We’re re-purposing this old, rusted out water tank into a chicken coop. While it’s a fun, creative and inspired project, it’s a bit time consuming. First step, a door!

Actually, we started this project several months ago. First step was to pull the tank off its original limestone foundation.

We are using flat soaker hoses for irrigation. They work really well and are easy to manage. We’re also in the process of mulching with oak leaves – we have lots of oaks on our property and an abundance of leaves.

The rain and cooler weather earlier this month inspired us to start our kitchen garden out here in our new space. We bought this place because it is an old farmstead and it has soil. Good soil. Before we started digging, we made sure the ground was moist – it is much easier to work soil that was soaked a day or two before breaking ground.

Joe Henry is leveling the first garden beds in this picture. You can see our house in the background. One of the first stories we heard from a neighbor was that George Rust, the man who built our house in the 1940s, used to sit on the roof and shoot deer that were grazing in his corn patch. We like to think that maybe George’s corn patch was where we started our garden. Though we’re choosing deer fencing to protect our crops rather than a rifleman on the roof, the deer are still a serious problem.

We’re trying to use as much native and on-site material as possible to build the beds. We’re in the hill country so we have plenty of rocks for stepping stones and borders. We also used some cedar logs and a few railroad ties (with no toxic creosote) that the previous owners left here to outline our beds. We did import one yard of Geo Growers Thunder Garden Mix to kickstart our garden. We simply incorporated the mix into the top few inches of our native soil and that, with some deep-bed preparation, was all that we needed to get growing.

Choosing seeds

Planting beets, carrots, lettuce and peas

Broccoli, Brussels sprouts, Kale and Collard seedlings ready to be planted

Remember when our Texas landscapes looked green? This picture was taken 2 springs ago, when the bluebonnets and yucca were blooming. I will be giving an Edible Landscaping talk at the Natural Gardener on this upcoming Saturday, September 10th at 9am. I’ll discuss plenty of tips and ideas for establishing an edible yard, but I’ve also decided to mention several edibles that are more drought tolerant or at least need less water (the picture features at least one of the edibles I will discuss.) I think it’s a good idea to consider edibles that need less water since I believe Texas will be facing more frequent drought conditions in the future.

Edible Yards HQ has moved! We’re still in Central Texas just outside of Austin and are excited to announce that we have more space to grow more food and share our experiences with you. Of course we’re still offering the same great services and are thrilled that we have more room to experiment with new varieties, different soils and a whole new set of pests. Things might be a little quiet on our blog since we’re still getting settled, but we wanted to share a few pictures of our new, old farmstead. The house was built in the 1940s and we’ve acquired a few barns and even an old plow. It’s a unique place and we’re super happy.

Here’s Amy walking down the road with Garner and Joe Henry. The barn in the background will be used as our workshop and also as storage for our tools. Yay!

We hope to do plenty of “office” work on our front porch swing too.

So, don’t let your soils dry out completely. If you choose to leave some of your garden fallow over the summer, add some compost, water it really well and then place a good, thick layer of mulch (at least 4 inches) on top to help retain moisture, fertility and micro-organisms for fall crops. Be sure to check the soil underneath the mulch once a week to make sure it is still wet.

I couldn’t resist posting this fun picture. And the kids had a lot of fun with this one! (Plus, they ate it!)

Kohlrabi is delicious peeled, chopped or shredded on your salads. And of course you can cook it too. Unfortunately, we’re at the end of kohlrabi season. Make way for summer veggies!

It’s strawberry season in Central Texas. (Well, it’s actually strawberry-ripening season; most of the berry plants were put in the ground back in the fall.) On a walk through our South Austin neighborhood a few days ago, my kids spotted these perfect, stem-crossed beauties and wanted to chow down. “Wait, stop!” I yelled, “this isn’t our garden!” I’ve noticed so many front yard gardens lately – for many people, it’s the only place where there’s enough sun to grow food. So go ahead, build your garden in the front, but watch out for hungry two-year-olds!

If there’s one crop that conjures up more conversation and opinions about how to grow it than any other, it’s the tomato. So, here’s some friendly advice, but know that the next gardener or nursery will offer up an opinion (possibly not the same one that’s here) on THE way to get to those big, juicy ripe tomatoes. Take it all in but remember that your best teacher will be your own garden and actually growing the tomatoes. Be observant and you’ll learn more from your own patch of earth than you will from any book or garden center.

Here’s my basic recipe for success:

1. Loosen the soil with a garden fork, as deeply as you can – at least 12 inches is good. Enrich the soil with lots of compost – at least 4 inches layered on top of your soil, then worked into the top 6-8 inches. Add about 1/8 c per tomato of an organic nitrogen rich fertilizer to the area such as alfalfa meal, worm castings or blood meal. You can work this fertilizer in with the compost.

2. Space your tomato plants about 2 feet apart and try to maximize the growing area and minimize the pathway or area where you step in the garden – roots prefer soil that is loosened and not compacted. Bury the bottom half of the stem of the plant when planting – this will cause the tomato to grow roots off of the buried stem. Additional roots will improve the overall health of the plant.

3. Water using soaker hoses or drip irrigation. This will allow a long, deep and consistent watering that will help minimize disease and pest infestation.

4. Layer a 2-4 inch mulch over the soil around your tomatoes (and on top of your soaker hoses or drip tape) once the soil has warmed up – April is a good time. Good mulches for tomatoes include newspaper (with leaves or pine needles on top of them), pine needles, grass clippings or something that is finely shredded and will decompose in one season.

5. Give your tomatoes support so they will grow straight and tall. There are many methods for staking – all with their advantages and disadvantages. If using cages, get the absolute largest one you can find. T-stakes work well too but you’ll have to tie your tomatoes’ main stem to the stake ever 12-18 inches of growth.  Check out this study done by some master gardeners on the pros and cons of various methods for staking tomatoes.