Miss your hummingbirds?

When springtime comes to Texas, hummers invade the state and their arrival can be a time of wonder for those interested in the birds. Hummers frequently travel more than 1,000 miles from Central America and Mexico to get here.

Many people install hummingbird feeders to attract the birds. Hummingbirds will thank you for doing so: their rapid metabolism requires them to eat constantly. Most hummers consume about one-half of their body weight in sugar each day.

While you wait for spring to come and the hummingbirds to arrive take a peak at the hummingbirds feeding in Brazil on the Dr JB Hummingbird feeder.

Streaming video by Ustream

Compost your kitchen scraps

For some people it’s quite a challenge to get the habit of composting worked into their kitchen routine.

A good way to make composting easier is to keep a compost pail or small bin in your kitchen. It is really just a container where the food waste goes until it is transferred to the compost heap or outside compost bin.

You can buy a kitchen compost pail, and of course there are advantages to buying something custom made for its purpose. For example, kitchen compost pails often come with carbon filters to help control the smell. And frankly, they do look better than and old coffee container and so you don’t have to be kept out of sight.

At RA Nursery we carry the RSVP stoneware, bamboo and stainless steel compost pails. Watch the video below to see how handy these compost pails are.

Are you using the right garden tools?

The right tool can make caring for your garden a lot easier. Do you know the difference between a shovel and a spade?

SHOVEL
The shovel is the number one tool used by most gardeners. An angled blade makes the shovel ideal for attacking piles of soil, sand, and other materials you need to load or move. It's also typically the tool of choice for digging plants out of the ground.  Take note of how well the shovel's handle is attached to the blade. That junction is usually the weakest point of the tool.

SPADE
A spade features a flat, squared-off blade and often is short-handled. It is ideal for edging beds, slicing under sod, and working soil amendments into the garden. Look for stainless-steel blades -- they resist rust. Also, the highest-quality spades usually have steel heads that are firmly connected to the handle. Spades where the blade is riveted to the handle tend to come apart more easily.

Tips on Attracting Cardinals to your Backyard.

Cardinals are named for its color which matches the robes of Catholic Cardinals. Provide its favorite seeds and the cardinal will often be the first bird to feed in the morning, and the last at night.

The cardinal will not use nest boxes. Provide viney, fruit bearing shrubbery such as junipers, dogwoods, honeysuckle, and viburnums, for best results in attracting nesting. Like most other birds, having a year-round water source is a great help in attracting Cardinals. Add a bird bath to your garden.

Cardinals are not hard to please. They prefer black oil sunflower or safflower seeds or a mixture of both. They are ground feeders; however, they will feed on flat surfaces. Wood platform feeders placed five feet or so above ground level are ideal to attract them.

Cold weather vegetables are in!

Many plants of European origin, such as  lettuce and cabbage, thrive in cool weather. In most areas, cool-season crops can be planted two to four weeks before the last spring frost. They will stop producing in early summer.

We have onions, cabbage, cauliflower, brussel sprouts, lettuce and more...Time to start thinking about your vegetable gardens.