tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21145073870775666962024-03-19T01:47:34.816-07:00Rollingwood Community Education GardenGrowing Good in the Hood!verokolthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01887789059474584926noreply@blogger.comBlogger68125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2114507387077566696.post-7341933289584058232023-11-21T14:08:00.000-08:002023-11-21T14:10:02.891-08:00 Winter is Coming<p> Despite Central Texas experiencing brutally hot summers and generally mild winters, it is not uncommon for our area to experience extreme cold snaps due to "<a href="https://www.climate.gov/news-features/understanding-climate/understanding-arctic-polar-vortex" target="_blank">artic vortexes</a>". It is a bit counter intuitive, but Climate Change models predict an increase in artic vortexes due to weakening of the mid-latitude jet streams as the higher latitudes warm at a faster rate than the lower latitudes. As the the jet stream weakens, it cannot hold back the air in artic regions as easily, allowing extreme cold air masses to migrate further south more often. Many recall the exceptionally cold Snowpocalypse of 2021 and the major ice storm of 2023 that caused extreme damage to garden and landscape plants. Meteorologist are predicting a severe winter for this area due to the Farmers Almanac and <a href="https://www.climate.gov/news-features/blogs/november-2023-el-nino-update-transport-options#:~:text=We%20started%20noting%20the%20potential,strong%20through%20January%E2%80%93March%202024." target="_blank">El Nino</a> weather patterns. Although there may be challenging weather this winter for our landscape and garden plants, there are several precautions that can be taken to mitigate freezing temperatures.</p><p> <b><span style="font-size: medium;"> Winterization at RWCEG </span></b> </p><p> Many fruit and vegetable plants will die or suffer damage during a freeze due to cellular rupturing in the leaves and stem of the plant as the water in the cells expand into ice crystals. At RWCEG, there are a few methods we practice to help our garden plants through the winter months. </p><p>1. One very important piece of advice is to grow plants that are more cold hearty. Growing warm-weather plants such as tomatoes, peppers, or potatoes are very likely to fail. Better alternatives include broccoli, cauliflower, Brussel sprouts, lettuce, and carrots. Refer to the <a href="https://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/travis/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/VegPlantingGuideJan2015.pdf" target="_blank">vegetable growing guide</a> for a chart on planting times. </p><p>2. It is important to be weather aware during the winter to anticipate freeze events. When a freeze is forecasted, the garden bed should be thoroughly watered ahead of the freeze. It seems counter intuitive to add water to the soil since as water expands to becomes ice, it can cause cellular damage to the plant. However, the water helps re-hydrate the plants to improve their cold heartiness. Furthermore, since water has a much higher specific heat capacity than air, the water reduces the rate of cooling of the soil.</p><p>3. After the soil has been watered, it should be covered by a few inches of mulch. The mulch will help hold in the heat of the soil against the cooling air. Good mulch materials include shredded leaves, pine needles, cut grass, straw, or woody landscaping mulches.</p><p>4. If feasible, it is best to cover the plants under a think blanket or tarp. However, be sure there is a surrounding structure to prevent the weight of the covering from harming the plant. It can be especially problematic if it rains or ice forms on the covering since the added weight can cause further harm. Many gardeners will use tomato cages or large buckets to surround the plants before adding the protective covering. Since the garden beds at RWCEG are topped with hoops covered in mesh materials to protect the plants from wildlife, the gardeners there typically drape the the hoop structure with a large translucent plastic sheet or a tarp. An advantage of a translucent material is it allows sunlight to reach the plants during day time, and it acts like a greenhouse to raise the temperature of the plant's enclosed environment. Refer to the covered bed picture below as an illustration. This illustrated coving protected bell pepper plants when there were near-freeze conditions during the week of Halloween.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiIFglGlBSHlNZJyVs27_nowLMgVSLUDOwXiSpVj8aIZ3N4hLW_QX8CM1F2gLxeY3XSXROVf7Vi6IDxW6ffaSzTE4Ma55YIgU9Q_4RS-fCbNP7sHwwtYEpGdN98_7_snL-NpLBm0XAqNtcDXP6IUOzSAsD290tZPysyKz0iNhZMNf2EtY7sm790Sphsrk9/s4032/PXL_20231029_220351154.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2268" data-original-width="4032" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiIFglGlBSHlNZJyVs27_nowLMgVSLUDOwXiSpVj8aIZ3N4hLW_QX8CM1F2gLxeY3XSXROVf7Vi6IDxW6ffaSzTE4Ma55YIgU9Q_4RS-fCbNP7sHwwtYEpGdN98_7_snL-NpLBm0XAqNtcDXP6IUOzSAsD290tZPysyKz0iNhZMNf2EtY7sm790Sphsrk9/w400-h225/PXL_20231029_220351154.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Covered garden bed in anticipation of freeze.</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Zilker Garden Classes</span></b></p><p>On October 21, Mary Kraemer from the <i>Austin Organic Gardeners</i> organization presented "<i>Artic Vortex Garden Prep</i>" at the <i>Zilker Botanical Gardens</i> . Below are helpful handouts from the gathering that summarize actions to protect plants from freezing conditions. Click on the images to enlarge.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRv5Oxb87S6KNlihslzIHUKvu8q8GTR5Thm7EThAo1jneUk6_FEU2iujfqy2EWJxebc7tPNHYz08sjqIegoMmvz4xasMiist-DZSHgrOqsn17do9lD5uNmNGt89PdHypPjZODNytgmDHMu-Fv_49Trka0kMd4pegtC-71wlxCKOMOzKUtIIIHIjjYUwwdC/s5976/freeze057.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5976" data-original-width="3912" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRv5Oxb87S6KNlihslzIHUKvu8q8GTR5Thm7EThAo1jneUk6_FEU2iujfqy2EWJxebc7tPNHYz08sjqIegoMmvz4xasMiist-DZSHgrOqsn17do9lD5uNmNGt89PdHypPjZODNytgmDHMu-Fv_49Trka0kMd4pegtC-71wlxCKOMOzKUtIIIHIjjYUwwdC/w418-h640/freeze057.jpg" width="418" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLYync_ZFskzIv-BwWnI059Q3LupK5QKY_NKlYpkSM0csXP43nbhmrxwfiir3DW5fYP4ZF_faBWm0zx2h-2NNtb_WyY4bW5Gth9M8cjf5J3fF1VpFF8C9AfAXX2yop33KGYj8qIBxG_-aUz5kitGVaU-7fgLCHQ7lUHv_pGqRGNtj8SdVnR8ozs1fNIsAo/s5995/freeze056.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5995" data-original-width="3974" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLYync_ZFskzIv-BwWnI059Q3LupK5QKY_NKlYpkSM0csXP43nbhmrxwfiir3DW5fYP4ZF_faBWm0zx2h-2NNtb_WyY4bW5Gth9M8cjf5J3fF1VpFF8C9AfAXX2yop33KGYj8qIBxG_-aUz5kitGVaU-7fgLCHQ7lUHv_pGqRGNtj8SdVnR8ozs1fNIsAo/w424-h640/freeze056.jpg" width="424" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p>Rollingwood Community Education Gardenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17227976291278184346noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2114507387077566696.post-65624300031655965412023-10-05T22:02:00.000-07:002023-10-05T22:02:04.662-07:00The Importance of Soil<p> <a href="https://tngaustin.com/" target="_blank">The Natural Gardener nursery</a> (TNG) often provides educational classes on Saturday mornings. On September 30, 2023, the Education Director of Zilker Botanical Garden, Matthew Gaston, gave a comprehensive presentation on "The Importance of Soil" at TNG. The lecture included in-depth details of the physical, chemical, and biological components of soil. Included were insights and recommendations to enhance soil for improved plant growth. From my seat at the lecture, I took pictures of his <a href="https://photos.app.goo.gl/kmEFPxiUVzZrapuq9" target="_blank">The Importance of Soil Lecture</a> presentation material. Although the pictures are crude due to lack of resolution, some are rather informative. Also, I found material by Mr. Gaston on how to be a "<a href="https://www.austintexas.gov/blog/net-zero-hero-matthew-gaston" target="_blank">net-zero-hero</a>". If you have an opportunity to attend a class or presentation by Matthew Gaston, I highly recommend it!</p><p>- Glenn Starnes; an RWCEG caretaker</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9-NhnU31JVVjS7h9FdAKpdOuL6Ydxx6ispg0jF5C2UjXRqrePDMDODN-kkZC8xDMDc4IHxH1vwvDlL9P1I5I6KPMl7xoRgNPF8UVDK-kpHcUpQxpGjNJsWxa1IXkQbvpgiJe8FwPJ7ef_Z1454QXY5SFrfVDm4QlR4MsZ1gttdq0SSOgAD5Ip-iHI6BWa/s2744/PXL_20230930_150232180.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2156" data-original-width="2744" height="314" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9-NhnU31JVVjS7h9FdAKpdOuL6Ydxx6ispg0jF5C2UjXRqrePDMDODN-kkZC8xDMDc4IHxH1vwvDlL9P1I5I6KPMl7xoRgNPF8UVDK-kpHcUpQxpGjNJsWxa1IXkQbvpgiJe8FwPJ7ef_Z1454QXY5SFrfVDm4QlR4MsZ1gttdq0SSOgAD5Ip-iHI6BWa/w400-h314/PXL_20230930_150232180.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p>Rollingwood Community Education Gardenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17227976291278184346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2114507387077566696.post-41408148734476367242023-09-30T16:17:00.001-07:002023-09-30T16:21:46.451-07:00Garden Revival 2023<p> Since the post-days of the COVID pandemic, there had been little activity at RWCEG. However, thanks to the rejuvenated interest of one of the original garden founders, Andrea Sparks, several new neighborhood families joined the RWCEG community to revive the garden beds and plant in late spring of 2023. Long time caretakers, Glenn and Evan Starnes guided the new gardeners on planting techniques and taught sustainability concepts. </p><p> Unfortunately, due to the exceptionally hot and dry summer, not many of the planting endeavors thrived. Nevertheless, there were some high moments during the Spring and Summer season as illustrated by the pictures below. Now that Autumn has arrived, we are hopeful to start new crops and fun community experiences.</p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq1BC6PX0dLI92GG18fRTvWTNvfCTEl4ynDHqXaJbEHz46mph3X6ucvail5NuTQZGfpfPlmb4LZ6-fGlbRnUnb16f6-B4qBLGhRXRECE63qu_XD7D3Eh7DtWAqKJv4CdDMdGrl3aYv-nh3Ur2aN_i8KK2xyDZWVZyMnrSn8H4fE4ZVmKbck2hoUOkw6ygK/s3264/20230521_182121.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1836" data-original-width="3264" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq1BC6PX0dLI92GG18fRTvWTNvfCTEl4ynDHqXaJbEHz46mph3X6ucvail5NuTQZGfpfPlmb4LZ6-fGlbRnUnb16f6-B4qBLGhRXRECE63qu_XD7D3Eh7DtWAqKJv4CdDMdGrl3aYv-nh3Ur2aN_i8KK2xyDZWVZyMnrSn8H4fE4ZVmKbck2hoUOkw6ygK/w400-h225/20230521_182121.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Evan teaching about raised garden bed techniques. <br />String beans, mint, and basil are growing in the foreground.<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFDoriN15BgBiiWYcpFPp59o7bHTWeaGBe5UB251HIbd-LQhhCxqRvoxrGhmRtSY4R_N-h2a5iq2QJuvWbM5ZII80t1WIk4GvYDo_ecYHQi_8bW14RGS8mubl5yQC3LLnQRWz4dtIHbsPsfg2cNSI4Sc7aeOQOVsjhQ71hTYh0drs2HnPrOeArij45vQbk/s4032/20230521_175750.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2268" data-original-width="4032" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFDoriN15BgBiiWYcpFPp59o7bHTWeaGBe5UB251HIbd-LQhhCxqRvoxrGhmRtSY4R_N-h2a5iq2QJuvWbM5ZII80t1WIk4GvYDo_ecYHQi_8bW14RGS8mubl5yQC3LLnQRWz4dtIHbsPsfg2cNSI4Sc7aeOQOVsjhQ71hTYh0drs2HnPrOeArij45vQbk/w400-h225/20230521_175750.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Evan giving a lecture on raising worms for composting.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZDoA8xAbc4tviDtgUu2EE3VFKdpTMfWVQqvXvCxczfi9ZRZXbZ1zeRSjB3449f9x7rBhUGzzGXV4C8jJo6H8RoVvuRT9x8EAGAZZeVT-DxvMWFVIFHbSS16IcvNxe_kGzZIB5i_FEXSwpxIZw1nCFCrwoh-VJKdKkH5oQ_aVOJ-RxSRjU-QdFz7xZ7BUV/s4032/20230521_184525.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2268" data-original-width="4032" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZDoA8xAbc4tviDtgUu2EE3VFKdpTMfWVQqvXvCxczfi9ZRZXbZ1zeRSjB3449f9x7rBhUGzzGXV4C8jJo6H8RoVvuRT9x8EAGAZZeVT-DxvMWFVIFHbSS16IcvNxe_kGzZIB5i_FEXSwpxIZw1nCFCrwoh-VJKdKkH5oQ_aVOJ-RxSRjU-QdFz7xZ7BUV/w400-h225/20230521_184525.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Garden students building a worm habitat.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_qYfra-lvBBdMLQBWXjuATm21UtyA0MUGXjmpk64oKExe3Kap2PbKjbxFIU8ka40auwwSWARzrOHLGyc4bUJ8e3VZLk7uLgVgVwTTSpy1_21-PjC9i0BqXEt7nNsA0dtBYLUboU1CeuTMp0lyFUm5g7lEVOWoHYH4SZpJaT-axzvwI5YfQFhcIH0HgXaX/s4032/20230521_184119.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2268" data-original-width="4032" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_qYfra-lvBBdMLQBWXjuATm21UtyA0MUGXjmpk64oKExe3Kap2PbKjbxFIU8ka40auwwSWARzrOHLGyc4bUJ8e3VZLk7uLgVgVwTTSpy1_21-PjC9i0BqXEt7nNsA0dtBYLUboU1CeuTMp0lyFUm5g7lEVOWoHYH4SZpJaT-axzvwI5YfQFhcIH0HgXaX/w400-h225/20230521_184119.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;">A "bug hotel" built to attract beneficial insects such as mason bees to improve pollination at the garden.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL2j3-KUXBt3iRLBt8NbU4PY0BJFSUrD96NozY42MX03l1S7-R1YllCJspW3cuAfKMIDQ0TED6uZor_UsdRmLAaWy3JoeKbCPVhsAKWKLFR9FG8izA8gAJqp-hKkc_IyVks0z9ak8M-lMxFwpiN7gfqm4mRMqkqM0FLZwC4Y-oSh-HWnci5_G5v8eLhHi9/s3264/20230514_164312.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1836" data-original-width="3264" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL2j3-KUXBt3iRLBt8NbU4PY0BJFSUrD96NozY42MX03l1S7-R1YllCJspW3cuAfKMIDQ0TED6uZor_UsdRmLAaWy3JoeKbCPVhsAKWKLFR9FG8izA8gAJqp-hKkc_IyVks0z9ak8M-lMxFwpiN7gfqm4mRMqkqM0FLZwC4Y-oSh-HWnci5_G5v8eLhHi9/w400-h225/20230514_164312.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Dozens of snap pea pods were grown on a trellis.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEpukq3zCWlujYxt9T6YYbh_rKzyiN5mzETJpXZD5yGINiEqhd6kiO1xKCP-oorb29T4Shvd43mSf3s8axVroApZ3os7R1M2uim9EOVkC1hxL34UhmcwYGumVourqx19T1ToeLLNGkn_NxXt73HVzmVQrZc32dSiCbLzY2iviofEdVlCae74tJ14L_aYAf/s4032/20230521_175940.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="2268" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEpukq3zCWlujYxt9T6YYbh_rKzyiN5mzETJpXZD5yGINiEqhd6kiO1xKCP-oorb29T4Shvd43mSf3s8axVroApZ3os7R1M2uim9EOVkC1hxL34UhmcwYGumVourqx19T1ToeLLNGkn_NxXt73HVzmVQrZc32dSiCbLzY2iviofEdVlCae74tJ14L_aYAf/s320/20230521_175940.jpg" width="180" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOn5F4Lq-TKre19z1APwWI12eUoXbIxMqN0wmFyk1xwBPdy7PiZz_jZPoqe-xt1ji-Y6fsqv60qJJ03eNMkvCZ-gZiSSab_RXcvPv6EcffoMIVCdUX2LYSQ30DLnB1OFWS_ojpsjvRHodXEY8Sxbgg2HtgbeNaxDJAsZCssrxDbcJA-9bM8feuEaHx3EIE/s4032/20230521_175910.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="2268" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOn5F4Lq-TKre19z1APwWI12eUoXbIxMqN0wmFyk1xwBPdy7PiZz_jZPoqe-xt1ji-Y6fsqv60qJJ03eNMkvCZ-gZiSSab_RXcvPv6EcffoMIVCdUX2LYSQ30DLnB1OFWS_ojpsjvRHodXEY8Sxbgg2HtgbeNaxDJAsZCssrxDbcJA-9bM8feuEaHx3EIE/s320/20230521_175910.jpg" width="180" /><br /></a>Bell Peppers, basil, and strawberries! Note the pine straw mulch.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcEILkhyphenhyphenKsXx_QGyy0GBAJAdv9ZKL90_cg-HexcyYha3I-cmDXtPybNMtbjkcvLG50E854SGpsljLLlTJ_OAARFzlNa87N7g-aAWoFMROTZzfleems1RUZrO7Y2bNd8mJJBVfSCqgm4nkoYL-0KzfXvi8F1kvUDGkvvfvdLQKThzd2vyXNgBYV1YCEJVJ_/s4032/20230625_174557.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2268" data-original-width="4032" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcEILkhyphenhyphenKsXx_QGyy0GBAJAdv9ZKL90_cg-HexcyYha3I-cmDXtPybNMtbjkcvLG50E854SGpsljLLlTJ_OAARFzlNa87N7g-aAWoFMROTZzfleems1RUZrO7Y2bNd8mJJBVfSCqgm4nkoYL-0KzfXvi8F1kvUDGkvvfvdLQKThzd2vyXNgBYV1YCEJVJ_/w400-h225/20230625_174557.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>A string of cherry tomatoes growing on a vine.<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcc0hQUQmLvwsvjkWDocORrlUT8iOSn6-yG2WX3ArUDwxCxANsAif1HdyoGauj0GwoXfH14LGt98URBh4RBNW5FdNzTk2uIiJcZLrdMtbStYRmeUxsSfPZzu4CU3SmAsIq0jRJqR9WhEEZf9mvFIxvTx6YlCIOEzTQvhQnyl_dPaLcaNJNYQBabMIYkaPd/s4032/20230625_174836.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="2268" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcc0hQUQmLvwsvjkWDocORrlUT8iOSn6-yG2WX3ArUDwxCxANsAif1HdyoGauj0GwoXfH14LGt98URBh4RBNW5FdNzTk2uIiJcZLrdMtbStYRmeUxsSfPZzu4CU3SmAsIq0jRJqR9WhEEZf9mvFIxvTx6YlCIOEzTQvhQnyl_dPaLcaNJNYQBabMIYkaPd/s320/20230625_174836.jpg" width="180" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsALDrOxRwBz-ELFdpu2TFMCNVnqZisJ7lDBsPLWIP_f2rUgyNbqLJdjsCnZL2Gf6kDwBqd14ANfTNDNxLoNCgRH0UVOiR1htIAaTXiJ024PH9fmSXp8z8cOiLVczgTsuVjJmokTRVGO0KPeS-8a4Bx4Vh1zQmMnY1oW5wMlTUulXYZk5F1FENibU1XWKT/s4032/IMG_5738.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsALDrOxRwBz-ELFdpu2TFMCNVnqZisJ7lDBsPLWIP_f2rUgyNbqLJdjsCnZL2Gf6kDwBqd14ANfTNDNxLoNCgRH0UVOiR1htIAaTXiJ024PH9fmSXp8z8cOiLVczgTsuVjJmokTRVGO0KPeS-8a4Bx4Vh1zQmMnY1oW5wMlTUulXYZk5F1FENibU1XWKT/s320/IMG_5738.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">A hornworm caterpillar eating a tomato plant...and the resulting spotted hawk moth!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-lmXGVwSeqIQn72OzOp3aLpG01so1uenwk-D6beZgCjudt48k8s6DvazQcw4jFrmh-6Mzg4IpWHO4s1X97reui6F0lxgC7BJXvzahJ-PvhwUtbarUnBQ3D1h2KscJUbMIWr_Apf_WGOTEbJqOUtK33cTpPea3-_zN6m_4iqq8_i5vo9qheBOi8HQrwvuT/s4032/20230625_174207.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2268" data-original-width="4032" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-lmXGVwSeqIQn72OzOp3aLpG01so1uenwk-D6beZgCjudt48k8s6DvazQcw4jFrmh-6Mzg4IpWHO4s1X97reui6F0lxgC7BJXvzahJ-PvhwUtbarUnBQ3D1h2KscJUbMIWr_Apf_WGOTEbJqOUtK33cTpPea3-_zN6m_4iqq8_i5vo9qheBOi8HQrwvuT/w400-h225/20230625_174207.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;">Wild cucumber vines grew throughout the garden with high yields and no planting! </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz0Wge8TZEb84fleU_zIIVdQtAELoeBQlvjUyrJgumB0RWp7O-OviaCJNs0cDfZ6lF97gDSYGWzwz2VkqADFa78ygZb7gD-4JznyRnP5-CDllEWPihHWr4Lw2l1yTpIcDP-3p7_ByOov7haoKTX6upASPELxjnaw5gaL3x4tEO-T2BPs7QDztPeVqOivBS/s4032/20230625_174426.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2268" data-original-width="4032" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz0Wge8TZEb84fleU_zIIVdQtAELoeBQlvjUyrJgumB0RWp7O-OviaCJNs0cDfZ6lF97gDSYGWzwz2VkqADFa78ygZb7gD-4JznyRnP5-CDllEWPihHWr4Lw2l1yTpIcDP-3p7_ByOov7haoKTX6upASPELxjnaw5gaL3x4tEO-T2BPs7QDztPeVqOivBS/w400-h225/20230625_174426.jpg" width="400" /></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLW2UHSiw6gMYlrU2GQUY6KLwVqNSkXPPHxoCWz8OKnDOFk9QHi_OCmeWWLfs6Jwi0W_j4MocYFD60vVHOUfVDLTDcPvZsTmh8WnFZKqAgiiBP_zrviRifk2KwmaBDNycStTGgeuhvIm2cCUVwr8c3GdB57iOHrfEz1XufIipOyypfMfEd-3M1UVvwCxHy/s4032/20230625_174616.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2268" data-original-width="4032" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLW2UHSiw6gMYlrU2GQUY6KLwVqNSkXPPHxoCWz8OKnDOFk9QHi_OCmeWWLfs6Jwi0W_j4MocYFD60vVHOUfVDLTDcPvZsTmh8WnFZKqAgiiBP_zrviRifk2KwmaBDNycStTGgeuhvIm2cCUVwr8c3GdB57iOHrfEz1XufIipOyypfMfEd-3M1UVvwCxHy/s320/20230625_174616.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Real Mustang grapes and embedded fake grapes to fool local wildlife.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyCM0iqL6zkIl8EmenKBaQSbX4g5KnQFqwcigEezQfB_jqQI-pfTGKHtDIuzxeahm8kwYhXEdYkIGiizLsiUqhspQWUSHM5EUD9KxFoA_3sS17gKSC2XErdMUBjb8cC5RJLD2ws845HqsjtAfix3_w041SAel0mGS28pHYDsL12s-RVBcq48Ruq5n2gQ39/s4032/20230625_171558.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2268" data-original-width="4032" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyCM0iqL6zkIl8EmenKBaQSbX4g5KnQFqwcigEezQfB_jqQI-pfTGKHtDIuzxeahm8kwYhXEdYkIGiizLsiUqhspQWUSHM5EUD9KxFoA_3sS17gKSC2XErdMUBjb8cC5RJLD2ws845HqsjtAfix3_w041SAel0mGS28pHYDsL12s-RVBcq48Ruq5n2gQ39/w400-h225/20230625_171558.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;">Zinnia and Sunflower flowers to adorn the garden beds.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p><br /></p>Rollingwood Community Education Gardenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17227976291278184346noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2114507387077566696.post-51655154374938331492020-03-28T19:34:00.002-07:002020-03-28T21:30:35.506-07:00Shelter-in-Place at the Garden<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPt4RnerXfssAHBhnN-xCa8nPubdtMBHIjF1j-DtB_Y46xiFzwF22CF_Hg-_OpzVBmG0Qra-B0XjHRiHe18CVZhXv1o09O_VCiQAd1j1OoveCKW2mOPn2EK_Zao0RBKEZv6mDCkC2e0LlJ/s1600/IMG_4827.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPt4RnerXfssAHBhnN-xCa8nPubdtMBHIjF1j-DtB_Y46xiFzwF22CF_Hg-_OpzVBmG0Qra-B0XjHRiHe18CVZhXv1o09O_VCiQAd1j1OoveCKW2mOPn2EK_Zao0RBKEZv6mDCkC2e0LlJ/s400/IMG_4827.HEIC" width="400" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRsGiCAUp6nbD7TK6iVG_y2g4k8xVR-jDuKW-t__1jKENv_gCoF2x4kbIMkuKSM9E58JKHX3mt-Un7kJCuPrbbc7LBf8tNXCtEtorKO3c24PiV-_sZEcI2Zh5uiZGzG15kWWCulnG5NHGH/s1600/IMG_4829.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRsGiCAUp6nbD7TK6iVG_y2g4k8xVR-jDuKW-t__1jKENv_gCoF2x4kbIMkuKSM9E58JKHX3mt-Un7kJCuPrbbc7LBf8tNXCtEtorKO3c24PiV-_sZEcI2Zh5uiZGzG15kWWCulnG5NHGH/s400/IMG_4829.HEIC" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Winter crops protected from wildlife with a mesh screen.</td></tr>
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<h3>
The Winter Screen Scene</h3>
Happy Spring 2020 from RWCEG! During the Shelter-in-Place restrictions on our community due to the Covid-19 virus, it is sure nice to have a safe and beautiful place in the outdoors like RWCEG to visit. To be clear, the pictures shown above were the winter season crops grown in Bed 1 (the wicking bed). From front to back, our gardeners grew carrots, violas (an edible flower similar to pansies), many varieties of lettuce, spinach, kale, fennel, chocolate mint, coconut geranium, cabbage, broccoli, and a forest of sugar snap peas. You may notice the green mesh screen cover draped over the white hoops. This screen was added to keep wildlife from eating the plants; especially the broccoli that was eaten several times during the fall. After our third time re-planting the broccoli, we added the screen barrier out of desperation. Prior to adding the screen, we had tried using motion detecting ultrasonic pest repellers. Unfortunately, they proved to be ineffective, so adding the cumbersome screen was our next preventative measure against pests. We made the screen such that is could easily be lifted up on the sides to allow gardeners to water and harvest the plants. Although working with the screen was cumbersome at times, it did do a much better job of protecting the crops. We hope to remove the screen as we transition to spring crops.<br />
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<h3>
Bragging Broccoli</h3>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuL7_0mUjPlbhJsqIgOWLKK_LN06fA3A1Lqc5KoRJna6f2oCm00izd3s5EByZw_n5RxPTPBrSE11WKKLOSHCeoEyr75M2tCylavQq8L4YNNR9hMulZU8pLSooEskpP7jsOfr02TBByKzJt/s1600/IMG_4949.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuL7_0mUjPlbhJsqIgOWLKK_LN06fA3A1Lqc5KoRJna6f2oCm00izd3s5EByZw_n5RxPTPBrSE11WKKLOSHCeoEyr75M2tCylavQq8L4YNNR9hMulZU8pLSooEskpP7jsOfr02TBByKzJt/s400/IMG_4949.HEIC" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A broccoli with a super sized floret crown.</td></tr>
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Although we struggled to grow broccoli at RWCEG this past season, Evan and I were much more successful with growing them at home. The picture above shows one "super broc" we managed to grow. An advantage we have at the home garden is it is in an enclosed "garden house" made of the same green mesh.<br />
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<h3>
The Red Wiggler Roundup</h3>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrvzf1LVRg9FIvSoXIx-Vtk8YM4p_pFwJAOg86ETtaTfYi5IG0rjOeCmY_kq7jpVvOsaTzKCZ7zmNlOtTnDONFaknWWiUu4XJJDX_aWv7kPCUzEreb0cB7H0NTwWPP4cH97mhzrUeYkdAz/s1600/IMG_4997.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrvzf1LVRg9FIvSoXIx-Vtk8YM4p_pFwJAOg86ETtaTfYi5IG0rjOeCmY_kq7jpVvOsaTzKCZ7zmNlOtTnDONFaknWWiUu4XJJDX_aWv7kPCUzEreb0cB7H0NTwWPP4cH97mhzrUeYkdAz/s320/IMG_4997.HEIC" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Multilevel worm composter</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4AMoU3oNlOZ9PmvY5oLxnElQrRGsX3pt22LRngpOmhfRTpTbvNZhQ-dfkjrTu3fsrcjbBbk5BI43_A-g3okErIpGjnKMvu9HjGVcF7U3BNxjCamV1cgQSR9Q6JSWI-oBd43GQZRgEnV2P/s1600/IMG_4961.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4AMoU3oNlOZ9PmvY5oLxnElQrRGsX3pt22LRngpOmhfRTpTbvNZhQ-dfkjrTu3fsrcjbBbk5BI43_A-g3okErIpGjnKMvu9HjGVcF7U3BNxjCamV1cgQSR9Q6JSWI-oBd43GQZRgEnV2P/s320/IMG_4961.HEIC" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Red Wiggler worms in their slurry in composter</td></tr>
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A new addition to RWCEG is our Worm Farm! Around Christmas time, Evan decided he wanted to revive an abandoned Worm Composter. As shown above and to the left, a Worm Composter is made of several stacked bins, each with a mesh bottom. The mesh allows for worms to pass to different levels of the composter. As one level becomes depleted of food, they move to the next level. Worms typically used for composting are red wigglers (Eisenia fetida). They appear similar to earthworms (aka nightcrawers), but they are a bit smaller and redder in appearance. The advantage of red wigglers is they can eat and digest rotting organic material from the surface of the soil while earthworms eat already-composted soil that is deep underground. After digesting, these worms "poop out" material called worm castings. There are many <a href="https://unclejimswormfarm.com/the-effectiveness-of-worm-castings-on-garden-soil-and-plants/">benefits of worm castings</a>. They contain minerals such as concentrated nitrates, potassium, magnesium, calcium, and phosphorus. Castings are considered organic fertilizer that can increase a plant’s yield, protect both soil and plants from diseases, and help the soil retain moisture.</div>
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After Evan received a batch of <a href="https://unclejimswormfarm.com/">mail order red wigglers</a>, he introduced them to their new multilevel home. To feed them, he made a slurry by blending up news papers (which is rich in carbon), coconut coir, and raw compostable materials such as leaves, and fruit & vegetable food scraps. The worms were placed into the slurry in one of the levels of their composter housing. Over time, the worms eventually moved to a new level for fresh slurry once they had finished consuming from the initial level. The spent level, now full of worm castings, has been mixed in with the soil we are using for Spring planting. We will let you know if we notice a difference in the how the plants grow with this nutritious supplement.</div>
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<h3>
Winter Harvesting and Spring Planting</h3>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ava with her garden salad harvest</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Evan standing next to his bamboo trellis masterpiece built with scout skills.</td></tr>
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As Winter came to a close, we had several good harvests. Above is garden-girl, Ava, showing off one of her harvests of peas and carrots. We estimate the winter pea vines produced about 200 pea pods. Ava made several great salads with her family after harvesting lettuces, peas, and carrots each week at the garden throughout the latter weeks of winter.<br />
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More recently we have planted a variety of potatoes, bell peppers, carrots, <a href="http://www.urbancultivator.net/learn-about-nasturtium/">nasturtium</a>, many varieties of beans, and yes, more snap peas. Later in the season, we will plant tomatoes, cucumbers, and zucchini. Since our pea vines always out grow our tomato cages and 5 ft. back trellises, Evan and I built a 9 ft. high trellis with bamboo and twine. We used our Scout Skills to lash together the bamboo rods with the twine. The newly planted peas have already grabbed the lower rungs of the string lattice with their tendrils. We hope our next picture will show the pea vines reaching the top! We will report back on our garden happenings at the end of the Spring season. In the meantime, from the RWCEG community, stay safe and healthy. During the Covid Crisis, please practice social distancing from other people, but remember, your plants still need your caring touch to thrive!<br />
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Posted by Glenn Starnes; a RWCEG caretaker<br />
<br />Rollingwood Community Education Gardenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17227976291278184346noreply@blogger.com287tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2114507387077566696.post-89528195165713363462019-07-21T13:41:00.003-07:002019-07-21T18:45:07.473-07:00Cool Harvests in the Heat of Summer 2019<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beck and Ava with first cucumber harvest from their giant plant grown from seed!</td></tr>
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It has been a typical hot summer in Austin, but it is still "cool" to be at the Rollingwood Garden. Although the heat prevents us from planting new crops, the gardeners are still diligent to water and tend the spring garden plants through summer harvest. Although the summer heat wiped out a few of our plants, there were still some spectacular harvests.<br />
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<b>The Super Cucumber Vine</b></div>
The most amazing plant at RWCEG this spring and summer is a cucumber vine that was planted from a very small seed. It rapidly grew, and soon it towered over the girls that planted and took care of it week after week. The leaves grew larger than their heads, and it became covered with small yellow flowers. The flowers started to bulge outward until, after a few weeks, they were fully ripe cucumbers. Time got a way from us and a few over ripened into what appeared to be large, yellow squash. Although past their prime, they were still edible. The cucumber vine continued to produce cucumbers for several weeks.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ava proud of her tasty carrots</td></tr>
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<b>Little but Big</b></div>
Another successful crop were the carrots. Although they were rather little in size, they were still big on flavor. Carrots are tricky to grow since the seeds are like grains of sand. It is difficult to space them properly when planting, so many come up too close to each other. The crowding can reduce the vegetable size, so we practice "thinning" in which we purposely pull out some of the smaller, weaker plants early on to allow more room for the stronger plants to thrive. From our results, we obviously have room to improve, but we are still grateful with we got.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Potato Pals</td></tr>
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<b> The Subterranean Easter Egg Hunt</b></div>
A long time favorite event at RWCEG has been the Potato Harvest in mid to late May. The kids have a great time digging through the dirt with no idea what treasures they will find. Since we grow a variety of multi-colored potatoes, the event is akin to a subterranean Easter egg hunt! We harvested a few potatoes at a time for about a month. Some families made delicious dishes with the potatoes by adding chives and rosemary also harvested from the garden.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Can you spot the fake vs real grapes</td></tr>
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<b>When The Fake Becomes Real</b></div>
The fenced perimeter of RWCEG becomes covered in Mustang grape vines by Summer time. Despite the fact the vines produce a lot of grapes, we usually only get a few ripe ones because our "forest friends" eat them before they are prime. This year, however, with a cleaver idea from my visiting parents, we decided to outsmart the forest foragers by hanging purple, fake plastic grapes along the vine. The hope was that the animals would be drawn to the fake grapes first, and decide they do not taste good. Then, when the real grapes become ripe, the animals will not be interested, thinking they taste as bad as the fake ones sampled earlier. I am not sure how well this concept works, but we did end up harvesting a tremendous number of ripe grapes one week. There were so many grapes that we became tired of harvesting and decided to pick more the following weeks. However, by the next week, there were virtually no grapes to be found! Most of the grapes were bitter-sweet. I found it best to blend them in a juicer and then add just a little bit of honey!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From the Real grape harvest</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwEgNY7-aNZJawqnfw5lk1R7jH6SwKktD8gjozvQgBKWe-868Hsi4Xs5yQ18kuI4bPPTcs1F5OCNKhfdWGUFdkefq8Ypm5kAyVuNqnhiVTAYwVaOpZFU5C-hY9qqkfO-K5EQOyivNxMvt9/s1600/IMG_3724.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwEgNY7-aNZJawqnfw5lk1R7jH6SwKktD8gjozvQgBKWe-868Hsi4Xs5yQ18kuI4bPPTcs1F5OCNKhfdWGUFdkefq8Ypm5kAyVuNqnhiVTAYwVaOpZFU5C-hY9qqkfO-K5EQOyivNxMvt9/s400/IMG_3724.HEIC" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Okra in Bloom</td></tr>
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We also harvest a little bit of okra. Although the edible vegetable is not pretty, the flower on the plant is large and beautiful. Okra can withstand the heat quite well.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Pleasing Pea Vine</td></tr>
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In early spring we planted sugar snap peas from seed. By end of spring we had a remarkable harvest of peas from the vines that grew about 10 feet tall. They were fun to eat from the vine. In many cases I had to help our younger members reach the peas at the top!<br />
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Presently we have a large variety of beans growing at the garden that have been harvested a little bit each week. We also have peppers, tomatoes, and a watermelon growing at the garden, but they are not doing well due to the summer heat. We are hoping they perk back up and start producing once the weather begins to cool in early Autumn. Many vegetable plants "shut down" when temperatures exceed 85'F.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And one for the bugs...</td></tr>
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<b>And one for the bugs...</b></div>
We make efforts to remove (organically) "bad bugs" from the garden, but many insects and bugs are beneficial. We let select critters share in our garden bounty. One example are the swallowtail caterpillars that are attracted to our dill and fennel plants. Although they eat some of the plant, we know they will become beautiful butterflies that will pollinate many flowers. Besides, we mostly eat the fennel bulb which grows underground.<br />
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Happy Gardening to all!<br />
Posted by Glenn Starnes 7/21/2019<br />
<br />Rollingwood Community Education Gardenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17227976291278184346noreply@blogger.com172tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2114507387077566696.post-85850326378720014952019-04-15T21:16:00.001-07:002019-04-17T07:42:35.071-07:00Getting “Dirty” at the Garden<br />
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Garden helpers making super soil in the new garden bed make of cedar wood. </div>
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A lot has been happening at RWCEG this Spring, 2019. We recently have had additional families join our garden community. To provide more growing capacity for our newest members, one of our deteriorated garden beds has recently been rebuilt. Special thanks to the Nyer family for obtaining building materials and constructing the new raised garden bed frame. The new bed is built of wood to complement the existing concrete-cinder-block and composite-plastic raised beds. Untreated Cedar wood was chosen since it will decay at a much slower rate than most other woods, and it will not leach harmful chemicals into the garden soil that could be absorbed by the plants. For additional protection against weathering, the wood bed has been completely varnished with two coats of raw linseed oil. Linseed oil is derived from pressed flax seeds (a super food!), and it is considered a very safe, non-toxic wood preservative appropriate for organic gardening.<br />
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Of course, the most important part of any garden bed is the soil. An informative class was held at RWCEG to educate our gardeners on the components of good garden soil based on the guidelines of Square-Foot-Gardening methods. With a lot of help from our youngest garden members, the soil ingredients were measured, mixed, and spread in the new garden bed. Our soil components included: <br />
1. Multi-sourced Compost - This is the primary food for the plants. <br />
2. Peat moss & coconut coir - Used for improved water retention. <br />
3. Vermiculite - A heat expanded mineral full of air pockets. It is very light and used for water retention and aeration. It helps make the soil friable (loose) and reduces compaction for improved root growth. </div>
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Glenn & Evan teaching gardeners about soil components. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd3wZk-P_klm_O4_0IEqtw_VfVxTzfpGeDDV2dKoxZl1uvv6IiD-D7aZZ50knFPqw80Q2y2oDqndtwcXn_9cayJY2n1OKHNaekkLuoD1klZbG4WoJ0YQUjTeaa3G6I-Zsu_WroCTJCjoeR/s1600/IMG_3258+%25282%2529.jpg"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd3wZk-P_klm_O4_0IEqtw_VfVxTzfpGeDDV2dKoxZl1uvv6IiD-D7aZZ50knFPqw80Q2y2oDqndtwcXn_9cayJY2n1OKHNaekkLuoD1klZbG4WoJ0YQUjTeaa3G6I-Zsu_WroCTJCjoeR/s400/IMG_3258+%25282%2529.jpg" /></a> </div>
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Garden helpers mixing soil ingredients. </div>
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The RWCEG community would like to give a shout out to the primary supplier of our garden soil resources, <b>Brite Ideas: Aquaponics, Hydroponics & Organics</b>.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTLYU0wvzIpMJG7Lon0HFxzBIsnjNakIHip2tG4QRZbRjz_5PxPXOFdckX11bpVgVk4QGelDuMEV2tScJISusJM0217X_MKpqDULOBtr9L7cEFixZBBNomN8Ba09Pu2VWPvsLuXqRSDaUg/s1600/logo.jpg"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTLYU0wvzIpMJG7Lon0HFxzBIsnjNakIHip2tG4QRZbRjz_5PxPXOFdckX11bpVgVk4QGelDuMEV2tScJISusJM0217X_MKpqDULOBtr9L7cEFixZBBNomN8Ba09Pu2VWPvsLuXqRSDaUg/s320/logo.jpg" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.bihydro.com/">http://www.bihydro.com/</a></div>
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We could have just bought pre-mixed potting soils, but as an Education Garden, we wanted our members to understand how the unique properties of each soil component contributes to plant growth. Thanks to <b>Brite Ideas</b>, we were able to obtain each soil component in raw form in the quantities desired and at excellent prices. In addition to carrying garden and hydroponic supplies, the store owner, Troy, and his staff are very helpful, and they are very knowledgeable of their products and various types of organic gardening methods. This locally owned business also offers classes open to the public. We highly recommend checking them out for any of your garden supply needs or as a resource for learning more about various organic growing methods. Our Garden Treasurer, Becky, also bought a wide variety of seeds from Brite Ideas that will likely be planted soon in the new bed. Refer to their website for additional information: <a href="http://www.bihydro.com/">http://www.bihydro.com/</a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE3KTjlIZNw7SFOapkKVN3ouRyhlXjHnPYWNwIHiNOS4BK8b0eqcFLdClpXHVUFxx4BGc0jcRwVaBCpCQd_kiWpcOn68ziMoYj0ko1TwgP1_bemd7yzanT7J8L4wRj_r5vRBWt_eEJyxSZ/s1600/IMG_9117.JPG"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE3KTjlIZNw7SFOapkKVN3ouRyhlXjHnPYWNwIHiNOS4BK8b0eqcFLdClpXHVUFxx4BGc0jcRwVaBCpCQd_kiWpcOn68ziMoYj0ko1TwgP1_bemd7yzanT7J8L4wRj_r5vRBWt_eEJyxSZ/s400/IMG_9117.JPG" /></a> </div>
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Getting soil supplies at <i>Brite Ideas</i> with help from store owner, Troy (right). </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlNukwa7C1IwiNo43JSb-xQ2Nzw6u8H2iHuhCkhBuNSk83XBof5OgpHVGqXKawozLhCi2Yfivj8j4bTu30-CT9LW8pHAE8F1vJXZCqlUX6edZOxx1R2S3bFCiyi8ldXgE1Zv7XijHkhV09/s1600/IMG_9142.JPG"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlNukwa7C1IwiNo43JSb-xQ2Nzw6u8H2iHuhCkhBuNSk83XBof5OgpHVGqXKawozLhCi2Yfivj8j4bTu30-CT9LW8pHAE8F1vJXZCqlUX6edZOxx1R2S3bFCiyi8ldXgE1Zv7XijHkhV09/s400/IMG_9142.JPG" /></a> </div>
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Seed packets bought at <i>Brite Ideas</i>. </div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;">Blog posted by Glenn Starnes; garden caretaker</span></div>
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Rollingwood Community Education Gardenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17227976291278184346noreply@blogger.com123tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2114507387077566696.post-27217175885782780662018-08-05T17:18:00.000-07:002018-08-05T17:24:16.771-07:00Spring & Summer Harvests 2018 at RWCEG<div style="text-align: center;">
by Evan Starnes</div>
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We have had many successes and have learned a lot from the crops that were grown this spring and summer season. Thanks to the help of the RWCEG members and interested visitors, we were able to plant peas, peppers, and potatoes. These are crops that have grown well in the past, yield a lot, and are simple to prepare. I have had fun cooking the potatoes on a stove with olive oil. The peppers and peas however, can be be eaten straight once washed.<br />
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A little latter in the year, I began to experiment with growing beans since I knew that the produce are shielded from bugs in thick pods. They are also heat resilient, making them a good choice for this climate. The beans that I selected where lima, kidney, black, and pinto. I soaked each bean seed that I wished to germinate in water for about 24 hours before I planted them in the ground. The black beans were a vine variety, grew very tall on a trellis, and yielded the most beans. The lima, kidney, and pinto beans that I grew were a bush variety and weren't as robust as the black beans.<br />
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Unfortunately, the leaves of the plants were nibbled on by grasshoppers, and the extreme heat slowed down the plants productivity. The bean plants still were able to produce very nice bean specimens, even though the harvest wasn't as great as I had hoped. I plan to simmer the beans, so they they can be eaten! Next year I hope to plant event more beans, and plant them earlier, so they can start to grow when it is cooler.<br />
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After The Rollingwood Fourth of July parade I was glad to have many different families wander down to the garden when they were done with the party festivities. Many people got to learn about what was currently growing, and kids got to help water the garden with watering cans. Around this time, Mustang Grapes were ready to be harvested off the vine which served as a fun attraction. The kids were also amused by the many rubber snakes that were placed around the garden with the intention of scaring away birds.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGnt3JDgmEtQZEgNDZO8gF5N2PuWhOtcydCaUa7UedX49BZHZUGryydNAJcjdtAMi-C5O-nKsiGUUhIWkdNLIZi64jDydhz9LfMf8Q6KrlB-4Km0qndNJFixwWFMjFVqAFJl65PbecMWKj/s1600/IMG_2061.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGnt3JDgmEtQZEgNDZO8gF5N2PuWhOtcydCaUa7UedX49BZHZUGryydNAJcjdtAMi-C5O-nKsiGUUhIWkdNLIZi64jDydhz9LfMf8Q6KrlB-4Km0qndNJFixwWFMjFVqAFJl65PbecMWKj/s400/IMG_2061.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Banana Bell Peppers</td></tr>
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Gardening this season was a blast! I hope that our Fall planting season will also be successful and will teach the people of Rollingwood important gardening skills. I wish for there to be more gardening participants in the near future who can experience the excitement of gardening.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Black Bean Vines</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fourth of July Expiernce</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH6YGSsxdAt3EHDB2Qzr1fhQFAYB-IJfpNSxL_j3BQbZXPHe2MKUG3YX4V-e9c4jSlOSqRRa1rJPLykq1O_c0VISfjtRoeU8U3DpBVfzLK2KajH0h2UiotdEpDTPOYooL6BYKZ07Lxhi8g/s1600/IMG_2068.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH6YGSsxdAt3EHDB2Qzr1fhQFAYB-IJfpNSxL_j3BQbZXPHe2MKUG3YX4V-e9c4jSlOSqRRa1rJPLykq1O_c0VISfjtRoeU8U3DpBVfzLK2KajH0h2UiotdEpDTPOYooL6BYKZ07Lxhi8g/s400/IMG_2068.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Harvested Kidney Beans</td></tr>
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Rollingwood Community Education Gardenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17227976291278184346noreply@blogger.com46tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2114507387077566696.post-5486891860665210412018-07-30T21:23:00.001-07:002018-07-31T07:59:36.289-07:00A Park Day Experience at the Community Garden<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Rollingwood Municipal Park hosts a
biannual event, “It’s My Park Day”, to encourage neighbors of Rollingwood to
take part in service projects that will benefit the landscape and
beautification of the local parks. Through such participation, adults and kids
learn about the importance of being conservation minded, and they experience
the joy of spending time in nature. The time dedicated to improve the grounds
makes a big difference to those who actively visit and tend to the park. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>During the Spring Park Day on March 3, 2018, the Rollingwood
Community Education Garden (RWCEG) also sponsored a special family event with
the support of Community garden members, Becky and Jessica. They helped several
elementary school aged children construct simple bird feeders, and they had them
plant sprouting fruits and vegetables in an available garden bed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">To help provide local songbirds with food, the kids created unique
bird feeders. These feeders were pinecones covered in various bird seed held on
by a sticky layer of peanut butter. These seeds included sunflower seeds,
peanuts, nyjer thistle, and a choice blend. A piece of twine was attached to
the pine cones so the feeders could be hung on tree branches.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">To begin the gardening project, the kids uprooted the wild weeds
from the garden bed. After that, they began to transplant and sow seeds of various
spring crops in the bed after amending the soil with nutrient rich composts.
These plants consisted of basil, chard, fennel, peppers, strawberries, and peas. To finish the job,
the kids watered the garden with rain water collected in the
garden’s water cistern.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>These planting efforts at the community
garden made a positive impact for the natural </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">ecosystem. It also taught the
kids an important lesson on how to respect nature, and it gave them a better
understanding of the work involved in growing produce. I thank Becky and
Jessica for leading and educating these kids on this special day. Also special
thanks to the Rollingwood Park commissioners, Toni Hudson and JoAnne Parker,
for helping organize and support the event. I hope we can have a large turnout at
the next park day this Fall to keep the practice of gardening </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">alive!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Since the planting on March 3, RWCEG Caretakers have continued to
water and tend the plants. To date we have had a good harvest of strawberries,
peppers, and peas.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Several Swallow Tail
caterpillars have been witnessed on the fennel. We encourage this since these
caterpillars will become butterflies that are useful pollinators for many
flowering plants.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>Click on the links below to see pictures of the event.</b></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><a href="https://drive.google.com/open?id=18z6ll2DknoroUTT0qSjvM8OwpHw01z4C">https://drive.google.com/open?id=18z6ll2DknoroUTT0qSjvM8OwpHw01z4C</a></span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><a href="https://drive.google.com/open?id=11Nknusc0Z3Nmd1alRrbRmDGilJJVT_5W">https://drive.google.com/open?id=11Nknusc0Z3Nmd1alRrbRmDGilJJVT_5W</a></span></div>
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<span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">Article written by garden caretaker, Evan Starnes</span></div>
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<br />Rollingwood Community Education Gardenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17227976291278184346noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2114507387077566696.post-55014712668402718502018-06-24T19:50:00.002-07:002018-06-24T19:50:23.026-07:00Troubles with a Garden Varmint<div style="text-align: center;">
by Evan Starnes</div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> (November 2017)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> During
our winter crop season, my father Glenn and I noticed that many of the plants in
the main garden bed had bite marks! The plants with larger leaves like broccoli,
cauliflower, kale, lettuce, and chard appeared to be nibbled on by what we
suspected to be a rodent. With no real evidence of what type of rodent was
creating the destruction, we guessed that a mouse or a rat was the culprit
since these animals are small and could easily maneuver through the fencing
around the three garden beads. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> To catch
the critter red pawed, my father and I set up a verity of contraptions that
were designed to catch mice and rats. The first device that we used was a
simple mouse trap that was spring operated and had a bar that would swing down
on the mouse’s neck once triggered. After a few days of leaving the traps
around the garden bed, we noticed that all of the traps had been triggered without
catching anything. This led us to the conclusion that the critter was much
larger than a mouse, so we began to invest in traps that were meant for bigger
rodents. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> After
watching several YouTube videos on how to build a DIY rat trap, my father and I
settled on a model that was comprised of a suspended spindle with peanut butter
bait on it. If a rat tried to crawl across the spindle to get the bait, the rat’s
weight would cause the spindle to spin. In the process of rotating, the rat would
fall into a tall bucket were it would be trapped. Unfortunately, once again, to
our disappointment, the bait was stolen without catching anything! Obviously
our varmint was larger than a rat, so we set up a raccoon trap. This trap is a cage
with a door that is weight triggered.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> Finally
at last! After several false triggers on the raccoon trap, the garden varmint
was captured. To our surprise it was a rock squirrel, which is a large type of
a squirrel that burrows underground, and has a broad diet that includes vegetable
crops. We gave the squirrel the name, Rocky, because of its species name, and
the fact that it sent us on a “Rocky Road” trying to trap it. I liked looking
at Rocky’s fur coat which was a mixed black and gray with several white speckles.
My dad and his garden friend, Becky, later took Rocky to the Nature Center to
be safely released off a trail that lies in a valley near a river bed. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> With
Rocky in a new home, the plants that had been harmed began to recover.
Unfortunately, they did not produce as well as they would have. Like we usually
experience, we had a bountiful lettuce harvest. I was glad to not have to worry
about the garden varmint any more, but I kind of missed Rocky since he was such
a stunning creature. After this garden crisis, I was excited to move forward,
and start planning for our spring season of crops. Hopefully no other rock squirrels
will intrude! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br />Rollingwood Community Education Gardenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17227976291278184346noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2114507387077566696.post-74826495399811900742017-05-28T19:20:00.000-07:002017-05-29T09:31:16.939-07:002017 RWCEG Spring Season SummaryA lot has happened at RWCEG this Spring Season. Below are highlights with pictures. Be sure to click on the pictures to enlarge.<br />
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<b>The Great Potato Harvest</b></h2>
In mid-February, my family planted six varieties of potatoes from tuber seeds (All-blues, Red LaSoda, Yukon Gold, Desiree, Kennebec, and La Ratte). On May 21, we had many people experience a wonderful harvest that felt a bit like an underground Easter egg hunt since many of the potatoes are a bit egg shaped and came in many colors due to their specific variety.<br />
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Newest Garden Member and recent high school graduate, Cydnie, holds up a hand full of recently harvested All-Blue Potatoes. (Once washed, these potatoes are a deep purple in color, inside and out!)<br />
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Cydnie helping grade school children that wandered over from a birthday party at RW Park harvest potatoes. Their parents were very impressed when they saw what their kids were doing. RWCEG can add an extra spark to any party!<br />
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Evan & Gina harvesting from the other side:<br />
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Pictures of some of the potatoes harvested. Note the interior of the sliced All-blue.<br />
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<h2>
<br /> The Great Pumpkin?</h2>
In March, we transplanted a pumpkin sprout that arose from a Jack-o-lantern last halloween. As shown below, it became a huge vine. The main vine did have a pumpkin growing on it, but unfortunately, a "forest friend" (probably a rodent) decided it wanted a piece of the action, and ate part of the pumpkin. We ended up harvesting it Memorial Day weekend.<br />
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Evan and Gina standing next to the Great Pumpkin Vine. Note the large fan shaped leaves and yellow flowers that bud into the pumpkin squash.<br />
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Evan holding up the prematurely harvested pumpkin. Note the chunk eaten out of it. We had planned to cover it up to protect it but we obviously did not do this soon enough.<br />
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<h2>
The Indian Garden</h2>
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In mid spring the Gullapalli family became RWCEG members and planted a crop of Okra, Beans, Spinach, and Cucumbers. The seeds planted originated from India! They initially filled up Garden Bed 3, but recently transplanted some the plants to the remains of Bed 2 to prevent overcrowding. Although they had a late start with planting, the plants appear to be doing well as of Memorial Day weekend. It is wonderful to have something growing in all three beds again (although Bed 2 needs to be rebuilt soon).</div>
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A proud Kiran Kumar Gullapalli inspects his thriving crop of okra and spinach.</div>
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Fabulous Fennel</h2>
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On Memorial Day weekend, Evan harvested fennel. The stem and bulb of this plant strangely tastes like licorice!<br />
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<h2>
Educating the Educators</h2>
The RW Garden is a Community <b>Education</b> garden. So Becky and I were pleased to discuss the origins and purposes of RWCEG with Graduate Student, Aaron Niznik. Aaron studies Environmental, Political, and Economic Sociology at Brown University. His research interests are centered on identifying how grassroots environmental movements such as community gardening are developed. His dissertation work compares the socio-political structure of the urban gardening movements in Boston, Massachusetts and Austin, Texas. Special thanks to Becky who is not only the Garden Treasurer, but our Historian as well. She brought an iPad full of pictures and the "RWCEG Book of History" to supplement the discussion. We wish Aaron well with his research efforts and look forward to reading his findings.<br />
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Aaron and Glenn discussing the history and purposes of RWCEG with help from Becky!<br />
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Blog posted by Glenn Starnes, RWCEG Caretaker.<br />
<br />Rollingwood Community Education Gardenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17227976291278184346noreply@blogger.com152tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2114507387077566696.post-4264236765125994982017-03-23T19:15:00.000-07:002017-03-23T21:05:33.221-07:00Vernal Equinox 2017 at RWCEG<br />
Happy Vernal Equinox RWCEG! I hope all have been enjoying the recent Spring weather. The recent crops planted in Bed 1 are presently thriving. If you haven't been to the Garden for a while, I hope you stop by in the near future to check things out. Below are a couple of pictures I took this week.<br />
As usual, I will be at the garden at our current Community Time: Sundays 4-5pm. I hope you can join me so you can learn more details about what is growing. My kids and I will likely be planting tomatoes, peppers, and fennel this weekend.<br />
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(Click on the pictures to enlarge)<br />
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What's growing: varieties of lettuce, spinach, chard, onions, snap dragons, violas, and a large patch of potatoes (All-Blues, Red Lasoda, Yukon Gold, Desiree, Kennebec, and La Ratte)</div>
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In the back of the garden bed, peas are growing up the trellis. A couple of pumpkin sprouts have also materialized.Rollingwood Community Education Gardenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17227976291278184346noreply@blogger.com49tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2114507387077566696.post-66998237367752678812017-03-23T18:55:00.000-07:002017-03-23T18:56:19.894-07:00Growing Potatoes and More from MorningChoresI recently received an email from a representative of MorningChores.com. She came across our Community website and wanted to share information about growing potatoes from a morningchores.com blog entry. I read the article and found it very interesting. It covers potato varieties, growing tips, harvesting tips, pest mitigation tips, and finally a lot of potato based recipes. Refer to the link below for the article. Morning Chores also covers many other DIY and "self-sufficient living" topics.<br />
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The potato article:<br />
<a href="https://morningchores.com/growing-potatoes/" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1490314334437_9736" rel="noreferrer" style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px; background: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: #338fe9; font-family: Helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px; outline: auto; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">https://morningchores.com/growing-potatoes/</a><br />
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Morning Chores home page:<br />
https://morningchores.com/<br />
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<img alt="How to Grow Potatoes for Beginners" height="400" src="https://morningchores.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/How-to-Grow-Potatoes-for-Beginners.jpg?x52498" width="266" />Rollingwood Community Education Gardenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17227976291278184346noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2114507387077566696.post-27933910567818965352017-03-22T20:48:00.001-07:002017-03-22T20:50:25.275-07:00Keyhole Garden Designs<br />
I recently had an interesting discussion with Mary M. about the rebuild effort for Bed 2 at RWCEG. During our discussion, she told me about an innovative garden design known as a "keyhole garden". In short, a keyhole garden in a raised garden bed with a circular shape. In the center of the garden bed is mesh tube or basket in which compostable matter is periodically dumped. There is usually a notch in the bed shape to allow easier access to the compost basket. The idea is that as the compostable materials decompose, rich nutrients will leak out of the compost basket and spread throughout the garden bed for the plants. Below are simple diagrams and links to videos and articles for such designs. I am not sure yet whether this is a good design idea for RWCEG Bed 2, but I think it is a clever idea that many can make use of in their backyards; especially if you are good about composting!<br />
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<img alt="Image result for keyhole garden design" src="http://2ff8n03drmib1b12373aauek-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/assets/images/Blog-Building/Keyhole%20Gardens/8%20detail_keyhole.jpg" height="200" width="400" /><br />
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<span id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1490237131902_2638" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">http://www.hgtv.com/outdoors/gardens/garden-styles-and-types/keyhole-gardening-tips</span></div>
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<span id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1490237131902_22274" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">A good place to see Keyhole gardens is on UTUBE…just UTUBE it!</span></div>
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<span id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1490237131902_22258" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNT9-6RggNE" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1490237131902_22257" rel="nofollow" style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px; background: transparent; color: purple; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNT9-6RggNE</a> Texas Country Reporter Utube</span></div>
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<span id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1490237131902_22260" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="https://www.niftyhomestead.com/blog/keyhole-garden/" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1490237131902_22259" rel="nofollow" style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px; background: transparent; color: purple; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">https://www.niftyhomestead.com/blog/keyhole-garden/</a> made with stone</span></div>
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<span id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1490237131902_22262" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="http://www.gardeningchannel.com/how-to-make-a-keyhole-garden/" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1490237131902_22261" rel="nofollow" style="-webkit-padding-start: 0px; background: transparent; color: purple; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">http://www.gardeningchannel.com/how-to-make-a-keyhole-garden/</a> made with cinder blocks</span></div>
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<span id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1490237131902_22281" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/3726/</span></div>
Rollingwood Community Education Gardenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17227976291278184346noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2114507387077566696.post-88618481066834819512016-06-18T20:38:00.003-07:002016-06-18T21:13:15.597-07:00Time to re-mulch RWCEG walking pathsAnyone who has recently been to RWCEG, knows the mulched surface of the walk ways between the garden beds has completely decomposed and is now full of weeds that are knee high is some places! The Garden is in desperate need of some attention!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-sF_Or-Cvzgn7WvLs4MrouKkLMVN5CpZLQWKjV5c9MYSzn1R7ZQakqw2KMcT53Wuc33K70WJ9GTwYlrGgCWCE-_rFrvfjilTTeEhkzj7K9EaNoykwp9Qx00Av6606KFDvVjM8yJ0Mu_H_/s1600/IMG_6902.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-sF_Or-Cvzgn7WvLs4MrouKkLMVN5CpZLQWKjV5c9MYSzn1R7ZQakqw2KMcT53Wuc33K70WJ9GTwYlrGgCWCE-_rFrvfjilTTeEhkzj7K9EaNoykwp9Qx00Av6606KFDvVjM8yJ0Mu_H_/s400/IMG_6902.JPG" width="400" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_tFL4p-EoqhW6uSExspyJgV7OftTTlKNcIgq260BilNAw1NtbRU1kc-tM0hgNWuLkWIHWE8ETCWnUgF1fzF5VZpbuoeIDIAcHTSBkYuBsTijL8oLj7l-529Vd-4MrtpV8B3bpGXDwPGcN/s1600/IMG_6909.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_tFL4p-EoqhW6uSExspyJgV7OftTTlKNcIgq260BilNAw1NtbRU1kc-tM0hgNWuLkWIHWE8ETCWnUgF1fzF5VZpbuoeIDIAcHTSBkYuBsTijL8oLj7l-529Vd-4MrtpV8B3bpGXDwPGcN/s320/IMG_6909.JPG" width="240" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqJBEpcl_hk0yu-kymaXtQHoPDi6_JqmbdB_sOcQdM4hXNaRSsuofhpHBbk7GNAyMVO9aDtEOHOpYJjH7GZioNpSy3vn8eamszhnEkIppreOpOwLzoP69vT9z_21MPN1imxWtZ9D1Vvy-e/s1600/IMG_6904.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqJBEpcl_hk0yu-kymaXtQHoPDi6_JqmbdB_sOcQdM4hXNaRSsuofhpHBbk7GNAyMVO9aDtEOHOpYJjH7GZioNpSy3vn8eamszhnEkIppreOpOwLzoP69vT9z_21MPN1imxWtZ9D1Vvy-e/s320/IMG_6904.JPG" width="240" /></a><br />
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I am organizing a work day on <b>Saturday, June 25th at 3pm</b> (when it becomes shady in the Garden) to have the weeds pulled and the walk ways re-mulched. I found some great First Grind Mulch for a great price at <b>Kinser Ranch LLC.</b> With some help from those with pick-up trucks, I plan to have 3 cubic yards of mulch brought to the Rollingwood Lower Playground/City Hall parking lot. From there, the mulch can be moved via wheel barrows. To aid with this effort, boy scout members from Troop 31 (Evan's Troop) will help with this labor as a Community Service Project. Any Rollingwood members available at that time are encouraged to come help. Even if you are unable to help with the labor, we would appreciate any available tools such as wheel barrows, shovels, or rakes. (Tools will be labeled so they will get back to their respective owners.) As we say in scouts, "many hands make for light work".<br />
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For what it is worth, Evan and I started with removing the weeds using a mattock pick axe and rake. After 4 hours of labor, we removed about three-quarters of the weeds and roots. The remaining will be removed on the Work Day.<br />
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Hope to see you there! Please contact me via email (at glenn_starnes@yahoo.com) if you have questions, concerns, or recommendations.<br />
For encouragement, many black berries are nearly ripe for harvest.<br />
Also, check out Evan next to his Monster Zucchini plant in his Garden Bed!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtIk1v3Co0kmShBxoGNNQzybEGfD2HHYFO62BTVXC2w-xEw36d7ZB9E43_yzBv-U5wAN1adkneU1o_P5XIBgVDAsdkOx6yJpSvlBuz4acGUG6F_fdV5fsK1FMTREkgLqZBzVEZd_DBr05q/s1600/IMG_6908.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtIk1v3Co0kmShBxoGNNQzybEGfD2HHYFO62BTVXC2w-xEw36d7ZB9E43_yzBv-U5wAN1adkneU1o_P5XIBgVDAsdkOx6yJpSvlBuz4acGUG6F_fdV5fsK1FMTREkgLqZBzVEZd_DBr05q/s400/IMG_6908.JPG" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVe7vSTVFqKwAVm2t2O-16YedpuUrZSlpFO_rIgNk0uSl4YAYqkLG6zcUVRybFo6FMqAcETZG98lPUGmv5RqxpyxOIt7jS9pzmLBl0lPiKtK1pKSJMGflddqLV9VPj7yqVDZQk_WHUo8-5/s1600/IMG_0175.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVe7vSTVFqKwAVm2t2O-16YedpuUrZSlpFO_rIgNk0uSl4YAYqkLG6zcUVRybFo6FMqAcETZG98lPUGmv5RqxpyxOIt7jS9pzmLBl0lPiKtK1pKSJMGflddqLV9VPj7yqVDZQk_WHUo8-5/s400/IMG_0175.JPG" width="400" /></a><br />
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Garden after partial weed removal:<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhut3v0Bo3oGJwkDGGJ-ZEinqJPNOfVHP7RdkVSo0s7Z_GP8YHuSsbUSPD7bFtqZulap9MwghCcwUTiHcv_HG1EDXXIEMFlz_41GRhyphenhyphenbVEY5zkqUdatCyYZoa8M1ucLWN0ai5pohXvpflRZ/s1600/IMG_6916.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhut3v0Bo3oGJwkDGGJ-ZEinqJPNOfVHP7RdkVSo0s7Z_GP8YHuSsbUSPD7bFtqZulap9MwghCcwUTiHcv_HG1EDXXIEMFlz_41GRhyphenhyphenbVEY5zkqUdatCyYZoa8M1ucLWN0ai5pohXvpflRZ/s400/IMG_6916.JPG" width="400" /></a><br />
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Thank you for your support!<br />
- Glenn & Evan Starnes, members of RWCEGRollingwood Community Education Gardenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17227976291278184346noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2114507387077566696.post-33012742481651021262014-11-28T15:20:00.001-08:002014-11-28T19:21:01.269-08:00Thankful for RWCEG Garden Bed Re-build and Winter Greens!Thank you to the RWCEG community for support of the recent garden bed re-build and wicking system project! Although not quite done, bed-1 at RWCEG is now functional for growing winter greens! About three weeks ago, the wicking system passed functional testing, and revitalized soil was finally added. Once the square-foot markers were added, my kids started planting on November 9th. Since then, the garden appears to have survived a few freezing nights, and the nearly 5 inches of rain recently received. Per readings from the "monitoring tube", the wicking system appears to be water tight and yet draining off excess rain water properly. We had our first salad green harvest on Thanksgiving Day, so we truly have something to be thankful for!<br />
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What's next? Although the bed is functional to grow plants, a few construction details remain. The back trellis needs to be rebuilt, and a few block-holes need to be back filled. The arch tubes were recently installed to hold up plastic sheeting to effectively create a green house on very cold days. A full document detailing construction history has yet to be created.<br />
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Happy Thanksgiving RWCEG! Enjoy the pictures below.<br />
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-Glenn Starnes<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhM-qr9YN3E29Xpo_MXWTp8L-LML0M0bKv0bkSNSzXX9kYO70dvuupF2sy2gQy83YibKL-NdTa2X_dJvct_e7G4o-piDxcc2-p1JENwOnO9jemahjN0aqBThytRCOCmje6KBNwtwMhkNp7/s1600/CIMG0010.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhM-qr9YN3E29Xpo_MXWTp8L-LML0M0bKv0bkSNSzXX9kYO70dvuupF2sy2gQy83YibKL-NdTa2X_dJvct_e7G4o-piDxcc2-p1JENwOnO9jemahjN0aqBThytRCOCmje6KBNwtwMhkNp7/s1600/CIMG0010.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a><br />
Revitalized Soil being added to garden bed by RWCEG helpers (Many others not shown also helped).<br />
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Gina and Evan planting in newly re-built bed-1 at RWCEG.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeOTEgAxobL54PDlgDX1Gt-2pFqLZq1O3cnQa8puxj_M2exTJLDa1d2gAJTd7invsebfeJaZ4dw58jVydk8yKdG-7y4NbS9tW-_1g5xn6QjPOPogJQ4Qjmbetr2cDZ9ytMRJdGjVJT0dy7/s1600/CIMG0002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeOTEgAxobL54PDlgDX1Gt-2pFqLZq1O3cnQa8puxj_M2exTJLDa1d2gAJTd7invsebfeJaZ4dw58jVydk8yKdG-7y4NbS9tW-_1g5xn6QjPOPogJQ4Qjmbetr2cDZ9ytMRJdGjVJT0dy7/s1600/CIMG0002.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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Arch tubes and plastic sheeting turn bed into a Green House on cold days.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXqToTP6fgTuGPIhsUnA5UioyRh3rOv35PBQAyi7sbkVODSZsIGv4pUaNCfwV3WOGG_0IkLcA4kspWEBmQTYwSm-itz4F_wOgE353zUWts_SGH-Oec-eIFza72lAaX8CdFM6x6h3O-N-Jr/s1600/RB10016+(13).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXqToTP6fgTuGPIhsUnA5UioyRh3rOv35PBQAyi7sbkVODSZsIGv4pUaNCfwV3WOGG_0IkLcA4kspWEBmQTYwSm-itz4F_wOgE353zUWts_SGH-Oec-eIFza72lAaX8CdFM6x6h3O-N-Jr/s1600/RB10016+(13).JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Monitoring tube measures water level of wicking reservoir.</span></td></tr>
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Evan checking on garden and harvesting for Thanksgiving.<br />
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<br />Rollingwood Community Education Gardenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17227976291278184346noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2114507387077566696.post-54808436228274882842014-10-23T20:44:00.001-07:002014-10-23T21:09:11.305-07:00RWCEG Wicking Bed ProjectRollingwood community, come join us at the RWCEG garden this Saturday, October 25 to participate in our Wicking Garden Bed Project!<br />
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Recently, garden bed 1 has been rebuilt with cinder blocks. The next step in the project is to install the wicking system. We need volunteers to help cart gravel from the RW City Hall parking lot to the RWCEG garden. At 9:30 am, a team with two trucks will meet at the RW City Hall parking lot to go to Daniel Stone Company (12015 W Hwy 290 near Nutty Brown Cafe) to purchase smooth river rock and pebbles. We will be back by noon. We would appreciate volunteers to help cart the river rock from the parking lot to the garden. Please bring buckets, hand carts, wheel barrels, and shovels if you have any of these resources to help cart these stones.<br />
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We hope this will also be an educational experience to help people learn about the gardening advantages and construction details of a wicking bed.</div>
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Contact Glenn Starnes at glenn_starnes@yahoo.com for additional information or questions.<br />
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Evan next to re-built bed 1 cinder block wall.</div>
Rollingwood Community Education Gardenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17227976291278184346noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2114507387077566696.post-143325803074225172014-09-11T10:43:00.000-07:002014-09-11T10:43:05.433-07:00Important Fall Planting meeting- Sunday, Sept. 14 5:30 pm in the garden<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Summer's over, Fall's coming, and we need to get crackin' in the garden! <span style="text-align: center;">There are lots of exciting projects on the horizon.</span></div>
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<b>Wicking system installation and renovation of Bed #1</b></div>
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<b>Chimney Swift signage and beautification</b></div>
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<b>Food Forest experiments- </b></div>
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<b>How to make root beer from a root beer tree? </b></div>
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<b>Sweet potato harvest</b></div>
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<b>Eco-trail signage</b></div>
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<b>Food forest how to video production help</b></div>
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<b>Fall Planting</b></div>
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We miss you and REALLY need your participation to make the </div>
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COMMUNITY ASPECT of this garden WORK.</div>
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Please mark your calenders and join us- Thanks! </div>
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<b>IMPORTANT <span class="il" style="background: rgb(255, 255, 204);">RWCEG</span> steering committee meeting-Sunday, Sept. 14th 5:30pm at garden</b></div>
verokolthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01887789059474584926noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2114507387077566696.post-84378933677233784962014-06-30T14:13:00.000-07:002014-07-01T00:06:25.800-07:00Another wonderful growing season<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsPoeDCgIfxDCtCJq1yygQTH6oM9MPvrPyyDGK0zn3tZUjn3cneYg-2IM4cpsMUkcGL73jOzd9ZYaZup__OeEj2VTTaJ04iO_6eSaNliJz8cLk4VCxgCt_V4cMyHkeupCtMm6vOvuzOQ/s1600/IMG_6085.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsPoeDCgIfxDCtCJq1yygQTH6oM9MPvrPyyDGK0zn3tZUjn3cneYg-2IM4cpsMUkcGL73jOzd9ZYaZup__OeEj2VTTaJ04iO_6eSaNliJz8cLk4VCxgCt_V4cMyHkeupCtMm6vOvuzOQ/s1600/IMG_6085.jpg" height="640" title="" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Aloha Jeff, we will miss you!</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Thank you for another wonderful growing season! It was a blast creating the food forest together in the spring and screening Farm City-State this summer. As we approach July, the garden goes into summer lock-down where we only water what is thriving or about to produce in order to save our precious reserves for the fall. Since this summer has been so wet, it's less of a concern, but the humidity and heat are making up for it, and I look forward to going dormant till the end of August.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">For those that choose to continue gardening, more power! Just remember to lock the gate, shut off the water and report any suspicious behavior to "US" and the Rollingwood police.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I will leave you with a remarkable manifesto on food by Wendell Berry</span></div>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.ecoliteracy.org/essays/pleasures-eating">http://www.ecoliteracy.org/essays/pleasures-eating</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Have a BEAUTIFUL SUMMER and 4th of JULY!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">FYI- Next steering committee meeting will be held Sunday, Sept. 7th, 3pm at the garden</span></div>
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verokolthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01887789059474584926noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2114507387077566696.post-23344557250365308242014-05-30T15:35:00.000-07:002014-06-03T11:08:03.965-07:00Thank you RWC dinner and film screening- Sat. June 14th 7-9:30pmThe garden would like to thank the Rollingwood Women's Club for all their support, most recently with the funding of the food forests. We planted four of them along the walking trail to the main garden and they are bursting with fruit trees; Grapefruit, Pear, Peach, Persimmon, Pomegranate, Locquat, Fig and all kinds of companion and pollinator plants to help maintain and enrich the soil and encourage bees and butterfly's to visit. One of the things we planted early spring was potatoes, lots of them, and they are almost ready to harvest. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR8EHpPTD9vqdUjsGsfQsAd7qO2ESyAnM-sFWMrAePiHIZiW68AnQQPmTt2ln8Lwc85V4Q17VLJM7cnJkkeKflDjTOpWnDE4OLaAlD0CVVmJcSZA6OHbufNvtho2E11SOBOUaneZMxzg/s1600/photo+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR8EHpPTD9vqdUjsGsfQsAd7qO2ESyAnM-sFWMrAePiHIZiW68AnQQPmTt2ln8Lwc85V4Q17VLJM7cnJkkeKflDjTOpWnDE4OLaAlD0CVVmJcSZA6OHbufNvtho2E11SOBOUaneZMxzg/s1600/photo+1.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmXVd2Y1va5k_4zEOMDB24DyCM7_xXPqZZpHbfnCNwNMRDRPKqXQLcTgKTnbG_rtuKzg_bEDpQMq8S0rigk6yXajAKIVng8itX3fi8Nx7dgKnTfmwwR9_jAaKmaLRgWI3KrDN0YvCrAQ/s1600/photo+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmXVd2Y1va5k_4zEOMDB24DyCM7_xXPqZZpHbfnCNwNMRDRPKqXQLcTgKTnbG_rtuKzg_bEDpQMq8S0rigk6yXajAKIVng8itX3fi8Nx7dgKnTfmwwR9_jAaKmaLRgWI3KrDN0YvCrAQ/s1600/photo+2.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a><br />
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Come visit the forests, eat some Au Gratin and watch a documentary about the Austin food movement, </div>
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<a href="http://www.farmcitystate.com/">Farm-City, State</a><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Saturday, June 14th 7-9:30pm at the Pavilion next to Rollingwood City Hall.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;">Feel free to bring family and friends, a dish and beverage of your choice.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;">Happy Summer!</span><br />
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<br />verokolthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01887789059474584926noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2114507387077566696.post-30902915083472150152014-04-02T06:55:00.003-07:002014-04-02T06:57:00.921-07:00Evan's famous, food forest update and garden meeting this Sunday!<br />
After a week or two of glorious of spring, looks like summer is rearing her gnarly little head. Temps are up and so is the humidity, good thing the garden beds are full of tomatoes and ready for whatever hell she has to bring this season, although I hear we may be getting El Nino conditions, which means RAIN!<br />
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The food forests are a smashing success. We are seeing blooms on almost all the fruit trees and having great fun watching our potatoes and asparagus popping up. There's lots of room now to practice experimental plantings in these new beds, so please feel free to get involved.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Our next steering committee meeting is this Sunday, April 6th 3pm at the garden.</b></span><br />
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We have some exciting news that just came in. Karen Knight's dear friend, Jennifer Wolfe, visited the garden last summer and had the privilege of a tour led by our garden mascot, Evan Starnes. If you haven't had a tour by Evan, you will see in Jen's article what you're missing. He is fondly know as the "INFORMATION POLLINATOR" and we are so happy to have his passion and energy in the garden.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0lSp1qkJQIplsBGZuoGvO8jMaDQI_3Y4uyK7DLHLAJDM6ZYK4YY5uqn8EIi1BrA4ImAoRFvfGYLD-DXmn3EPh5Ol9tsAvWq-AjdUI4oF2SYFVmId0u-sbiGy6XcPoVL2HnSN5r_VuEg/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-04-02+at+8.48.55+AM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0lSp1qkJQIplsBGZuoGvO8jMaDQI_3Y4uyK7DLHLAJDM6ZYK4YY5uqn8EIi1BrA4ImAoRFvfGYLD-DXmn3EPh5Ol9tsAvWq-AjdUI4oF2SYFVmId0u-sbiGy6XcPoVL2HnSN5r_VuEg/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-04-02+at+8.48.55+AM.jpg" height="290" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://womenwritingjacksonville.com/2014/03/31/whats-your-passion/">Here's a link to the full article.</a><br />
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Thanks Jen, Evan and Everyone who participates and supports RWCEG!verokolthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01887789059474584926noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2114507387077566696.post-32137213416988656872014-01-31T06:07:00.000-08:002014-01-31T06:09:24.654-08:00The planting of the FOOD FOREST begins- Saturday, Feb.1st 9am-4pmFirst off, I want to thank Barry, Brett, Don, Allen, Mike, Glen, Evan, Calvin, Ray, Nolan, Jeff, the Boyscouts, Angelica, Matthew, Kirby, Taelor and Matthew for coming out last Saturday and hauling 22 cubic yards of soil from the city parking lot to the garden. Thank you <a href="http://www.geogrowers.net/">GEOGROWERS</a>!<br />
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NO SMALL FEAT for so few. For those that couldn't make it, you missed an incredible core workout!<br />
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Paul Galvan and his camera crew got WAY too many shots of us hauling dirt, but this Saturday is gonna be different. <span style="font-size: large;">This Saturday, we're gonna PLANT! </span> The video crew will be back, so <b>we need the ENTIRE COMMUNITY</b> to come out and represent our fair city. <b>We'll be working from 9am to 4pm</b>, so even if you only have an hour or two, come by and support this amazing project.<br />
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Kirby Fry and his permaculture team will be teaching us about the wonderful world of <a href="http://soulflowerfarm.blogspot.com/2012/11/dynamic-accumulators.html">Dynamic Accumulators</a>, <a href="http://www.nwf.org/news-and-magazines/national-wildlife/gardening/archives/2010/native-plants-for-pollinators.aspx">Pollinators</a>, <a href="http://www.austinprogressivecalendar.com/permaculture-tip/farmers-trees">Farmer's Trees</a>, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1uZ0C4HInIE">Cover Crops</a> and <a href="http://www.homegrowntexas.com/issues/JulAug05/index.html">Guilds</a>.<br />
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Sorry, no photos of the beds and last weeks work day, (too busy hauling dirt!), but I'll add a little video from Geoff Lawton, a founder of the Permaculture movement. This inspired me to want to build a <a href="http://www.austineconetwork.com/blog/so-what-food-forest-anyway">Food Forest</a>.<br />
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<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzTHjlueqFI">The Greening of the Desert</a><br />
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<br />verokolthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01887789059474584926noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2114507387077566696.post-40557584113839069492014-01-12T20:46:00.001-08:002014-01-12T20:49:28.284-08:00The FOOD FOREST is coming! WE NEED YOUR HELP Sat. Jan 25thHello and Happy New Year!<br />
2014 is already turning out to be a good one. The Rollingwood Women's Club has generously donated funds towards the building of 4 food forest planting beds along the north perimeter of the trail between the playground and garden.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYaA6CPASJ9_ua4U0Mor4QZJP0Xig1SbcDU5M0JvU4DN6R_eLvMu4lUVGxmU8qJxrKBOiQSn7_j6_cJpiWybnm0FxMplqvhYiSXTYsKb3nSnI6kHua8TmlkMK5plTzptX1VUdhLi5rtw/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-01-12+at+2.50.03+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYaA6CPASJ9_ua4U0Mor4QZJP0Xig1SbcDU5M0JvU4DN6R_eLvMu4lUVGxmU8qJxrKBOiQSn7_j6_cJpiWybnm0FxMplqvhYiSXTYsKb3nSnI6kHua8TmlkMK5plTzptX1VUdhLi5rtw/s400/Screen+Shot+2014-01-12+at+2.50.03+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-size: large;">THANKS RWC!</span></div>
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A food forest mimics the natural, self-nurturing cycles of a native forest where the bigger trees provide a shade canopy and deciduous matter that protects and fertilizes smaller trees, bushes, vines and ground cover below. Our design will provided fruits, nuts, berries and herbs to the neighborhood!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBBLVRssM0pP380f4qpfpunr9TIaK8ZyTk6jZpVSm7Q5MQbobzshvTWzy_UHYyPCg3nqc-P2r9T5rFBlt6L44IWyMmJE2_nTpuq5ansvx3L3ltW0jvah_xcEOuIace2b1zEiwVcK982A/s1600/food_forest_layers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="255" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBBLVRssM0pP380f4qpfpunr9TIaK8ZyTk6jZpVSm7Q5MQbobzshvTWzy_UHYyPCg3nqc-P2r9T5rFBlt6L44IWyMmJE2_nTpuq5ansvx3L3ltW0jvah_xcEOuIace2b1zEiwVcK982A/s400/food_forest_layers.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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It's an opportunity for us to try a different type of gardening, one that, once established, can survive with very little human intervention and provide really interesting results. We will be working with our permaculture design expert, <a href="http://www.austinperm.com/teachers-consultants-speakers/">Kirby Fry</a>, of Southern Exposure. Kirby helped us build the garden and he is a powerhouse in the Central Texas permaculture world.<br />
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Our first of two workdays will be <b>SATURDAY, Jan. 25th starting at 9:00am</b>, second work day (if needed) will be the following <b>SATURDAY, Feb.1st.</b> <br />
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<b>JOIN IN</b>, it's a great way to connect to the community and your family and <b>WE NEED YOUR ELBOW GREASE! </b> We'll be hauling lots of dirt from the city's parking lot to the garden beds, bring a shovel, rake and wheelbarrow if you have it. I can give teenagers community service hours, so get them off the screens and into nature!<br />
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<b>LOOK YOUR BEST</b>, because <a href="http://galvancreative.com/film-services">Galvan Creative</a> will be videotaping the event as a possible documentary on "How to build a Food Forest".<br />
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Here's a <a href="https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B3PuBgkDoQ9jZXJFLUZXR3djZHM/edit">PLANT LIST</a> we're using provided by <a href="http://www.oneworldpermaculture.com/about.html">Caroline Riley</a>, Austin Permaculture Guild teacher.<br />
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We hope you'll come out and be a part of the next phase of the Rollingwood Community Education Garden!<br />
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<br />verokolthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01887789059474584926noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2114507387077566696.post-42505051845032545912013-10-30T08:41:00.000-07:002013-10-30T23:49:11.220-07:00Cross-pollination Potluck!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO_XyfsEG-0PvxkPMTL-SwOXGanNm6q4wHN0hdynWt_MmD-_mr6i8UWzsv4qqaS_fM4MsTV9Q01yFFJmGxegUWQjZ79JiDYo1CEDnzcM6bsVO04dTmNBv2PcblX1NepKdaP7IhxE8qpA/s1600/pollenbee.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO_XyfsEG-0PvxkPMTL-SwOXGanNm6q4wHN0hdynWt_MmD-_mr6i8UWzsv4qqaS_fM4MsTV9Q01yFFJmGxegUWQjZ79JiDYo1CEDnzcM6bsVO04dTmNBv2PcblX1NepKdaP7IhxE8qpA/s400/pollenbee.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Lots of excitement in and out of the garden these days. We have new families participating in the garden and am meeting lots of like-minded friends in the greater Austin community through a permaculture design course I'm taking.<br />
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So, I thought it might be nice to bring these two groups together for an informal gathering at my house this <b>SUNDAY, Nov. 3rd @ 5-8pm 2808 Pickwick Lane (78746)</b><br />
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The Rollingwood Community Garden will be open prior to potluck from 3-5pm. Hoping you'll get a chance to check it out before heading over to my house.<br />
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I'll have beer/wine, pumpkin soup and bread. Bring whatever else you feel!<br />
Cheers<br />
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<br />verokolthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01887789059474584926noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2114507387077566696.post-25129333729510853592013-10-25T20:37:00.000-07:002013-10-26T09:22:04.863-07:00Early Fall Harvest<h4>
<b>Fall Planting and Harvesting</b></h4>
It has been wonderful being involved with the autumn planting at RWCEG. Evan and I had planted part of Bed 1 right around the Autumnal Equinox (Sept 23) when my parents from Phoenix, AZ were visiting. My mother has been an avid gardener for years and my father has taken his hand to growing citrus trees in the past few years, so they were rather interested in helping us with new planting. To our amazement most of our plants have thrived, especially the Mustard Greens to date. The mild weather and abundant rain fall have been such a blessing for the garden. Our mustard greens have grown so much that we have already reaped our first major harvest about month after planting! Below is a picture of Evan next to some of the plants and a Red Giant Mustard Green leaf that he harvested. After our harvest, we ate them with hamburger, and it really added a lot of spicy flavor!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG7g-yhcwllCvQGpCPm-lVorAjdJvKG5_n7NPYzwzsW8DWN2vUMyUzG_Ucw7ST_9udti5eP-2bezXFhQvljuqZl2V2vKuh4MT3sOffO_bgzo4B_f0lh2x9I91aX5xsPlChBScgWHC_YyIL/s1600/CIMG0007.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG7g-yhcwllCvQGpCPm-lVorAjdJvKG5_n7NPYzwzsW8DWN2vUMyUzG_Ucw7ST_9udti5eP-2bezXFhQvljuqZl2V2vKuh4MT3sOffO_bgzo4B_f0lh2x9I91aX5xsPlChBScgWHC_YyIL/s400/CIMG0007.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Evan admiring the crops he planted in Bed 1</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7oFcV5pWjqW8MRTCguYTQMtgzyyOjZXJ3t7Jaes8svZFeO91sZrugO3O84eqgoex88VHoOG_4FTZPFrZDtYnLtb5yHkBF_32FegpT6ZjMtXwmwr7icb1kJiWLsn9YbGRAcqOMAYKgRmtX/s1600/CIMG0010.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7oFcV5pWjqW8MRTCguYTQMtgzyyOjZXJ3t7Jaes8svZFeO91sZrugO3O84eqgoex88VHoOG_4FTZPFrZDtYnLtb5yHkBF_32FegpT6ZjMtXwmwr7icb1kJiWLsn9YbGRAcqOMAYKgRmtX/s400/CIMG0010.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Evan excited about harvesting mustard greens.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWSA3_qNBphUkA_Io3gq8Tn47x3yxjAzx0fI8hDjMGjF6CFugUDiJrXvzjC7d-LRZr_nlyWJ-WAt_TqfNVhsrI7ol5Cg94Eal7StPetylrgHHTlO4Xim6DCAEbLO8y92LH_7174mm7S4hS/s1600/CIMG0019.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWSA3_qNBphUkA_Io3gq8Tn47x3yxjAzx0fI8hDjMGjF6CFugUDiJrXvzjC7d-LRZr_nlyWJ-WAt_TqfNVhsrI7ol5Cg94Eal7StPetylrgHHTlO4Xim6DCAEbLO8y92LH_7174mm7S4hS/s400/CIMG0019.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Red Giant Mustard Green leaf harvested by Evan</td></tr>
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<h4>
<b>Is It Snowing at RWCEG?</b></h4>
Unfortunately, there have been a few problems discovered at the garden. The Southwest corner of Bed 1 has a huge ant mound. The ants do not appear to be hurting the plants, but they are a nuisance to us gardeners. We have treated the corner of the bed and along the base with the ant insecticide, Andro. I believe this has reduced the ants, but they are still there.<br />
Also, despite the fact many of the plants have grown several large healthy leaves, many of them are riddled with small holes. Upon close inspection during day and night time hours, several small green and black/yellow caterpillars have been discovered to be the culprit. They are usually found on the underneath side of the leaves. We have been diligent to squash them as they are found, but we know this can be quite a battle. As a result, infected plants in both Beds 1 and 2 have been dusted with Bt powder. (See end of blog for details of Bt). Since the Bt insecticide used is a white powder, the treated plants appear to have "snow" on them as shown in the picture below. So far Bed 3 does not appear to have a problem but a close eye should be kept on it.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqvrYIrCqldfMMGI1YUl9Y4hVniqbedjLiwPFH_DY2fqpJBvG53a9rFdB6DGx4v9yfXQlGi5v4B7RpwQSVaRELmNRkDlCLi8S3aIls-DM77uXSOtdQtjEahyphenhyphenHTPDY30AQHe9tMRP9NgN0S/s1600/CIMG0016.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqvrYIrCqldfMMGI1YUl9Y4hVniqbedjLiwPFH_DY2fqpJBvG53a9rFdB6DGx4v9yfXQlGi5v4B7RpwQSVaRELmNRkDlCLi8S3aIls-DM77uXSOtdQtjEahyphenhyphenHTPDY30AQHe9tMRP9NgN0S/s400/CIMG0016.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Snow? No! Beds 1 and 2 have been dusted with BT due to hungry caterpillars.</td></tr>
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<span id="goog_487690856"></span><span id="goog_487690857"></span><br />
Hope to see more garden members at RWCEG at our new community time: Sundays 3-5 pm. The place really comes to life when we have the whole community there at the same time.<br />
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A few details about "BT" for those interested:<br />
<ul style="background-color: #ded8cc; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 21px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 20px;">
<li style="background-image: url(http://www.ext.colostate.edu/images/template_arrow_sm.gif); background-position: 18px 3px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; list-style-image: none; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 45px 0px 35px;"><em>Bacillus thuringiensis</em> (Bt) is a naturally occurring bacterial disease of insects. These bacteria are the active ingredient in some insecticides.</li>
<li style="background-image: url(http://www.ext.colostate.edu/images/template_arrow_sm.gif); background-position: 18px 3px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; list-style-image: none; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 45px 0px 35px;">Bt insecticides are most commonly used against some leaf- and needle-feeding caterpillars. Recently, strains have been produced that affect certain fly larvae, such as mosquitoes, and larvae of leaf beetles.</li>
<li style="background-image: url(http://www.ext.colostate.edu/images/template_arrow_sm.gif); background-position: 18px 3px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; list-style-image: none; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 45px 0px 35px;">Bt is considered safe to people and nontarget species, such as wildlife. Some formulations can be used on essentially all food Crops.</li>
</ul>
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- Glenn & Evan Starnes 10/25/2013Rollingwood Community Education Gardenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17227976291278184346noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2114507387077566696.post-9358115098620694722013-10-16T10:18:00.000-07:002013-10-16T10:18:25.689-07:00New Garden Gathering time- SUNDAYS 3-5pmHello Garden Folk,<br />
We have planted most of the beds just in time for this incredible rain. AND decided to change our meet time on the weekends to SUNDAY 3-5pm to hopefully allow more friends and families to come by, learn and get involved in our little green slice of paradise.<br />
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Stop by this Sunday, Oct.20th @ 3-5pm (as always, weather permitting :)<br />
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<br />verokolthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01887789059474584926noreply@blogger.com3