By Sherri McShane, Bexar County Master Gardener The Culinary Garden at the San Antonio Botanical Garden (SABOT) is truly a magical place. Within this lovely space there is a plant which is the number one curiosity sparker for the many people who visit. The plant? The Texas Buttonbush! With its distinctive look of small round pincushions, the Texas Buttonbush attracts …
Growing Cucumbers
Michelle Hobbs, Bexar County Master Gardener One of things I like most about gardening is sharing with friends and family. Last summer I gave a friend several cucumbers which she peeled, added a little salt, olive oil and balsamic vinegar served them to her husband who promptly announced, “I don’t know what type of cucumbers these are, but you need …
This month in the Vegetable Garden: February
In February, the nurseries start selling tomatoes; the larger tomatoes earlier in the month, “cherry” tomatoes (Ruby Crush, BHN968) later in the month. The 4” tomatoes can be potted up into 1-gallon containers but it’s too early to plant tomatoes in the ground. As we dream about spring vegetable gardens; consider David Rodriguez’s 90% guidelines. The idea is, following these …
Compost, Fertilizer, More Fertilizer and… What’s Mulch?
by Bill Swantner, Bexar County Master Gardener It’s almost Spring garden time and there will be a lot of talk about compost, fertilizer, and mulch. What is the difference? Compost is a soil amendment. Good soil is 25% air, 25% water, 45% mineral (sand, silt, clay) and 5% organic material (decomposed plants & animals). The soil in Bexar County is …
Pruning Landscape Roses
by Janice Tapp, Bexar County Master Gardener The olfactory and visual rewards of cultivating roses are some of the many benefits reaped from the labor of love in cultivating the many varieties of roses. Roses need pruning to rejuvenate the plant and to promote health and blooms. Once a gardener engages in rose cultivating, it is beneficial to learn about …
New Year in the Garden
by Melody Stramer, Bexar County Master Gardener After being confined to our homes for so long, some of us may feel we are in a rut. Here are some ideas to consider at this time of planning for the new garden year, plus some encouragement to think outside the box and expand our perspectives. First, take a leisurely walk around …
Frosts, Freezes, and Hard Freezes
by Bill Swantner, Bexar County Master Gardener Last month, the nighttime temperature was officially registered at 28oF (my south Texas thermometer doesn’t go below 50o). When the temperature gets this cold, the weather forecasters spoke of the “Three P’s”: plants, pets, and pipes. How does this coldest weather affect plants and at what temperature do I need to do something …
January in the Vegetable Garden
By the BCMG Vegetable Gardening Advance Training Team When the holidays are over, the temperatures are colder, and the nights seem longer. For some, it’s hot chocolate and dreaming of warmer days. But, for the serious vegetable gardener, January’s garden is full of cold weather crops. David Rodriguez, Bexar County AgriLife Extension Horticulturist, often says, the cold weather crops are …
What’s Wrong with my Turfgrass?
by Bill Swantner, Bexar County Master Gardener There must be a dozen types of grasses grown as “lawn grass” in the state of Texas – but Texas is a big state. Along the coast of Texas, the turfgrass must be able to grow in sandy soil with a high salt content; in far west Texas the temperatures can be blistering …
Swanflower
by Deva Brown, Bexar County Master Gardener I was watching the black pipevine butterflies in my yard, which were flitting around and occasionally landing briefly, but persistently, in one area. Not seeing any flowers there, I wandered over. On closer inspection, I saw the strangest plant I had ever seen. The whole plant was about 5-inches tall, with this weird …