August Updates

Late Summer Garden Greetings

Please ensure you are distributing this blog to all your gardeners!

In this edition of the Community Gardens Program Blog, we have an important training registration link, a new staff introduction, and important guidance on avoiding common squash plant pests!

Staff Update

Please join us in welcoming Louis Keller, the new Education Specialist for the Community Garden's Program. Louis brings a strong background in soil science, ecological educational, and farming. They have a Masters in Integrated Agricultural Sciences from Texas State University and have been involved with several non-profits around Austin including Central Texas Mycology, Farmshare Austin, and Keep Austin Fed. Their interests range from backyard gardening and composting to two stepping and pickleball. If they had to envision themselves as a native Texas plant, they would see themselves as a yaupon tree (Ilex vomitoria), resilient and caffeinated. They are excited to be a part of the team and look forward to working closely with garden Outreach Coordinators to increase public engagement in the community gardens this year and Compost Coordinators to improve composting efforts.

Training

Orchard Maintenance Plan Training

(Open only to City of Austin Permitted Community Gardeners)

Wednesday, Sept. 16 from 6 p.m.–8 p.m., Online

Brought to you by TreeFolks and Austin Parks and Recreation Urban Forestry

Live Webinar with required pre-registration. Link to join the meeting sent the week of the training to all registered attendees.

Please send at least one gardener from your garden to this required training. Please come with 1-3 questions about your garden's fruit trees and have one only representative ask these questions during the workshop to ensure all gardens get to ask questions. This will support all gardens with fruit trees develop the required Orchard Maintenance Plans by December 27, 2026. If your garden does not have fruit trees, no need to attend or submit anything.

Walker Pickens of TreeFolks will be your lead presenter, here is a quick bio to get to know him!

"Walker Pickens is the Tree Distribution Coordinator for the NeighborWoods program at TreeFolks, where he spends his time bringing trees (and tree education) to the people of Austin. Walker has a special affinity for pomology, which he puts to use coordinating TreeFolks’ fruit tree programming and overseeing the TreeFolks Demonstration Orchard. He also volunteers with Central Texas Seed Savers, where he is co-founder and project lead of their Fruit Savers initiative—an effort to locate, propagate, and preserve hardy, locally-adapted fruit tree varieties for the enjoyment of future generations of Texans." We are so excited to learn from Walker and partner with TreeFolks for this new training.

Education/Events

It's My Park Day - November 7, 2026

If you’d like to participate in It’s My Park Day as a Project Leader:

Submit a Project Proposal starting Tuesday, September 8th through Friday, September 25^th (note if they fill up, they will close the application down early, don't wait to apply).

Beginning September 8th, you can visit the IMPD webpage then click the blue button in the upper-right hand corner labeled ‘Submit A Project’. All projects are reviewed by APF and Austin Parks and Recreation for final approval. APF will follow up with any questions or concerns about your project.

If you have any Spanish Translation needs or would like additional assistance connecting with your neighborhood, please get in touch with Austin Parks Foundation by emailing Freddy.nieto@austinparks.org.

Education/Events

Roots & Wings Festival 2026 -

Saturday, October 17, 2026–Sunday, November 1, 2026 across Austin!

If you missed the deadline to apply for a grant this year, sign up here to stay on top of information for next year!

Roots and Wings Festival Interest Form

Pollinator/Plant Relationship of the Month

August's Pollinator/Plant Relationship of the month is all about one of the peskier garden creatures, the Squash Vine Borer (Eichlinia cucurbitae). Squash Vine Borer (Eichlinia cucurbitae) · iNaturalist The Squash Vine Borer is indeed a beautiful moth, but it's not a pollinator. You may have noticed that squash plants don't grow well in Austin, it's mostly to do with these common garden pests. While the moth is visually striking with bright red hind legs and lower abdomen sometimes mistaken for a wasp, the larvae are what do all the damage. Adults lay eggs inside of the stems of squash family plants commonly planted by organic gardeners. There are varieties of squash that are naturally less appealing to this moth, including the Tatume, a winter squash with pale green skin and pale flesh that does well in Central Texas. Cucumbers, melons, and butternut squash are also less attractive and grow well in Austin while zucchini and yellow summer squash are all highly susceptible.

There are ways to treat or prevent the moths from laying eggs in squash stems that use organic practices, though they are not always successful. Placing a yellow bowl of water with a couple drops of dish soap near the squash plants may help tell trap and kill the adult moths before they can lay eggs, though take care to change the water out frequently to avoid killing pollinators. The first sign most people notice is wilting of the vine, by then it is too late. Experienced gardeners watch the stems for signs of frass (larval poo) sticking out from small holes. Frass means the stem is infested. Some gardeners carefully cut the stem along its axis and remove the caterpillar before it ruins the vine. Others use a stiff wire, a needle, or a toothpick to kill the borer without seriously injuring the vine. The vines of infected plants must be crushed and thrown out, not added to compost, to eliminate the infestation. Consider a trap crop to reduce their population in your garden site.

Most moths serve as beneficial garden insects, but some like this one are more of a pest than a friend to the squash gardener. Photo credit to John Dickinson, Squash Vine Borer (Eichlinia cucurbitae) from San Antonio Botanical Garden, San Antonio, TX, US on September 24, 2019 at 12:36 PM by johndickinson68 · iNaturalist. See more of John's observations on iNaturalist.

Keep your eyes peeled for invitations to upcoming events, including the Annual Garden Potluck this November.

For more information on the Community Garden Program, or follow ups from the blog, contact communitygardens@austintexas.gov.