ECGDallas Weblog

Construction of the rain garden has begun! Dr. Dotty Woodson, our Extension Water Education Specialist, is in the process of installing TWO rain gardens in the ECG @ Dallas. A rain garden is an area designed for the purpose of capturing excess rain water, and utilizing it in a fashion where we can grow more water loving plants. It is a method of water conservation as well as a natural approach to reducing runoff (which may carry unwanted chemicals) to our storm waters. We have had the work crew from the Collin County Sheriff's Department helping us to construct these novel gardens. With their help, we hope to make this effort into a learning experience for all people. It will be use to demonstrate that a rain garden can be put into your yard and it is a beautiful thing!

One of many challenges that we faced in the Education Community Gardens at Dallas are varmints. These are either rabbits or rats. Lately I am thinking that these sorts of damage are done by rats (cotton rats to be specific). Check out the November issue of Seedling Report to get an update on the rats that we have come across in the ECG@Dallas. So what can be done? We have had some success with cages, fences and netting. Stay tuned as we battle these varmints and keep you update on the successes and failures.

A quarter of 2008 is almost done. Finally there is some updates to the factsheets on plant problems. Check out sickplants.tamu.edu for these factsheets. They include items on seedling diseases (damping off) and the live oak leaf drop situation, as well as a spanish translation of the Cedar-Apple rust factsheet. Also, do not forget to check out the educationcommunitygardens.org website for the various 3rd saturday program that is being presented. Next one up is "Creating rain gardens" with Dr. Fouad Jaber (Extension Stormwater Water Specialist).

This morning, my son and I led a disease safari as a part of the 3rd Saturday education program. We saw a few diseases in the garden. This is quite surprising as we have had moist conditions as well as relatively warm temperatures. Participants did get to see some squash wilting. Unfortunately (or fortunately), not due to bacterial wilt but due to insect problems (squash borers). There were a few tomatoes which were exhibiting blossom end rot, a problem due to nutritional imbalance. There was powdery mildew on summer squash, zucchini, gourd plants. And on the grape, just a little "tar spot". Interestingly, quite a few tomato plants were also exhibiting abnormal growth of new plant tissue (also known as epinasty). I am not entirely sure why this is happening, I don't think its due to herbicides though. It is probably a response to fertility and the high fluctuation in temperature we had in the last few weeks (Just a guess!). In all, the safari proceeded on a day that was rather pleasant. Don't miss the next 3rd Saturday program. We are taking a break in July and will continue in August with Ms. Kim Schofield talking about good and bad bugs.

We have our new schedule for 2009! Our first lecture is Saturday, January 17 at 9:00 AM. Dr. Greg Church, Ph.D, Collin County Extention Agent - Horticulture, will be lecturing on Fruit Tree Care (Planting, Pruning, Harvest) with a demonstration in the Education Community Garden.

Here is our schedule for 2009: (All sessions take place the 3rd Saturday of each month)

January Fruit Tree Care (Planting, Pruning, Harvest) - Greg Church, Ph.D., Collin County Extension Agent - Horticulture

February Rainwater Harvesting

March Wildlife in the Garden (Butterfly Garden, Bee Keepers, Eco-Friendly Wildlife Management)

April Soil Amendments and Fertilizing

May Drought Damage Prevention and Summer Care of Turf

June Entomology - Life Cycles of Garden Pest

July Making the Most of Heat in Vegetable Gardens

August Seed Starting and Planning for Fall Gardens

September Backyard Composting

October Urban Tree Selection, Planting and Care

November Irrigation Scheduling

December Holiday Get-Together

We hope to see you this Saturday!

Very exciting plans - Brandon and Susan Pollard are meeting with Fouad and me this morning to discuss installing a hive here at the ECG. This is a wonderful opportunity for us to expand our community involvement as well as enhance our own diverse mini-ecology here in our garden.

The Texas Honeybee Guild currently works with the Texas Discovery Gardens , Lake Highlands Community Garden , and the CommunityGardens of Oak Cliff to create bee sanctuaries as teaching centers for children and adults alike. They sell the honey produced by these community hives at the Dallas Farmers Market on the weekends; during the week, they make site visits to their hives to asses and monitor the bees.

The hives will not be placed in an area that might conflict with our sensitive gardeners. I am really looking forward to this amazing opportunity!

Here is their website http://www.texashoneybeeguild.org/

Hi All!

I am extremely impatient for this winter to end. My hands are becoming very itchy - I need some quality time with my garden. Despite the fact that I "should" know better, I still want to start my seedlings for my spring garden at home. There are several vegetables that can be started this time of year indoors, but I have a bad habit of expecting too much this early in the year.

Here is a chart of the average last dates for freezes in Texas

This chart is intended to help you plan when to begin your seeds based on the information provided by the seed company. Often, they suggest that you start your seeds indoors between 8 and 12 weeks before the last average freeze date (obviously - depending on the particular vegetable you are planning).

Here is a link to a useful article on starting seedlings at home

http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/extension/ornamentals/seedlings/seedlings.html

I am determined to grow sugar snap peas this year. Wish me luck!

Barbara