Vol 51 Issue 1

Austin Gardener
January 2014
Page 1
Published monthly by The Garden Club of Austin
Volume 51 Issue 1
http://www.thegardenclubofaustin.org/
January Program
Highly Recommended:
25 Favorites
The January 23 program promises to be one of
our best and will focus on 5 gardeners and 25 of
their favorite plants. A team of five of our members
will each present five plants they grow and
recommend that you give a try in your garden. Lois
Koho, Joe Yura, Molly Clark, Stephen Trellue and
Laura Holland will present:
“Highly Recommended: 25 Favorites,”
and there will definitely be something for everyone
–from grasses to exotic fruit.
Accompanying this plant “show and tell”
extravaganza will be a study guide, a plant display
and a raffle. Don’t miss this special program. You
will get ideas for plants you want to add to your
landscape as well as learn more about five active
gardeners. Come early and bring a friend.
Laura Joseph
Sure Cure for Cabin Fever
Have you ever wandered through a grocery
produce section and wondered how some of the
more exotic fruits and vegetables are grown and
how they should be prepared? I recently roamed
the aisles of a local grocery that caters to our
city's growing international transplants. I had
never seen so many root vegetables that were
unknown to me. I asked permission to
photograph some of the produce with my phone.
The produce manager smiled and said, "People do
it all the time."
I quickly concluded most produce could be
grown simply by buying the fruit or vegetable and
removing a few of the seeds to dry, or cutting the
tubers into pieces to plant. I thought I would
grow some of these plants out of curiosity, others
I'd try as a possible alternative food source.
On page four of this newsletter, there’s a little
information about how to grow some of the fruits
and vegetables I found on my walk through the
produce aisles. You just might find something
you’d like to try!
Sandi Schmidt
President’s Message
As I sit by the fire and think
about you and my garden, I am
reminded of how much this club
means to me all year long. It is a
special joy to be a member of an
active gardening group which has
been growing together since 1952. There have been
numerous accomplishments throughout our long
history, and we can all take pride in what we have
done together. We have had hundreds of plant shows
and sales through the years, as well as a vast
assortment of informative programs, seminars and
workshops on all kinds of topics from growing herbs
to staghorn ferns and beneficial insects. We have
toured a variety of gardens, and we have given away
many thousands of dollars to deserving students.
And, along the way, we have planted thousands of
plants in Zilker Botanical Garden and contributed to
garden enhancements from entire beds, a water
feature, a water fountain, a dinosaur topiary, and the
latest improvement provided to Zilker visitors by our
club – a beautiful woodland shade garden bordering
the Zilker Rose Garden. I am proud of all our good
deeds and hard work and especially proud that the
legendary Isamu Taniguchi, the designer and builder
of the magnificent Japanese garden at Zilker, was a
member of our club.
We have had some really good years, and 2014
is off to a great start. Please join us for Highly
Recommended: 25 Favorites this month, where you
can learn about 25 plants which do well in Central
Texas. You will probably meet some new plants as
well as get better acquainted with 5 of our members.
Please share your ideas and be thinking of what
you can do to make this year one to remember. Our
newsletter Austin Gardener has been a regular
monthly feature throughout the club’s history. Norm
Wagner edited the newsletter for at least 20 years,
and Sandi Schmidt has continued to send out a
beautiful publication. Now Sandi wants to pass the
torch, and we need you to help us continue to stay in
touch with the membership each month. We need
your help in continuing our long tradition. Please
contact me or any of our officers if you have
suggestions or are willing to share your time and
talents. We need you to help us keep The Garden
Club of Austin going strong for another 60 years.
See you on January 23!
Laura Joseph
Austin Gardener
Page 2
A Dam Important
Thing to Do
2014 Dues
Club dues for 2014 should be paid by
the January monthly meeting. Individual$25. Additional members at the same
address are $15 each. This includes
national as well as local membership.
Make check payable to The Garden Club
of Austin and bring it to the January
meeting or mail it to :
Annie Hackebeil
652 S Monroe Street
LaGrange, TX 78945-1515
Please indicate any changes in address,
telephone numbers, etc. Also, if you have
an e-mail address, or have updated your
e-mail address, she would like to have that.
If you have any questions, please give
Annie a call at 512-3005941 (if no one is home,
leave a message and your
call will be returned) or
e-mail her at
<[email protected]>.
Mark Your Calendar
The following events are of direct
interest to the membership of The
Meeting
Garden Club of Austin. All events are
tonight
at the Austin Area Garden Center in
Zilker Botanical Garden at 2220 Barton
Springs Road unless otherwise noted. Additional
gardening calendar information may be found
every Saturday in the Life and Arts Section of
the Austin American Statesman.
Jan 13 - Mon
Board meeting 7PM
Jan 23 - Thurs
Monthly Meeting of TGCOA.
Social starts at 7PM, meeting at
7:30 PM.
Board meeting 7PM
Monthly Meeting of TGCOA.
Social starts at 7PM, meeting at
7:30 PM.
Feb 24 - Mon
Feb 27 - Thurs
JANUARY CLIMATE FOR
AUSTIN
The average daily maximum temperature
varies from 60 at the beginning of the month to 61
at the end. The minimum varies from 39 at the
beginning to 41 at the end of the month. Extremes
are 90 observed in 1971 and -2 in l949. We average about 8 days with a minimum of 32 or below.
Precipitation averages 1.71 inches but has
ranged from a wet 9.21 in 1991 to a dry 0.04 in
1971. A maximum 24-hour amount of 4.41 occurred in 1991. Snow is rare, however 7 inches fell
in a 24-hour period in 1994, and 7.5 inches fell during the month in 1985. On average, precipitation is
observed on 8 days during the month.
We usually receive about 48% of the possible
sunshine, and between sunrise and sunset have 9
clear days, 6 partly cloudy days and 16 days with
overcast conditions. Dense fog with visibility of 1/4
mile or less is observed on 4 days. The time
between sunrise and sunset increases from about
10 hours 14 minutes at the beginning of the month
to 10 hours 45 minutes at the end of the month.
Know your USDA Plant Hardiness Zone and be
prepared for disappointment if you choose to “push
your zone.”
Austin Gardener
Page 3
Gardening Checklist for
January-February
It’s not too early to be out preparing your
vegetable garden and flowerbeds for spring planting. Spading and/or tilling should be done as soon
as possible. Add lots of organic matter (such as
recently fallen leaves) to improve your soil.
According to the Travis County Extension
Service, you could be planting carrots, leaf lettuce,
onion plants, radishes, shallots and spinach in the
garden now. By mid February beets, chard, endive,
parsley, potatoes and turnips can be planted.
Seeds of most all other vegetables and spring annual flowers can be sown indoors during January and
February for later transplanting to the garden or
bed after danger of frost is past.
All dormant season pruning can be done now
through late February. Use proper tools and make
cuts close and clean. Wait to prune forsythia, spirea, gardenias, climbing roses, azaleas, camellias,
and other spring flowering shrubs until after they
bloom. Prune with a purpose, not because there is
nothing else to do. January is the best month to
prune oak trees susceptible to oak wilt disease (for
example, live oaks and red oaks). Even so, you
should still plan to use an approved tree wound
dressing/sealer, especially on the larger cuts of one
inch or more in diameter.
January through early February is a great
time to apply dormant oil sprays to control scale
and other hard to manage insect pests. Be sure to
read and follow label directions. If necessary you
may also want to go out and give your yard another
raking to keep the fallen leaves from smothering
your grass. Don’t throw them away. Instead,
spade or till them into your garden, put them in
your compost pile, or use them for mulch. Those
of you with live oak trees can expect more falling
leaves in a couple months.
By now, you have probably received several
seed catalogs in the mail. Don’t be misled by all of
the pretty pictures. Not all varieties of vegetables
and flowers do well in Central Texas even if it says
they will grow in our hardiness zone. Check with
the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Horticulturist,
1600-B Smith Road, Austin 78721 (telephone 512854-9600) for a list of recommended varieties.
Why are husbands like lawn
mowers?
They are difficult to get started,
emit foul smells, and don't work
half the time.
In Remembrance
Laura Holland writes that Brenda Tran, who
has been absent all last year from our meetings,
passed away Monday, December 29th at
Christopher House.
Laura is a volunteer for Hospice Austin, and
found out when she was there to volunteer.
Brenda was diagnosed with lymphoma six months
ago and was receiving treatment until it was no
longer effective.
The first time Brenda entered our Plant Show
in 2012, she won Sweepstakes, Princess of the
Show, the Horticultural Excellence award, and the
Bronze Plaque for Horticulture.
The Garden Club of Austin
President
Laura Joseph
1st
Lois Koho, Leah Giberson
Vice Presidents
2ndVice Presidents
John Fox
3rd Vice president
Elizabeth Wong
Secretary
Molly Clark
Treasurer
Annie Hackebeil
Historian
Libby Garza-Abijaoude
Newsletter Editor
Sandi Schmidt
Web Master
Liz Stansfeld
AAGC Representative Wilburn Hackebeil
Directors:
Term extending through 2014
Wilburn Hackebeil
Marilyn Metcalf
Term extending through 2015
Laura Holland
Joe Yura
Term extending through 2016
Joyce Fox
Joe Defoe
The Garden Club of Austin, Inc. was established in 1953 and is
currently affiliated with The Gardeners of America/Men’s
Garden Clubs of America (TGOA/MGCA), the Southwest
Region of MGCA and the Austin Area Garden Council.
Meetings are open to the public and held in the Austin Area
Garden Center on the fourth Thursday of the month except for
November (the third Thursday) and December (an awards
banquet ). Membership inquiries should be directed to our
treasurer, Annie Hackebeil, at 979-968-3659 Questions or
comments concerning the newsletter should be sent to the
editor, Sandi Schmidt, at [email protected]
Austin Gardener
Page 4
A Walk Through the Produce Aisles
Chayotes (Sechium
edule) are cucurbits and
grow on very long vines.
They are also known as
vegetable pears or
mirlitons in the Deep
South. I have to admit
that growing up in the
south, I had heard of
mirlitons, but never tried
them. They can be used in
place of potatoes, or in any
squash recipe. Chayote
Macho is another interesting
variety that has a prickly
outer skin. It is prepared in
the same manner. The whole
chayote is planted in early
spring. Since male and female flowers are formed
on the same vine, they need bees for pollination. A
popular Mexican restaurant in Austin grows these in
their kitchen garden.
Xoconostles are the
fruit of a type of
nopal, or cactus,
that are imported
from Mexico. What
distinguishes the
fruit, or tunas, of the
Xoconostles from
those of other
prickly pear cacti is
their seeds are concentrated in the center of the
fruit, instead of being distributed throughout the
fruit. This makes the seeds easier to remove. If
you've ever split open a prickly pear cactus fruit,
you know that there are hundreds of tiny seeds all
through it. Xoconostles are used for salsas, and
also eaten as a tart fresh fruit. The seeds can be
dried and planted.
Dragon fruit (Hylocereus
undatus) is also known as
pitaya, strawberry pear,and
pitahaya. It grows as the
fruit of an epiphytic cactus
with beautiful night
blooming flowers. The fruit
is eaten chilled and can also
be used to flavor drinks and
desserts. The seeds can be collected and planted. I
have a huge sprawling dragon fruit plant, but mine
has yet to produce any fruit.
Boniato (Ipomoea batatas) is in the morning
glory family. Other names for it are batata, white
sweet potato, Cuban sweet potato, and canote. It
is said that it tastes like a cross between a baking
potato and a sweet potato. It can be grown by
division of the tubers.
Yellow ñame (Discorea
cayenensis) is a root vegetable
sometimes called a yam. It is
used like a potato and can be
fried, mashed, boiled, or grilled.
Unlike the potato, the inside is
sticky and slimy. It can be
grown from a root section.
Taro (Colocasia esculenta),
also known as dasheen in
some parts of the world, is a
starchy corm that can be
roasted, baked, or steamed.
Guajes are the beans
Hawaiian poi is made from
of the Acacia tree in
taro. Poi is
Mexico. Eaten raw or
definitely an acquired taste (one
combined with chiles to
make salsas, they can also that I have yet to acquire even
be cooked like other beans after living in Hawaii for a few
years). It can be grown from a
with garlic and spices.
corm. It is also popular as a
The USDA identifies this
tropical plant, commonly called
plant as Leucaena leucocephala, and it's known
an elephant ear. It grows well
here as the white leadtree. The fresh dried seeds
in a pond also.
can be planted in spring.
Austin Gardener
Produce Continued
Yuca (Manihot esculenta), not to
be confused with yucca, is a
starchy tuberous root of the
Cassava tree. It is the source of
tapioca pudding among other
things! Who knew? I plan to buy
one of these roots next spring to
grow
for the foliage. I would
personally not grow this
to eat for fear of cyanide
poisoning from not
preparing it correctly.
You have been warned.
Thai peppers (Capsicum
annuum) are considered by
some to be the third hottest
peppers in the world. Only
haberneros and scotch
bonnets are considered
hotter. These peppers are
usually dried and made into
a paste. The seeds are easily grown into small
shrubs. I don't care for extremely hot peppers, but
the plant is an attractive little bush I'd enjoy having
in my garden.
Sing Qua or Chinese okra
(Loofa acutangula), is also
known as angled luffa, silk
gourd, or ridged gourd, with
vines that can grow to 9 feet.
Mainly used in curry, or fried
with meats, they're reported to
taste like zucchini. They are not
the vegetables that loofa
sponges are made from, but in
the same family. Sing Quas should be eaten when
they are no more than about six inches long.
Larger ones are too bitter. The seeds can be dried
and successfully grown. This is another vegetable I
want to try.
Ginger (Zingiber officinala) root is
the rhizome of the ginger plant.
It's very easy to grow if you keep
it moist and don't plant it too
deeply. Soak the root in water a
few hours to to remove any
growth retardent that may be on
it before planting. Fresh ginger is
so much better than the powdered stuff in a jar.
Page 5
Indian bitter melon (Momordica
charantia) is supposedly the
most bitter of all fruits. It must
be an acquired taste, as the
produce folks made faces when
describing the taste. It's usually
stuffed with vegetables or meat.
It's a very interesting looking plant. The seeds can
be scraped out and dried for planting, if you dare.
Tunas are the fruit, or "pears" of the
Prickly Pear cacti (Opuntia). They
taste like strawberries to me, but
others discern flavors such as
watermelon, citrus, and bananas, to
name a few. Tunas are used in jams
and jellies and to flavor some drinks.
Some think they have medicinal
benefits also. The seeds can be planted, but it
would be easier to pick up a cactus paddle
(nopales) and plant it to produce
fruit. They are very easy to
grow. Just dropping a paddle on
the ground will cause it to put
out new growth and eventually
produce roots. Prickly pears are
very cold hardy.
Prickly Pear cactus (Opuntia)
paddles, or stems, are peeled to
remove the thorns. After cutting
them up, they are grilled, pickled
or boiled to make what are called
nopalitos. I stopped to observe a
young clerk in the market
stripping the thorns off a pile of
paddles. She would eventually cut
the paddles into small strips for the nopalitos. I
watched to see how she would avoid being stuck by
the thorns. Unfortunately she couldn't escape
them, and kept stopping to rub the prickly thorns
from her hands. As she spoke no English and my
Spanish is minimal at best, I couldn't suggest that
she use rubber gloves. Nopalitos are eaten with
eggs, chilies, and meats.
Most roots should be soaked a few hours before
planting in case there's any kind of growth inhibitor
on them. There were quite a few root vegetables
that I recognized as Alocasias, and in addition to
being a food source, could be planted in the garden
for tropical interest. If you can only plant one of the
above, I would suggest trying ginger root. It's very
easy to grow and you won't have to run to the store
for a small piece to prepare that one recipe you
seldom use.
Sandi Schmidt