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Hello Austin Gardeners!
Remember, remember to plant in November! The real Autumn weather has finally come and now is the time to really get planting! Now is the best time to plant just about anything in your landscape. Trees, vines, shrubs, and grasses all need cooler temperatures for transplanting and getting established over the winter. Continue planting cool season crops to get the most of your harvests. Add new greens to your raised beds, or plug tasty winter crops into your garden for an edible landscape. In this edition, we cover how to grow strawberries here in Austin, how to make wildflower seed bombs, and of course, our November-To-Do list!
Have a wonderful autumn!
Tom, Adam, and the entire staff at The Great Outdoors
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(Above) A honey bee collects pollen from a native Mistflower
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What to Plant in November:
- Trees
- Perennials, shrubs, ornamental (clumping) grasses; fall is the best time to plant
- Winter annuals, including Calendula, Snapdragon, Pansy, Viola, Dusty Miller, Ornamental Kale, Cabbage, Alyssum, Stock, Cyclamen
- Early to Thanksgiving: native wildflower seeds like Bluebonnets, Phlox, Mexican Hat, Indian Paintbrush, Indian blanket (gaillardia). Also, non-native Poppies, Larkspurs, Hollyhocks
- Early to Thanksgiving: Spring Bulbs (Coming in Soon)
Edibles:
- Keep planting winter crops for successive harvest
- Strawberries (Now is the best time to plant!)
- Thyme, Oregano, Lavender
- Cilantro transplants, Parsley, Dill, Fennel , Chervil, Summer Savory, Borage, Chives, Rue
- Be prepared to cover in case of deep freeze
- Lettuce, Garlic, Mustard greens, Broccoli (transplants), Brussels sprouts (transplants), Cabbage (transplants), Carrots, Cauliflower (transplants), Kale (seeds or transplants), Kohlrabi (seeds or transplants)
- Asian greens (seeds or transplants), Beets, Swiss Chard (seeds or transplants), Collards (seeds or transplants), Onions (bunching/multiplying), Radishes, Turnips
- Water weekly with liquid seaweed or a liquid fertilizer
- Spray cabbage loopers and cabbage worms on Broccoli, Brussels sprouts, Cauliflower, and Cabbage with Bacillus thuringiensis (BT)
What else to do in November:
- Avoid pruning shrubs right now unless you see damage
- Do not prune oak trees unless you have damage: paint wound immediately
- Still okay to prune trees other than red oaks and live oaks
- Prune thyme
- If needed, it is now safe to divide or move roses, trees, and evergreen spring-blooming perennials
- Mulch cold tender plants like gingers, Esperanza and semi-tropical plants
- Get that row cover ready! Do not protect plants with plastic, The Great Outdoors has great frost cloth
- If you must mow, keep high to shade out germinating weeds
- Cut basil to freeze in oil in ice cube trays to use this winter in soups and stews
- Collect seeds from summer annuals to dry and store indoors until next spring
- Take cuttings of tender annuals to propagate in warmth to plant next spring
- Rake leaves into beds to mulch over winter and return nutrients to the soil
- Mow leaves on grass (if not raking to beds or compost) to break them down
- Collect leaves from neighbors to add to the compost pile
- Deeply water new plants; keep new seedlings moist but not drenched
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(Above) Delicious, cool season Buttercrunch Lettuce
(Below) Violas in the morning sun
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Wildflower Seed Bombs:
Flower fun for the whole family
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Seed Bomb Ingredients:
- A non-toxic clay. It can be powdered or prepared clay. Choose an all-natural clay without any added dyes.
- Organic compost. We carry a Mushroom compost that works great - Additional compost helps the seeds sprout and grow larger plants.
- Water
- Seeds. You can use any wildflower seed but we recommend natives like bluebonnets, sunflowers, phlox, Mexican hat, Indian paintbrush, Indian Blanket. If you are not sure, check out the wildflower seed selection in our gift shop and don't hesitate to ask for help.
Start with one part compost to one part clay (1:1) and mix it together with your hands. Add water gradually to get a soft texture that is easily molded. Once you have the right consistency. Keep adding more compost, clay and water until you have enough for about 12 seed bombs.
Once you have enough clay/compost mixture, roll it flat on the table and use a sharp tool (like a butter knife) and cut in even sections. This makes it easier to make consistently sized seed bombs.
Use your hands to roll each section out into a round ball. Each ball should be roughly the size of a quarter.
Use a toothpick to poke holes in each seed ball and fill with seeds. Medium and large sized seeds can be pressed further into the center of the ball. If you're using smaller seeds (like poppies) make sure to keep them towards the surface of the ball so they have the best chance of germinating. Be sure not to over crowd each seed bomb. 6-7 evenly spaced seeds per bomb should do it.
After adding your seeds, roll the bombs in you hands to return it to its round shape.
Now comes the easiest part: Drying. Let your seed bombs dry for a few hours until they have hardened. After drying, these seed bombs are ready to go!
Planting is the fun part! Use your seed bombs by throwing them onto bare soil in bright sun either in your garden or in random spots around your property! Any sunny spot with soil can be hit with the seed bombs and in the spring, beautiful flowers will emerge.
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Growing Strawberries in Austin
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We have an amazing strawberry culture here in Texas. Just two hours south of Austin is the little town of Poteet, where the strawberry is king and you can find some of the most delicious, fresh strawberries in the world. Every April the town holds its annual Strawberry Festival. This festival is a strawberry lover's dream. The strawberry preserves and cakes are on another level. If you are ever curious to see just how well strawberries can grow in the Lone Star state, take a visit down I-35 to the strawberry capitol of Texas next spring.
Getting Started
Strawberries are actually in the rose family, and are comprised of three main parts: the crown, the leaves, and the roots. The crown is the woody base of the plant, the leaves provide the site of flowering and fruiting, and the roots, well, you know what roots do. The entire root system only takes up the top 6 inches of soil, so it is important to properly manage your watering to suit the planting. Strawberries need full sun and prefer a slightly acidic soil that drains well. These plants grow best in raised beds, hanging baskets, or containers, which gives you more control over the quality of the planting mix. We recommend starting with healthy transplants from The Great Outdoors in the late fall or early spring. Transplants can establish more quickly, making for better yields in the spring and early summer.
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In the Land of Tillandsias: Caring for Air Plants
Looking for plants that don't require dirt or soil? Check out the selection of tillandsias, also known as air plants, in our gift shop. Mark Gibbs is here to give us the scoop on Tillandsia varieties, care instructions, and ideal locations! These plants are gorgeous, unique, and easy to care for (with a little knowledge). Tillandsias are epiphytic, which means instead of growing in soil, they grow on and in trees and wood crevices. This allows for so many design options for this plant: you can mount them to a piece of wood, incorporate them in terrariums, or use them as decoration in centerpieces or arrangements. This is a craft person's dream plant, so get yours and get creative!
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Save water, save time, save money! Mark Gibbs guides us through the basics of creating a water wise xeriscape. Water conservation is important to Austinites, and there is no better way to conserve water than installing drought tolerant native and adapted plants. Mark introduces the incredibly informative Grow Green guide which was created by the city of Austin to help spread the word about installing drought tolerant xeriscapes that use far less water than traditional turf landscapes. With a little knowledge and a plan, creating a xeriscape is as easy as a warm summer breeze.
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Planting for Birds:
Attracting Birds to your Garden
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Support your feathered friends by planting these top avian attractions.
Chili Pequin (Capsicum annum) - all peppers are cultivars of this species. It's nickname, "Bird-Eye Pepper" is an indication of how much birds love it. This well-behaved native plant does well in sunny to part shady locations and self-seeds. Unlike most peppers, it is perennial. Some people like to make hot-pepper sauce with them, but many birds love to eat them, including Blue Jays and Cardinals, but especially Mockingbirds!
Mulberry Tree (Morus sp.) - a summer fruiting tree that many birds love. The native species can make a mess on sidewalks or cars, the Pakistani variety doesn't, though it is not as cold hardy. We also sometimes carry a very cold hardy Dwarf Ever-bearing Mulberry that gets 2-6' tall. Birds love the fruit and they make good nesting sites, too. (Robins, waxwings, cardinals, and numerous other songbirds).
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Looking for a super rare plant? Want to swap plants with or buy plants from other plant addicted Austinites? Well you are in luck! On November 10th, 2019 from 1 - 4:30 PM The Great Outdoors will be hosting a handful of wonderful Austin plant collectors and sellers as well as providing coffee and snacks. We are so excited for this Unicorn Plant Party! Many of the rarest, and most "in-demand" plants are difficult, if not impossible, to source for retail. This is your chance to get those rare plants without paying shipping or being overcharged online.
We hope to enrich and connect established Austin plant collectors with new enthusiasts by sharing our space and helping people find their dream plants.
Buy your wristband and RSVP here to save your place in line! We will be allowing access to the plant swap/sale in small groups at a time based on WHEN you sign up.
Wristbands are $5 and are required to enter the swap/sale, plants will be first come first serve depending on the seller, and you are allowed to bring 3-5 cool plants to swap (Optional. You may opt to buy only, instead of swapping).
PARKING: Be sure to park in the lot next door to The Great Outdoors at the PINK building. NOT in the TGO parking lot and NOT at Habana!
Don't forget to bring some extra cash to buy your dream plant straight up or if you need any soil, pottery, or fertilizers!
Sellers include Allison Miller (@aroidalli), Michelle Lam (@miplantworld), Charles Fessell (@chuckfloristsexotics), Jody Kala (@houseplantcrazy), and Mo Daniell (@pleasedtoplantyou & @unicornplantparty) with live acoustic tunes by @aRunningVoice and more!
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Above: Lithops also known as "living stones"
Below: Eriosyce villosa in bloom
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Staff Pick:
MicroLife 6-2-4 and
MicroLife Brown Patch 5-1-3
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MicroLife 6-2-4
is manufactured in Houston, TX, and is a great all-round organic biological fertilizer, but is especially effective on turfgrasses. This slow release fertilizer will not burn your grass! Provides over 100 nutrients, minerals, vitamins, natural plant hormones, natural plant simulators, essential sugars/amino acids/carbon/protein and billions of beneficial indigenous microbes. This fertilizer builds big root systems, something your grass needs!
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MicroLife 5-1-3 Brown Patch lets you fight disease while fertilizing your soil! This combo will work better and cost less than using a separate fungicide and fertilizer. Also, MicroLife is all organic and biological, so no chemical fungicides on your grass! This product contains powerful and
specialized
microbial disease fighting bacteria and fungi. We also carry a wonderful product called MicroGro Anti-Disease Bio-Inoculant package which will protect your lawn from further diseases!
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We have a new "Rare Houseplants" page!
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The Great Outdoors is the best place in Austin to find rare and unique houseplants. Looking for something we do not have? Or something we are out of? Fill out your information in our Rare Houseplants Request Form at the bottom of the Rare Houseplants page, and we will contact you (if we can get them!) as soon as we have the plants you want in our store! For the latest updates on new plants, please follow us on Facebook and Instagram. These rare varieties usually sell within hours of being posted, so follow along so you do not miss any cool new houseplants!
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(Below) Meyer's Improved Lemons
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FREE Vegetable Garden Planting Guide in our store!
Thanks to Skip Richter and Patty Leander from the Travis County Extension Service for compiling this chart.
We have these handy 5" by 7" cards in our veggie and seed departments. Best of all they are FREE!
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TAKE 20% OFF ONE ITEM
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Bring in this coupon and we
will take 20% OFF the regular price of any one item.
Offer Expires 12/08/2019.
Excludes Music of the Spheres Windchimes and Barmah Hats. Limit one coupon per visit.
*newsletter
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The Great Outdoors Nursery | 512-448-2992 |
GreatOutdoorsNursery.com
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