Thanks for the nice comments, Violet and Rich, it was a fun random trip. I just picked it at random: some place I've never been, not cold, and 2 hours or less away by air. It really was fun, and I did have serious climate envy. The botanical garden has the second highest spot in Texas, a whopping 46 stair steps up, LOL, so no mountains anywhere near, hah! Here's the view from it. Thanks again and happy gardening all! I hope other road-trippers post botanical updates of where they visit too. All the best!

While you are traveling with the cats, take special care, as you will be encountering severe heat, after leaving NC, that continues to get hotter, the farther you go, coming down, (asuming I-85 to I-20 and across.) Be sure you don't leave them in the car, in direct sun, without fully open windows (partially open in good shade), and then, for only a few minutes. Janie, I am from Turtle Island, but I was born in Indiana, and my true "home" is in the Blue Ridge Mountains, the land of the ancients. I have lived or traveled in most of the US, save the northwestern states, and a few Canadian border states, and lived in Europe for about 3 yrs. There are only a few places hotter than Texas, in the US, and all of them are in the Southwestern deserts. (grin) Carrie, we all live where we feel comfortable, and most of the time, that is dictated by origin or occupation. Perfectly ok, for those who find the heat tolerable. (It helps to have some living space, like you do, though, even if it is getting more crowded over there.) Barb, you will like San Antonio pretty well, save for the heat. Air conditioning was invented for Texas. (currently in the low 90's, with 70% humidity. Typically hitting 100 degs.+ by July 1.) The worst part is it is still 85 degs. at daybreak, in peak heat. Of course, Miami gets pretty bad in the summer also, due to the humidity, although night ocean breezes help a lot, there.

Yes, that must have been it, Omar. It was pixies playing tricks on us or else it was me who was somewhat "pixilated' after all the talking and trading ... LOL I have a question: someone brought a jar for the door prize table containing something brown that looked like preserves of some kind, but it had a picture of a cleaning woman on it. I asked the contributor and she told me that if was for cleaning your hands after gardening and contained brown sugar. I'm fascinated, but can't remember what else the cleaning compound contained. Anybody remember who brought it and what else it contained besides brown sugar? The dates for both SAPS next year will be announced by Lorelei soon ... :-)

Welcome! A lot of good questions here. My number one best piece of advice for you is take a trip up to Austin and go visit the Natural Gardener nursery. Ask to talk to John Dromgoole (the owner), and just tell him that you are starting your first veggie garden and would love to hear any tips he might have. He is an amazing wealth of info, and he's a super nice guy. The nursery is worth an entire day trip, as there is a ton to see with multiple gardens. They even have a veggie display garden that you can learn a lot from. 1. Earthworms are always a good sign. I have one lasagna bed that I started in the fall/winter of 2012. In Spring of 2013, I topped it with about 4" of finished compost and planted it with peppers, zucchini, and beans, and everything grew pretty well. I think my results this year will be better though. It does take a little while to break down, and I think some of the nitrogen was tied up by the decomp process. your length of time to good results could vary, and it will greatly depend on the depth of the bed. If you can build up at least 9-12 inches with your layers, you should get results quickly. 2. Grubs are bad. Whenever I find them, I toss them onto the concrete for the birds to find. If you have the means, buy some beneficial nematodes to get the grubs under control. 3a) It's still pretty early in the season, at least it is up here in Dallas. I have not started my squash yet, and I ALWAYS start squash from seed. If your plant was root bound in the container, it could be suffering from transplant shock. The problem could also be from the weather, over watering, nutrient deficiency... lots of possibilities. A picture would help. Next time, try seed. Most of mine sprout in less than a week (some in 24-48 hours) and grow very quickly. Also, be on the lookout for the dreaded squash vine borer. They are not fun to deal with. Because of SVB, I almost exclusively plant Tatume squash now, which holds up better than most others. 3b) again, pictures will help. Are you noticing any bugs on your plants? Even little itty bitty tiny ones on the under sides of the leaves? Aphids can do a lot of damage... 3c) Pictures! It really does sound like you have a watering issue though... how often are you watering? 4) I use cages. Depending on which varieties you are growing, tomatoes get BIG and HEAVY. Mine tower over my 6 foot privacy fence by the end of the season. If your support system isn't strong enough and a bad storm or heavy wind comes through, your plants are gonners. those standard wimpy cages at most of the garden centers are typically good for peppers and eggplant, but not tomatoes. Do a youtube search for galvanized fence tomato cage. In the garden, you will quickly get over the creepy crawlies. It's a part of gardening life. Just wait till you encounter your first tomato hornworm. :) You will also need to quickly figure out how to differentiate between good bug and bad bug. Baby ladybugs look really scary, but you should NEVER EVER EVER kill them. They are your best defense against aphids. Baby lacewings also look really creepy, but they eat all those nasty whiteflies. 5. I'm not a peat moss fan. I know a lot of people use it, but there are some issues that you should be aware of. Peat is not a renewable resource, and once it dries out, it is difficult to re-wet, so it doesn't really maintain the moisture levels in our Texas summers. Better options (IMO) are coconut coir and expanded shale. However, I have gotten to a point where I don't use either in my beds. I now just use compost, decomposed granite, lava sand, green sand, dry molasses, and zeolite. Find a local dirt source that sells compost in bulk, and you will save a ton. I use Soil Building Systems in Dallas. There is a good raised bed mix on the dirtdoctor website. The only miracle grow product I ever use is their organic potting soil, and even that is a rare occasion. 6) Herbs do great here. Dill, fennel, parsley, and cilantro are cool season herbs that die back during the summer, but if you let them go to seed, they will come back. I think chamomile falls in this category as well. Basil is a summer herb that loves the heat, and it will die once the fall temps are regularly at or below 40. It is easy to root though, so just take a cutting in early fall to overwinter. Oregano, sage, thyme, marjoram, rosemary, and germander are all evergreen for me in Dallas, and they all do fine in full sun. Mint is one of those things that you have to be 100% sure that you want before you plant it. It will invade every bit of soil that it can, and it's very difficult to get rid of. It's best planted in pots, and not in your veggie beds. If the herbs have been in pots indoors, be sure to harden them off by slowly acclimating them to the outside temps and sun exposure. The best resources I can think of will be John Dromgoole (Natural Gardener), Howard Garrett (DirtDoctor), and you local county extension office and/or master gardener association. You can grow a ton of stuff in Texas. Just don't try to grow lettuce in the summer or tomatoes in the winter. Oh, and don't forget to plant stuff for the bees!!!! Take a look at the seed exchange forum too. You will frequently see posts by people looking to get rid of older seeds. You just have to send them postage. Last thing - be sure to remove any grass from the area BEFORE you fill your beds. If there is any Bermuda grass in the area, it will grow up through your beds and eventually take over.