< PreviousMELISSAREKOFF BROKERASSOCIATE melissa@onyxrealtygrouptx.com melissa.onyxrealtygrouptx.com 409-996-9838 ForEducators BUYINGSELLING or ahomethis Spring BuyingorSellingahomeisnoteasy,butIpromisetoeducate youontheprocess&setexpectationstomakethings smootherandlessstressful. Getanexpertyoucancounton!Compassionate Guidance in Your Time of Need. E. R. Johnson Family Mortuary has been serving the Galveston, Galveston County area with compassion and respect for over 71 years. Our deep roots in the community are a source of pride, as we grow side by side with the families we serve. During this time you need someone who understand the needs of families in celebrating the life of their loved ones and making sure that we take all precautions in maintaining a safe environment to assure the health and well-being of everyone that wants to celebrate the life of their loved one with dignity. E.R. Johnson Family Mortuary has always been in the forefront making sure the families we serve receive our utmost attention, care and service. We hope you will consider us your source for compassionate care and exemplary service. Our pledge is to help you honor your loved one in the most meaningful way, offering thoughtful guidance and personal attention to every detail. 3828 Ave O | Galveston, TX 77550 409.762.8470 E. R. Johnson Family Mortuary42 COASTMONTHLY.COM | MArCH 2023 GARDEN VARIETY GROWING TO GIVE Harvest from this veggie garden benefits area food banks, charities story by BARBARA CANETTI W ith the final threat of frost and freezing temperatures likely behind us, it’s time to get that spring garden started. The upper Texas coast is perfect for growing a large variety of vegetables that can go from garden to table. The spring veggie garden, which actually extends into the summer months, is good for starting plants from seeds or transplants. Both will produce a good harvest if the garden is properly prepared, Galveston County Master Gardener Maria Luisa Abad said. “We wait until after the last freeze and then start amending the soil,” said Abad, who works with Master Gardener Alysha Davila on the community garden beds where all of the food produced is donated to local food banks and charities. Abad and Davila begin by removing all roots and de- bris from earlier gardens and then start increasing the new Galveston County Master Gardeners Alysha Davila, left, and Maria Abad plant and tend to several beds of vegetables at the Discovery Garden at Carbide Park in La Marque. The produce they grow is donated to Galveston County food banks. PHOTO: JENNIFE r r EYNOLDS COASTMONTHLY.COM | MArCH 2023 43 Many types of vegetables usually can be established in the garden during March. Carrots should be ready to harvest 70 to 80 days after planting. PHOTO: COU r TESY HE r MAN AUE r44 COASTMONTHLY.COM | MArCH 2023 GARDEN VARIETY (Clockwise from top left) Peppers should be ready eight to 10 weeks after transplanting, according to Texas A&M AgriLife. If you pick peppers when they’re full size but still green, the yields will be greater. If you allow them to turn red, the Vitamin A will be higher; beans are climbing vegetables and best grown in vertical gardens; cantaloupes spread across the top of the garden and need lots of room; use transplants for Brussels sprouts by March, otherwise it will get too hot for them to grow if they’re started now from seed. PHOTOS: COUrTESY HErMAN AUEr COASTMONTHLY.COM | MArCH 2023 45 organic matter in the soil, they said. They prefer to work on raised beds because the clay soil prevalent along the Gulf Coast isn’t ideal for plants. “The main thing is the soil,” Davila said. “The plants will grow if they are cared for and not neglected.” They then begin introducing a balanced fertilizer with the compost before the new seeds or plants are put into the ground. Beginning in March, seeds can be sown for beans, cucumbers, peas, all kinds of peppers, squash, carrots, cauliflower, kale, cantaloupes and watermelons. Remember, cucumbers, squash, cantaloupes and water- melons spread across the top of the garden and need lots of room. Peas and beans are best grown in vertical gardens. By March, use transplants for Brussels sprouts, cabbage, eggplant and all varieties of tomatoes. These need to be transplants because it will get too hot for them to grow if they’re started now from seed. Abad and Davila amend the soil with cotton burr and mushroom compost, which add nutrients, break up dense soil and introduce beneficial microbes. Cotton burr comprises the seeds, stems and leaves left over from the cotton plant after the fibers have been removed. Once the plants are in the ground, Abad and Davila water every other day for 10 min- utes. But during those dog days of summer, they water early and daily. “You don’t need a lot of expertise to grow vegetables, just time and dedication,” Davila said. Not all vegetables need to be planted in the ground. In fact, many vegetables thrive in containers and can provide a family lots of meals, Abad said. After harvesting the vegetables, work in the garden isn’t done. This is when prepar- ing for the fall garden begins. Pull up the roots of whatever is left in the garden, water it and then cover the area with a layer of clear plastic. This process, called solarizing, will rid the soil of unwanted pests, nematodes and weeds because the heat from the sun will “cook” the soil. Leave the covering for four weeks. There should be a layer of condensation under the plastic throughout the solar- ization process. If you stop seeing con- densation, the bed has dried out. Remove plastic, re-wet soil and replace plastic. Solarization rids 96 percent of all the weeds in an affected area, according to a 2002 study by Texas A&M University. Once the plastic is removed, the process of amending the soil with compost begins again. Abad and Davila will then prepare for their fall community garden. “It is really great being able to grow these vegetables and give them away to the food bank,” Avila said. “They are super grateful.” Galveston County Master Gardeners Alysha Davila, left, and Maria Abad plant vegetables in a bed at the Discovery Garden at Carbide Park in La Marque. PHOTO: JENNIFE r r EYNOLDSISLECYCLESTUDIO-GROUPCLASSES MASSAGE-WELLNESSTHERAPIES THEGATHERINGSTUDIORENTALSPACE BentonHealthyLivingWellnessCenterisawellnessandfitnessspaceon GalvestonIsland.BentonHealthyLivingwillanchorthewellnessarmofthecenter witheducationalandtherapeutic-basedresources.Thewellnesscenterwillalso offerFullBodyVibrationTherapy,SaltBoothTherapy,InfraredSaunaTherapy, Massage,andIVTherapy.BentonHealthyLivingWellnessCenterwillalsooffer educationalclassesonnutrition,essentialoils,wellness,andfitness. Locatedat291053rdStreet-Galveston,TX Giveusacallat(409)220-3901 BENTonHealthyLiving.com48 COASTMONTHLY.COM | MArCH 2023 FEATURE ‘LIVABLE ART’ Builder combines sustainability with style in her island homes story by MICHELLE LEIGH SMITH | photos by STUART VILLANUEVA C hristine Plum, a single mother working in what long has been a male-dominated in- dustry, understands an efficiently designed home can have a big effect. As a builder, Plum has been attracting positive attention for her creative homes built on Galveston Island with sustainability in mind. An added attraction at this year’s Galveston Home Tour centered on Plum House, on Ursuline Street, which sold im- mediately at full price. She has built a second home at 4010 Ursuline St., and is midway through a 12-home develop- ment, Delaney Heights on avenues L and M at 32nd Street. The homes are priced from $370,000 to $420,000 and feature balconies, Murano glass accent pieces and soothing seascape colors from ocean blue to seafoam green. “My homes are livable art,” Plum said. “You won’t find a spec home anywhere like what I’m doing.” Plum began building homes six years ago. Her houses fit Builder and designer Christine Plum stands with her dog, Seven, outside of one of her homes on Ursuline Street in Galveston. Plum, who most often can be found wearing a Wildfang jumpsuit and floral Doc Martens, integrates one-of-a-kind materials in a well-designed footprint, she said. COASTMONTHLY.COM | MArCH 2023 49 Plum stages and styles her homes after construction with mostly vintage items, such as this chandelier made from the original clock from the 1968 HemisFair in San Antonio.Next >