June Garden Classes

Summertime is here along with the most delicious time of year. Tomatoes, peppers, squash, beans, peaches and more - yum! Join us every Saturday at 10:30am for our free weekly gardening classes to learn how to grow all these veggies yourself!

Here is what we are going to talk about in this month's gardening classes....

June 2nd - June in the Garden. Our monthly first Saturday series where we discuss the garden "To-Do List" for the month.

June 9th- Guest Speaker Debbie Keller will be teaching us about Vermicomposting a.k.a. how to make amazing compost with worms!

June 16th - All about Weeds. We'll talk about common garden weeds, how to control them organically, and potential uses for them.

June 23rd - Beneficial Insects. Learn how to identify and encourage good bugs in your garden.

June 30th - Companion Planting. Learn what plants grow well together, and which to keep apart.

Edible Landscaping Class this Saturday

Monument Cafe Herb Garden

This Saturday, May 26th at 10:30am we'll be looking at growing edible plants as a part of your landscaping. Many edible plants are just a beautiful as common landscaping plants, and much more delicious! Break out of that raised bed and join us in rethinking landscape design with your taste buds in mind.

All Monument Market gardening classes are free and open to the public. Join us!

Georgtown Grand Bike Race This Weekend - Please Note Road Closures

The Georgetown Grand is this weekend. The bike races will be going right past the Monument on Austin Ave between 5th & 6th streets, so please note the road closures and give your self extra time if you are coming to garden class, shopping in the Market, or dining in the Cafe or Biergarten.

Organic Pest Control Class 5/19

Good Bugs - Ladybug larva on a dill plant in the Monument Garden

Come out to the Market this Saturday at 10:30am for a free class about managing pests in your garden using organic methods. E-mail me at michelle@themonumentcafe.com if you have specific pest problems you would like to have addressed in the class.

Aquaponics Class 4/12

This Saturday's Garden Class is one not to miss. Arturo from Aqauponic Austin and the Texas Aquaponic and Transfarming Meetup Group will be our guest speaker for an Introduction to Aquaponics class. Aquaponics combines the techniques of aquaculture - raising aquatic animals such as fish & snails, and hydroponics - raising vegetables & herbs in nutrient enriched water. This system uses the waste from the fish to feed the veggies in an extremely energy, water, and input efficient loop. Arturo will give us an overview on how the system works and how you can build one in your backyard!

Join us at 10:30 in the Market this Saturday, May 12th for this exciting free class!

Peaches!!!!

We just received the first of this years peaches from Lynn Huck in Liberty Hill!

A member of the rose family, the peach originated in China as far back as 1000 B.C. where it is prized as a symbol of longevity, immortality and unity. Chinese brides often carry blossoms from this "tree of life".

From there, the love of peaches traveled west to Persia and on to Europe, where they were known by the Romans as Persian Apples. European settlers brought peaches to the US, but it was the Native Americans who spread them across the continent.

Peaches are lovely fresh, in desserts, salads or even with savory meat dishes. The following recipe was adapted from inmamaskitchen.com.

Pork Chops with Peaches 2 pork chops, lightly dredged in 1 tablespoon flour seasoned with salt & pepper and a pinch of dried rosemary 1 teaspoon olive oil 1 tablespoon shallots, finely chopped 2 medium sized ripe peaches, peeled and sliced in half inch wedges 1/2 cup of dry white wine 1 teaspoon unsalted butter 1 teaspoon fresh rosemary leaves, chopped fine Dash cayenne pepper (optional) Salt & pepper to taste

METHOD Coat pork chops with seasoned flour. Heat oil in a skillet till barely smoking and cook pork chops to desired doneness. Remove pork chops to a plate and keep warm. Add shallots and peach slices to hot oil and cook 1 minute, turning once till slightly browned and barely tender. Take care not to overcook peaches. They should remain firm, with slightly soft edges. Remove peaches and keep warm. Deglaze pan with wine, and boil down till reduced by half.  Swirl in butter, rosemary and cayenne if using.  Return peaches to glaze, gently tossing just long enough to coat with glaze. Do not let the peaches overcook! Season with salt and pepper to taste.Spoon peaches and glaze over pork chops and serve.

May Garden Classes

We've got a great line up of garden classes for you this month. I am especially excited about out guest speaker, Arturo from Austin Aquaponic and the Texas Aquaponic and Trasfarming Meetup Group. He'll be giving us an introduction to an innovative, efficient way to grow food called aquaponics, a mash up of aquaculture (raising fish) and hydroponics (growing food in nutrient rich water). Essentially, the fish water feeds the plants and the plants clean the water for the fish, creating an almost closed loop system that is highly energy efficient as well as water efficient. I am so excited to learn more and to find out how I can have a system like this in my backyard. 


Here is the complete list of classes for May. All classes are at 10:30 in the Market, last about an hour, and are free.

May 5th: May in the Garden: A to do list of this month's garden tasks

May 12th: Guest Speaker Garden Workshop: Aquaponics with Arturo from Aquaponic Austin!

May 19th: Organic Pest Control for the Home Garden

May 26th: Edible Landscaping


I hope you can join us!