Wanda and Neutron get to work.

March is a busy garden month. There are seedlings to transplant, seeds to sow, weeds to pull, fences to mend, and compost to spread. Of course, spreading that homemade compost is a lot more rewarding if you aren't attacked by fire ants crawling up the shovel handle. It's also best if your compost doesn't carry hundreds of seedling-eating pillbugs into your freshly made garden beds. To root out the insects that are inevitable in the compost bin but aren't so welcome in the veggie plot, I turn to my on-site specialists: Neutron and Wanda.

Central Texas grows a lot of good things: bluebonnets, musicians, and wineries, to list a few. The region also boasts a slew of children's writers, four of whom will be featured at Explore UT's Books for Kids event on Saturday March 7.

My two hens, Wanda and Neutron, are popular gals--trendsetters, even. Whenever friends or neighbors find out we keep chickens for fresh eggs and enterntainment, they want to know if they can do it, too. My inner home educator recently realized we were getting to critical mass with the inquiries. So last Friday I held "Chicken School" in my backyard.

By Casey Kelly Barton

Freshly planted onion sets

I love gardening this time of year because onion sets arrive at area nurseries, and they're incredibly easy for kids (and adults) to plant. My boys helped put in a few rows yesterday with minimal oversight by me.

By Casey Kelly Barton

I take a lot of field trips with my kids and friends, and by far the best one we took in 2008 was a visit to Wimberley that included a glassblowing demonstration at Wimberley Glassworks.

When I first called to arrange the visit, I was pleasantly surprised that they would welcome a group of school-aged kids into their showroom filled with lovely (and expensive) breakables. They did, and our little group made it safely to the workshop in the back for the big show.

By Casey Kelly Barton

As a native Texan mama, I want my kids to have a sense of place and a decent knowledge of regional plants and wildlife. One way to approach that is to start, if not at the beginning, then as close as we can get. With that in mind, I took the hub and both sons to UT's Texas Memorial Museum today, over nine-year old Rocketboy's grumblings that he couldn't possibly learn anything new because he's already been there twice. Upon arrival I handed him my iPod with the museum's audio tour on it, escorted him downstairs to a roomful of Texan fossils, and watched him start eating his words with gusto.

By Casey Kelly Barton

Looking for a virtually indestructible plant for your vegetable garden? Try Swiss chard. I'm in love with mine. I planted some "Orange Chiffon" seeds in early spring and harvested the baby greens for salads.

By Casey Kelly Barton

I can hear sleet hitting the windows as I write and I'm reminded of what I like about winter in Central Texas: It's usually mild and brings some needed rain. My half-acre suburban homestead is more than ready for the change in the weather. Wanda and Neutron, our laying hens, are snuggled in their insulated house. The rabbits, whose duties include eating weeds, producing organic fertilizer and delighting my children, are in for the night. Out in the vegetable garden, the Swiss chard can handle anything Mother Nature throws at it. Lettuce, collards and carrots don't mind a little cold, and while this might be the last hurrah for the cosmos and alyssum interplanted to draw beneficial insects, the pansies and dianthus will no doubt soldier on through the cooler months.