avant-gardening

Soil Simplified:
Why You Should Care About the Soil Food Web

by CassandraTruax

in avant-gardening

The Texas Transfarmers of Austin, Texas, recently had a meetup at Third Coast Horticulture Supplies.  At the meetup, Shawn Bishop, the owner, passed around this easy to understand essay on the importance of soil microbiology.  With his permission, I’ve reproduced it here. Soil Simplified: An Introduction to Your Garden’s Microbial Life Plants Relationship With Microbes [...]

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Why I Like the Idea of Growing Mushrooms

by CassandraTruax

in avant-gardening

Growing mushrooms intrigues me.  I don’t know why.  I’m not a big mushroom fan.  I eat them, but don’t go out of my way to obtain or eat them.  I don’t hunt my own. Growing Mushrooms Reason 1 I think what I like about the idea of growing mushrooms is that they are pretty much [...]

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Texas Strawberries

by CassandraTruax

in avant-gardening

I replanted my parents’ front flower bed because over time, the sun-loving plants that were there got shaded out.  It was full of lantana, pink skullcap, and mealy blue sage.  Watch the short video and see what I planted. Both the Salvia coccinea and Ruellia are seed spitters and spread quickly.  I chose these because [...]

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How to Start Seed Outside in December

by CassandraTruax

in avant-gardening, regional

I was up in Austin, TX, visiting my friend, Don Z’boray and he showed me chili seedlings that were up and going already here in January.  He took me around his garden and he’s got trays and trays of seedlings germinating on the ground. What he does is set up the standard greenhouse for the [...]

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Worm Towers

by CassandraTruax

in avant-gardening, compost

Worm Towers in the Organic Garden Add a Worm Feeding Site and Watch Your Organic Garden Thrive Worm towers add worm castings to your garden without a bin. By supplying the proper habitat in your garden, you can put worms to work right in your garden. The worms will feed and grow and enrich you [...]

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Bale Planting For Gardens

by CassandraTruax

in avant-gardening

Way Easy, Way Cool Straw Bale Planting A super quick and super easy way to start a garden is straw bale planting. In many areas, straw bales are readily available and quite inexpensive. “Waste” bales are perfect for gardening, that is those that have spoiled due to exposure to the elements. Not only that, but once [...]

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Straw Bale Garden

by CassandraTruax

in avant-gardening

a quick and easy starter garden A straw bale garden is an inexpensive, flexible, and easy way to create a raised bed. Arrange the bales to form the perimeter of the garden. Fill with a great soil mix and voila, instant garden. Additionally, you can plant in the bales creating even more garden space. At [...]

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