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Tim Woods, Montgomery County Master Gardener, plants winter greens.

Many plants that can be grown in the Texas garden, such as these Serrano del Sol peppers. (Photos courtesy Texas AgriLife Extension Service)

Laugh at the recession: Eat the landscape

The Texas AgriLife Extension Service will host an "edible home landscape" seminar on Jan. 30 at the Hilltop Lakes Resort in Leon County.

"Laugh at the recession; eat the landscape," said Tommy Neyland, AgriLife Extension agent for Leon County, and organizer for the event.

Neland is only partially joking. It's possible to save "quite a bit" of money by growing one's own vegetables and herbs, he said.

"There's been a big increase in interest for home gardening the last couple of years, most likely because of the economy," Neyland said.

Featured speakers at this year's event will be Thomas LeRoy, AgriLife Extension agent for Montgomery County and co-author of The Southern Kitchen Garden: Vegetables, Fruits, Herbs, and Flowers Essential for the Southern Cook.

Many people think The Southern Kitchen Garden is a cookbook, but they're wrong, LeRoy said.

"Kitchen gardening is a practice that developed in France and other parts of Europe," he said. "(It's) where you would grow the things you used in the kitchen in a garden located where you could easily access it by the back door of the kitchen."

At the seminar, LeRoy and his co-author, Bill Adams, retired AgriLife Extension horticultural agent, Harris County, will talk about what can be grown in the home garden and how to get started.

"Because what you use in the kitchen is not just vegetables — it includes herbs, fruits and even cut flowers — we'll talk about growing those too," LeRoy said.

Though it is possible to save money growing your own vegetables, especially "staples" such as tomatoes and green chilies, not all homegrown vegetables will be cheaper than grocery store produce.

"If you grow the right things, you can save money," LeRoy said. "If you try to justify gardening by growing potatoes, it's pretty hard to do. But if you grow tomatoes, it's pretty easy to justify it."

But there are other reasons to grow a variety of your own vegetables, he said, including freshness and flavor, and being able to control what pesticides are used, if any.

"The thing about Texas is that there are so many things we can grow here throughout the year," LeRoy said. "For example, in the winter, we can grow all the salad greens that are essential to the table, everything from broccoli, to lettuces, and even leeks and onions."

As far as fruits are concerned, blackberries and strawberries and some of the smaller fruits are a good fit for home landscapes with limited space, he said.

"It's hard to fit in a big pecan tree into a small backyard garden, but you can always fit in a small orange tree or tub of strawberries or a couple of blackberry plants," LeRoy said.

LeRoy and Adams will speak in the morning session. The afternoon speaker will be Judy Barrett, author of What Can I Do With My Herbs?

Registration for the event is $75 per person. A catered lunch, break refreshments and handout materials will be included.

"Due to the speaker cost, meal cost and room cost, to reserve a seat I have to require that attendees preregister and prepay," Neyland said.

Private pesticide applicators will earn two continuing education units, both in the general category, toward the renewal of their Texas Department of Agriculture licenses.

The seminar will begin at 8:30 a.m. and end at 2:30 p.m.

To preregister and for more information, call the AgriLife Extension office in Leon County at (903) 536-2531.

By Stephen Young, Ph.D.
Washington State University
Center for Precision Agricultural Systems
Prosser, Washington
steve_young@wsu.edu

In the Biblical account, weeds were the result of the curse for Adam’s sin. In the 21st century, we are still toiling by the sweat of our brow to control weeds. What Adam and the rest of mankind have endured for thousands of years, may soon be controlled by a robot, similar to the ones that vacuum your floor, protect your car and entertain your kids.

Using computers to guide a machine, give it vision and allow it to make a direct application sounds like something being developed by the U.S. military. While the military is close to perfecting the art of seeking and destroying, scientists in the agricultural arena have only just begun to understand how this technology can be used to seek and destroy weeds.

High speed cameras and expert software with laser sensing capabilities have made computer applications a reality to a biological field that is governed by the unpredictable interaction of nature and the environment. Previously, these quick and precise applications were isolated to video games for teenagers (e.g., X-Box) and vehicle security systems for the family car (e.g., OnStar). Nowadays, computer technologies for sensing plants (e.g., WeedSeeker) and positioning equipment in the field (e.g., AgGPS) have begun to make the impossible a reality in agricultural cropping systems.

But how soon will this technology be available to the home gardener? It maybe a while, but probably not another thousand years. Currently, research on knowledge based machine vision systems (i.e., automation) is being conducted around the world in agronomic and horticultural cropping systems, which include dryland wheat, irrigated corn and high-value fruits and vegetables. For example, scientists in the U.K. have developed a weeding robot that uses hot steam to control weeds in organic sugar beet and carrot resulting in a significant reduction in the cost of hand labor. In Illinois and California, university professors have developed ‘smart sprayers’ that use video or hyperspectral cameras to detect the size and density of weeds, which are then either controlled immediately or spot treated later using a spatial GIS map. In addition to knowledge based machine vision systems, technologies are also being used to measure environmental factors to predict the occurrence of weeds and administer preventative control measures. For example, scientists in Denmark using sensors to measure soil properties (e.g., organic matter, texture, fertility) are working to correlate these abiotic properties with the location of dense weed populations.

Machine vision and RTK GPS guidance systems are the latest technologies being researched for use in weed detection and identification. Other technologies include guidance, precision in-row weed control, and mapping. A symposium at the upcoming annual meetings of the Weed Science Society of America will encompass these topics, as experts from around the country will gather to present the latest research and discuss future developments in this rapidly advancing area of technology that is being applied to weed control in cropping systems.

The actuality of a robot loading the dishwasher, walking the dog and pulling weeds in the garden may be several decades away, but then whoever thought the automobile or airplane were possible, just two centuries ago? One thing is for sure, though, weeds will always be a problem thanks to Adam.

Are you looking for a fast crop that children can enjoy growing? Try radishes. Some varieties can produce a harvestable crop in as little as three weeks. Just be sure to have them plant small, staggered rows or you will have too many at one time. Now getting kids to eat them — that is another story!

Have a favorite gardening tip you’d like to share? Texas Gardener’s Seeds is seeking brief gardening tips from Texas gardeners to use in future issues. If we publish your tip in Seeds, we will send you a free copy of Texas Gardener's 2010 Planning Guide & Calendar. Please send your tips of 50 words or less to the editor at: Gardening Tips.

Not all nematodes are bad. In fact, many of those microscopic worm-like animals are very beneficial. They live in the film of moisture that covers soil particles. Just like earthworms, they help change organic matter into nutrients that plants need, especially nitrogen. Some nematodes prey on soil-dwelling pests such as white grubs and root maggots. You can find these beneficial nematodes available for sale at nurseries and garden centers that specialize in organic products.

By Kelly Conrad Bender

NEW EDITION of the popular Texas Parks & Wildlife book, now with fully searchable DVD containing all the plant and animal information you need to customize your backyard habitat.

Whether you have an apartment balcony or a multi-acre ranch, the Texas Wildscapes program provides the tools you need to make a home for all the animals that will thrive in the native habitat you create.

In Texas Wildscapes, Kelly Conrad Bender identifies the kinds of animals you can expect when you give them their three basic needs: food, water, and shelter. She then provides guidelines for designing and planting your yard or garden to best provide these requirements for the many birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and invertebrates the environment will attract.

$31.88 includes tax and shipping

Order online with credit card at www.texasgardener.com or call toll-free 1-800-727-9020.

Visa, MasterCard and Discover accepted.

Doug Welsh’s Texas Garden Almanac is a giant monthly calendar for the entire state — a practical, information-packed, month-by-month guide for gardeners and "yardeners." This book provides everything you need to know about flowers and garden design; trees, shrubs, and vines; lawns; vegetable, herb, and fruit gardening; and soil, mulch, water, pests, and plant care. It will help you to create beautiful, productive, healthy gardens and have fun doing it.

$26.63 plus shipping*

Order by calling 1-800-727-9020 or order on-line.

*Mention Texas Gardener’s Seeds when ordering by phone and we’ll waive shipping charges. (Discover, MasterCard and Visa accepted.)

Grow-Web encourages plant growth and development, and also provides protection from insects, birds, diseases and frosts. It is also air and water permeable and allows for ventilation. Grow-Web provides excellent protection to seedlings when applied directly to the seedbed.

$30.64 per 12.3’ x 32.8’ roll (includes shipping!)

Order by calling 1-800-727-9020 or order on-line.

(Discover, MasterCard and Visa accepted.)

Texas Gardener’s Seeds is published weekly. © Suntex Communications, Inc. 2009. All rights reserved. You may forward this publication to your friends and colleagues if it is sent in its entirety. No individual part of this newsletter may be reproduced in any manner without prior written permission from the publisher.

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Publisher: Chris S. Corby ● Editor: Michael Bracken

Texas Gardener’s Seeds, P.O. Box 9005, Waco, Texas 76714 ● www.TexasGardener.com