Summer gardening, cooking how-tos for North Texans

Two Texas A&M AgriLife programs, based at the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center in Dallas, have teamed up to offer a summer gardening series of live instructional videos on growing and preparing seasonal harvests.

First, an expert horticulturist from Water University teaches viewers water- and resource-efficient practices for growing prolific regional fruits, herbs and vegetables. Then, the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service’s Dinner Tonight program shows viewers how to use them in a seasonal dish.

“It’s a good opportunity for budding gardeners to ask questions and interact with us live on Facebook as the videos premiere,” said Daniel Cunningham, horticulturist with AgriLife’s Water University program.

Where to watch summer gardening videos

The instruction series is free, and both programs’ videos will stream live, simultaneously, on the Facebook pages of Water University and Dinner Tonight.

“The simple, healthy dishes we teach you will make delicious use of the abundant harvests you produce with your new gardening tips,” said Odessa Keenan, AgriLife Extension wellness initiatives coordinator with Dinner Tonight in Dallas. “And anyone who misses an installment can watch it on YouTube later.”

Ended live videos will post to both Water University’s YouTube Channel and Dinner Tonight’s YouTube Channel. Featured recipes are available in text at Dinner Tonight’s website.

The series observances and topics will be:

• June 3, National Tomato Day – Tips for garden success and the tomato-cilantro salad.
• June 10, National Herb and Spice Day – Rosemary, oregano, sage, thyme: Herbs that beat the heat.
• June 17, National Eat Your Vegetables Day – Okra: Beautiful, prolific, delicious.
• June 24, Fresh Fruit and Vegetable month – The fig: One of the world’s healthiest and most delicious fruits.

View a detailed listing of these live events on the Facebook events pages of Dinner Tonight and Water University.