2017 East Austin Garden Fair

It's that time of year for everyone's favorite garden fair!  Come join us for the fun!

When: Saturday, April 8, 2017 from 9AM- 2PM

Where: Parque Zaragosa Recreation Center- 2608 Gonzales Street Austin, TX

Cost: FREE!!

Free and open to the public, this fun, hands-on fair involves community members in creative, low-cost ways to grow vegetables, herbs and fruit to improve the family diet as well as information about Earth-Kind landscaping. Travis County Master Gardeners offer University-based information to fairgoers on a diverse variety of horticulture topics, while Community Partner Organizations provide information on closely-related services, programs and projects.

The fair features an assortment of DIY and demonstration activities, including building a rain barrel, raised bed or compost bin, and information about waterwise irrigation methods and gardening in containers and straw bales.  Learn how to care for house plants as well as your garden tools!  Booths on backyard chickens and beekeeping are a big hit with all ages and there will be plenty of activities for kids.

Free soil screening for gardeners will be offered through Austin Resource Recovery. To have soil tested for metals, pH and nutrients, attendees need to bring a 2-cup soil sample in a quart-size zip-lock bag. Instructions for soil sampling can be found at http://austintexas.gov/soilkitchen.

Free vegetable, herb and ornamental plants will be given to attendees while supplies last.


Community partners and new participants in the fair include the Sustainable Food Center, Green Corn Project, Home Depot Kid’s Workshop, Austin Public Library, Austin Resource Recovery, City of Austin-Urban Forestry, 4-H CAPITAL AmeriCorps, Travis County 4-H, Travis County Master Wellness Volunteers, the Travis County Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program and the Cooperative Extension Program-Prairie View A&M University.

East Austin Garden Fair- tomorrow, Saturday, April 16th

Come to a great garden fair - Rain or Shine!
Saturday - April 16, 9:00 am – 2:00 pm 

Parque Zaragoza Recreation Center - Gymnasium 

2608 Gonzales Street, Austin, TX 78702

 

Free: Admission, Plants (vegetables & herbs), Garden buckets, Garden books/magazines and soil screening for food gardeners. Easy instructions for soil sampling at http://austintexas.gov/soilkitchen

 

Visit with friendly gardeners regarding:

• Bee Keeping, Backyard Chickens, Bugs & Butterfly Gardening
• Growing Fruit, Citrus, Vegetables & Herbs
• Preserving Your Harvest & Food Safety
• Lawns, Turfgrass & Tree Care
• Drip Irrigation Methods & Rainwater Harvesting
• Straw-bale Gardening, Grow Boxes & Keyhole Gardens
• Firewise Landscaping & Native and Adapted Plants
• Composting Basics & Worm Composting
• Houseplants, Terrariums, Greenhouses & Hoophouses
• Aquaponics, Community Gardens & Bio-intensive Methods
• Caring for Garden Tools & much more!

  
Kids will have a great time with 20 activities on bugs, birds, bees, butterflies, seeds, herbs, leaves, soils and seeing nature up close. Get an apron and build a tool box at the Home Depot Kid's workshop.

 

For more information, please call 512-854-9600

http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/travis/local-extension-resources/east-austin-garden-fair/ 

2013 East Austin Garden Fair

This will be an extraordinary event with an emphasis on interactive learning and low cost do-it-yourself and demonstration activities.  We have expanded our favorite booths from last year, and added many new gardening booths and activities.  New features include a raised-bed veggie garden planting demo, make your own rain barrel demo, make your own container garden, butterfly gardening, firewise landscaping, a City of Austin composting class (free kitchen collection container and 75% reimbursement for compost units), along with much more.  We've also added a focus on nutrition (including cooking and grilling demonstrations, healthy snacks and produce tastings, SNAP registration counseling, a farmers market booth, etc.).  There will be tons of activities for kids, and freebies include: seedlings, container gardens, raffled rain barrels, kitchen compost bins, food and produce tastings, hula hoopercise, and free classes on a range of subjects. Sound great?  Here's the information you need to know to join the fun:

 

WHEN: Saturday, April 20, 2013 9:30AM- 1:30PM

WHERE: Zaragoza Park & Rec Center- 2608 Gonzales Street Austin, TX

COST: Free!

 

Of course I will be there answering questions about insects, so bring any samples that you need to have identified.

 

East Austin Garden Fair: A Passion for Plants

There's a lot going on this weekend, but I would like to invite you (if you're in the Central Texas area) to some buggy things I have going on.

First, there's the 6th Annual East Austin Garden Fair.  I'll have a booth to discuss "good" bugs and "bad" bugs, so bring samples and/ or your questions.  Here's the skinny on the details:

Saturday, April 14, 2012
10AM- 2PM
Zaragoza Recreation Center- 2608 E. Gonzales Street, Austin, TX

Texas AgriLife Extension Service and the City of Austin are partnering to present the East Austin Garden Fair.  This year's theme is "Grow Well- Grow Your Own", offering lots of information on creating your own garden space.  Informational and activity booths will be offered for adults and children on various topics such as composting, rainwater harvesting, school gardens, insects (including pests), nutrition and exercise to name a few.  Information will be available in both English & Spanish.  Attendees will be eligible for a free plant.

The event is open to the public and parking & admission are free.

Another place you can catch me is at the Austin Tenant's Council Housing Fair.  I will be talking about bed bugs.  This one you need to go online and register for the talk.  Here are the details for the housing fair:

Saturday, April 14, 2012
10AM- 2PM (I speak at 12:15 & 12:55)
1640B E. 2nd Street, Austin, TX

Update on the boy:

I hope that everyone had  a great Easter.  We took it easy at our house, but the boy had a great time!  Please notice that the all important cars were in the basket and eggs hidden in the car wash....

2010 East Austin Garden Fair- Saturday March 20th

Are you looking for something to do this weekend? Funds dwindling in your entertainment budget? Come to the 4th Annual Passion for Plants - An East Austin Garden Fair.

When: Saturday, March 20, 2010 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Where: Govalle Park, 5200 Bolm Rd. (just east of Airport Rd.)
Cost: FREE!!

This year's focus will be on Earth-Kind gardening: research-proven techniques to provide maximum garden and landscape enjoyment while preserving and protecting the environment. The objective of AgriLife Extension's Earth-Kind is to combine the best of organic and traditional gardening and landscaping principles to create a horticultural system based on real world effectiveness and environmental responsibility.

* Landscape Water conservation
* Reduction of fertilizer and pesticide use
* Landscaping for energy conservation
* Reduction of landscape wastes entering landfills

Individuals using Earth-Kind landscaping principles and practices can create beautiful, easy-care landscapes, while conserving and protecting natural resources and the environment.

Here's a video highlighting the 2009 East Austin Garden Fair:



The boy and I will be at the fair for a bit, most likely early before his nap. Pop on by and meet the little monster!