This little washtub has provided a daily supply of organically grown lettuce for me since the first week of December. In Houston, a planting like this can last through the entire winter. All I did was punch a few drainage holes in the bottom, filled it with soil, and sprinkled with a package of seeds. The variety pictured here is from Botanical Interests, Lettuce Leaf Salad Bowl Blend. Great taste and doesn’t mind the daily harvest.

What I really like about this container is that is it waist high, so you can just walk up to it and snip a few handfuls. Fresh organic lettuce at my backdoor, how convenient.

I’ve enjoyed taking pictures with my DSLR for years – but since I found LYNDA.COM – my skills have improved dramatically. I’ve learned more during my free one week trial than I’ve learned using my camera for the past three years. There are courses about Exposure, Composition, and Lenses – just to name a few. Check out the video tutorials from photographer Ben Long today.

What is Lynda.com?

I could not agree more. This is worth watching!

Swallowtail caterpillars have an bright orange/red fleshy organ called an osmetrium. It looks like a serpent tongue that they stick out when they are disturbed to scare off predators. Osmetria give off a bad smell when stuck out – from two chemicals released from it. I came across this one on an Satuma orange tree in my backyard garden. When I touched the branch – look what happened!

Yellow Bells aka Esperanza (Tecoma stans ‘Sangria’) looks delicious and adds a sunny spice to your garden. I first spotted this variety at Buchanan’s Native Plants in November 2011. I had never seen this color before. The color of the trumpet flowers are more complex than the traditional sunny yellow variety ‘Gold Star’.

My friend Chris Wiesinger along with Dr. Bill Welch in this video talk about Heritage Gardening. I’ve posted it here for everyone to enjoy.

Heritage Gardening TV Pilot from Casey O'Quinn on Vimeo.

The passion flower vine is a favorite of Gulf Fritillary butterflies (Agraulis vanillae) and host plant for their young caterpillars. I captured these shots at Buchanan’s Native Plants nursery last week.

Adult laying eggs

Caterpillar on Passion Flower Vine

Tiny caterpilar

Last month I visited The Ground Up – Houston’s new powerhouse in organic soils, compost and mulch. I first saw them at an OHBA event this spring. They’re marketing is fresh, vibrant and very hip. But most importantly, they’re committed to sustainability and producing quality products to serve the Houston area. That got my attention.

In my opinion, most gardeners spend way too much time focusing on what is above the ground and ignore the most important part of their garden, the soil. Building good soil is an ongoing process and what you put in your soil really does matter. Compost is the single best soil amendment. Before I’d spend anything on tweaking my soil I would add a quality compost. It is balanced, teaming with beneficial microbes and literally breathes life into your soil.

Their handcrafted humus compost looks and smells great. It is made from 100% pure, virgin yard and gardening trimmings. It is Soil Foodweb tested and approved.

Andrew Jobe, Corporate Development and Ashley Olmsted, Marketing and Communications of The Ground Up, gave me the tour of the Windfern location. They understand the chemistry of good soil and how important quality is. It is refreshing.

Yes, we road around in this snazzy vehicle.

Virgin materials are delivered to the yard by landscapers, tree trimmers and land developers.

Trimmings are ground up and placed in mounds to begin the composting process. It takes massive equipment to produce compost and mulch.

You can find them at 9945 Windfern (just north of 290 inside Beltway and 19102 FM 1093 (Westpark Tollroad) in Richmond TX. West Houston finally has a source for quality compost, mulch and soils. If you’re looking for a wide selection of stones, rocks and boulders – you’ll find them there too.

Looking for bagged products? They’ll be introducing them this fall, so you’ll be able to pick up mulch and compost at most premium garden centers in town.

From The Ground Up website:

We take only clean, organic yard trimmings, then we age it, grind it, and handcraft it into mulch, composts, and bed mixes to create a cycle we call, from The Ground Up. We carry – Mulch, Soil, Sand, Stone, Grass and mulch much more!

So remember before planting anything, make sure you work from The Ground Up. It is important to support local businesses that focus on creating quality products in a sustainable manner.

Disclosure: The opinions and views expressed here are mine. I was not compensated by anyone to write this article. I did receive a sample of compost from The Ground Up to take home and try in my garden.

Deep Root Watering Made Easy

Saving trees just got easier with Treegator®. Treegator® is designed to properly water a newly planted tree or shrub by slowly and evenly providing deep water saturation directly to the root zone, with no run-off or evaporation. It is made in the USA which helps keep jobs right here. No guesswork or measuring. Just fill the bag once a week… that’s it.

Since you fill the bag with your garden hose you can put the water right where it needs to go while still complying with the City of Houston’s water restrictions currently in effect.

Where can you find this amazing product in Houston? At Buchanan’s Native Plants of course. I was just here this morning and saw them on display. Want to learn more about Treegator®, you can visit their website.