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Greetings!
Happy New Year! We reopened today after a much-needed little holiday break and I'm looking forward to seeing you. The tables are stocked with winter/spring color and as you know, spring is right around the corner. We don't get very much winter in these parts!
 | | photo: Jackie Morley |
Right now, we are still planting cool season veggies in the garden but tomato and pepper people are starting seeds indoors! Read more below about starting seeds indoors.
I'm happy to tell you I've finished one of my big projects: renovating the website! Read below for a tour of the new website. I hope you like it! And if you don't, pass on your suggestions for change. The new format is so much easier to work with. It should be a snap to implement all but the most structural of changes.
 | | Zendala by Carole Ohl |
The next class is Backyard Birding, taught by yours truly. I like to teach this class in the winter because we are so rich in migratory birds at this time of year. Many, many songbirds spend the winter with us, basking in the coastal warmth. And if you're interested in Zentangle, you'll love the Zendala workshop! It's Zentangle techniques in a mandala format! Space in this class is limited so please get in touch to register in advance.
Thanks for signing up for our email newsletter! Come see us soon! |
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New Website: A Tour
Hurray! The Papershell website has been completely renovated and boy, am I glad that is done! I was ready for a change, though. The old website was hard to update and consequently, I didn't do it nearly enough. But that was 2012 -- one of my resolutions is to keep that website updated!
Anyway, let me tell you a little bit about some of the key features of the new site. The slideshow on the top of the front page is designed to give newcomers an idea of what Papershell is all about. Immediately below that are links to the 8 most recent articles, which may be about beer, gardening, cooking, art, or whatever strikes my fancy. Also on this front page, in the right sidebar are two subscription links. You've already subscribed to the newsletter. Now there's an option to subscribe to be notified whenever an article is posted to the website. That's up to you!
 | | Sneak peek! |
Now take a peek at the menu bar on the top. The Map link takes you to the Google map of our location. I've added a Contact Us link -- just another was to get in touch. The spam filter will ask you to do a little addition problem to help screen out automated messages.
The Garden Center link will take you to a page with articles about plants and plant care. It's a little bit like the Garden Gallery on the old site, but with more information. It's searchable, too. On the right sidebar, at the bottom, there's an archives box and a search box. All you do is click on the picture to go to an article about the plant that's featured. This page shows the most recent 10 articles in this category, but there are more - click the little arrow at the bottom of the page for the next batch.
The Tips section (no, not cash!) is where I'll put what I think of as the "technical" information. Often these articles are the results of questions we're asked at the garden center. What's that weed? When do I feed citrus trees? Is that bug a bad guy or a good guy? This sort of article can be found here. Like the Garden Center page, the Tips page has the most recent articles (all searchable) and you can page over for more.
 | | Good info on bad guys! |
The Art Gallery section features works from the gallery. If you click on the picture, you'll go to a little article with more information, such as size, price, artist, etc. This isn't all the work in the gallery, though! I'm still working on taking really good pictures of what we have. This year I want to learn to take a picture of a work that's framed under glass and not get the annoying glare!
New to the website is a page for PaperCup! That's right, now the Biermeister can blog about the beers we have available or beer happenings or any other brew business. Show him a little love, will you? He's new to this end of the business!
The last three sections are exactly the same as they were: the Calendar page is a Google calendar of our upcoming events and classes. The Facebook section takes you to our Facebook page, a place where we can be a little more social with our gardening friends. And the Newsletter Archive is just that - all the email newsletters that have been sent to you on a bimonthly basis.
 | | They won't let me have a crown. Maybe a button? |
And that's that! I'd love to hear your comments and suggestions. I can't promise I can figure out how to make them happen but I'll try!
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Seed Starting
January seems to be the time when veggie gardeners get a little antsy. Yes, you can plant cabbages and kales and spinach now, but most of the die-hard small-scale farmers I know are just itching to plant warm-season veggies now. Well, it's too early for plants but it's not too early to start some indoors from seed.
There are a few advantages to growing your own veggies from seed. The variety available in seed packets far exceeds the variety you can get on the garden center tables. And it can be very inexpensive to start a whole lot of plants! Just ask anyone who's ever opened a pack of lettuce seeds! Perhaps most important, it keeps you occupied so you don't go nuts and plant a tomato outside just yet.
 | | Millions available... |
Start by gathering your containers. Remember that we have loads of 4" pots and open trays for you to use - free for the asking! Because we recycle them, there are always tons available. Come get some - please! For best results, wash the pots in a mild bleach solution (9 parts water, 1 part bleach) to avoid any fungal or bacterial problems. If you're not using the black plastic pots, make sure whatever you use has drainage holes.
Next, I like to hydrate the planting medium. We have seed-starting mix available but basically you want a very light soilless mix that has no added fertilizers. Tiny seedlings don't need fertilizers. The mix is dry and powdery and hard to work with. I pour a few cups into a large ziplock back and add water. Mix well, then squeeze the water out. Your mix should be moist and easier to work with now.
 | | Try Purple Tomatillo! |
Fill your pots almost to the top: allow about 1/4 to 1/2 inch of space to allow for proper watering. Level the surface of the soil. Plant your seeds according to package directions but only one variety per pot. I like to plant one variety per tray because I get mixed up. Of course, you could label your pots. That would help. Somehow I always end up just labeling one pot per tray. Not sufficient.
Cover your containers with some sort of plastic dome or wrap. This prevents the soil from drying out. The little seedlings will have teeny tiny roots and if the top crust of soil dries out, they are toast. Otherwise you may need to mist several times a day.
 | | Try Hill Country Red Okra! |
Provide bright light. Fixtures made for seed-starting are best. Seedlings often fail because they aren't getting enough light. They stretch, grow thin, and fall over. Watch the water. You want to keep the soil moist but not wet. Don't fertilize until you get proper leaves. Those first two leaves aren't the proper ones.
When you see the proper leaves, thin to the spacing on the seed packet. Generally, unless it's leaf lettuce, that means one plant per 4" pot. Don't bring them outside until all danger of frost has passed and you've "hardened" them to the elements. More on that in the next newsletter!
 | | Try Fresno Chiles! |
Until then, here are some veggies that are easy to grow from seed: beans of all kinds, squash, lettuce, mustards, beets, kale, radishes, tomatillos and tomatoes! Peppers are a bit trickier - most of them need significant heat to germinate but there are so many varieties around, it's worth a try!
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| Louisiana: Brews and Cruise
Our family went to Louisiana for a few days over the Christmas holidays and we had such a wonderful time! We stayed at a little bed and breakfast, rode horses, ate some very tasty food and saw lots of very interesting things! My favorite part was the swamp tour. Winter is a good time to go - you can see a lot better when some of the foliage is gone and the weather is more pleasant. I thought you might like to see some of the pictures from the trip. Click on the photo below for a little slide show.
 | | Take the tour! |
The Biermeister was busy too, sampling the local brews. We spend most of our time in the backyard of the Abita Springs brewery, so that's what we studied. He liked the local beers so much, he blogged about it! Check it out and leave him a nice comment. I want to be able to assign him written work in the future!
 | | My favorite one. |
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Please stop by and visit! Have a glass of world-famous lemonade (or a beer!) -- we'd love to meet you!
Sincerely,
Elizabeth Barrow
Papershell: A Garden Gallery
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Backyard Birding
Sunday, January 13
2:00-3:30pm
Papershell leads this popular workshop in identifying and attracting local birds. Winter is a great time for birders around here: it's usually not that cold, and many trees are leafless, so birds are easier to spot. This class is $10 and includes a coupon for 15% off your garden center purchase.
For reservations, please call (281) 232-4485 or email us.
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Zendala Workshop
Saturday, January 19
2:00-4:00pm
Certified Zentagle instructor Dawn Meisch leads this workshop - it's Zentangle in a totally new way! Zendala incorporates the principle of Mandala with the techniques of Zentangle using round tiles. If you are familiar with Zentangle, the guidelines are completely different for Zendala.
This class is $35 and space is limited. For reservations, please call (281) 232-4485 or email us.
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Preparing the Spring Veggie Garden
Sunday, January 20
2:00-3:30pm
Jeanie Dunnihoo leads this class in preparing for the spring garden. Topics include seed starting, soil preparation, frost protection and plant supports. This class is $10 and includes a coupon for 15% off today's garden center purchases.
Space is limited - to reserve your spot, call (281) 232-4485 or email us.
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