Gardening events you won't want to miss - here and around Texas!

Want to learn more about gardening and herbs and have fun doing it? Attend as many programs as you can. I've compiled a list of ones that I'm aware of locally and around Texas with links to register or to gather more information.

Know of any I didn't list? Let me know.

Good Gardening!

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FREE

Citrus Greening Disease and

Citrus Tree Management Program

with Chuck Malloy, Cameron County Master Gardener.

Be the first to pre-order your certified citrus trees.

Wednesday, February 17, 2016

9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.

Cameron County San Benito Annex

1390 W. Expressway 83 San Benito, TX. 78586

Register by contacting Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service

Cameron County office at 956/361-8236

followed by:

Rainwater Harvesting Workshop

Same location as Citrus Greening program above

11 - noon, $50 fee includes rain barrel

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Spring Grafting Workshop

Saturday, February 20, 2016, 1-3 PM

Rivers End Nursery, Bayview, TX

Hands on grafting/budding class.

Learn to propagate tropical/subtropical fruit & flowering

trees with techniques used by commercial producers.  

Bring your own grafting knife.

A limited number of grafting knives will be available for sale.

Other materials will be furnished.

Cost $20 - includes the avocado and mango tree

that you will graft in class to take home with you.

Sign up by clicking Grafting Workshop Tickets

followed by:

Texas Rare Fruit Growers - Rio Grande Valley:

11th Meet & Greet/Plant, Scion,

Seed Exchange, & Fruit Tasting

Saturday, February 20, 2016, 3:30 PM

Rivers End Nursery & Farm, Bayview, TX

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Easy Edibles: How to Grow & Enjoy Fresh Food

with well known author Judy Barrett.

Saturday, March 19, 2016, 1 PM

The Brownsville Historical Association.

Judy has authored several books and blogs on organic

and all things gardening on "Judy Barrett's Homegrown" blog.

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FREE Gardening Classes

Next program -  March 3, 2016, 6 PM with speaker:

Texas AgriLife Extension Agent Scott Kunkle.

on the 1st and 3rd Thursday of the month at 6 pm 

Sessions: 1 Garden Site Locations, 2 Soils, 3 Composting,

4 Raised Beds and Container Gardening/ Garden Maintenance,

5 Pest Management, 6 Harvesting

Brownsville Wellness Coalition/Community Gardens

City of Brownsville Parks and Recreation building, 1387 East Tyler

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I go to this event every year!

2016 Herbal Forum

Friday-Saturday, March 18-19, 2016

Round Top, Texas featuring herb of the year, the Chili Pepper!

Workshops, speakers, herbal luncheon, herb plant sale.

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Basil Fest 2016

Pearl Farmer's Market area, San Antonio, TX

​Saturday May 21, 2016 9 am - 1 pm

All things basil - need I say more?

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Heart of Texas Herb Symposium

April 23, 2016 in beautiful Wimberly, Texas

Early registration deadline $99 to March 15, after that $119.

(Space is limited so please register early!) 

I plan on attending this event.

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"Becoming an Herbalist"

Austin School of Herbal Studies 2016 Classes

begins April 29th, 2016, Austin, TX.

Visit www.ezherbs.net for complete info and registration.

Ellen Zimmerman is awesome and this is the last year

she will be offering her apprenticeship program so if you can attend, 

it will be well worth it.

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Herb Festival at the Wynne Home

Huntsville, TX  April 9, 2016,  936-891-5024 

Herbal vendors, plant sale, speakers.

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Blanco Lavender Festival

June 10-12, 2016

Blanco, TX

This festival is all things lavender!

Totally fun to attend. I attended several years ago.

A friend and I even attended a cooking class at 

Onion Creek Kitchens at Juniper Hills Farm Onion Creek 

(830-833-0910) while there - totally fun weekend!

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25th Annual Herb Market

Saturday, October 15, 2016 

at the Historic Pearl Brewery, San Antonio, TX

FREE family fun event with herb vendors, free programs, cooking demos.

Rabbit Control

Customer Question – Something ate all the plants I had just planted into my garden a couple days ago. What could it be?
My speculative answer - It could be rabbits.

Meet Dilly.

Our cat Dilly seems to keep the rabbits living around our property in check (knock on wood) from getting into the garden and we have plenty of rabbits in the front and back area.

I wish I had a motion sensor camera to answer questions like this – at least one you could check out at the library as needed right indefinitely? From a quick review of my many gardening books and online I found the following regarding rabbits.

RABBITS
Rabbits – are attracted to your garden plants due to their moisture (like birds are to tomatoes – for the moisture content). George Brookbank, author of The Desert Gardener’s Calendar, scoffs at all of the home remedies you read about and writes: the only effective thing to do about rabbits is to surround your garden completely with fencing, at least 3’ wide with small mesh. Bury it 6” deep so the rabbits can’t squeeze under it and never leave the gate open.”

The Iowa Gardener website showcased the
example above of a fenced garden to keep out rabbits.

My friend Kate McSwain gardens uses horse troughs for her raised beds.
I expect the height of these deter rabbits from getting into them.

This is the only rabbit we are OK to have in the garden and we call this our
cwazy watch rabbit. He moves around to wherever new gardens are planted
and he has been on the move lately - whoo hoo!

The Gardener’s Supply Co. had a couple other good tips for Rabbit Control worth reading which I found helpful (including looking for rabbit droppings). Let me know what works for you.

New for Me - How about You?

Rivers End Nursery out of Bayview, Texas specializes in delicious tropical fruits from around the world and the plants that produce them. You can find their seasonal fruit at Franny's booth at both the Brownsville Farmers Market (FM), 9-noon every Saturday and the South Padre Island Farmers Market,11-1 every Sunday. Franny is a wealth of information and it's always a treat to visit with her.

Kathy Pechacek of Rivers End Nursery reports this week you will find Longans (the end of their harvest is fast approaching) along with Star Fruit, Guava, Strawberry Guava, Sugar Applies, Citron (Buddha Hand) and Jambolan Plum at Franny's booth.

You can see the black seed in the middle of the fruit of the
one sliced in half above. You don't want to eat the seed
but you want to eat the fruit around it, after it's been peeled.

If you are like me, alot of these fruit are new to me. Last week I tried a Longan. They are easy to peel and have a nice taste. Its kinda of like eating a pomegranate but without the tart flavor. They have a pretty black seed inside of them.Be sure and try some at the market this week while they are still available. 

If you are like me, alot of these fruit are new to me. Last week I tried a Longan. Be sure and try some at the market this week while they are still available. They are easy to peel and have a nice taste. Its kinda of like eating a pomegranate but without the tart flavor. They have a pretty black seed inside of them.

According to Kathy of Rivers End Nursery "Longans are probably best eaten out of hand. They are certainly a challenge in cooking because the flesh is hard to separate from the seed."

The Tropical Fruit Growers of South Florida website states Longans are sometimes called "Dragon Eyes" because when the peel is removed, you can see the dark seed through the translucent flesh of the fruit and it gives the appearance of an eyeball! They have a great video on Longans worth watching. Don't miss out on buying some of these locally grown longans while they are still in season!

For anyone industrious enough to try, here is a recipe using them:

Chicken with Longan & Macadamia Salad
Ingredients (serves 4)

• 1/4 cup macadamia nuts
• 2 chicken breast fillets
• lettuce, washed, dried, torn
• 2 c. longans, peeled and halved, seed removed
• 2 c. snow pea sprouts, trimmed (other sprouts can be used)
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 Tbsp. lemon juice
• 3 tsp. finely shredded fresh mint leaves
• Pinch sugar

Cook chicken in small amount of oil until fully cooked. Transfer to a plate to cool.

Combine the lettuce, longans and sprouts and place on plate. Place the oil,
juice, mint and sugar into a screw top jar and shake until blended. Pour dressing
over salad and toss to combine. Slice the chicken and serve with the salad. Sprinkle with macadamias to serve.

~From the Tropical Fruit Growers of South Florida
Someone posted the fruit was good in jello too.

Don't miss out on buying some of these locally grown longans while they are still in season! 

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Speaking of Franny previously, look whose on the cover? This book, by Judy Barrett, looks really good and you can a pre pub discount if you order it before September 30th. We hope to get Judy down for one of her programs in the spring. She writes an informative newsletter on organic gardening and is the author of several books.

There's Franny on the cover (right bottom)
of Judy Barret's new book Easy Edibles

Judy Barrett posted on facebook: "Just got the preview copy of my new book! Easy Edibles: How to Grow & Enjoy Fresh Food. Lots of ways to grow and find fresh, local food without all the work of becoming a farmer! Add food to your existing landscape, pick-your-own opportunities, farmers markets, plant in containers and much more. It's $20 includling shipping and tax until Sept. 30. Order from me, Judy Barrett to receive this pre-pub discount before September 30, 2015."

Yes, I eat my Homework

My homework from class - Chinese Burritos in the making.

I am learning a lot from attending the La Cocina Alegre cooking and nutritional education class sponsored through a grant from WalMart and brought to us by the Brownsville Wellness Coalition (the wonderful folks who head up the Brownsville Farmers Market and Community Gardens along with gardening classes). I have three more classes to go and see why these are so popular. 

Classes are given in both English and Spanish. You not only get to take part in a cooking demonstration and get the ingredients and recipe to take and duplicate at home but you learn about the amount of sugar and salt content in food, how to read ingredient labels and not be misled by the wording on packaging to tell you what's in it, tips on using fruits to add sweetness in place of sugar, swap tips with other attendees and the list goes on and on. We also get a cookbook at the final class that includes the recipes we are using.

Since I posted photos of this week's class on FB, I had several requests for the recipe - so here it is. Realize you can substitute other veggies, add shrimp, chicken beef or tofu if you want. We had mushrooms in the class demo and powdered ginger where I had fresh at home. Spice it up with hot peppers. Serve it with a side salad of sliced fresh tomatoes, chopped basil with olive oil and balsamic vinegar and goat cheese, depending on what you have in your garden or in the frig. It's very simple and doesn't take much time to prepare. I didn't make the peanut sauce but will get that recipe when we finish and we get the cookbook. 

I was thinking I need a medium size sauce pan but remember I have a wok pan that would work very well with this recipe. Need to get it out, dust it off and put it to use. I wonder if they will teach me the art of cleaning as I cook. I like the cooking and eating but not so excited about the cleaning up after. My mom and brother know how to do that, something I haven't quite mastered or tried to master actually.

Chinese Burritos

(from the Brownsville Wellness Coalition cooking class)

4 servings  / cost per serving $0.62

Ingredients

1/2 medium onion, thinly sliced
1/4 head cabbage, sliced
2 carrots, grated
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated
1/2 medium bell pepper, thinly sliced
3 leaves Swiss chard, chopped (we substituted fresh spinach)
3 tablespoons canola oil (I used less, and used grapeseed oil)
4 large whole wheat flour tortillas or 8 small whole wheat tortillas

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Heat oil in a medium skillet over medium heat for 1-2 minutes.
Saute the onion for 5 minutes.
Add the cabbage, carrots, garlic, ginger, and bell pepper and cook for 5-10 minutes. Stir constantly to keep from burning.

Add the Swiss chard or spinach and cook for 1-2 more minutes.
Remove pan from heat.
Please 1/4 of the mixture on each tortilla.
Roll up the tortillas.
Place the tortillas on a baking sheet, seam side down.
Bake for 20 minutes.
Serve with peanut sauce.

Cabbage, bell pepper, spinach, onion, garlic and mushrooms.

Kudos to everyone who makes this program happen.To learn more about upcoming classes contact brownsvillewellnesscoalition@gmail.com or 956-755-0614.

Growing Fabulous Lettuce

 Fall and early spring is the time to plant your lettuces, broccoli, cauliflower, mustard greens, kale, swiss chard, spinach, arugula and cilantro transplants

in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas.

What do you think chef extraordinaire and gardener
Jessica Monique thinks of the flavor of her just picked
from the garden gourmet lettuce? I totally agree!

Let Us Talk about Lettuce

Gardening Question

My lettuce is really big - do I continue pinching the outer leaves off for salads or do I cut them back? If I cut them back will they continue to grow?

Answer

For those of you who planted your lettuces in the fall - they are really big and full now in mid January. (See Jessica's photo above.) Hopefully you have been getting lots of good salad fixings from them. (Some lettuces can be cut and will sprout leaves again but we are referring to the type you can harvest from the outside as the plant continues to grow in the middle.)

Once you see your plants are starting to grow vertically,
that means they are fixing to flower and go to seed.
The main stalk will start to thicken and stretch upward.
Harvest beforehand or they will become bitter tasting.

Once you see your plants are starting to grow vertically, that means they are fixing to flower and go to seed. You want to harvest the whole head beforehand, otherwise they will be bitter to the taste.

Some lettuces have anywhere from two or more multiple heads
that make up that big beautiful head of lettuce. Some have only a single stem.

When you go to cut them back, you may find there are several heads that make up that one beautiful lettuce. You can just cut one stem portion if that is all you need right now and let the others continue to grow unless they are starting to grow up and flower. If it looks like they may be starting to flower, I would cut them all and use or share. You can let them go to flower, die and they will reseed. I usually pull them out to make way for new plants. Once cut back to the ground, they won't regrow.

This lettuce variety has two main stems below the lettuce head.

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Tips for Growing Tasty Lettuce

in the Rio Grande Valley

• Lettuce grows in cooler temperatures which means the fall and spring in our area.
• As most soil here is a heavy alkaline clay it is best to plant in raised beds either together or interspersed in your vegetable garden for good drainage or in 12" or larger containers that include holes for drainage so as not to drown the roots. 
• A good compost added to the soil will provide nutrients needed.

Nothing beats fresh picked lettuce for easy salad fixings.


• As lettuce has shallow roots it is best if the soil is kept moist so it will taste sweet but not so wet that it drowns and rots the roots or so dry that the roots dry out making it taste bitter.
• A drip system can help with this or water early in the mornings to prevent foliar diseases caused by late evening watering practices. Check the dampness of the soil of the top inch of the soil with your finger to determine if you need to water or not. 
• Often my other veggie plants don't need water but my lettuce plants have started to dry out due to the wind so I will water around their base and not soak my other plants.
• Rather than pulling up the plants to harvest, you can pinch off outer leaves or cut them straight across with a serrated knife, above the crown (where the base of the leaves meet the root) and some may grow back. See the first half of this article for more details. 
• For later season greens sow seed or plant transplants a couple inches from the original plant after the 1st harvest. Harvest the first crop before it goes to seed or once the second crop is big enough to start harvesting.

Enjoy the Bounty

Once harvested I use a salad spinner/colander to rinse lettuce leaves, than cover with water and a few ice cubes for several minutes, swish, drain until the water is clear then spin-dry. I wrap leaves in paper towels and place in the lettuce drawer till ready to eat. Tear them into bite size pieces. Enjoy with a fresh vinegar and oil dressing topped with fresh herbs, edible flowers and other goodies from the garden.

Hors D'oeuvres Anyone?

Eggplants grow very well here in the Valley due to our mild winters. Whenever everything else has given it up in the garden, in the heat of the summers, the eggplants seem to thrive even more. I think more people would grow them if they just knew what to do with them.

One of the market vendors makes homemade babaganoush (pureed roasted eggplant, garlic, tahini, lemon juice and olive oil) and says he's going to bring me some but I'm still waiting. I've read you can stuff and bake miniature eggplants with a mixture of feta cheese, pine nuts and roasted peppers which sounds very tasty.

As I've said before, I like them sliced, brushed with olive oil and grilled for a few minutes on either side for a quick, easy tasty side dish.

Here's another way that has my mouth watering, just looking at 'em. Many thanks to my friend Angela Barnard for sharing what she did with hers.

Mini Eggplant Parmesan made w/garden fresh basil,
eggplant and homemade tomato sauce.

My friend Angela Barnard shared her photos
above and the Mini Eggplant Parmesan recipe link she used to
make these tasty hors d'oeuvres from her "Pot Black" eggplant
(see plant below).

Eggplant “Pot Black”

A compact variety for container

growing that produces many

2-3 oz. glossy oval black

fruits over a long growing

season. Attractive plants and

tasty fruit. Sun.

I am so excited about these compact varieties as they make such a pretty container plant and make great gifts. When Angela's husband came looking for a birthday surprise for her last year, I suggested this plant, as it was the first time I had brought it to the market so I knew she hadn't seen it before. As a fellow Master Gardener, we are always looking for the new and unusual, at least to us and I knew she would appreciate this one.

Another great new container variety that is really producing as you can see here is the "Patio Baby". I plan on potting a couple or one of each of these two to put in the entryway of our front porch as my new fall decorating scheme. Another good reason for us to sit outside and enjoy our front porch.

Eggplant “Patio Baby”

A 2014 AAS Winner. An eggplant

variety that is great for pots & container

growing. Plants produce lavender

blooms and a big crop of shiny black

small fruits that is bitter free.

I just love how eggplants come in all sizes and shapes.
Here's another new variety for us that I think I failed to mention, in my last blog on eggplants.

Eggplant “Shooting Stars”

A showy variety with small (4") oval white

fleshed fruits that are vivid purple

with white stripes. Good in the garden

or pots.  Height 30"x20" wide. Sun.

Maybe the trick to get more people to consider trying eggplant is to call it an Aubergine - that's the British English name for it. Try a search using aubergine recipes and you'll have lots to choose from.
(Plant photos by Debbie Cox) 

Eggplant/Berenjena

Eggplant “Pot Black”

is a compact variety for container growing producing

many 2-3 oz. glossy oval black fruits over a long growing

season. Attractive plants & tasty fruit. Sun.

While the eggplant is considered a minor crop in the US, in the Orient it is more popular than either the tomato or potato according to Dr. Sam Cotner, author of “The Vegetable Book, A Texan’s guide to Gardening” (p. 141). We've found eggplants very easy to grow in our area. I have customers who have had their eggplants growing for several years at a time.

There are a lot of tasty ways you can prepare them. I like to slice the larger ones in ¼ to ½ inch slices and brush them with olive oil and grill them for an easy tasty treat. The long slender varieties are just the right bite-size when fried  using a batter recipe.

Basic Gardening Tips for any Planting

Eggplants, like other plants here, grow best in raised beds. Raised beds provide good drainage. They also grow well in large container pots. We planted each variety in a large pot (5 gallon size or larger) on our patio one year just to see how well each grew and tasted.

Scattering a couple inches of compost in your bed and incorporating into your soil beforehand not only improves plant growth but it will also improve moisture retention in the soil.

We like to use smaller tomato cages and fit them over the transplant when first planted to keep the plant upright when it’s loaded with fruit.

I pick any yellowed leaves from plants and throw these away along with any dead leaves that drop from plants.

Watering 

Water deep and frequently in dry or hot weather. But first check - If the first couple inches of soil are dry, than water.  In containers, water till the water runs out the hole in the bottom of the container, wait a few minutes and water deeply again. Add fertilizer several times during the growing season. Mulching around plants also helps retain moisture and adds nutrients to the soil as the compost breaks down.

I’ve found watering my garden early in the morning rather than late in the day has prevented a lot of foliage diseases and I have less bad bugs because of it.

Insects

“Pinholes in leaves from flea beetles are of no concern,” according to Dr. Bob Randall, author of Year Round Vegetables, Fruits and Flowers for Metro Houston. When watering early in the morning I’ll find pill bugs or roly polys eating on leaves and will flick them off with my finger. When watering,  I’ll spray water on the underside of leaves to discourage spider mites and aphids.

Harvesting

How do you when your eggplants are ready to pick? Some people think you have to wait till they grow really big but that’s not the case. You can pick them small or large as long as their skin is still shiny or glossy. When their skin becomes dull, their color starts to fade or they turn yellow, that’s a sign they are getting over ripe and bitter and should be harvested before then. If you leave overripe fruit on the plant it will slow production down. One plant will produce a huge number if you keep them picked.

When ready to harvest, use a knife or pruning shears to cut the stem right above the eggplant. Wear gloves when harvesting as some eggplants have a prickly stem end.

There are two varieties new to me I'm trying this year - Epic and Pot Black. All the rest are varieties we've had great success with:

“Black Beauty” – Classic big-fruited black eggplant. Large fruits are glossy, well shaped, and perfect for thick slices, just right for grilling, pan frying or eggplant parmesan. (This is the one you see in the store.)

“Clara” (F1) - Unique, large, white Italian-type eggplant. Green calyx. High-yielding & early bearing. Fruits 6-7" long x 4-5" wide. Full Sun.

“Dancer” (F1) Bright neon purple fruits w/green calyx. Plants are strong & high-yielding. Fruit is mid-sized, semi-cylindrical, mild tasting & non-bitter flavor.

Eggplant Epic F1 - Premium quality oval eggplant variety. Fruits are glossy purple-black and average 9" long x 3 1/2" wide. Strong, vigorous, upright plants to 3 feet tall. Sun.

“Fengyuan Purple” - Very long & slender Asian eggplant with fruit 12-18" long. Non-peel thin-skinned beautiful purple fruits. Creamy-white mild flesh w/no bitterness - great for grilling or stir fry.

"Pingtung Long" (Chinese type) - Slender violet-purple heirloom fruit 12-18" long w/excellent mild flavor & tender white flesh. Thrives in heat & humidity w/continuous large harvests. Sun & good soil best.

Eggplant “Pot Black”
Compact variety for container growing. Produces many 2-3 oz. glossy oval black fruits over a long growing season.  Attractive plants & tasty fruit. Sun.

Thai Green "Kermit" - Traditional Thai type eggplant. Small, ball-shaped fruit about 2" across - green marbled with white stripes. Productive. Used in Asian dishes, shish-kebab and grilling. Sun. Good Soil.

Eggplants are low cal, satisfying and are a great source of Vitamin C, potassium, calcium, fiber, manganese, B vitamins and many antioxidants. They certainly thrive in our weather conditions.

Feel free to share your experiences, photos and recipes.
Debbie Cox

Your Local Gardening Programs

FALL is for Gardening 2014 and Spring 2015

Do you want to learn more about gardening? I get a lot of questions about gardening that I wish I could answer more in-depth at the farmers market.

Don't wait - check these out.

Veggie transplants for fall garden planting.

Brownsville Wellness Coalition - Free Gardening Classes

Open to the public.
No experience necessary.
Held every first and 3rd Thursday of the month, 6:00 pm at the Parks and Recreation Center on 8th Street & Tyler St., Brownsville, TX
Find out more about the Brownsville Community Gardens.
Contact Elizabeth Garcia 956.459.3205.
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Texas AgriLife Extension Service Events
Call 956.361.8236 for programs below

2015 Master Gardener Program

(I highly recommend - have been a TMG since 96)
Sign up NOW to get on the contact list to be considered.
Fee and so many hrs. of training in exchange for volunteer hrs.
in the community earns you the title of "Texas Master Gardener."
Orientation starts the last week of January.
956.361.8236

FREE Vegetable Gardening Educational Program

Growing and Nourishing Healthy Communities Cameron County
All classes begin at 6 pm throughout Cameron County
from October 13 - November 13, 2014
Contact Scott Kunkle at 956.361.8236 for schedule.

An Introduction to Aquaponics:The Production of both Fish andVegetables in a Soil-less Environment

Friday, November 7, 2014
956.361.8236

Food Safety for the Small Acreage Producer/Webinar

Thursday, October 16, 2014, 9 am – Noon
956.361.8236
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Fall Garden Festival and Free Gardening Workshops

North San Juan Park on Saturday, October 18, 2014, 10:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.
Free workshops for families, plant sale. Topics include a hands-on presentation on Plant Propagation, How to Make a Square Foot Garden, Composting, Preventing Citrus Greening Disease, Rainwater Harvesting demo and Fall Vegetable Gardening.
_____________________________________________________

Permaculture Design Certification - FREE

Begins October so sign up now.
_____________________________________________________
If you know of more, please let me know so I can pass them along!

Basil Harvest - Goodies to Share

With an abundance of fresh basil, I recently made basil salt several different ways along with fresh pesto using the tiny tasty leaves of Pistou basil. In place of pine nuts I used salt and pepper flavored pistachios I had on hand I bought from Yvonne and Fidel at the farmers market. After several requests to share the recipes - I decided to post here -  follow the links below.

 Valentino basil has such lovely large leaves and wonderful flavor.
I still have a gigantic bowl of Red Ruben basil to use up.
Hmm... what's next, any suggestions?

Enjoy Your Bumper Crop of Basil Year Round 

with Fresh Basil Salt

I made four batches of fresh basil salt following Hometalks' easy instructions link above. Using kosher certified Mediterranean coarse sea salt for three batches and one batch using pink Himalayan salt, I learned to tell what it looks like when its dry enough to be done. 

I have to say my favorite tasting is the Himalayan batch.

Not quite dry yet.
Photos by Debbie Cox

I use a salt grinder daily so had containers on hand of the sea salt. I put one batch back into the processor after it dried to grind it up further but left the other batches coarse. What great gifts for myself, oh and others. Hometalk also provided a dip and dish to utilize the fresh sea salt and more fresh basil below - looks yummy!

Bountiful Tomato and Basil Harvest / 

Caprese Crostini Skewers

Thanks to several of my herb friends, Mary Nell, for turning me onto the above and Dorothy Earley for the mixed herb pesto recipe below she so generously shared. Enjoy!

Dorothy Earley's

Mixed Herb Pesto

• 1 cup basil
• ½ cup oregano
• ½ cup mint
• ½ cup pine nuts
• ½ cup olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 2 t lemon juice
• ½ cup Parmesan cheese, finely grated
• 1 t salt

Place basil, oregano, mint, pine nuts, olive oil, garlic and lemon juice in a blender or food processor and run it on high until all ingredients are finely pureed.  Remove from blender or food processor and add Parmesan cheese and salt. Mix well. Serve with pasta.

I believe the real secret to great pesto, is not just fresh sweet basil, but a really fine Parmesan cheese. Grate it yourself just before you need it. And it doesn't hurt if you use the best olive oil you can find either.

For the Birds

Check out this nice looking shrub!  The birds love the berries and it looks great in the landscape used as a shrub or a tree. It can take sun or shade. You can find these at Palm Gardens in Brownsville from Morris Clint.

First Time I've Ever Seen

Where?  with Morris Clint  at Palm Gardens, Brownsville

Cardboard plants in bloom!

Very different looking flower.

New Year, New Challenge

It's that time of year to register for the 2014 Brownsville Challenge. Weigh-in is Saturday, January 11 from 9 am to noon at Linear Park, next to the Farmers Market off 6th & Harrison St.

My Story
I signed up to take "The Challenge" three years in a row – 3rd year, the past year, was a charm as that was the first year I actually worked the program and took advantage of the free events which included the SG Boot Camp with Sal Garza. It wasn't until I attended Sal's Camp that I realized how negative I subconsciously speak to myself. 

Yes, it turns out I was my own worst enemy.

I recall proudly bragging about being such a great procrastinator - go figure. I didn't want to change my thinking  as that would mean I needed to make up my mind to do something after my years of procrastinating.  (Yes, it turns out I was my own worst enemy.) Once I overcame the I can't/won't, I'm not ready to give up eating what I like, eating mindlessly, whatever, whenever I want, you're not the boss of me to myself, no less, procrastinating thinking ... and started thinking ... Yes, I can/will and want to ... the rest was super easy. 

I kept a log of what I ate normally for several weeks and soon became aware of where all the calories I was consuming came from (lots of high calorie sweets), which helped me change my eating habits.If I indulge I eat less of something later in the day to balance it out. A good example of a change for me was Instead of eating the WHOLE can of mixed nuts in one sitting, I eat a handful and stop.

Long Story Short

I went from a size 16 to a size 10 – I lost and have kept off 25 pounds this past year and haven't missed it a bit ~ thanks to taking advantage of this program.

This year my goal is to prepare and eat healthier home cooked meals with assorted seasonal fresh vegetables and fruit from my garden and the Farmers Market. I also want to get back to doing a physical activity I enjoy several times a week (yoga, walking the dogs, aquatics or something new). It's not enough just to reduce calorie intake - I need to burn calories too, in order to make any progress. That's a fact.

Recent circumstances have made it even more apparent to me how important what we eat may affect our health and what food I bring home/prepare or serve my family can impact my families health. I have to say I have taken a lot of what I eat for granted. I am already craving more fresh veggies and fruits - and I look forward to changing old habits for better ones. 

TIP

I just found a good tip through Facebook I plan on putting into practice - Dinner by 10 - Tip to Save $ and Eat Healthier from the Thrifty Couple website.

"The Challenge"

I encourage everyone to take "The Challenge" in Brownsville starting this Saturday, January 11. Weigh-in is from 9 am to noon at Linear Park, next to the Farmers Market off 6th & Harrison St. 

Further Details

As a Challenge participant you receive a pass that gets you into all of the sponsored events January through March (such as aquatic workouts, boot camp, yoga, cooking classes and more) for FREE. Many of the events are also open to family and friends. Click on Further Detail heading for more info.

Everyone who finishes The Challenge has a chance at winning $$ as they compete against each other and themselves.  For every 5% of weight an individual loses they will receive a $5 gift card. 

Register

Remember you must register for The Challenge and attend a final weigh in, either Friday, April 4 or Saturday, April 5 to win any prize (including gift card). This is in addition to the first and second place prizes in each category. 

 Create a team, bring your family, friends, and coworkers, and join THE CHALLENGE!!

To Your Health!
PS Don't wait for events such as these or for that certain friend to join you, otherwise you might never "do" something for yourself. You are the only one you are in competition with - you get what you put into anything - how much are you willing to invest? It's just YOUR health.

For the Birds - Not

Have you tried Netting?

You may not be able to see the fine black netting covering this tomato plant (some of it is bunched up on the left hand side) but I went ahead and draped this over a couple of the tomato cages as tomatoes are ripening and the birds started pecking them. Not what I enjoy finding in the garden early in the morning.

Net covering tomato plant to deter birds.

I got a roll of this netting from Tractor supply. It's kind of a hassle to use as it catches on everything but it does work and is reusable. I pulled it out some so it wasn't touching the tomatoes as they can still peck them if it's right on top of them. You have to make sure and get it pinned down all around the bottom of the plant so the birds can't reach it from the ground - birds are very resourceful.

The birds have also found the chicken feeder! We've had it up for almost two years (refilling it every morning for all of the chickens) and the birds never bothered it until recently. Guess they "Tweeted" all of their friends to come over for all you can eat dining. I finally put a cover over the middle of the feeder which seems to have cut down on the "free for all".

Grafted Tomatoes

To graft or not to graft - that is the question.

Below is a tag for the Cherokee Purple tomato which is grafted onto "SuperNatural" rootstock. Have to keep any suckers that grow below the graft removed. The plant we purchased didn't have much of a root system to start with so has had a slow start. It is finally starting to grow some. You are supposed to keep the graft well above soil level.

One gardener told me they planted two tomatoes of equal size, one being a

regular tomato and the other being a grafted one but so far hasn't been able

to tell much difference. Anyone else tried these? How did they do for you?

It's always fun to try something new!

This is our grafted tomato - looking very healthy
but still no blooms as of 11-27-13.

We bought this one at the Texas Master Gardener conference in October.

This is my first experience growing one and can't wait to see how it does.

Bean Update

Picking beans today. The hens have managed to reach some of the broccoli leaves.

First Ripe Tomatoes of our Fall Garden - Whoo-Hoo!

Our Felicity tomato plant is doing great - I have a couple other different tomato plants with green tomatoes on and some with flowers only. We'll be planting a grafted tomato plant we got at the Master Gardeners Conference trade show. I've heard of them but this will be the first I've tried.

It's recommended to NOT refrigerate fresh picked tomatoes
as it reduces their flavor and changes their texture.
These may not even make it to the house.