Beekeeping Class February 11th at 2pm!

Beneficial Insect Class this Saturday

Lady Bug Nymphs keeping aphids in check on dill in the Monument Garden

Knowing how to identify, encourage, and care for beneficial insects is one of the keys to successful organic pest control. Saturday, June 23rd at 10:30am we'll be talking about the good guys in your garden. Monument Market Garden Classes are free and open to the public. Hope to see you there!

All About Weeds

Weeding can be one of the most time consuming projects in an organic garden or landscape. This Saturday, June 16th at 10:30am we'll be discussing how to manage common weeds, what they say about your soil, and talk about potential uses for them. Remember a weed is just a flower out of place! Many of them are edible, medicinal, or useful in some way. Hopefully this class will help shine a bit more of a positive light on some of our uninvited garden guests.

Worm Composting!

One of the best ways to make high quality compost is to use worms. The worms in a vermicomposting bin can eat their weight in organic matter every day. What goes in, must come out, and their castings (a.k.a. poo) contain high levels of nitrogen and potassium and about twice as much phosphorous as any other composted manure. Full of microbial life, worm compost is especially good for potted plants or plant starts, topdressing your garden, or for making compost tea.

This Saturday, June 9th at 10:30am Debbie Keller will be taking her worms for a little field trip to the Monument Market to show us how easy it is to make amazing vermicompost ourselves! I hope you can join us for this free class.

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!

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.

Growing Cucurbits Class Saturday 4/28

Did you know that the inside temperature of a cucumber can be as much as 20 degrees cooler than the outside air? What better plant for a Texas garden than a cool cucumber! Not to mention the juicy sweetness of a homegrown melon or the prolific nature of a summer squash plant. All these heat loving vines are in the Cucurbit family and will be our subject of study at this week's garden class. Saturday at 10:30am we'll go over soil prep, varieties that do well in Central Texas, planting, pest control, and harvest.

Please be aware that the Red Poppy Fest is this weekend. See our website at themonumentmarket.com for parking and detour info.

Raised Beds and Irrigation Systems for the Home Garden

David Alves from Vegetables in a Box will be joining us in the Market this Saturday for this month's Guest Speaker Garden Workshop. He'll guide us through basics of building a raised bed garden box and talk about some options you have for irrigating your garden, focusing mostly on drip irrigation. Class starts at 10:30am on Saturday and is free! See you there!

April Garden Classes

The warm days are back and gardens are flourishing in the longer days and frequent showers. It has been a great spring for growing things so far. Let us hope that the rain stays with us this year!

This month's gardening classes have topics for both the novice and experienced green thumb. All classes are Saturdays at 10:30 in the Market and are free.

We'll start of the month on April 7th with our usual first Saturday "This Month in the Garden" class where we'll go over the to-do list for the month.  We'll talk about what you can plant from seed and from transplant as well as other timely garden tasks.

For our second Saturday Guest Speaker Workshop on April 14th, David Alves from "Vegetables in a Box" will be joining us to go over raised beds and irrigation systems for the home garden. The two raised beds on the north side of the Monument Garden are his work. Davis will be discussing the pros and cons of raised beds as well as the basics of drip irrigation. He'll show us a way to put liquid fertilizer, like compost tea or fish emulsion, directly into your irrigation system so that every time you water you are also feeding your plants.

On April 21st we'll go back to basics and talk about how to prepare your soil for a new garden.

On April 28th we'll get specific and talk about growing cucurbits which include cucumbers, squash & melons.

I hope to see you there!

Backyard Composting Class this Saturday

I always revel in putting what would otherwise be garbage to good use. One of the best ways to do this is by making compost from your food & yard waste.With just a bit of work you can make black gold for your garden and keep that organic material out of the waste stream.

This is from the EPA website:

The amount of food wasted in the United States is staggering. In 2010, more than 34 million tons of food waste was generated, more than any other material category but paper. Food waste accounted for almost 14 percent of the total municipal solid waste stream, less than three percent of which was recovered and recycled in 2010. The rest —33 million tons— was thrown away, making food waste the single largest component of MSW(municipal solid waste) reaching landfills and incinerators.

Not only does this wasted valuable resource have huge economic impacts, it also has huge and immediate environmental impacts. When food is disposed in a landfill it quickly rots and becomes a significant source of methane — a potent greenhouse gas with 21 times the global warming potential of carbon dioxide. Landfills are a major source of human-related methane in the United States, accounting for more than 20 percent of all methane emissions. Reducing, recovering, and recycling food waste diverts organic materials from landfills and incinerators, reducing GHG (green house gas) emissions from landfills and waste combustion. The use of recycled food waste (compost) has many environmental benefits such as: improving soil health and structure; increasing drought resistance; and reducing the need for supplemental water, fertilizers, and pesticides. 

You can help stop this cycle of waste simply by composting your food scraps at home. Saturday, March 24th at 10:30am we'll be having a free composting workshop at the Market. Come out and learn how easy it is to make organic fertilizer out of your food scraps, not methane.

Tomato Growing Class this Saturday

Tomatoes, native to Western South America spread through the region up into Mexico. In 1519 Cortez introduced Central American tomato seeds to Europe, where they were believed to be poisonous and treated as ornamental until the Italians embraced them as the delicious fruit they are. Surprisingly, it was through European colonists that the cultivated tomato first arrived in the US and Canada, not through Mexico. Today I think it is safe to say that tomatoes are the number one veggie that Americans grow at home.

On Saturday, March 17th at 10:30 we'll be talking tomatoes in the Market. Come out to this free class to learn all you wanted to know about successful tomato cultivation and treat yourself and your family to the joy that is the homegrown tomato.

It all Starts With the Soil

Whether you are a seasoned gardener or just considering sewing your first seeds this spring, this week's Garden Workshop is for you. Williamson County Master Gardener Bill Luedecke will be joining us Saturday, March 10th at 10:30am to give a presentaion entitled "It All Starts with the Soil," which will address the single most important thing to understand in order to grow a vibrant garden. When someone tells me they have "a black thumb" I always reply "No, you probably just have poor soil." If you focus on building a healthy soil, you cannot fail at growing a healthy, beautiful garden. Please join us this Saturday to learn about the wonders of soil!

March Garden Classes

I hope you are all gearing up for the swiftly approaching spring garden season! Our last frost is near and dreams of fresh tomatoes are plenty....

We've got a great line up of garden classes this month. All classes start at 10:30 in the market and are free.

March 3rd - "March in the Garden: Spring has Sprung" Our monthly first Saturday class will go through the garden "To Do" list for the month.

March 10th - Guest Speaker Workshop "It all Starts with the Soil" by Master Gardener Bill Luedecke. This is a topic not to miss. Learn how to nurture your soil, the most important part of growing a vibrant and healthy garden. This guest speaker class has been rescheduled from Januray due to the filming of "Diners, Drive Ins and Dives, which will air on the Food Network April 2nd at 9pm

March 17th - "Growing Tomatoes" Everything you ever wanted to know about the most popular home garden fruit, including a variety of pruning & training techniques.

March 25th- "Backyard Compost" Turn your waste into black gold for the garden!

March 31st - Field Trip to the Williamson County Master Gardeners 3rd Annual Garden Fair. This free event is 9am to 2pm at the AgriLIFE Extension Office 3151 S.E. Inner Loop. Why host a competing class when there will be so much to learn at this community event? I'll see you there!

Why We Love Roses

This week's Garden Class will feature Billy Spencer from Mark Word Design in a discussion about roses. Bring your gloves and bypass pruners for a hands on pruning demo! Monument Market Garden Classes are every Saturday at 10:30am and are free. You can sign up at the register or just come on out on Saturday!

Thank You Jimmie!

We had a great time this Saturday at the beekeeping workshop presented by Jimmie Oakley. We want to give a wholehearted thanks to Jimmie and all who attended the class for making it such a success. To keep in touch with Jimmie and continue learning about bees and beekeeping, check out the Williamson County Area Beekeeping Association at http://www.wcaba.org.