February 2025

February 2

Winter is a good time to add organic matter around established trees and shrubs. In this picture, Luis Sanchez is adding layers of cardboard, compost, and mulch around our peach trees.

February 3

On this day in 2023, we had an unusual group of students visit the Dinah Zike Academy. Unfortunately, they have not been back. We should have offered them TEA Continuing Education Credit! 😊

February 15

In 2024 the wild turkeys visited the STEAM garden, about 3 blocks from the Academy. You can see them in front of our brush pile. This proves brush piles attract wildlife! Brush piles are especially important to insects, reptiles, and small mammals. They provide food, shelter, protection, nesting material, and areas for concealment. The decay that takes place within them also feeds insects and enriches the soil.

February 19

We needed to add a floor to our glass greenhouse so we covered the floor with thick layers of overlapping paper to act as a weed block, and we saturated the paper with water. A 4” topping of crushed granite was placed on top of the wet paper. Through the year, we can raise or lower the temperature and humidity in the structure by opening/closing windows and changing the moisture content of the floor.

February 24

For several years we have had black buzzards (Coragyps atratus) nesting near our STEAM garden. They perch on top of an old cypress water tank on their way to and from their nest. Both parents care for the young for about five months. We look forward to seeing the juvenile chick/s when they venture out of the nest and fly to this resting place.

February 27

This Golden Bamboo was planted on a neighboring property decades ago. In some areas it is 15’ wide, and it is constantly growing in all directions, including onto our property. The aggressive runners are nearly impossible to stop, but several years of hard freezes have killed some of the bamboo. It does provide privacy, a wind break, garden stakes, and a thick wildlife habitat. Do not plant this invasive species. Plant clumping instead of running varieties.