Heirloom Fruit Tree Class At APL Central Oct 23 6:30-7:30

I’m teaching a class for Central Texas Seed Savers and Austin Public Library Seed Collection about heirloom fruit trees. This event will launch CTSS’ new Heirloom Fruit Tree Preservation Project. I am so pleased to be a part of this group, working to prevent the extinction of both historic and durable fruit trees that once thrived in larger numbers in Austin. Free and open to all, no registration required. Parking can be a challenge at APL Central so arrive early.

Annual Austin Central Library Seed Swap October 12, 2024 from 11-1

Join me for the annual BIG seed swap!!! My volunteer group, Central Texas Seed Savers, supports the seed collection at the Austin Public Library. Leftover seeds at the end of the swap will go into the APL seed collection and other seed libraries around Central Texas. This event is free and open to all, no registration needed, and you don’t have to bring seeds to participate. All seeds are welcome as long as they are legal to grow in Texas. If you bring seeds please label them with the name of the plant and the year the seeds were collected. Bring your seed stories and be ready to share seeds and stories with other gardeners!

Tree ID Walk and Seed Swap Oct 4 at Texas Keeper 6PM

Seed swap is free and open to all, no need to register for that. Bring seeds if you have them but even if you don’t that is ok, you can still come and get seeds!

Many of y’all know that I am the founder of Central Texas Seed Savers, a project of Fruitful Commons. We prevent extinction of important plants through seed sharing events.

Texas Keeper Cider is named after an extinct variety of apple, a good example of the type of extinction that we are working to prevent! They are located at 12521 TWIN CREEKS ROAD, MANCHACA, TX, 78652

Register for tree ID walk here:

https://www.treefolks.org/events/tree-id-24-10-4/

How To Water Your Landscape Plants

In March 2023 I got a message from a consultation customer after they planted their new landscape. They asked me how often to water their new plants. Here’s my reply to them, just in time for summer heat and our regularly scheduled July 15-August 15 drought in Austin. Like most gardening questions, the answer is complex.

First off, before you water you should check to see if the soil in the planting area is dry or wet. You can use your fingers to touch the surface of the soil underneath the mulch. Be sure you are touching the soil and not just touching mulch. 

The soil should feel wet like a wrung out sponge for the first 2-4 weeks after planting. Don’t let them dry out. Depends on your weather and soil how often. Most likely it will be every 2-3 days that you need to water. 

After the first month you can go down to once every 5 days, and it’s ok to let them dry out a little between waterings. 

Trees require a different schedule than the rest of the landscape.  See my blog post about watering trees here.

Then next spring you can back off to watering once each week using the same method listed above. Then in the third year and later you can water as needed- if we go for more than two or three weeks without rain at any time of the year, I recommend watering. 

Please keep in mind that these instructions are merely guidelines, and the amount of water plants need varies wildly depending on temperatures, air humidity, wind and your soil. When in doubt, use your finger to check the soil near the plants. 

Things to look for: 

Plants with yellow leaves that look weak and slightly wilted: this is sometimes a sign of over watering or an insect problem.

Plants with curled leaves or wilted leaves that are brown on the tips or edges: under watering. Try increasing the duration of time that the water is on each time you water. 

One last tip:

 It is always better to water for a longer duration time and less frequently than to water every day for a short time. Watering for a long duration encourages roots to grow further into the ground toward soil that stays moist for a long period of time, so the plants will be less dependent on irrigation. Over-watering can cause the proliferation of root pests like grubs and fungal diseases.

Finally, plants die for no apparent reason sometimes, so if you loose one or two that is ok.

For my Blog readers, you can find a sprinkler, soaker hose and landscape staples here on my recommended products page. I haven’t found a hose nozzle, digital irrigation timer, soil moisture meeter or a watering can that I want to recommend yet. If I ever do, I will add them. But all of the ones I have tried so far break or have design flaws.





Another happy customer!

One of my regular customers sent me this beautiful photo today of her yard. Her grass had died up by the street. I consulted with her, and together we redesigned the space. I purchased and delivered the plants for her, and she and her handy person installed them. I help my customers by alleviating their anxieties about their yards. Now this customer can feel happy about her yard! Make an appointment today to get support and take advantage of my 20+ years of experience.

Central Texas Gardener Appearance

Central Texas Gardener Seed Sharing Video

Hi Y’all, Colleen here. HEY IT IS TIME TO START SAVING SEEDS! In the photo above I harvested seeds from Milk Thistle. If you are new to seed saving, just choose one plant this season and let it go to seed, do some research and gain some experience with collecting from just one plant. Cilantro is a good choice to start with. The seeds are appearing now on top of the plant where the flowers were. The seeds will dry out and they are referred to as “Coriander” and can be used as a spice in cooking or you can save them to plant again next year… and make sure you share some at the library.

In addition to my business as a landscape consultant with Red Wheelbarrow, I am the founder of Central Texas Seed Savers, an organization dedicated to preventing extinction by sharing seeds.

In fact, I did a “Backyard Basics” segment for Central Texas Gardener about how to share seeds at the library.

I am excited to tell you that I will be appearing on Central Texas Gardener on KLRU, the local Austin PBS station at noon & 4:00 on Saturday, and 9 a.m. on Sunday, and various times and dates this weekend statewide and on PBS stations outside of Texas. In fact, the entire program is on pbs.org and our segment is on YouTube!  I did a “Backyard Basics” segment about how to share seeds at the library. Enjoy and share!

BRAVE Communities!

🌻 MEET THE PANELIST! 🌻

Colleen Dieter is one of our awesome panelists for our monthly BRAVE Communities Connection, April Showers Bring BRAVE Flowers! 🍃

As a top gardening educator and founder of Central Texas Seed Savers, Colleen is often asked to speak to audiences about saving important plants and native Texas planting. She is the owner of Red Wheelbarrow Landscape Consulting, where she loves helping “do-it-yourselfers” find their own environmental passion right in their backyards. Dive deeper into her journey and passion by tuning in to her podcasts, “The Horticulturati” and “The Horticulture Hangover.”

“I want to learn what BRAVE Communities is all about and connect with people who have different demographic backgrounds.”

We are so excited to have Colleen share her knowledge, experience, and stories with our commUNITY! You don’t want to miss out on getting to know Colleen THIS Sunday at our event, April Showers Bring BRAVE Flowers! RSVP using this link: https://www.betterunite.com/braveccapr24 or by clicking the link in our bio!

#BRAVECommunities #beBRAVE #nonprofitatx #austinnonprofit #atxevents

Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center Luci and Ian Family Garden 10th anniversary

My friend and co-host of the Horticulturati podcast, Leah Churner and I, were guests of the Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center last night for their special fundraiser dinner celebrating 10 years since the creation of the Luci and Ian Family Garden. Leah and I both realized we rarely get to visit the LBJ Wildflower Center in spring! I teach classes there in winter and summer, and I am usually too busy with business to get over there in springtime, so seeing the blooms was an extra special treat. Meeting other LBJWFC supporters and staff was a delight. Conversation at our table ranged from 9 pound lemons to how to identify animal scat using iNaturalist. Here’s a photo of Leah and me all cleaned up good.

TreeFolks Keep Austin Rooted Picnic Panel

Hey it’s me, Colleen the landscape consultant. Did you know I am also a certified arborist with the International Society of Arboriculture? I will be part of a panel of arborists answering tree questions at this year’s fundraiser for TreeFolks- the Keep Austin Rooted Picnic. $50 for adults gets you a meal and 2 drinks at Live Oak Brewing. There’s music (obvs) and other fun activities. It is a fun event! Plus you are supporting the best tree planting org in Austin, reversing climate change through tree planting projects, and reforesting land that was damaged in disasters. Get all your warm fuzzy feelings and get your tickets here.

Perennial Planting Time!

What are you up to in your garden?

 April and May is prime time for planting perennials in Austin and Central Texas. Perennials are plants with a seasonal life cycle that live for many years. Typically the top of the plant dies in the winter and it grows back from the roots in the spring. Lantanas, Indigo Spires Salvia, Yellow Bells and Pride of Barbados are all examples of plants that are perennial here in Austin. Lucky (though confusingly) for us in Austin, we have perennials that have the opposite life cycle of most perennials. They grow actively in fall and winter, bloom in spring and then the tops die in summer when it is hot. Weaving in these different types of plants into your landscape will give you year-round interest. White yarrow, oxalis, spiderworts, dutch iris are all examples of these early spring bloomers who will be going dormant soon. Below is a photo of my yard with some cool-season perennials: Dutch Iris and Texas Bluegrass, photo taken March 13 2024.

Book your appointment with me to get good results in your landscape.

Spring is the time to treat yourself. I gotta say, I really enjoy spending time with my customers. Wouldn't you like to stroll around your yard with me ? Are you having any springtime anxiety about your yard? Need a little calming, confident advice? Book your next landscape consultation appointment in just a few clicks. I look forward to seeing you soon!

 Happy Gardening,

Colleen

How Can We Harness Community to Prevent Mass Extinction? Seed to Tree Partnership.

In the midst of climate change action efforts, almost everyone agrees that planting trees in urban spaces is a good idea. Trees reverse the effects of climate change in the same ways as all plants, by taking carbon out of the atmosphere and storing it in their bodies, in the form of wood, leaves, roots etc.

I have an affinity for trees that is hard to explain, I think it is because they are very common and mostly go unnoticed, but when they are not present is when you notice them the most. I have always been a champion of important things that are taken for granted. In addition to sequestering carbon, trees provide countless other crucial services to humans and animals alike. Here’s a few:

  • stormwater absorbtion

  • shade

  • evaporative cooling of the air around them

  • windbreaks

  • food- fruits and nuts

  • wood and paper products

  • food and habitat for animals

  • oxygen

  • beauty and stress relief

American Persimmon in East Austin provides food for humans and animals

With high demand for trees worldwide, there are not enough seeds and seedlings supply the trees that we need for reforestation programs. Here in Central Texas this problem is exacerbated by development, where communities require builders to plant trees. Builders have the buying power to purchase thousands of trees at a time. In addition, the winter storms of 2021 and 2023 decimated local nurseries, damaging thousands of trees in their inventories, while those same storms destroyed trees in our yards and created even more demand for trees to replace those lost. All of this added up for our local tree planting org, TreeFolks, to not be able to find enough trees and enough tree species diversity for their planting programs.

I’m Colleen Dieter with Central Texas Seed Savers (CTSS) and Red Wheelbarrow Landscape Consulting. I have been a volunteer for TreeFolks (TF) for 20 years. I was even a past president of their board of directors. Several of the other founders of Central Texas Seed Savers have joined the TreeFolks staff in recent years. Early in 2022, Gillian Hodler, one of those CTSS founders and TF staff, and a good friend of mine, asked me if CTSS could collaborate with TF to collect tree seeds for a new nursery that TF is building. Of course! Sounds fun to spend more time with my friend! Sounds like we could solve many problems at one time…

As a landscape designer I am constantly disappointed with the selection of plants available to me. I love our local nurseries but there’s only so much they can do. I don’t blame them either because it is hard to collect seeds for new species, and it is a great financial risk for a grower to try something new, especially slow growing trees. Many native trees might not thrive in nursery conditions, and it’s unclear how much demand there might be for a new species of tree among tree buyers.

Where are the Escarpment Black Cherries for native fall color? I know Texas Madrones, among the most beautiful native trees, are notoriously hard to grow and transplant, so most nurseries won’t carry them. I wish I had Mexican Silktassels to replant non-native privacy hedges that were destroyed in the 2021 “Snowpocalypse”. My tree wish list continues to grow. If TreeFolks could prove that some of these native species are viable in nursery culture, in their non-profit nursery where financial risk is removed, then maybe commercial growers would jump on board to make them more widely available. In addition, from my own observations as a landscaper, there are fewer and fewer nurseries and growers while the Central Texas region’s population is growing.

Austin is experiencing wildly rapid development now, and that puts pressure on native trees. Land clearing, even with the legal and practical protection of larger trees like Live Oaks, destroys smaller ecologically important trees like Escarpment Black Cherry, Texas Madrones and Mexican Silktassles. As habitat gets changed or destroyed these plants become increasingly rare. Deer pressure and overgrazing from livestock also limits the natural regeneration of native species because the animals eat the saplings.

Gillian and I decided to start by adding a seed saving portion to the tree identification walks that we were already leading for TreeFolks. We kicked off our first one May 21, 2022. If we could teach people to ID the trees and save seeds from them, then they could interact with the trees on an even more meaningful level than just learning their names.

In about 1 year, Gillian and I organized a working group of incredibly dedicated volunteers. Some of them came to our group because they attended the first tree ID walk with the new seed saving content. Others attended CTSS seed swap events and were particularly passionate about native tree seeds. Some of them were already TF volunteers looking for another way to contribute. All of them desired to be part of an activist community of rare plant connoisseurs. Our meetings were full of fantastic distractions from business- stories about plants we had saved from doom, good seed collection spots and propagation tips and techniques.

In Summer of 2023 we got great news- another CTSS founder, Vit Kaspar, was hired as the manager of the nursery at TF and would be building the nursery from the ground up. The TreeFolks Executive Director and Board of Directors continue forward with their plans to expand the nursery too. More connectivity made our partnership even stronger. A year later, the seed collection is growing and the nursery is coming together! See the video below.

You can help build the TreeFolks nursery to make a home for our little seeds by registering for the TreeFolks nursery volunteer days at treefolks.org/nursery.

You can learn more about how to collect seeds for the Seed to Tree Partnership here.

Have you heard of Fruitful Commons?

You may have heard me talk about my volunteer organization, Central Texas Seed Savers, centexseedsavers.org. We prevent extinction of rare plants by sharing seeds. We support the seed collection at the Austin Public Library Central branch I providing seeds when the collection runs low. Katrin Abel, the librarian who cares for the seed collection shared this with me today “Here’s a fun stat for you: At the Sunshine Community Garden outreach on Saturday, attendees checked out 83 seed packets from the collection, which brings our total seed checkouts to over 25,000 packets since opening the collection in 2019.  Hooray!”

If every packet holds 10-20 seeds, you can estimate how many plants have been grown from those seeds. This impact is huge, and that is just one seed library. There are new seed library collections popping up every month around Central Texas, the newest being Del Valle Public Library Garfield Branch.

All of this impact is supported by Central Texas Seed Savers’ sponsorship organization, Fruitful Commons. The hardworking folks at Fruitful Commons make it possible for us to focus on the impact that we have on the community and saving seeds. They provide administrative backup for us like liability insurance, fundraising help and they connect us to a broader network of resources and organizations to collaborate with. Their support is crucial to CTSS’s success and we literally could not do it without them.

I am asking you today to support Fruitful Commons by donating at least $5.

https://betterunite.com/fruitfulcommons-fruitfulcommonssustainingmembership

Thanks!

Upcoming Classes!

With the recent cold snap you might be wondering how to care for your plants. I have 2 classes coming up At the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center that can help. Hope to see you there!

Tree Pruning January 27 from 10 to noon. Register here: https://www.wildflower.org/event/tree-pruning

Winter Care for Native Plants Feb 3 from 10- noon. Register here: https://www.wildflower.org/event/winter-care-plants

The Old Farmer's Almanac Episode of Horticulturati Podcast OUT NOW!

Are you a fan of the Old Farmer’s Almanac, that iconic paperback tome with the yellow cover and the hole in the corner? Are you a fan of my podcast, the Horticulturati, that not-yet iconic digital fount of Texas gardening info and feelings?

Well, the two are colliding in this episode! I grew up reading the Old Farmer’s Almanac and in this episode I tell Leah, my co-host and landscape designer friend, all about it. I explore my feelings about the past and future of the almanac. Is the Old Farmer’s Almanac it out-of-date and defunct? Is it spreading harmful lies? Or is it what hurried and harried Americans need to slow down our fast-paced lives nowadays?

Also in this episode I explain my latest endeavor that relates to almanacs: a digital fruit tree care calendar that will populate your calendar with the right dates for pruning, harvesting and more in Central Texas!

Listen to the latest episode on Apple podcasts here or listen wherever you get your podcasts.

2024 FRUIT TREE CALENDAR FOR SALE NOW

2024 Fruit Tree Calendar Has Arrived!

I am excited to announce my new downloadable  2024 fruit tree calendar. Get automatic reminders for fruit tree care in your digital calendar. My universal .ics file is viewable on any device. It's like having me in your back pocket to remind you when to prune, feed and harvest! Get it before the end of 2023. It makes a great gift for the aspiring orchardist in your life! The file comes with both written and video instructions on how to download and install it on your device. Thanks, Colleen

Example of Fruit Tree Care Calendar Item

Seed Swap Success!

October 28 2023 at the Austin Public Library Central Branch

I had so much fun at the Central Texas Seed Savers seed swap last week. It was our annual swap at the Central Library. About 100 people attended and everyone was smiling and having fun. In addition to preventing extinction by sharing hard to find local plants and seeds, we exchanged how-to grow info and made new friends. We had a huge amount of seeds thanks to community donations, swap participants who brought seeds and a donation from David’s Garden Seeds.

Sign up for the Central Texas Seed Savers newsletter here, and you can also subscribe to the CTSS events calendar to automatically get all of the CTSS events populated into your google calendar.

We had a great write up in the Daily Texan about the seed libraries and our seed swap too.

Houseplant cuttings are a popular item at the Central Texas Seed Savers seed swap!

Fruit Tree Care Calendar

Do you have big dreams for your home orchard? What if you could glance at your phone and read the fruit tree tasks for the day, would you check it out? If so, Colleen will help you maximize your harvest with her Texas Fruit Tree Care Digital Calendar. ATXGardens.com has you covered! The calendar includes timing for fruit tree pruning, feeding and other tasks that integrate directly into your calendar. With this superpower in your back pocket, you will be empowered to care for your fruit trees. You’ll receive the file, link and instructions in an email after you purchase. Here’s what you can expect: ATXGardens.com Digital Calendar files come in a universal ICS format, Compatible with Google Calendar and iOS Calendar. Viewable on any device. Suitable for any level of gardener because my descriptions help you understand the tasks. Tips for Figs, Citrus, Apples, Peaches, Pears, Plums are all included.

Click here to buy!

How to Water Your Trees

As an ISA Certified Arborist with a Tree Risk Assessment Qualified, I’m getting lots of questions from Red Wheelbarrow customers and from callers on the Horticulture Hangover radio show about watering trees during this (2023) drought. Here’s an example of an exchange I had with a customer today.

“Dear Colleen, We had a consult with you back in May of this year...we haven't done much beyond doing some rocks for edging yet because of the heat but you mentioned we could send you quick questions...Our trees are looking a bit bleak and need watering beyond the once a week sprinklers we've been doing...can you tell me how much, how often and the method (eg not just doing it at the base I'm guessing further out?)?

Thank you,

Dr. Dry in Austin

My response:

Hi Dr. Dry, can you tell me if you planted the trees and if so how long ago you planted them? If you did plant them do you remember what size container they came in at planting time? If they have been in the ground for less than 5 years, they generally need 15 gallons of water once per week. If they came in a container that is bigger than a 15 gallon container, then give them the same amount as the container they came in. For example if the tree came in a 45 gallon pot, then the tree needs 45 gallons of water once per week. Treegators are wonderful for trees that were planted less than 5 yrs ago. 

If the trees were planted more than 5 years ago then watering can be a challenge. Water under the “drip line” of the tree. The “drip line” is at the tips of the branches, far from the trunk. Let the water soak in slowly. For my mature trees that are more than 5 years in the ground, I like to use about 15 gallons of water in 4 spots (N,S,E,W) around the tree’s drip line once per week. Get some 5 gallon buckets a drill small holes in the bottom to let the water drain out slowly. That way you know if you fill the bucket 3 times it’s about 15 gallons. This will deliver some water more deeply into the soil than your irrigation system. The tree roots are a little deeper than the other plants in general. 

This is a good video to help too:

https://youtu.be/bHsNwpPzK2U?si=WkdXLAiCSFNiH40i

Hope that helps,

Colleen