Take your garden to another level

by Phil Houseal as published in the Kerrville TX Community Journal Mar 4, 2009


I miss Iowa sweet corn.

Though I've lived in the hill country since 1980, I make no secret that I am an Iowa boy, born and fed on a farm in the breadbasket of the world. Back in the Midwest, the topsoil is measured in feet, not inches. The soil is so rich one observer claimed you could just eat the dirt without bothering to turn it into vegetables.

So when I arrived in Texas, I set out to grow a garden. I quickly discovered that the dirt in Texas was a little more unforgiving than Iowa loam. But I eventually uncovered an approach that worked - raised beds.

By piling up dirt into 4-foot square beds, supplementing the soil like crazy, watering and mulching, my kids were soon turning up their noses at mounds of broccoli, brussels sprouts, and zuchinni.

Dr. Tom Harris is a true expert at what is now called "square foot gardening." He teaches a series of gardening courses in Kerrville and Boerne, has written "how-to" books, and keeps lists of plants that are best suited for the local climate and conditions. He regularly helps immigrants from other states navigate the conditions of the Southwest so they can produce bumper crops in their own backyards.

The retired educator and Master Gardener will be in Kerrville on Wed, March 11 to lead a class in building some of these raised beds in the backyard of the Auld Center, home of Club Ed.

Dr. Harris digs this approach to gardening. "No weeds, no work, less water," he ticked off the reasons. "Raised beds are super handy, and very friendly with nature - you can recycle all your yard wastes by making mulch or compost."

That overcomes the biggest challenge for hill country gardeners - growing plants in rocks. "Mostly what we have around here is caliche," he said. "You can't hardly grow anything in that stuff. It is easier to start with a raised bed and make your own soil."

Building raised beds does not have to be elaborate or expensive.

Gardeners have used rocks, bricks, and timbers to raise the beds to at least 6 inches. Dr. Harris uses 8-inch cinder blocks. He fills them using a 50% mix of light garden mix, and recommends drip irrigation for efficient watering.

The best thing about raised bed gardening is that the concept applies anywhere in the world, and it works for growing vegetables, flowers, herbs, and trees - "whatever you want to grow."

So if you yearn to learn the secrets of building a square foot garden of your own, make tracks over to Club Ed. He figures the class can build three or four raised beds - it will just take you a couple of hours.

And you must promise to bring me a sample from your first crop of sweet corn.

XXX

The Square Foot Gardening Workshop meets on Wed, March 11. For information or to sign up, click www.clubed.net, or call 830-895-4386.

Club Ed is the Community Education program of the Kerrville Independent School District. Each year, we offer more than 400 classes throughout the Texas Hill Country, along with online courses, business and individual training, and after-school and summer camps. Comment online at clubedcomments.blogspot.com.

Look up

by Phil Houseal as published in the Kerrville TX Community Journal Feb 25, 2009


For Jim McMahon, things are always looking up.

It's not just because he is an optimist, but because his hobby is astronomy.

The retired mathematician teaches Backyard Astronomy for Club Ed. His objective is to bring the mystery and wonder of the universe to your own backyard.

A curious mind helps, as does a pair of binoculars.

"A pair 7 x 35 binoculars - which a lot of people already have - comes in very handy," McMahon said. "If you can hold binoculars steady, you can see the satellites of Jupiter."

The first number is the degree of magnification, and the second number is the width of the lens in millimeters. So a set of field glasses 10 x 75 means they magnify the image 10 times and the lens is 75 millimeters across.

Is bigger better?

"Yes, because you can collect more light and see fainter objects," he said.

Higher magnification also means it is more difficult to hold the binoculars steady. So this is where serious astronomy buffs move up to reflector telescopes. They offer more magnification, more stability, and more features.

"This is an 8-inche telescope," McMahon said, pointing to his compact red viewer that he uses in class. "That means you can see very faint objects with this telescope."

Technically, his is a catadioptric telescope, which means the light is funneled through a series of lenses and mirrors before it reaches the eye.

"It folds the optics so don't have telescope too long and unwieldy," he explained. This allows for the performance of a large aperture and long focal length in a package that is lightweight and transportable.

You can go up quickly in sophistication by adding tracking devices, computer controls, and photography accessories.

Still, looking up at the night sky is an affordable and accessible hobby. Of course the best viewing is from an area far from the lights of the city. If you can't escape to the country, you can still get decent viewing if you shade the light. Put your scope in a tree's shadow, for example, to block out the mercury vapor street lamps.

When you observe the stars, you will be sharing an activity practiced by man from the first night he lay on his back. For ancient civilizations, the starry sky was the tableau for its bedtime stories, legends, and lore. Early astronomers learned to predict the seasons and track the passing of time. It still sparks the imagination of every person who takes the time to look up.

With McMahon's help, that appreciation of the skies can start outside your back door.

XXX


Backyard Astronomy begins Thursday evening, Feb 26. For information or to sign up, click www.clubed.net, or call 830-895-4386.

Club Ed is the Community Education program of the Kerrville Independent School District. Each year, we offer more than 400 classes throughout the Texas Hill Country, along with online courses, business and individual training, and after-school and summer camps. Comment online at clubedcomments.blogspot.com.

When camels ruled

by Phil Houseal as published in the Kerrville TX Community Journal Feb 18, 2009


Longtime Kerr residents are familiar with the clumpy story of the U.S. Army's experiment with using camels in the 1860s.

But newcomers are always surprised when they learn about the history of Camp Verde. The area, now home to the Camp Verde General Store and Post Office, is 10 miles south of Kerrville on Highway 173 at a site considered " the most historic crossroads in Kerr County."

Gerald Witt teaches a Club Ed class there called Camp Verde - The Camels and More.

"It really was a government project," Witt said. "They thought camels would be the best beasts of burden for carrying cargo across the southwest. So they went to Asia Minor and came back with 40 camels."

The year was 1861. It was the start of the Civil War, but the "camel experiment" had nothing to do with war. According to Witt, this was all about the Army finding a better way to ship cargo across an unsettled west.

The project was not without challenges. The Army had to bring in camel handlers from Asia. Apparently, American soldiers didn't get along with camels.

"They were more used to working with horse or cattle," he noted.

The upshot is that the camel experiment was a success. The hardy beasts of burden easily navigated the deserts and mountains, hauling goods from Texas to California. But a national distraction ended the program.

"In two words, what killed it was the Civil War," Witt said.

The camels that made the trip to California never came back. The ones left at Camp Verde were auctioned off to circuses and zoos, and a colorful chapter in the area's history closed.

In his class, Witt points out that Camp Verde was about more than camels.

Along with Fort Martin Scott in Fredericksburg, Camp Verde was part of a string of forts stretching from Fort Worth in the north to Fort Inge on the Rio Grande. For a very brief period, they served as the line of defense along America's western frontier. A restless nation quickly grew beyond it, and the forts were abandoned or converted to other uses.

Witt tells how the Comanche nation adopted the horse and moved in from Wyoming to spread across Texas. That leads to discussions of the two battles of Bandera Pass; one with the Spaniards, the second with the Rangers.

Again it is a reminder of the area's colorful and often unforgiving past. For those of us who came to Texas from states where settlers plowed sod or poled rivers, it is fascinating to walk hills and riverbanks where only a few generations back ancestors of local families clashed with Indians, led cattle drives, and built ranching empires.

So as you sit inside Camp Verde General Store, sipping your tea and gazing out over Verde Creek, Witt will help you envision a time when camels roamed those hills.

XXX

A few times each session, Gerald Witt teachers Camp Verde - Camels and More. For information or to sign up, click www.clubed.net, or call 830-895-4386.

Club Ed is the Community Education program of the Kerrville Independent School District. Each year, we offer more than 400 classes throughout the Texas Hill Country, along with online courses, business and individual training, and after-school and summer camps. Comment online at clubedcomments.blogspot.com.

Model Behavior

by Phil Houseal as published in the Kerrville TX Community Journal Feb 11, 2009


Doris Brooner wants to teach you to hold your head up.

"One thing I teach is that when you are walking and you are straight and your head is up, you are more aware of your surroundings," said the professional modeling instructor. "It is just amazing what you can see as opposed to walking with your head down. Plus, if you can project confidence, your audience recognizes it."

Brooner has been a model, and has taught modeling techniques to students who have appeared in fashion shows and television commercials from New York to Dallas. She believes the skills that help you walk a runway are skills that can help you become successful in any career.

Those techniques go beyond having good posture, but everything starts with how you carry yourself in public. Brooner teaches young women (and young men) how to sit, how to stand, and how to walk, pivoting gracefully on the turns. She demonstrates a proper handshake - firm but not hard, and definitely "not a fish." Maintain eye contact, and always keep your head up. Then we come to "how to make conversation."

"To be a good listener, don't do all the talking," she said. "Keep the subjects clean, and steer away from morbid topics."

This sounds like common sense, but Brooner maintains that social skills that used to be common are increasingly rare. She traces the decline in courtesy straight to your home, and to your dinner table.

"You always go back to the family," she said. "We are not eating meals at home. That's where you learn how to have a conversation, and how not to chew with your mouth open. Parents just don't have the time to teach proper etiquette any more."

Brooner also knows her way around a table setting. We have all experienced that moment of panic at a formal dinner, where we face a bewildering array of flatware, stemware, and utensils - a minefield waiting to blow up in front of someone we are trying to impress. Brooner's advice?

"It's simple. You watch your hostess, and do what she does," she said. When it does come time to choose which fork to use, Brooner's rule of thumb is to work from the outside in. And when you get up to visit the "powder room" during a meal, proper etiquette is to place your napkin on your chair seat.

I had to ask the expert how to handle a situation I always seem to encounter at a formal dinner: how does one discretely dispose of that annoying piece of gristle hidden in a bite of prime rib?

"You delicately get rid of it with your napkin," she explained. "It happens, and don't let it ruin your meal. Don't be embarrassed."

So I guess I have been doing it correctly. I just need to practice doing it while smiling, making eye contact, listening to the hostess, and keeping my head up.

XXX

Doris Brooner will teach Visual Poise through Modeling for Teens starting Wed, Feb 25 for six sessions. For more information, visit www.clubed.net, or call 830-895-4386.

Club Ed is the Community Education program of the Kerrville Independent School District. Each year, we offer more than 400 classes throughout the Texas Hill Country, along with online courses, business and individual training, and after-school and summer camps. Comment online at clubedcomments.blogspot.com.