Max Elliott

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Max Elliott

Max Elliott from YouthLaunch explains how he and his Urban Roots young “farm interns” grow bushels of organic tomatoes every year. Get his tips for success from planting to insect control.

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Recent Episodes

Water, Wildlife, Zen Design

Permaculture meets hospitality at Cosmic Coffee and Beer where Paul Oveisi created sustainable gardens and wildlife habitat set around ponds and gracious waterfall. Step into a meditative journey and Japanese pond design based on Zen philosophy at Rajat and Lisa Agarwal’s garden, members of the Austin Pond Society. In San Marcos, Dawn Houser cultivates food, | watch episode →

Front Yard Forward

For a 1930’s Tudor-style home, landscape designer Kim Beal goes for casual style with formal lines in shady gardens where seasonal flowering joins evergreen textural foliage to define outdoor living destinations. In Kyle, after 12 years in theater management, Leigh’Ann and Jordan Andrews turned the spotlight on a dream cultivated since grad school: growing healthy | watch episode →

June To Do List

Plant: ornamental & wildlife

Annuals: zinnia, cosmos, sunflower, celosia, penta, periwinkle, gomphrena, portulaca and other “ice” plant succulents, Mexican sunflower, salvia coccinea
Perennials & vines: (shade them for a week or so)
Semi-tropicals like Pride of Barbados
Tropical plants
Succulents
Crinum lilies, cannas, caladiums, ginger
Ornamental (clumping) grasses like muhly and Mexican feather grass
Clean up and replant containers—annuals, perennials, herbs, hibiscus, vegetables in larger containers
Top new containers with light layer of mulch to conserve water; use decomposed granite, pea gravel or other grit for potted succulents

Plant: herbs

Basil, catnip/catmint, oregano, thyme, rosemary, Mexican mint marigold, peppermint, lemongrass, lemon balm, lemon verbena, bay laurel

Plant: food crops

Cantaloupe, okra, Southern peas, sweet potato slips, pumpkin, summer & winter squash, watermelon
Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Vegetable Planting Guides (Central Texas) http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/travis/home-landscape/edible-gardens/growing-vegetables/

Prune

Trees: DO NOT prune red oaks and live oaks unless damaged. Spray immediately with clear varnish.
No need to apply pruning paint to other trees
Dead head flowering plants
Cut back fall blooming perennials like aster
Once-only spring bloomers if you haven’t already

Move/Divide

Succulents
Late-spring blooming bulbs while you can still see them!

Fertilize

Foliar feed flowers and vegetables with liquid seaweed
Fertilize bougainvillea with high nitrogen
Citrus with high nitrogen fertilizer like Citrus-tone. Fertilize every few weeks through growing season.

Insects

Watch for aphids and spider mites. It’s easy to spray them off with a hard blast of water. Be sure to get the undersides of the leaves.
Ladybugs and green lacewings will be chomping down those aphids, so watch for them and their larvae.
Aphids and other insects can create sooty mold on plants, a fungus that develops from their secretions (honeydew). Wash off the culprits and the leaves. Remove damaged leaves to the trash (not the compost pile).
Walk the garden in early morning to pick off stink bugs and largus bugs from tomatoes. Check under the leaves for eggs.

Lawn

Move the lawn mower setting up to high. As we head into summer, keep the roots cool by leaving the grass long. Don’t remove more than 1/3 of the top at a time. Leave clippings on the lawn to naturally fertilize.

Other tasks

Collect seeds from spring-blooming plants. Clean off the chaff and let dry indoors. Store in jars, envelopes, or paper bags (not plastic) to plant in November.
Collect cilantro seeds when totally dry for coriander in the kitchen or to plant next year
Mulch, but avoid touching the base of trees and roses
WEED! Do not let weeds go to seed. Do not apply chemicals: pull them up or mow down before they set seed.
Deeply water new plants. Even if rain comes, check the soil to 3” deep to make sure their roots have water. A brief shower doesn’t mean it penetrated to the roots.
Keep a garden journal to note bloom times and insect habits.

Tips

Prune herbs often to encourage new growth
Walk the garden in early morning to pick off stink bugs and largus bugs from tomatoes. Look under the leaves to for their eggs.
Water fruit and nut trees deeply to avoid fruit drop-off
Avoid over-watering plants as we head into heat. To avoid root rot, check soil moisture. Water deeply and then let dry out.

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