When it rains it pours!  In addition to almost nonstop rain, bad luck has been falling down on me in waves!  Last week my transmission went out, a snake ate my two baby chicks, my son’s dog passed away and two of our daughters barely dodged tornadoes!  Things have to get better!  Hopefully there is some sunshine right around the corner that will lift the clouds that seem to have settled over the gardens and gardeners of this part of Texas!

I am not normally a snake killer. however, this guy or gal ate my two baby barred rock chicks. I am afraid this is the beginning of a series of snake problems in the coop!

Vegetables

As Patty’s latest article reminds us (Stewart’s Zeebest Okra), now is a great time to plant okra.  Zeebest is Patty’s favorite because it was developed by her friends and garden mentors.  While not an “heirloom” yet it soon will be.  When you are planning your garden this fall why not include some heirlooms in your seed picks.  Many of these heirlooms taste better and produce better than the hybrids that are sold in the big boxes and garden centers.  Each heirloom has a story.  Someone bred it, or saved it and has grown it for years – each one has a story.  One of my favorite heirlooms is a shallot called “Gumbo Onions”.  A family from Louisiana has been growing these tasty and productive green onions for over 100 years.  It makes me feel really good to know that I am doing my part to keep this plant, which is not available in the trade, going for future generations.

Here are the artichokes I mentioned in last week’s post. Very excited about our first harvest. Photo by Sally White.

Ornamentals

My yard is beautiful right now.  Everything is blooming, the grass is green and there is fruit on the trees!  With all of this rain, mowing and weeding will be the things that keep me outside once the rain stops.  Before you weed I really suggest you go and pick up some mulch.  Mulch will greatly reduce the number of weeds that sprout. Weeding is not my favorite garden chore so anything that reduces weeds is a no brainer for me.

All of this rain has my yard and vegetable garden looking good. Here you can see my heirloom elephant garlic in full bloom.

Yards

With all of this rain and low temperatures, brown patch is going to become a problem in your St. Augustine.  Unless it is really bad it will correct itself once things dry out.  Help it out a little by laying off the fertilizer for a while.  Too much nitrogen acerbates the problems.

I have hundreds of daylilies on my property. This is a pretty one that was bred by a friend in the DFW area

Trees

Some of my peaches are beginning to show color.  This is already bringing in the birds.  If you have problems with birds getting you fruit, this weekend will be a good time to cover them in nets.

I share my posts on the HomeAcre Hop.  Be sure to stop by the hop.  It has tons of great information from gardeners and homesteaders all over the world!