Author Archives: Emily Savino

Wintertime Gardening Work Day – Nov & Dec 2016

Fall and winter gardens are appreciated by BAUUC community gardeners for several reasons: the weather is cooler, there are fewer insects, and the weeds and grass do not grow as fast. The weather finally turned cool for our workday in November as Jill, David, and I worked on covering some unused beds with tarps. Siok Hong harvested chard and okra. We enjoyed watching the Gulf Fritillaries on the zinnias and Monarchs on the milkweed that she has planted in her bed. In December, George was able to harvest some nice broccoli from his bed. With the aid of a 10 ft. ladder, we picked two large boxes of grapefruit from the tree in front of the church. Siok Hong took them to the ICM food bank.

Check out these great photos from the winter work days!

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Our next garden workday will be on the third Saturday, February 18th. We will soon start preparing the spring beds for planting every gardener’s favorite: tomatoes. The race will be on to get them in the ground and producing before the weather gets too hot for them to set.

Several gardeners are also planting herbs, which have the additional benefit of attracting butterflies. Several gardeners welcome volunteers to help with their beds and the donation beds always need tending. Volunteering is a low stress way of learning to garden. Also, the BAUUC Grounds Committee could always use help with mowing and weeding beds on our 14 acre campus. The committee has done a tremendous job with mowing and deserves our thanks.

Blog post & Photos by Nathan V.

 

Area Garden News for Jan 3rd

The Precinct 2 Master Gardeners’ first spring lecture will be Thursday, January 19 (not the 12th), on Soils and Compost at Freeman Library from 6:30 to 8:30PM. January 28 – Fruit Tree Sale – Pasadena Fairgrounds. February 16 class on Spring Vegetable Gardening at Freeman. On Saturday, Feb. 18 the Master Gardeners will have a fruit tree sale at the Genoa Friendship garden.

For more info about the 2017 Green Thumb lecture series, visit the Harris County Master Gardeners site.

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Corn!

Our next BAUUC garden workday will also be on Saturday, Feb. 18. Come out and join us as we start preparations for Spring beds. Visit us at https://bauucgarden.wordpress.com/ or contact Nathan: nveatch@swbell.net.

 

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Community Garden News – Sept 2016

The summer has been hot with lots of rain that did not help us control weeds. The beginning of fall has made our gardeners eager to plant, so we are choosing veggies that will produce in cooler weather such as cabbages, kale and Swiss chard. First, we must spade and till the beds and work in compost to condition the soil. We welcome volunteers! Our next garden work day will be this Saturday, 9/17/2016 from 8:30am – Noon.

This summer, Beatriz and her family grew several nice Sugar Baby watermelons in their garden plot. One of them was sampled by a coyote or other vermin.

watermelons

 

One of our gardeners, Siok Hong, found an interesting vine by the compost area and decided to check it out since it looked so edible. It may be Chinese Broad Leaf or MalabarSpinach  (https://aquafoodsfishgreens.wordpress.com/2014/03/12/do-you-like-spinach-here-is-some-nutritional-goodness-on-the-malabar-spinach/). She is going to stir fry it with garlic and may plant it in her bed. It will do well in our community garden beds with tents to support the vines.

 

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We have added two new gardeners, Siok Hong Chen-Sabot and Jacob Gardner. We also have several volunteers who work with us on workdays and with our water team. This fall, workdays will be on the third Saturday of each month from 8:30 till noon.

If  you are interested in starting a fall garden plot, please contact Nathan for more info at  nveatch@swbell.net

Blog by Nathan

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Garden Work Day -8/13/2016

Our Community Garden Workday was on Saturday August 13th from 8:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. David and Jane worked on their beds and cut roofing “tar paper” that we are experimenting with as a weed blocker. We have tried this on several beds and it seems to be working. We have noted that our trial bed with clear plastic over it has not worked well as a weed block. Nathan and George mowed and used a weed-eater between the beds. We are ready to start turning over the soil with a spade and fork and then George will use the gas tiller in late August or early September.

Our newest gardener, Siok Hong, has summer squash and corn ripening in bed 14. She also has some butterfly weed blooming. Beatrice and her son have three watermelons in their bed.

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We have invited three other community gardener groups in our area to a potluck here in Cockrell Hall on Saturday, August 20th from 11:30 – 1 p.m. We look forward to an exchange of ideas and gardening tips. Everyone is welcome to attend.

Our next workday will be on the 3rd Saturday, September 17th. It’s time to start our fall gardens!

Blog post & photos by Nathan

Garden Potluck – Great Success!

On August 20, eighteen gardeners attended the 1st BAUUC Garden Potluck held in Cockrell Hall.  We had a delicious lunch including fresh salads, soups, casseroles, pasta salad, homemade cookies & cakes. With such a great turnout, we hope to make this an annual event!

Those attending were: George Becker, Ellie Childs, Cindy Lewis, David and Jane Malin, Deandra Newcomb, Ana Payne, John Regner, Siok Hong Chen and David Sabot, Emily Savino & Scott Pensyl, Rosemary S. Clist, Nathan and Jill Veatch. Attending from Challenger 7 Community Garden: Oscar and Sandy Nelson, and Japheth Olivier.

Everyone shared their gardening experiences with each other and helped to build a Bay Area community garden fellowship. We also had the pleasure of winning several door prizes including fresh honey and gardening books.

A huge thank you for those that attended. We look forward to hosting another Bay Area potluck!

Pictures from the event

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Blog post by Nathan & Emily, Photos by Nathan

BAUUC Community Garden News

The Houston Chronicle recently featured four Bay Area community gardens, including ours, in an interesting article. It‘s encouraging to know that we’re not the only ones constantly battling weeds and in need of volunteers! We have invited the three other community gardener groups to a potluck here at BAUUC on Saturday, August 20th from 11:30 – 1 p.m. We look forward to an exchange of ideas and gardening tips. Everyone is welcome to attend, especially if you’re waiting for cooler weather and looking forward to a winter garden.

Our next BAUUC Community Garden Workday will be on Saturday August 13 from 8:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. A big thank you to our watering crew: Jane and David Malin and Cindy Lewis and the intrepid gardeners who showed up on the last workday: Jane and David Malin, George Becker, Mike Wehrman Beatriz Perez-Sweeny and her son and Nathan Veatch.

So far this summer, we have donated 24 lbs. onions to ICM, 7 lbs. to BATP and 10 lbs. tomatoes to ICM and 3 lbs. tomatoes to BATP.

Many thanks to Emily Savino for being our webmaster!

Blog post by Nathan V.

Gearing up for the fall planting season

Yes it’s still summer, yes it’s unbearably hot, but it is time to start planning your fall garden! Read these planting tips from BAUUC’s own garden plot owner, Jane.

FALL PLANTING TIMES

Seeds to Plant in ground around Sept 1
Roma bush beans (Seed, August 15-31)
Carrot (Seed, Sept 1-14)
Parsnip (Seed, Sept 1-7)
Seeds to Plant in ground around October 1
Brussels sprouts (Seed Oct 1-7; Plants Nov 1-15)
Broccoli (Seed Oct 1-14; Plants Oct 24-31)
Cabbage (Seed, Oct. 1-14; Plants, Oct 24-Nov 14)
Arugula (October 1-31)
Plants to Plant in ground around Nov 1
Brussels sprouts (Seed Oct 1-7; Plants Nov 1-15)
Broccoli (Seed Oct 1-14; Plants Oct 24-31)
Cabbage (Seed, Oct. 1-14; Plants, Oct 24-Nov 14)
Seeds to Plant in ground around Nov 1
Arugula (October 1-31)
Lettuce/mesclun (Seed, Oct 16 – Nov 14)
Beets (Seed, Oct 16 – Nov 7)
Swiss chard and perpetual spinach (Chard), (Seed, Oct 16 – Nov 7)
Happy Planting!

Community Garden Potluck – Aug 20, 2016

Join Bay Area Unitarian Universalist Church’s Community Gardeners for a potluck! Yep, it’s free!


BAUUC Community Garden members would like to host a potluck in hopes of meeting some of our neighboring Bay Area Community gardeners to exchange ideas, tips, triumphs, etc.

Spring Lettuce


Bring a dish to pass and join us for a great community building opportunity!

  • Date: Saturday, August 20, 2016
  • Where: Bay Area UU Church: 17503 El Camino Real,  Houston, TX 77058
  • When: 11:30am – 1:00pm

For questions, contact us at: info@bauucgarden.org

 

Eat More Onions!

A study in 2006, published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, touts the benefits of eating onion. Findings indicate the more onion and other allium vegetables, such as garlic, we eat, the better. In fact, the odds of developing certain cancers is lower among those individuals partaking of this readily available vegetable.

Simple Sautéed Vegetables

  • 1 white or yellow and/or 1 bunch green onions
  • 2 zucchini
  • 2 yellow squash
  • 1 T coconut oil
  • 1/2 t course ground pepper
  • 1/4 t sugar
  • 1/4 t sea salt

Heat coconut oil in deep skillet or 3-5 quart pot. Add sliced vegetables and sauté in hot oil for a few minutes. Add 1 Tablespoon of water and the sugar. Cover with lid. Cook on low heat for 20-30 minutes. Vent lid if needed. Add pepper and salt within the last couple minutes of cooking.  FANtastic with cornbread!

Serves 3-4

Article by: Deandra Newcomb

Wondering what to plant this June?

One of our gardeners, Jane, has some planting advice for this summer

  • Late April/May/June: yard long bean seeds, basil seeds
  • May/June: Eggplant plants, Seeds – okra, cucuzi/zucchini/summer squash 

What will you be planting this summer?