Latest / ATXGardens Podcast / What to do in your Central Texas garden (June 1-15): Harvest Veggies & Plant Fast

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What to do in your Central Texas garden (June 1-15): Harvest Veggies & Plant Fast · ATXGardens Podcast

• 0:08
  SPEAKER_00: Hi listeners, I'm Colleen Dieker, landscape consultant and certified arborist at atxgardens.com.
• 0:20
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to the ATX Gardens Podcast, where every other week I share simple, timely tips for what to do in your Central Texas garden right now.
• 0:31
  SPEAKER_00: If you're watching on YouTube, tap like and subscribe for more gardening help.
• 0:39
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome, Austin Gardeners.
• 0:42
  SPEAKER_00: Today I'll be talking about what to do in your garden and landscape in the first half of June.
• 0:50
  SPEAKER_00: This is a busy and fun time for gardeners.
• 0:54
  SPEAKER_00: I'm Colleen Dieter with atxgardens.com.
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_00: Let's get to it.
• 1:01
  SPEAKER_00: So, in general, in the first half of June, I am starting to feel the change of the seasons, a feeling that I really love as a landscaper when the very busy spring season slows down and summer starts to set in.
• 1:19
  SPEAKER_00: You know, the air starts to feel a little heavier, a little hotter.
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_00: Everyone starts moving more slowly, and the lushness of the plants looms large at this time of year.
• 1:34
  SPEAKER_00: Make sure you're staying safe in the garden.
• 1:37
  SPEAKER_00: Make sure you enjoy a beverage while you're out.
• 1:41
  SPEAKER_00: Move your gardening tasks to uh cooler times of the day if possible.
• 1:47
  SPEAKER_00: I know a couple of uh midnight gardeners get those headlamps on and get out there at night.
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_00: If you're out during the day, make sure you get the sunblock and the bug spray on you.
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_00: Other things to think about at this time of year in the landscape, it's an extremely weedy time of year.
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_00: All of the cool season weeds are going to seed, like hedge parsley, false dandelions, and clover burrs.
• 2:19
  SPEAKER_00: Of course, you know, earlier in the year and past episodes of the podcast, I was letting everyone know to try to get after those weeds while they're tiny.
• 2:30
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, little seedlings are easier to get rid of than big plants.
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_00: But now's the time when they've matured and they're big and blooming and finishing up blooming and starting to make burrs and starting to make seeds for the weeds that don't have burrs.
• 2:53
  SPEAKER_00: I have rescue brome in my yard that's going to seed now.
• 2:58
  SPEAKER_00: It's very hard to keep up with it.
• 3:01
  SPEAKER_00: So the best thing you can do is try to cut them down at this time of year or pull them, but make sure that you put the seed heads and the groups of seeds attached to the plants into municipal compost.
• 3:20
  SPEAKER_00: You know, City of Austin has composting services, or you put them into the trash.
• 3:26
  SPEAKER_00: Don't put them into your compost pile and don't leave them lying on the ground because all of those seeds will sit there until next year and then they'll sprout next year.
• 3:39
  SPEAKER_00: So you can really help your future self by interrupting the life cycle of the weeds by trying to get them out of there now before the seeds start falling on the ground or blowing away in the wind.
• 3:58
  SPEAKER_00: I got a tip last year from a customer of mine.
• 4:01
  SPEAKER_00: If you have hedge parsley, clover burrs, any kind of weeds that have seeds that get stuck to your clothes, they're such a nuisance in the yard and can be really hard to get rid of.
• 4:19
  SPEAKER_00: And so something that's great to do at this time of year when those seeds start falling on the ground is to get an old blanket that you don't care about and take that blanket out there and drag it over the area where the weeds are growing to collect the seeds.
• 4:38
  SPEAKER_00: Then the seeds will stick all over that blanket.
• 4:42
  SPEAKER_00: Then just throw away that blanket.
• 4:45
  SPEAKER_00: And again, you'll be collecting those seeds from the weeds and getting them off of your property to interrupt that life cycle so there'll be fewer weeds next year.
• 4:57
  SPEAKER_00: For the first half of June, this can be a really buggy time of year for our plants.
• 5:05
  SPEAKER_00: When it's hot and humid outside, sometimes our plants can become infested with small insects that suck the juice out of our plants.
• 5:18
  SPEAKER_00: So those little bugs include things like white fly, aphids, scale, spider mites, and thrips.
• 5:31
  SPEAKER_00: There's a lot of things that you can do to prevent those sorts of outbreaks.
• 5:35
  SPEAKER_00: First off, you can keep a diverse ecosystem in your yard with many different types of plants around to support beneficial predator insects.
• 5:45
  SPEAKER_00: So if you have a vegetable garden and you're not growing any perennials or flowers near the vegetable garden, you may not have a big enough population of beneficial insects because the vegetable garden doesn't provide enough spaces for beneficial insects like ladybugs and green lace wings to live.
• 6:09
  SPEAKER_00: And so having an area near your vegetable garden with perennial plants that attract pollinators can really help give those beneficial insects a place to live year-round and give them the shelter that they need.
• 6:28
  SPEAKER_00: Pruning plants to create better airflow through the center of the plant and more light penetration into the center of the plant is key for preventing these sort of insect infestations.
• 6:41
  SPEAKER_00: I found that especially beneficial with fruit trees, especially citrus.
• 6:48
  SPEAKER_00: An old tip from Howard Garrett in one of his books, he says to drench the soil around plants with liquid humate.
• 7:01
  SPEAKER_00: And that helps cut off the life cycle of some of those little bugs.
• 7:06
  SPEAKER_00: And I have had good results doing that with my citrus trees.
• 7:12
  SPEAKER_00: This year I'm also experimenting with soil drenching with a rosemary oil-based insecticide that is supposedly systemic and organic.
• 7:24
  SPEAKER_00: I will let you know if that works or not later on.
• 7:29
  SPEAKER_00: And then if you do face uh some tiny sucking insects, sucking all the juice out of your plants, most of them poop out sugar water.
• 7:40
  SPEAKER_00: And uh sooty mold will grow in that sugar water, so your plants will start to look like they have ash on them or like they're dirty, like soot is growing on the plants.
• 7:55
  SPEAKER_00: So sometimes just spraying with a hard stream of water can knock off all those little tiny bugs.
• 8:01
  SPEAKER_00: You might not actually see the bugs, you might be more likely to see that the leaves and stems of the plant are sticky with the sugar water.
• 8:11
  SPEAKER_00: And you might also see ants coming to harvest the sugar water and eat the sugar water from those little tiny sucking insects.
• 8:20
  SPEAKER_00: And you're more likely to see those signs of infestation before you even see the bugs.
• 8:27
  SPEAKER_00: So a lot of times just hitting those bugs with hard stream of water will knock them off.
• 8:33
  SPEAKER_00: You can clean the plants off that way.
• 8:36
  SPEAKER_00: If you have a really, really bad infestation, then you can spray the plants with neem oil.
• 8:42
  SPEAKER_00: But I recommend using that very sparingly and avoid using it when there's pollinators around because it kills everyone.
• 8:50
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, recently a listener asked me about how to deal with soil erosion problems in her yard.
• 9:00
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm getting this question so much lately from all of my customers because of all of the great rain we've been enjoying this year.
• 9:10
  SPEAKER_00: You know, rain will fall and then um wash away soil and it'll create a muddy mess.
• 9:19
  SPEAKER_00: And so this is gonna kick off the first of a series of erosion control tips that I'll be sharing in the next few episodes.
• 9:28
  SPEAKER_00: This episode, I'm gonna start with a tip for folks who do not have gutters on their structures and their homes and sheds and garage buildings and stuff like that.
• 9:41
  SPEAKER_00: So if you don't have gutters and you have problems, problems with soil erosion, this tip is for you.
• 9:49
  SPEAKER_00: I recommend adding river rock along the foundation of the house and extending that river rock out to about six inches past the drip line, and the drip line is where the water falls off of a roof.
• 10:06
  SPEAKER_00: So extend from the foundation about six inches past the drip line and do that all the way around the house.
• 10:15
  SPEAKER_00: That helps keep soil from splashing back onto your house and slows the rainwater down to keep it uh from carrying away the soil.
• 10:26
  SPEAKER_00: Not always, but often it can be hard to grow plants under the eaves of a house.
• 10:33
  SPEAKER_00: And sometimes plants under the drip line can get squished or broken by heavy rain rolling off the roof.
• 10:42
  SPEAKER_00: And so I prefer to avoid planting right up against the house and add river rock there instead.
• 10:50
  SPEAKER_00: It's also really good, a good practice for maintaining your home because it allows you access for like cleaning windows or pest treatments, and it also can help with uh fire prevention.
• 11:04
  SPEAKER_00: Do not put fabric underneath the river rock.
• 11:07
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, it just gets in the way, the weeds grow through it, it's useless.
• 11:13
  SPEAKER_00: So, for more tips like those, go ahead and like and subscribe to this podcast and hire me for a consultation at atxgardens.com.
• 11:26
  SPEAKER_00: And I'll have more tips about erosion control in future episodes.
• 11:32
  SPEAKER_00: Moving on to woody plants.
• 11:35
  SPEAKER_00: What's going on with all of our trees and shrubs and roses and woody vines right now?
• 11:41
  SPEAKER_00: It's getting hot.
• 11:43
  SPEAKER_00: Do not plant any woody plants at this time of year.
• 11:46
  SPEAKER_00: It is not a good time for planting woody plants.
• 11:49
  SPEAKER_00: They're actively growing at this time of year.
• 11:53
  SPEAKER_00: They're gonna have soft new growth on them that does not cope well with being transplanted and root damage.
• 12:03
  SPEAKER_00: You know, it's gonna be really hot coming up here.
• 12:06
  SPEAKER_00: Even with the rain we're having, it's still really hard to keep woody plants going when they're planted at this time of year.
• 12:13
  SPEAKER_00: It's hard to keep them alive through the summer.
• 12:16
  SPEAKER_00: So avoid planting any woody plants now if you can.
• 12:20
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, do not trim any oaks now because it's still oak wilt season.
• 12:26
  SPEAKER_00: Pruning now can spread oak wilt, so avoid pruning oaks at this time of year.
• 12:32
  SPEAKER_00: Wait until June 30th or later.
• 12:36
  SPEAKER_00: Now, for other trees, I'm gonna bend the rules a little bit.
• 12:42
  SPEAKER_00: I think it's okay to start doing some light summer pruning to clear your roof, clear the street, um, clear walkways and driveways.
• 12:54
  SPEAKER_00: It is better for the health of the trees in general to wait a little longer to prune them, getting later into June and July.
• 13:05
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, but this year everything's growing so fast.
• 13:08
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, I know I have needed to start trimming a little bit early to uh clear some walkways and clear the driveway so I'm not hitting the tree with the car over and over again.
• 13:23
  SPEAKER_00: But if you can wait until midsummer to do heavy pruning, it's much better for the trees.
• 13:29
  SPEAKER_00: And of course, keep listening to the ATX Gardens podcast for more updates about when it's time to start pruning trees again.
• 13:39
  SPEAKER_00: I'm getting a second round of blooms on most of my uh re-blooming roses, which has been really fun.
• 13:46
  SPEAKER_00: I've been enjoying that beautiful color out the window.
• 13:50
  SPEAKER_00: You can deadhead your roses to possibly get even more blooms into June.
• 13:56
  SPEAKER_00: If you're deadheading your roses in June, it's a good idea to give them a little compost or fertilizer per your soil test results.
• 14:06
  SPEAKER_00: Um, even if you're not deadheading them, they're still actively growing at this time of year and would benefit from some compost or fertilizer.
• 14:16
  SPEAKER_00: If you live in an area with high pH in the soil, a little bit of acidification will help your roses.
• 14:25
  SPEAKER_00: And liquid humate is a good option for lowering the pH.
• 14:29
  SPEAKER_00: And I talked about liquid humate earlier, too, and I have a link in the show notes to purchase um liquid humate via Amazon.
• 14:39
  SPEAKER_00: I am an Amazon affiliate.
• 14:42
  SPEAKER_00: Now, what about our fruit trees?
• 14:45
  SPEAKER_00: What's going on with fruit trees at this time of year?
• 14:49
  SPEAKER_00: Well, something exciting is hopefully you're getting some fruit at this time of year.
• 14:55
  SPEAKER_00: It's harvest time, it's peach season, it's plum season, you may still be getting some apples, um, nectarines.
• 15:06
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, it's time for them.
• 15:08
  SPEAKER_00: It's maybe still a little early for apples, depending on what variety you have, but start checking all your fruits for ripeness uh for all the palm fruits like apples and pears and all the stone fruits like um peaches, plums, and nectarines.
• 15:27
  SPEAKER_00: I just picked my plums.
• 15:30
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, they were not ripe yet, but they kept disappearing.
• 15:36
  SPEAKER_00: I know that animals are eating them, and also some of the storms we've been having have knocked them off the trees.
• 15:44
  SPEAKER_00: So I went ahead and I picked them just a little bit early.
• 15:48
  SPEAKER_00: They're just starting to get a little bit of color on them, and I put them in a paper bag so they can ripen on the counter.
• 15:57
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm gonna let them sit for about a week or so and then check on them and see if they're ready.
• 16:03
  SPEAKER_00: Blackberries are getting ready.
• 16:06
  SPEAKER_00: So check your blackberries and dewberries.
• 16:09
  SPEAKER_00: If you are a berry grower, look for big dark-colored fruit with no green spots on them left.
• 16:18
  SPEAKER_00: Um, that's how you know that they're ready.
• 16:21
  SPEAKER_00: And they're delicious and easy to grow here in Austin.
• 16:25
  SPEAKER_00: They're odd plants.
• 16:27
  SPEAKER_00: I always tell people that blackberries are strange plants to grow.
• 16:31
  SPEAKER_00: They have a weird growth habit and pattern.
• 16:35
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm getting into midsummer, I will be sharing instructions and tips on how to care for blackberries.
• 16:44
  SPEAKER_00: And um, midsummer is the big time for caring for your blackberry plants.
• 16:50
  SPEAKER_00: So keep listening to future episodes.
• 16:53
  SPEAKER_00: Up next, we're gonna talk about perennials and bulbs and grasses or your ornamental grasses.
• 17:01
  SPEAKER_00: The long-term forecast for June looks rainy.
• 17:07
  SPEAKER_00: I'm feeling cautiously optimistic that we might have some good rain in June.
• 17:55
  SPEAKER_00: So it's safe, I think, to continue planting perennials, bulbs, ornamental grasses, and succulents.
• 18:07
  SPEAKER_00: I just got some canna lilies last week.
• 18:11
  SPEAKER_00: I have some other canna lilies that I'm gonna transplant coming up here this week.
• 18:18
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm looking forward to that.
• 18:20
  SPEAKER_00: Even though it's getting a little bit hot, a little bit later, I think some of those tropical type perennials don't mind being transplanted or planted at this time of year.
• 18:33
  SPEAKER_00: So you can still get to that.
• 18:35
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, try to start wrapping up though, you know, getting into mid-June, it's starting to get pretty late for planting most things, and we can't count on the rain when we start getting into July, and it'll be harder to keep them alive if they're planted in the summer.
• 18:55
  SPEAKER_00: So try to wrap it up.
• 18:56
  SPEAKER_00: If you have any plants lying around that you need to get in the ground, try to do it now.
• 19:02
  SPEAKER_00: I just got some free uh echinacea plants from that were a little sad looking at the nursery, and they were in the nursery free section, and I just stuck them in the ground too.
• 19:15
  SPEAKER_00: It's still okay to divide and transplant anything that you might need to at this time of year to try to get it done here in the first half of June.
• 19:26
  SPEAKER_00: Now it's time for our sponsor break.
• 19:30
  SPEAKER_00: Hey y'all, this is Colleen Dieter from ATXgardens.com.
• 19:36
  SPEAKER_00: If you need personalized help with your landscape, book a consultation and we'll walk your yard together.
• 19:43
  SPEAKER_00: I'll answer all of your questions and we'll create a strategy together that feels doable.
• 19:49
  SPEAKER_00: I specialize in helping do-it-yourselfers by alleviating their anxieties about their yards.
• 19:56
  SPEAKER_00: This week I visited with Anna in central Austin.
• 20:00
  SPEAKER_00: She's newly retired and wants to spend more time gardening.
• 20:05
  SPEAKER_00: Her yard got kind of overgrown in the last few years while she was too busy to keep up with it.
• 20:11
  SPEAKER_00: I showed her which plants to keep, which to remove, and which to transplant.
• 20:17
  SPEAKER_00: I also gave her some tips about which tools to use, and I helped her with some flooding problems that she was having in her yard and gave her the basics about how to build a vegetable garden.
• 20:30
  SPEAKER_00: Um we went over all of that in just two hours.
• 20:34
  SPEAKER_00: So make an appointment today at atxgardens.com for whatever kind of yard and garden questions you might have.
• 20:42
  SPEAKER_00: That's atxgardens.com.
• 20:46
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, let's get back to the episode.
• 20:49
  SPEAKER_00: All right, so what's going on with our vegetable and herb garden at this time of year?
• 20:56
  SPEAKER_00: In the first half of June, all of the cool season plants are completely fading now, like the annual poppies and lark spurs.
• 21:07
  SPEAKER_00: Leave them if you want them to go to seed so you'll have more next year.
• 21:12
  SPEAKER_00: Or if you want to collect the seeds, leave them alone and wait for those pods to dry out and then collect the seeds.
• 21:20
  SPEAKER_00: Pull them out if you don't want the seeds.
• 21:23
  SPEAKER_00: Pull them out before they dry out and start spreading seed everywhere.
• 21:29
  SPEAKER_00: If you grew colendulas for the flowers to use uh for skin remedies, make sure to harvest some now uh and dry them to save them because they'll all be done blooming very soon.
• 21:46
  SPEAKER_00: You'll want to leave some flowers on the plants to grow seeds, and then you can let those seeds dry on the plants, and you can collect those calendula seeds and plant them in the fall.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, now is a great time to harvest all of your green beans if you have any left.
• 22:07
  SPEAKER_00: You might save the best two plants and let them mature, let the beans completely mature on those plants so that you can save those seeds and plant them in the fall.
• 22:19
  SPEAKER_00: If your green beans, if you got a big harvest, it's about time to start wrapping up with the green beans and you can start pulling out the plants.
• 22:30
  SPEAKER_00: They're gonna their production is gonna start tapering off here soon when it gets really hot.
• 22:37
  SPEAKER_00: It's time to start removing other spring beans.
• 22:39
  SPEAKER_00: Crops too that are not heat tolerant in addition to the green beans.
• 22:44
  SPEAKER_00: So things like English cucumbers, some of the less heat tolerant varieties of cucumbers, you might see them start to get infested with bugs.
• 22:57
  SPEAKER_00: They might start getting diseases at this time of year.
• 23:01
  SPEAKER_00: The bigger beefsteak type tomatoes usually stop producing.
• 23:07
  SPEAKER_00: This all happens when the nighttime temperatures start staying above 70 or 75 degrees.
• 23:16
  SPEAKER_00: That's when you'll start to see the spring crops, they'll start to tank, and that's normal, and that's okay.
• 23:25
  SPEAKER_00: If you still have turnips or collards, um, it's definitely time to remove those.
• 23:32
  SPEAKER_00: It's getting too hot for them.
• 23:34
  SPEAKER_00: If there's any crops in your garden that are looking shabby and are no longer productive, don't be afraid to just go ahead and pull them out, and then you can decide if you want to plant something for the summer garden or if you want to let your garden go dormant for the hot season.
• 23:55
  SPEAKER_00: It's potato and onion harvesting time.
• 23:59
  SPEAKER_00: So get in there, start pulling out those onions, uh, dig up those potatoes.
• 24:05
  SPEAKER_00: You'll know when they're ready, the onion tops will flop over.
• 24:11
  SPEAKER_00: That's usually a sign that the onions are done growing for this year, and it's time to harvest them.
• 24:17
  SPEAKER_00: With potato plants, the potatoes are usually ready when the top of the plant starts to die.
• 24:25
  SPEAKER_00: And you can sometimes just scooch the soil out of the way at the base of the plant and see if you can see any potatoes, tops of the potatoes in there.
• 24:35
  SPEAKER_00: I love growing potatoes.
• 24:37
  SPEAKER_00: It's like finding buried treasure.
• 24:41
  SPEAKER_00: So start digging those guys up and make some potato salad.
• 24:45
  SPEAKER_00: Stop watering your garlic at this time of year.
• 24:49
  SPEAKER_00: I know it's been rainy, so you can't help it sometimes, but this is the time of year where the garlic needs to start maturing underground.
• 24:58
  SPEAKER_00: And uh, if you can avoid watering it, that helps it mature faster and get that papery husk on the outside and prevents it from rotting.
• 25:08
  SPEAKER_00: But if it rains, there's nothing you can do about it.
• 25:11
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, it'll probably be fine anyway.
• 25:14
  SPEAKER_00: It's also artichoke time if you've been harvesting your artichokes and enjoying them.
• 25:20
  SPEAKER_00: The part that you eat is a flower bud that hasn't opened yet.
• 25:25
  SPEAKER_00: I really hope that all you vegetable gardeners out there are enjoying the satisfaction of eating the food that you grew with your plant partners.
• 25:35
  SPEAKER_00: Now, with it being harvesting time and some of the plants running their course, you can decide if you want to keep gardening through the heat of the summer.
• 25:45
  SPEAKER_00: You can plant black-eyed peas and cow peas, all the southern peas at this time of year, they'll all grow through the summer.
• 25:53
  SPEAKER_00: Of course, okra, it's okra time.
• 25:57
  SPEAKER_00: A lot of people might be who are early okra planters might be harvesting their first bunches right now.
• 26:03
  SPEAKER_00: Um, you can still plant okra now.
• 26:06
  SPEAKER_00: You can plant melons, they'll grow all summer.
• 26:11
  SPEAKER_00: Um, peppers and eggplants can still be planted at this time of year, too, as well as winter squash and pumpkins.
• 26:19
  SPEAKER_00: Those are all the warm season, hot, hot, hot season props.
• 26:24
  SPEAKER_00: And it's also sweet potato time.
• 26:27
  SPEAKER_00: You can still plant sweet potato slips.
• 26:29
  SPEAKER_00: Make sure that you're training and trellising all your vining plants.
• 26:35
  SPEAKER_00: Um, you might need to prune your indeterminate tomato varieties.
• 26:39
  SPEAKER_00: The indeterminate tomatoes are usually the uh cherry types, the little tomatoes.
• 26:44
  SPEAKER_00: They're the little grape types or little pear types or cherry types.
• 26:49
  SPEAKER_00: So you might need to prune those to rain them in a little bit.
• 26:53
  SPEAKER_00: Don't be afraid to cut off some of the uh branches that are growing out from the sides to increase light penetration and airflow, and that helps prevent diseases and bug infestations, and that will give you a longer production period from those tomato plants.
• 27:12
  SPEAKER_00: Peppers and eggplants are gonna get really big going forward through the season, so don't wait too long to put cages around them or start staking them because when they get too big, you can't do it later.
• 27:27
  SPEAKER_00: Now is a really good time to be harvesting from the herb garden.
• 27:32
  SPEAKER_00: I've been making mint tea almost every day.
• 27:36
  SPEAKER_00: I've been enjoying lemon balm tea.
• 27:39
  SPEAKER_00: My sweet husband loves to cook and he's been cooking with all the herbs from the garden this time of year.
• 27:46
  SPEAKER_00: It's just a great time in the herb garden for harvesting.
• 27:50
  SPEAKER_00: Make sure to enjoy them fresh at this time of year, but also harvest larger quantities and set them aside and dry them, and you'll be able to enjoy them all summer long.
• 28:01
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, and now on to my activism portion of the podcast.
• 28:08
  SPEAKER_00: Last episode I mentioned the Iraqi Seed Collective and how I'd recently received some seeds from the Iraqi Seed Collective, a group of Iraqi and other Southwest Asian, North African heritage seed growers devoted to preserving the genetic legacy of Iraqi crops by saving seeds.
• 28:31
  SPEAKER_00: What other seeds are at risk due to armed conflicts?
• 28:35
  SPEAKER_00: What seeds are we losing as humans when there's a war?
• 28:39
  SPEAKER_00: Are there plants that are going extinct?
• 28:43
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 28:44
  SPEAKER_00: Of course, the Iraqi Palestinian conflict that's going on now is killing and injuring farmers on both sides of that conflict, and I'm sure destroying the seeds that they are stewarding.
• 29:03
  SPEAKER_00: The Palestinian Seed Library is a US-based organization similarly preserving seeds stewarded by Palestinians.
• 29:13
  SPEAKER_00: I know there's been a lot of reports of farmers being attacked and killed on both sides of that conflict.
• 29:20
  SPEAKER_00: And the Palestinian heirloom seed library is preserving these ancient varieties of food crops that would otherwise be going extinct, primarily due to this armed conflict.
• 29:35
  SPEAKER_00: So Palestine and Israel are located in a region known as the Fertile Crescent, which is what I learned in school as the cradle of civilization.
• 29:45
  SPEAKER_00: And it was one of the first areas of the world where humans started farming.
• 29:52
  SPEAKER_00: And there are a lot of crops with really important genetics that come from that part of the world that need to be preserved.
• 30:01
  SPEAKER_00: So check out the Palestinian Heirloom Seed Library website.
• 30:07
  SPEAKER_00: It's a fascinating organization.
• 30:09
  SPEAKER_00: And as always, think globally, act locally.
• 30:14
  SPEAKER_00: Please give a donation of cash or seeds to Central Texas seed savers right here in Central Texas, working to prevent extinction of plants that are important to Central Texans through seed sharing.
• 30:30
  SPEAKER_00: And of course, there's a link to our website in the show notes.
• 30:35
  SPEAKER_00: Now, what's going on in our local gardening community?
• 30:39
  SPEAKER_00: The Austin Pond Society will host the 2026 Austin Pond and Garden Tour June 6th and 7th from 9 a.m.
• 30:48
  SPEAKER_00: to 5 p.m.
• 30:49
  SPEAKER_00: The spectacular Saturday Night Lights, Pond and Garden will be featured from 6 to 9 after dark.
• 30:57
  SPEAKER_00: This event is a self-guided tour of amazing ponds and gardens in and around the Greater Austin area.
• 31:04
  SPEAKER_00: Enjoy garden art, meandering streams, fountains, waterfalls, dragonflies, koi, and amphibians.
• 31:13
  SPEAKER_00: Some of these inspiring ponds and gardens are also certified wildlife habitats.
• 31:19
  SPEAKER_00: Proceeds will help support local charities, Zilker Botanical Gardens, Educational Children's Programs, Central Texas Gardener, and Blue Santa.
• 31:29
  SPEAKER_00: Tickets are available.
• 31:31
  SPEAKER_00: There's a link in the show notes.
• 31:34
  SPEAKER_00: All right, that wraps up today's episode.
• 31:37
  SPEAKER_00: Please check out the show notes for links to everything I mentioned.
• 31:41
  SPEAKER_00: And if you enjoyed this podcast, please share it with a fellow Central Texas Gardener.
• 31:46
  SPEAKER_00: It really helps me grow the show.
• 31:49
  SPEAKER_00: I'm Colleen, the landscape consultant at atxgardens.com.
• 31:55
  SPEAKER_00: And I'll see you next time.
• 31:57
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks for listening to the ATX Gardens podcast.
• 32:01
  SPEAKER_00: For show notes, tools, and to book a consultation with me, visit atxgardens.com.
• 32:11
  SPEAKER_00: Happy gardening.
• 32:12
  SPEAKER_00: See you next time.