December 3 , 2020
Austin Organic Gardeners: 75 Years Growing Good!
In reception to the garden chemical substance craze after WW II , Josephine and Charles Huntley found theAustin Organic Gardenersin 1945 with a passionate commission : grow soil wellness for healthy intellectual nourishment . On AOG ’s 75th day of remembrance , clime challenge and stressed water resource add to their educational military mission , especially this year when the pandemic has led to ever - growing numbers of fresh nurseryman . Once again behind the Zoom cam , I conjoin AOG President Mary Kraemer who explains what constituent horticulture means and why it matters even more today . It goes beyond forfend synthetic fertiliser and zapping every pest . It ’s recognise nature ’s teamwork and supporting the organism above and below ground that represent the complex soil food web . “Organic gardening is something I like to remember of as a wood . You see the cumulation of the chummy layer on the timber level . And the trees have that large imagination of all the remnant bark and rot tree diagram , manure , leaves , dead animals , ” Mary says .
She refers us to theRodale Institutefor their extensive resourcefulness about how constitutive practice lead to responsible for ecologic stewardship that also helps plants better withstand our striking temperature swings . Soil tests reveal nutritive deficiencies that we can amend with organic fertilizers . But that ’s a irregular solution . Compost supports ground bug for on - sound flora health and assists with water retention . Mary champions the recent PBS seriesThe Molecule that Made Us , the human story of our human relationship to water , and how important it is that we become more aware about our water certificate . In her garden , she employs grey water system , rainwater gardens , and rain catchment . What ’s your water supply footprint?Take this quiz to find out . Now , about those “ pests . ” First , even if a pesticide is called constituent , whether descend from plants ( like Neem fossil oil ) or microbes ( likeBacillus thuringiensisfor caterpillar control ) , it does n’t think of that it ’s safe . Indiscriminate role can bolt down your beneficials , too , include bee and butterfly caterpillars , like this Swallowtail butterfly stroke larva stripping leaves on make off parsley . Bolting is when works flower and go to seed . Those blossom attract countless pollinators . “It ’s really important to be observant of what comes into your garden and know how you may get your want meet with your plant and the wight that come to get their penury fulfil as well . I really sleep with the film , The Biggest Little Farm . They talk a lot about the balance you’re able to achieve with nature in that farm , ” Mary says . This one ’s at the top of my watchlist!So , let ’s opine in terms of teamwork , where every creature contributes in its own good way . That ’s what authorSharon Lovejoy(beloved CTG invitee ) passionately promote in a recentAOG Zoom meeting , advocating that we terminate the “ us versus them ” concept in the garden . That ’s been my doctrine for many year . I delegate to my busy minuscule team that observe thing in remainder while I ’m at work . ladybug clean up these aphids so fast one spring that I was lucky to even get a picture . A few weeks ago , I spotted this wheel bug , a beneficial assassin germ . I do n’t know if the insect just below it was the object of its dinner party desire , but obviously it ’s finding something to use up . draw in and keep a diverse squad by allowing lifelike habitat from the ground up and by choosing plants that append intellectual nourishment in all seasons . My yaupon holly tree ’s give flowers tip pollinators . In autumn and winter , mockingbirds grab the fruits and cedar waxwings houseclean out the rest when they transmigrate northerly in February . This mocker was heading to lunch when I stupefy in line of products first with the television camera , but it was back soon . crop with nature , rather than against it , has made a immense remainder in my yard . Never do I get plague like I did in the early years , when June bugs made patio life impossible and I collected snail by the bucketful . One of my firstCTGlessons was when we visited Carolyn Panak ’s garden , then President of the United States of Austin Organic Gardeners . When she spotted a tomato hornworm , she told me , “ This is how I consider with pest like this . Squish . ” With her bare hands ! It take me a few squeamish tries , but finally I did it myself .
The Austin Organic Gardeners have always been a part ofCTG , though many segments were memorialize before archival permanence . Organic farmerTim Millerhas been a long - terminal figure mentor , along withForrest Arnold(here with Tom Spencer ) , andVenkappa and Ratna Gani . In 1945 , AOG member met in each other ’s homes until the Austin Area Garden Center atZilker Botanical Gardenwas build in 1965 . During the pandemic , they ’ve resumed monthly meetings at plate viaZoom talking , reach a larger audience than ever before . Watch their fantastic hands - onvideos created for the seventy-fifth day of remembrance , produced , shot , and edited by Angel Schatz , Vice President of Austin Organic Gardeners . Also thanks to Ben Bertram for his video contribution!you may also offer at AOG ’s Zilker Botanical Teaching Gardens to safely learn in somebody . Check out their websiteto sign up , view resourcefulness , watch videos , and become a member ( less than $ 11 / year!).Mary invites you to surveil theAustin Organic Gardenerson Instagram and Facebook , where they also host a very fighting Facebook mathematical group . “ I think when we really develop our inner humankind which the pandemic has force us to do , we realize the most important thing is feeding ourselves well , and having a relationship with our food in the environment . ”
watch out now !
Thanks for stopping by ! See you next time , Linda
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