Organic Gardening

Seed Starting Guide from Glen McGee's January 2023 talk

Tuesday, January 31, 2023

RISE AND ROOT FARM

Saturday, January 07, 2023

Interested in small farms around the country that are doing big things?  Check out Rise and Root Farm in the state of New York.  https://www.riseandrootfarm.com/index

"Rise & Root Farm is a five-acre farm, run cooperatively by four owners who are women, intergenerational, multi-racial, and LGBTQ. We’re located in the Black Dirt region of Orange County, NY, in the lower Hudson Valley. The farm is rooted in social justice, and through the healing power of food and farming we work to build a more equitable food system."

                                                                                             rise and root

rise and root2

 

ORGANIC Vs. INORGANIC FERTILIZERS

Wednesday, July 27, 2022

Check out this informative article which expalins how organic and chemical fertilizers work.

ORGANIC VS. INORGANIC FERTILIZERS

HANDOUT FROM THE BIODIVERSITY PRESENTATION JULY 2022

Sunday, July 24, 2022

The following information is provided by North Texas Master Naturalist Sean and Chrissy Cortez-Mathis.

 Biodiversity in the Landscape
 
 
20 Great Native Plants for Biodiversity
 
Frogfruit - Semi-evergreen - spreading ground cover. Tolerates foot traffic. Small white flowers. Sun. *
Horseherb - Perennial - spreading ground cover. It can be mown or leave it to grow to 8”. Yellow flowers. It dies back with a freeze but comes back faithfully. Tolerates foot traffic. Sun to shade.
Texas Columbine - Evergreen - 2x2’ - Feathery foliage & unusual yellow flowers in the spring. Shade. Pipevine - Perennial - vine - Host for the Pipevine Swallowtail. Early sun & afternoon shade. *
Mealy Blue Sage - Perennial - 1x3’- Blue flowers to frost.Hummingbird & butterfly favorite.Sun-part sun.* Zexmenia - Perennial - 2x3’- Yellow flowers from May to Nov. Part shade to sun. *
Salvia Greggii - Semi-evergreen shrub - 3x3’ - Many colors. Pollinator attractor. Sun-part shade. Gregg’s Mist - Perennial - 2’ - Spreads. Purple flowers all summer. Butterfly attractor. Sun-part sun. * Passion Vine - Semi-evergreen - Spreads. Unusual flowers. Sun to part shade. *
Rock Rose - Semi-evergreen shrub - 2.5 x 3’ - Pink flowers May–Nov. Part shade to sun. Thornless Prickly Pear - Evergreen - 5x6’ - Yellow flowers in spring - Sun to part shade. *
Turk's cap - Perennial - 6' - Hummingbird favorite. More sun, more height. Sun to shade.
Datura - Perennial - 3x3’ - Large white flowers & blooms at night. Sun to shade. *
Frostweed - Perennial - 3x7’ - White blooms Oct-Nov. Pollinator favorite. Monarchs love it.Sun to shade.*
Red Yucca - Evergreen - 3x3’ - Coral tubular flowers spring through summer. Sun to part shade.
Texas Sage - Evergreen - 5x8’ - Silver leaves with pink flowers after rain. Sun to part sun. *
Flame Acanthus - Perennial - 3x3’ - Woody shrub with red tubular flowers. Sun to part shade.
Feathergrass - Evergreen - 18” - No shearing, just comb & make seed balls. Sun to part shade.
Inland Sea Oats - Perennial - 2’ Long leaves with fun seed pod. Reseeds freely. Shade–part shade. *
Little Blue Stem - Perennial - 3x3’ - Grass for mass plantings. Nesting material & seeds for birds. Sun.
 
* Host plant for butterflies & moths 
 
Resources
North Texas Master Naturalists www. ntmn.org
Native Plant Society of Texas https://npsot.org/wp/dallas/
Greater Dallas Organic Garden Club https://www.gdogc.org/
Home Grown National Park https://homegrownnationalpark.org
Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center
National Wildlife Federation www.nwf.org
Texas Smartscape www.txsmartscape.com
The Biota of North America Program,http://bonap.org/ 
 
Books
Nature’s Best Hope, Doug Tallamy
Landscaping with Native Plants, Sally Wasowski & Julie Ryan
Texas Gardening the Natural Way, Howard Garrett
Native Texas Gardens – Maximum Beauty, Minimum Upkeep, Sally & Andy Wasowski Texas Wildflowers, Campbell & Lynn Loughmiller
How to Grow Native Plants, Jill Nokes

 

North American Vascular Flora

Chrissy and Sean invite you to come explore their transformed front yard at:
Wildlife Habitat sign
 
Sean and Chrissy     biodiversity   
  biodiversity2                           biodiversity3 
 
      biodiversity4      biodiversity5

HOW TO MAKE COMFREY FEED

Thursday, June 30, 2022

Comfrey is rich in potassium (K), which is required for fruit production, and also contains potash (P) and nitrogen (N). A liquid comfrey feed has a higher NPK ratio than farmyard manure. Comfrey is also one of the few plants to contain vitamin B12, so it's a rich source of food for plants.  Follow this link for instructions on how to make your own comfrey feed. https://www.gardenersworld.com/how-to/grow-plants/how-to-make-a-comfrey-feed/

How to make a comfrey feed

STARTING TRANSPLANTS FROM SEED PDF

Thursday, June 16, 2022

During our garden tour in June we were given a presentation by DCMG Glen McGee on seed starting and propagation.  Glen gave us some great tips and provided these instructions.

Click on this link to access the pdf on Seed Starting:

https://acrobat.adobe.com/id/urn:aaid:sc:VA6C2:df1918e8-baee-449e-93d8-9c7529d048f2

More Articles …

  1. RINCON-VITOVA INSECTARIES
  2. GROWING APARAGUS
  3. LIST OF COMMON HERBS
  4. THE BENEFITS OF WORM CASTINGS/COMPOSTING

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