Zones! These five regions around the world – Sardinia (Italy), Ikaria (Greece), Nicoya (Costa Rica), Loma Linda (California), and Okinawa (Japan) – boast populations with exceptional longevity. And one key element they all share? A deep connection to gardening. Here’s why you should consider incorporating Blue Zone gardening into your life: Move Naturally: Gardening isn’t just about planting seeds. It involves weeding, watering, harvesting – all activities that…
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Fall into Vegetable Gardening in Autumn
Autumn is a great time to start a vegetable garden in Lakeway. The weather is cooler and less humid, which makes it ideal for growing a variety of crops. Fall vegetables tend to be more productive than spring vegetables in our area. Here are a few tips for success: Choose the right crops. Broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, collard greens, kale, lettuce, mustard greens, onions, peas, potatoes, radishes, spinach, and Swiss chard are all good options. Prepare your soil. Amend your soil with compost or manure before planting. Space your plants properly. Follow the spacing instructions on the seed packet or plant tag. Water regularly, especially during dry spells.…
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Saving your Vegetable Seeds for Next Year
Many of the vegetables we grow in our gardens produce seeds, which, if harvested and stored correctly, have the potential to grace us with free plants. And late summer is the perfect time to start collecting them. Heirlooms versus Hybrids Make sure the plants from which you’re collecting seeds are heirloom, or open-pollinated, varieties. These are plants in their original forms whose seeds will produce plants with the same qualities as their parent. Hybrid varieties, on the other hand, are created by breeding two or more different types to capture the best qualities of each. Attempting to grow seeds collected from hybrids will yield a harvest of disappointment, as the…
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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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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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Regrow Vegetables on a Sunny Windowsill
Gardening naturally lends itself to reusing and recycling — just think about compost and last year’s seed trays. So if there’s a way to reduce trash while saving money on produce, it is a wonderful thing. And a favorite way to do both is to regrow vegetables from kitchen scraps. Instead of throwing away or composting the bottoms (or tops) of vegetables when preparing them, you can grow them into leafy greens and other tasty tidbits right on your windowsill. It’s important to point out that these methods aren’t likely to produce plants that will grow well in your garden, so it is not recommended to use this method to replace…
