Camera Things (Part 1)

Man...It's be like forever - almost 2 years, really - since I've done a blog entry.  There's been a Sunshine Community Garden plant sale and everything (spoiler alert: I bought too many tomatoes and they only produced a handful).

Anyway, today's blog entry is brought to you by Roberta's Camera, El Presidente.

El Presidente got sick about a month ago so he was sent off for treatment.  Now he's back, but there's a new stud in town (Pincay) so he's been relegated to second fiddle.  Because I always talk about how I need a better camera than my trusty ol' Rebel XTi, Roberta offered to loan me El Presidente with one of her lenses so I could play around and determine if I really wanted a new camera. 

I haven't done a "camera" test yet, but I did do a "lens" test the other night.  I used El Presidente with different lenses to see what type of difference a lens makes.  The lens I borrowed is a 70-300 IS lens.  The IS stands for "Image stabilization." That means that it tries to account for you moving ever so slightly while taking a photo so that you get a clear photo instead of a blurry one.  I have a 70-300 lens, and Shawn has a 70-300 lens so I put them all to the test.

All three lenses have autofocus on them, though Shawn's is a pain in the ass and you really have to use manual to get it close, then switch it to auto so it actually will focus.  In any case, while I took a bunch of photos, the ones on the tripod looked about the same, and the ones where IS was turned off on Roberta's also looked about the same, so instead I'm only showing the three photos that demonstrate why you either a) want to use a tripod when taking photos at full extension (i.e. at 300 or b) why you want an IS lens.

As mentioned above, because Shawn's lens doesn't really autofocus, I decided I'd use Manual focus for these photos.  Aperature (how much light is let in) was set to 5.6 for all the photos (meaning that the background should be kinda fuzzy).  The shutter speed was set to automatic, but ended up being at 1/20 of a second for all three photos.  Usually, to cut down on motion blur (i.e. the camera moved), you want your speed to be 1/your distance - that is, I had these all set to 300, therefore I should have set my shutter speed to be 1/300 to cut down on motion blur.  Unfortunately, because it was dusk, I didn't really have the luxury of setting my shutter speed faster (unless I changed the ISO - i.e. film "speed" - it's why they always used to tell you "use 400 speed film when photographing sports, 100 if you're doing portraits")

The lens line up:  My lens (on camera), Roberta's lens, Shawn's lens

First up: My lens at full extension (300) attempting to take a photo of our formerly feral cat, Stripsie.  As you can see - terribly out of focus.  This is worse than normal - Shawn's lens is closer to what I expect, but you also will end up with a LOT of photos looking like this.  In this case, I probably didn't properly brace myself (bend the knees, engage your core, breathe in, breathe out, and as you breathe out, press the trigger - it's like shooting a gun, really)

300mm, 5.6, 1/20, ISO 320, lens= Canon 70-300 EF 4-5.6 III ($200)

As you can see, it looks a little washed out, but that's something that's easy enough to fix in GIMP (free photoshop)

a little better but still really bad.  The one thing to remember about photo editing - you can fix a lot of errors, but it's damn near impossible to fix 'blurry' so you really want to start with a crisp photo.


Shawn's lens

300mm, 5.6, 1/20, ISO 320, lens = Sigma 70-3004-5.6 APO Macro Super ($200)

Much clearer, but still a little on the fuzzy side.  That fuzz is from motion blur - I probably stabilized myself well, but you still have to depress that shutter button which moves the camera a little.  This is the type of stuff that can be fixed by using a tripod or monopod.

And with the level fixing: (btw, this is what happens when you click that little sun at the top of the screen on Instagram if you go into "edit" mode - and aren't using one of their pre-set filters - I believe they call it "lux")

Finally, we have the Image Stabilization lens.

300mm, 5.6, 1/20, ISO 320, lens = Canon EF 70-300 4-5.6 IS USM ($650)

As you can see immediately, the image is much clearer.  It's not actually 100% clear - there's still a little motion blur, but it's so much less than the other photos that it appears clear.  I also technically had this set to the wrong type of motion correction - I had it set to II, when I maybe should have had it set to I as II is to be used for when you're panning, vs when you're not panning to the side.

And with levels fixing:

So yeah if you plan to be using a telephoto lens, it really does make sense to pay the extra cash for an image stabilization lens unless you're going to use a tripod/monopod for everything.  As I said, the photo above is STILL blurry from motion blur, and the only way to fix that would have been to have either a faster shutter speed or use a tripod.

Next up: the different camera bodies: 
- Canon D30 (Shawn's. It may not even work any more - it's been probably about 10 years since it's been used if not longer)
- Canon Rebel XTi (Katina's)
- Canon 6D (El Presidente)
** Also, sometime in the last 20 years, Canon changed their lens mount so I may not be able to do my camera test like I want to anyway.

Spring Clean Up

Man Oh Man -

I have spent time in the yard every weekend since the beginning of the year.  Whether it's grass removal, planting (now's the time to plant roses!), pruning (now's the time to be pruning the crepe myrtles), cutting back of the vines, or pulling weeds.  It's been CRAZY out there.  And, sadly, the yard doesn't necessarily look any better.  But it's one of those things that just needs to be done and it will make the yard look way nicer in the summer when things are actually growing.  Of course, all the work in the yard means that other things are falling by the wayside - the house really could stand to be cleaned, the litterboxes should be switched out, and so on and so forth.  But I'm sure all that can be rectified a little later - you know, like during the time when it's horrendous outside and I won't want to go out to do yard work. 

On Mold

So I sowed those little lettuce and spinach seeds and I dutifully went out and watered everything every day and the day came and went where I was supposed to see seedlings, and I kept on watering and hoping and what have you.*  And then I gave up and decided to start a little INDOOR bed of lettuces and spinaches. 

I accomplished this feat by reusing one of those large containers that spinach comes in at the store.  I slashed a few holes in the bottom, I put a layer of coarse sand, and then in went the dirt, then some worm castings and finally some seed starter mix.  I watered the dirt and then pressed some seeds into the seed starter mix.  I then covered the bin by putting the lid on it and set it on my kitchen table.

I then promptly forgot about the damn thing.

A few days later I was like "oh yeah, I should probably see if it needs more water."  More water it did not need.  When I pulled the lid off, I was dismayed to see that while I had a bunch of sprouts, I also had a bunch of mold. 

After a quick Google Search, I figured it was probably damping off (or was going to be turning into that very quickly), and the recommended solutions are to set up a fan to allow airflow around the seedlings (I didn't really want to go looking for one of our fans), poking some holes/messing with the dirt to get more air into the soil (yeah, that sounds like a brilliant idea with seedlings that are really just sproutlings), or spraying everything with hydrogen peroxide (huh, well, I guess that could work).

Choosing the easiest option at the time, I went with the hydrogen peroxide.  If you remember high school chemistry, hydrogen peroxide is 2 hydrogens and 2 oxygens.  It breaks down pretty quickly into water and oxygen.  So I sprayed everything with the H2O2, left the lid off and went to bed for the night.

I'll be damned if that didn't clear up everything by the next morning.  The next day I thought I had dreamed the mold since everything looked good and dandy.  I continued to spray everything with the peroxide for the next couple of days, but now I'm just back to spraying with regular water (and obviously leaving the lid off since most of the seeds sprouted).

* Now, of course, the outside seeds have finally decided to sprout - though only in the actual garden bed, I think the ones in by the artichoke gave up because the squirrels kept digging in the soil.

I Swears it!

I swear I haven't forgotten about all of my faithful readers (all 2 of you!).  I've just been really busy - with the nice weather, everything has been leafing out and so I spent all of the weekend cleaning up yard detritus and pruning and planting.  And turning the compost bucket.  That...was really bad.  The problem with compost is that if you don't turn it, it goes from an aerobic system (read: doesn't smell bad) to an anaerobic system (read:  smells like poo when air is introduced).  And so now the back yard quite literally smells like shit.  And I'm going to have to go out there again tomorrow night and turn it some more...all to get it back to an aerobic system.

Not only did I get every plant pruned, I also managed to check off more of my backyard projects - moving plants and building some stairs...I really need to remember to take photos...

Planting a bush in 5 Steps

Step 1: Call 811 and have your lines marked

Step 2:  Dig your hole being careful around lines.  your hole should be at least 2x wider than your plant pot

Step 3:  Measure the depth of the hole - this can be accomplished by laying a tool handle across the hole and then using a different tool to ascertain the depth (either another tool handle or a measuring tape)

Step 4:  Measure the depth of your plant root ball.  You want your hole depth to be the same depth - never deeper, but you can go a smidge shallower.  If you look at the embiggened picture above and below - you'll see there's a 2" difference... I left the two inch difference because I tend to be hard on plants when I'm planting them and remove a bunch of the wood chips that bushes/trees are inevitably packed in.

Step 5:  Remove the plant from the pot, make sure to cut any roots that are starting to go around the root ball.  Place the plant in the hole and start to fill in some dirt.  When about halfway filled, fill the hole with water.  Finish filling in the rest of the dirt and make sure to water well.  I usually will also fill the hole with water and let it drain before placing the plant. Trees and bushes will need additional water for at least one year.

Marking

When digging a hole in your yard, you really should call 1-800-Dig-Tess (aka 811 or via their online form) in order to find out where the buried lines are on your property.  If you'll be digging deeper than 12", you are required, by law, to call before you dig. I'm always super anal and put in a request whenever I'm digging deeper than a 4" (especially in areas where I know the lines should be located).

Within a few days, the markers will come out to your property and mark gas, cable/phone lines and electric.  ('Red and Yellow, kill a fellow!' also works here)

Anyway, since I had the yard marked when I planted the tree last year, and I decided to have the yard marked for my knowledge when planting some possumhaw this year, I now have pictures showing the markings in the backyard.  The thing that concerns me, however, is the difference in the markings -

Marking from my request this year

Marking from my request last year

Does anyone else see my reason for concern?  Somehow the orange line (cable) has moved by about 3.5 feet over the year.  Yep.  And this is the reason why, even when things are marked, you should still dig carefully.

Support Your Independent Nursery: The Natural Gardener

The Natural Gardener is located in southwest Austin on Old Bee Caves Road close to SH71.  As the name indicates, the Natural Gardener is the home of all your natural and organic gardening needs.  The sign above welcomes you as you drive into the parking area.

As we start at the front of the property, there is a large selection of 'hot and dry' plants with a selection of vines closer to the street.

They had multiple varieties of passionvine including this red variety.  I do believe I'll have to go back and peruse this section more indepth.

Coming back up toward the shop, you'll pass through the herb and veggie section.

 

The NG was stocking up on those plants that you should plant now, rather than when the box stores tell you you should plant them - Strawberries!

 

After walking by the shade plants section, and glancing at the sun perennials, you pass by the back of the store - a location where they have upcycled projects - most made from oil drums by Haitians.

Heading away from the shop, and passing through the sun plants section, you'll come to the demo veggie gardens.  A few years ago, NG did multiple test plots of square foot gardening in order to develop a soil that provides the best results.

Further on, you'll come to the herb wheel - this is actually a section that I had no idea existed since I'm always "PLANTS!!!" whenever I'm at a garden center and had never wandered this far away from the goods.

Heading back to the store, you'll go through the trees section - and here is the reason why I came to the center - Possumhaw.  I've called for 4 plants in my back yard garden plan, and thustofore I have not been able to find any plants for a reasonable price - the cheapest I had found was $75 a plant for 5-gallon plants.  I even went to the Wildflower sale on the Member's Only sale solely to get possumhaws, of which, they were sold out of by the time I got there 2 hours after opening.  Based on the recommendation of a coworker who said that she got hers at NG, I headed over there after hitting the Wildflower sale.  And lo, the Natural Gardener did indeed have possumhaws - a bunch of them.  AND! Even better! I was able to get 3 for $75.  I only got 3 because that's all I could fit in my car, so I'll have to go back sometime to get the last one.  It is also at this point that you learn how helpful the workers can be - I went to 3 independent nurseries on the north side, was obviously looking at trees and not one of them asked if I needed anything.  Here, I was asked if I wanted help at every turn (of course for most of my trip I was just wandering around).  When I was asked the second time whilst looking at the trees, I asked how they know whether they have female or male trees.  I was informed that they only propagate the female trees because there are always male trees around and once you start getting seedlings, some of them will be male trees thus furthering the process.

After picking up my trees, I wheeled over to the pots and ceramics section - everything is organized by color and it is one of the bigger selection of pots I've seen at garden centers.

Finally, I headed into the shop to pay for my wares - the NG has a decent supply of stuff for birds, seeds, tools and other wares either for your garden or for those who garden (honestly I just noticed the Ollallas in the upper left corner).

I recommend you go enter Pam at Digging's Independent Nursery give away - this week it's a gift card to the Great Outdoors on South Congress.

Zexmenia

I don't know how I managed to get this picture - it's rare for me to want to go out and try to get pictures of the pollinators for any period of time, and I didn't take many photos of the bee on Zexmenia.  But that's not what this post is about.  This post is about how much I love zexmenia.

Zexmenia (Wedelia texana) is a Texas native (also called Texas creeping oxeye) that requires little water to survive though it can handle both dry and wet conditions (this is good considering how 'feast or famine' we are with water in these parts), but does need well draining soil.  It requires full sun to partial shade though it can get leggy in the shade (as it does with excess water as well).  The plant can get rather large - it acts like a shrub - but it does benefit from being cut back every once in a while.  In addition to attracting bees and butterflies, it is the larval host for the Bordered Patch butterfly.  And most importantly, I think this color of orange/yellow is going to look smashing with the magenta/red of the Dr. Huey rose....Just as soon as I remove all the dead Asiatic Jasmine, and purchase enough plants, I'm going to have a whole mess of these.

How to separate seedlings

Guess what I found? My point and shoot camera! Okay, it's not like I lost it. It's more like I forgot that I had photos on it. Photos like me separating and transplanting seedlings. Something that I meant to do a "How To" on. So, here it is, 5 months late:

Step 1: Prep the containers you're transplanting to (in this case a 6-pack esque thing and some 4" x 4" pots). I used seed/cutting mix. Also make sure to bring over your seedlings.

Step 2: Label all of your pots. This is especially important if you're pulling multiple types of seedlings.

Step 3: Use a stick or dowel or skewer to poke holes in your soil mix. It would also be smart to get it kinda wet. (this is so it doesn't repel water...dry dirt tends to be hydrophobic for a while and you don't want your seedlings not getting water). You are poking holes so you can get the little seedling roots into the new pots.

Step 4: Grasp your seedling by its leaves. ITS LEAVES. Plants can regenerate leaves, they usually can't regenerate stems. use the dowel/stick/skewer to loosen up the soil around your seedling.

Step 5: Place the seedling into the prepared pot.

Step 6: Use the stick/dowel/skewer to gently pack soil around the roots.

Step 7: Wash, Rinse, Repeat for the rest of your seedlings. Water (I use a spray bottle at first because I don't like bowling over the little plants). Place in protected place out of full sun for a few days until the seedlings recover.

Starting a Garden

I got a question/comment the other day on one of my older blog entries:

I am just thinking about starting a garden- mainly for herbs maybe some veggies if I get daring. How much sun do these gardens really need? IT does get pretty hot around here, won't there be some baking of the plant? My neighbor has a garden in her front yard- unfortunately a real eye sore. Can you give me any advice? I thought I would keep a bit of a journal on the sunlight for a couple of days? Thanks for any advice- Jody

1. Congratulations on starting a garden (or at least thinking about it). Herbs are a great way to start--they're not quite as finicky as vegetables, and you usually can get SOMETHING to grow. Plus, they tend to do well even if you forget about them. I would guess that oregano, basil and parsley are some of the better ones to start out with down here. Rosemary as well if you have a full sun location that doesn't get watered too frequently. Basil will let you know when it needs water--It will look all sorts of wilty but then perks right back up after watering. The parsley, basil, and oregano I planted down here were planted in a mostly shade location and all three survived (the two rosemary plants, however, did not). The basil and parsley both reseed pretty freely so if you don't want extra plants, make sure you cut off all flower heads.

2. Gardens need at least 6 hours of sunlight. 8 if you can swing it. Some things will do okay in less (like lettuces--but only in the winter). I think all of the spring/summer veggies are going to need lots of sun, whereas the winter veggies will do better with less.

3. There is some baking of the plants, but none of the veggie plants do spectacular in the middle of summer (Okra might be an exception--but I dont' know, I've never grown it). Most of the gardeners I know will start their spring gardens in early-mid March and use varieties that have short maturation times so there's a harvest before the summer temps are in full swing. Then they take a short break during the hottest part of the year in which the goal isn't for anything to necessarily look good, but just to stay alive and then start up again in late August/early September for a second summer harvest. Some of my coworkers let everything go that isn't actively producing in June/July, and then replant in September. If you really wanted to, you could get shade covers for the garden which would protect from the afternoon sun, though that may be a lesson in futility. Also. WATER THE PLANTS. In March I maybe have to water once a week. By June it's usually 2 times a week and by August it's every day, maybe every other day. Thus the brilliance of the coworkers that just let everything go in July--if the plant makes it through the summer, GREAT, if it doesn't, Meh, planting time is just around the corner. Plus that way you're not spending tons of money on water.

4. Knowing where the sun is at what times in your yard is an AWESOME tool and I highly recommend doing it. If you have the time, you could chart where the sun is once an hour for and entire day. I don't know how much charting for a couple of days would be of any help unless it was like you did the morning hours one day and the afternoon hours the next or something along those lines. I would suggest (especially if you're going to do a winter garden) charting the sun a couple times during the year so you know how the amount of sun changes based on the time of year. If you're going to do this chart now, be mindful of trees that haven't fully leafed out yet.

5. Other random recommendations I have are: a) Do raised beds if you're going to go with something permanent. However, if you don't really know where the sun is in your yard, I'd start with a couple of large flower pots--that way you can move them around if the plants look too crispy or too leggy. b) find out the seasons for all the veggie plants you want to do--carrots and lettuce don't go well in the summer, but tomatoes and eggplants rarely make it through the winter. c) Get a rain barrel. If you live in the City of Austin, there's usually a couple of subsidized rain barrel sales once or twice a year. d) a good place to start is with the Master Gardener Garden Guide for Austin and Vicinity, the MGs, any of the MG seminars, and local blogs--I've got a list on the right and all of them are great people and are very willing to help with ideas and they're a fountain of knowledge.



Anyone else have any advice?

Container Gardening

Good news, Ross! It looks like the Master Gardener Container Gardening seminar will be April 15 at Zilker at 7pm. More info can be found on the Central Texas Horticulture blog.

Upcoming Events

March 7, 8am - 2pm, Zilker Botanical Gardens: Austin Organic Gardeners Annual Plant Sale.

March 7, 9am - 2pm, Sunshine Community Gardens: Sunshine Community Gardens Spring Plant Sale. Sunshine Community Gardens is located at 4814 Sunshine Drive (Just west of the Triangle).

March 18, 7pm - 9pm, Zilker Botanical Gardens: Master Gardener Seminar on Growing a Spring Garden.

March 21, 10am - 4pm, Govalle Park: Master Gardener Passion for Plants Fair. Govalle Park is located at 5200 Bolm Road.

March 28/29, 10am - 5pm, Zilker Botanical Gardens: Zilker Garden Festival. Entry Cost: $5

April 4/5, 10am - 5pm, Zilker Botanical Gardens: Austin Cactus and Succulent Society Show and Sale.

April 11/12, 9am - 5pm/noon - 5pm, Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center: Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center Plant Sale. Entry Cost: $7 for non members, $0 for members.

May 9, 10am - 5pm, Zilker Botanical Gardens: Austin Daylily Society Show and Sale.

Grow Green Garden Fest

Happening at Zilker Botanical Gardens this Sunday from noon to 4.

Garden Guide for Austin and Vicinity

Last fall, at the Master Gardener's Fall Garden seminar, I found the Garden Guide for Austin and Vicinity in the little Zilker Park Botanical Store (Chrysalis Shop). Since no one was working the cash register I couldn't buy it, but put it on my list of "Things I need to buy for the Garden."

This last Monday, since I had the day off, I decided to go in search of this book. The Travis County Master Gardener's website has a list of places where this book is sold. There is one kinda close to me called "It's a Jungle" at Kramer and Lamar.

Since my friend Sarah and I have a tradition of hanging out for a couple of hours each MLK day (we normally only see each other once or twice a year), I decided that I would go over to her house for a little while then drive over to the garden shop before it closed.

I managed to find the shop and I went into the store area and looked around for the book, I didn't see it so I hunted down an employee. She told me they didn't have any and that she was going to call the MGs because I was the 3rd person that week who asked for it. I wandered around for a little while longer (if you like orchids, roses, or citrus trees, this is the place to go), then left empty handed.

Magically, as if by fate, my coworker Ross asked if I had ever gotten the book, I said no and that it pissed me off since I made a special trip just to get the book. He then offered to loan me his book for a while since he lives in an apartment and can only do container gardening and he had already read the book through a couple of times. So, now I have the book on loan. Yippee! There's quite a bit about turf grasses, which I will make Shawn read since the lawn is his turf (ha ha, get it?) and I will read the parts about flowers and vegetables. And maybe, eventually, I will get a citrus (or peach) tree and attempt to grow one, without killing it off, obviously.

Stupid Texas and it's Stupid Allergens

Graphic courtesy of Central Texas Allergy and Asthma Center. If you want to see what it looks like when the Cedars release their pollen, take a gander at the Rock Rose Blog.

Farmer's Almanac

Bond got me a Farmer's Almanac this year for Christmas (she also got one for each of the Gardeners at the office). Now I can plan everything based on the phase of the moon.

So...I have to start building my new garden either this weekend, 23-25 of Jan, or 19-21 of Feb.

And then plant stuff the 5-6 and 14-15 and 24-25 of March. Of course, these planting dates don't necessarily coincide with the other table you're supposed to consult--the table of best dates to plant specific crops. I guess that gives them an out--"Oh your tomatoes didn't do well this year, and you planted based on the Outdoor Planting Table--you should have followed the Moon's Astrological Place Table." Or I guess the other way we could read this, it means that this spring is not going to be so great for sweet corn, cucumbers, eggplants, pumpkins, and tomatoes (sorry Bonnie!)

Meh. I just hope this year is better than last year for growing stuff--a whole 4 peppers from the entire 2 seasons (spring and fall) of gardening.

Speaking of growing stuff. The spinach and carrots seem to be doing well in their containers. The strawberries are keeping on keeping on. But I don't see any flowers or anything...which is fine because they're not supposed to flower until January or so anyways.

Article on Gardening from Slate Magazine

The Science of Gardening: How evidence-based growing beats relying on old wives' tales.

Fall Gardens 101: From the Master Gardeners themselves

As promised, I went to the Master Gardeners' free seminar on Fall Veggie Gardens. It was a grand ole time! there were a TON of people there.

But on to what's important! The things they recommend growing down here in the fall (you know, to basically hold the hands of those of us who thought we knew what we were doing at one time, but obviously don't)...

Get a soil test done. Central Texas soils tend to be higher in Phosphorous (which means that you should choose fertilizers with a low middle number)

If you plant Broccoli, Cauliflower or Turnips, do not plant these in the same spot every year. Even if you switch between Broccoli and Cauliflower, do not plant them where you planted the other type the year before.

Things to plant now:
Arugula,
Asparagus (it's a 3 year plant so make sure you really want it),
beets,
broccoli (stagger them, otherwise you'll be eating nothing but broccoli for a week),
carrots,
cauliflower (when you notice a head growing, gently pull the leaves around it up and over the head and clothes pin them in place--this keeps the head white, otherwise it will turn an off-white color),
collards,
kale,
garlic (hardneck is recommended, when the leaves turn yellow, that's when they're ready to be pulled),
kohlrabi,
lettuce,
onions (transplants--look for the pencil thin transplants, when the leaves fall over, it's time to pull them up),
peas (sugar snap is recommended. Plant some now and some in January)
Radishes,
spinach,
swiss chard,
rhubarb
strawberries

use a soil innoculant for peas and beans

Potatoes: plant in the middle of Feb, and harvest in May. Since potatoes need soil to be added to the plant every week or so, it's easiest to get some bushel baskets, cut the bottoms out, place on the soil and plant a potato at the bottom. As the plant grows, add soil to the basket. When it's time to harvest, just pull up the basket and the potatoes fall right out.

General tips: harvest veggies in the AM and rinse before storing. Use bug and disease resistant varieties, don't water at night, rotate crops, destroy diseased plants (don't compost), and floating row covers are your friend.

Spider mites and aphids are going to be a problem always. get rid of them with a strong burst of water.

Peppers should be starting to do better now with the slightly cooler temps

Tomatoes shut down when night temperatures are above 74.

Spring planting is generally in March and fall planting is generally in September/October

For Strawberries, the crown needs to be above the soil. Grow them as annuals. susceptible to spider mites. plant in October and pinch off blooms until December/January. 30 days from bloom to fruit. Cover during freezes. Use mulch and cover with black plastic.

For rhubarb, the variety that grows down here is a green variety by the name of "Victory" (so it won't be the red that most people think of when they think 'rhubarb'). It is truely a cold weather plant as it will 'burn off' in the summer.

Swiss Chard grows year round and you can cut a couple of leaves off to eat and it will continue to grow for a couple of years. Remove the plant when it starts looking bad, but it should last a couple of years.

Veggie Gardening Link

Vegetables for Travis County:

http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/travis/lg_e_vegetables.htm

Thanks Bonnie!

Storm Comparison

You'd think this would be easier to find than it is....

For Colorado (From NOAA Atlas 2):

• 2-yr storm: 0.71" in 1 hour, or 0.83" in 2 hours, or 0.91" in 3 hours, or 1.05" in 6 hours, or 1.58" in 24 hours
• 5-yr storm: 1.38" in 6 hours or 1.99" in 24 hours
• 10-yr storm: 1.59" in 6 hours or 2.27" in 24 hours
• 25-yr storm: 1.90" in 6 hours or 2.65" in 24 hours
• 50-yr storm: 2.19" in 6 hours or 2.95" in 24 hours
• 100-yr storm: 1.86" in 1 hour, or 2.39" in 6 hours, or 3.35" in 24 hours

For East half of Texas (SCS type III, Can be found in City of Austin DCM):

• 2-yr storm: 1.72" in 1 hour, or 2.16" in 2 hours, or 2.32" in 3 hours, or 2.67" in 6 hours, or 3.44" in 24 hours
• 5-yr storm: 3.56" in 6 hours or 4.99" in 24 hours
• 10-yr storm: 4.21" in 6 hours or 6.10" in 24 hours
• 25-yr storm: 5.14" in 6 hours or 7.64" in 24 hours
• 50-yr storm: 5.94" in 6 hours or 8.87" in 24 hours
• 100-yr storm: 4.37" in 1 hour, or 6.85" in 6 hours, or 10.20" in 24 hours

You'll notice that a Colorado 100-year storm is roughly equivalent to a Texas 2-year storm. This explains why when I moved down here, it would rain and I would worry that someone was going to come by and tell me it was time to evacuate.