NaturalSpringsGarden

"Greening Our Schools"

We recently received an email from the Texas AgriLife Extension Service-Travis County of an upcoming conference you might be interested in attending:

"Get Growing and Keep Going" Gardening conference for teachers, administration and parent leaders.    This conference is a great way to learn the latest information about gardening in schools!   To Register, visit http://online.nwf.org/GGKGconference

 
The conference is scheduled for Sat, Feb 6, 2010, 8 am- 4pm, at Garza Independence High School (1600 Chicon, 78702).    7 CEUs.    The theme is "Greening Our Schools".      Registration fee of $25
 
The purpose of the conference is to give administrators, teachers and parent representatives the tools to integrate gardens, nature areas and green programs into the school environment which includes topics on rainwater harvesting, composting, vegetable gardening, plant propagation, native habitats, native plants, etc. 
  
The key speakers for the conference are Kevin Coyle, VP of Education at National Wildlife Federation, and Danna Keyburn, Science Educator at Redeemer Lutheran School. We have a great line up of talented speakers, hands-on sessions and exhibitors from organization such as Travis Co Master Gardeners, Sustainable Food Center, Green Corn Project, Austin Discovery School, LBJ Wildflower Center, National Wildlife Federation, Keep Austin Beautiful, etc.

Brrrr....Its cold in the garden!

Most winter crops don't mind the cold, but some are more tender than others.  With the weatherman predicting teens at night and highs in the 30's for days on end, we got busy!

The tender plants are grouped together in several areas of the gardens.  Armed with stakes, string and huge rolls of plastic, we covered everybody that needed protection and then shoveled dirt along the edges to tent them in.  We got them all covered, but it was quite a task!

The greenhouse, however, is a WHOLE different story.....

 

Greenhouse temperatures must be monitored very closely as the temperature can swing wildly as outside temperatures drop or rise.  Even when it is really cold out, the weak winter sun can still warm the interior of the greenhouse drastically.  The optimum temperature range in a greenhouse is between 60 to 80 degrees. When it is cold out, the greenhouse is the place to be.  It is warm and balmy...almost tropical!

Keeping the greenhouse warm while outside temperatures are cold creates issues with humidity which can be problematic for the plants.  We recently purchased a de-humidifier to help us control the humidity levels.

As this is the first year we have ever had a greenhouse, we are please that everybody in the greenhouse seems happy.....

Green tomatoes on the vine.

The first of which are starting to ripen.

The heirloom Italian Marconi peppers (frying peppers) are taking shape.

Bell pepper plants are loaded with babies.

Lemons and limes are on their way!

Winter CSA

We finished up the Fall season December 28th.  Winding up the Fall season along with the holidays made time just fly by! 

We hope everyone is enjoying their holiday pecans!!  Personal Chef Cynthia Wilson contributed some great pecan recipes as her feature this week on our recipe site.

After a short break we will announce the start of the Winter season.  See you soon!

The First Hard Freeze

The first hard freeze finally arrived!

Its sometimes hard to be preparing for winter when it is 90+ degrees outside, but seeds have to be started for transplanting, shade cloth removed from the greenhouse and replaced with heavy duty plastic, the heater set up, move as many frost sensitive plants indoors as the already full greenhouse can hold etc.  A little nervous about keeping the greenhouse temperature within acceptable ranges, we did check on it occasionally throughout the night.

 

After the freeze, the tomato plants were looking pretty sad as well as other summer crops such as okra, eggplant and green beans, but it was time for them to go.  We have winter transplants in the greenhouse ready to go in the ground as their replacements.

Brussels sprouts thrive in cold weather!

I don't think the lettuces even noticed the freeze.

Cabbage stands tough against the frost.

Just admiring the intricate patterns of frost.

 

Winter Sign - Up

The Fall Season has flown by and will be over in a matter of weeks.  We hope you have enjoyed the season as much as we have! 

Winter Season will begin in January and now is the time to sign up! 

OUR GARDEN FRIEND

The other day I was working in the garden and was lost in my own little world as usual.  At first I didn't even notice I had company...that is until we almost ran into each other.

I was surprised the following day that he was back.  He spend most of the day sunning between some rows of lettuce....

I wasn't familiar with his markings, but was pretty sure he was harmless due to the size of his head.  I did a little research and it looks like he is a "Rat" snake and can get up to six feet long.  I hope he sticks around and eats all those little green worms we've been battling!

GREAT NEWS!!

Natural Springs Garden and Traci Miller, Registered Dietitian of Working4Wellness are teaming up to provide you with some nutritional insight to go along with your produce basket!  Traci has been a Registered and Licensed Dietitian for over 15 years.  She is SO excited to have Natural Springs Garden here in her favorite hometown of Lakeway!  She graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a Bachelor of Science in Nutrition with Honors.  She has been an opening team member of two health care facilities and two new hospitals.  Ms. Miller's areas of expertise include:  weight management, sports nutrition, renal and gastrointestinal disease, as well as foodservice start up and management.  Her passions include eating locally grown & produced foods and promoting healthy child nutrition.  She enjoys kickboxing, cycling, baking & traveling.

FALL CSA Update

We were very excited to kick off our Fall season on September 23rd!

Welcome back current members and welcome aboard new members! 

A Quick Peek at the Fall Garden

The lower garden that I wrote about previously has changed tremendously since the last pictures.  Everything is flourishing in this cooler weather.  We were very excited to get some measurable rain at last!

Green bell peppers almost ready to be picked.

Ichiban eggplant weighing down the stem of an eggplant.

The banana pepper plants are loaded with peppers.

A new variety of okra called 'red velvet' has beautiful burgundy stalks and veined leaves.  No okra on them as of yet though.

A cucumber resting among the leaves.

 

White acorn squash getting plump on the vine.  It will weight anywhere from 1 to 3 pounds when ripe.

'One Ball' globe squash getting bigger every day.  It will mature to about the size of a baseball, but keep its bright yellow color with green ends.

 

New rows of radishes join the sweet and hot peppers plants as well as trays and trays of broccoli, cauliflower, brussels sprouts and cabbage seedlings in the greenhouse.

CSA Update

The Summer CSA season is almost to a close.  The last week for pick-up/delivery for the Summer season is August 31st - September 5th.  We hope you have enjoyed the season as much as we have! 

Fall season is just around the corner!  Keep an eye out for an email to announce the start date for Fall as well as to confirm your share choice and pick-up/delivery day and time.