Week 45 Tips for the Zone 9 Garden

Well, turns out all of our recent rains did not ruin my tomatoes!  Last night I brought in 6 pounds of Celebrity, Stupice and Black From Tula.  Some of them were a little cracked but they were in mostly great condition.  Unfortunately, the cucumbers did not fare as well.  Ever since the big rains of a couple of weeks ago they have shut down and the vines have begun to wither.  I think the combination of high moisture and unseasonably warm temperatures turned on the nematodes.  I will find out tomorrow when I pull them up.

Most of those crops that we planted back in August are ready for harvest.  I am going to focus this week’s tips on the harvest and preservation of the some of the crops that are now in the vegetable garden.  On another note, don’t forget that right now is a great time to plant trees and shrubs.  It is also a great time to over seed your lawn with rye grass.

Dried tomatoes are packed with flavor.  Slowly dry tomates in a 200 degree oven, spinkle with sea salt and drizzle with olive oil.  Anzing flavor and they will keep in the refrigerator for up to a month.

Dried tomatoes are packed with flavor. Slowly dry tomates in a 200 degree oven, spinkle with sea salt and drizzle with olive oil. Anzing flavor and they will keep in the refrigerator for up to a month.

  • Harvest fall tomatoes – It is supposed to drop into the 40 next Monday. Since tomatoes do not like temperatures below 50 pull any that are beginning to show color.  I would not pull the green tomatoes yet.  I leave my green tomatoes on the vine until the night before the first freeze.  By doing this I have had years where I was still harvesting vine ripened tomatoes up to the week before Christmas.
  • Harvest squash- I think we are still a couple of weeks away from the first freeze. Be aware that all squash, both summer and winter types, are extremely cold sensitive.  Do not let these crops stay on the vine when a freeze is expected.  I use my fall “summer squash” squash to make what we call “Chow Chow”.  I’ve heard it called other things but it is basically squash relish.  When it gets a little cooler, nothing is better than Chow Chow with those black eyed peas that you still have in the freezer.  Here is a simple and tasty Chow Chow recipe if you want to give it a try:  http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/yellow-summer-squash-relish.

    I love making (and eating) homemade pickles.  There are tons of great recipes out there on the internet.

    I love making (and eating) homemade pickles. There are tons of great recipes out there on the internet.

  • Harvest cucmbers – Before my vines shut down we harvested enough cucumbers to make 10 pints of pickles. Pickles take a little work and a few supplies to make but they are easy to make and taste so much better than store bought.  To me, potato salad, tuna salad and chicken salad aren’t worth eating if they are not made with home made pickles. Here is the recipe my wife follows (kind of) to make our pickles:  http://www.food.com/recipe/claussen-kosher-pickle-copycat-249520
  • Harvest beets – When I tell people that I love beets they usually look at me funny. Because of this I am getting much enjoyment seeing TV chef use the humble beet in many of their very fancy dishes.  While I have not tried them roasted yet I do love them pickled.  Harvest beets when they are about the size of a ping pong ball for best for best flavor and texture.  You can harvest them even smaller than that if you are going to roast them.  Check out my post, Growing Beets, to learn a simple way to turn you beets into so amazing refrigerator pickles!

    Read my article on growing beets and see how my family has made pickled beets for the past 97 years!

    Read my article on growing beets and see how my family has made pickled beets for the past 97 years!

I share these posts on Our SimpleHomestead Blog Hop.  Be sure to stop by.  The “hop” has tons of great information from gardeners and homesteaders all over the world!

Tip of the Week – Week 11 in the Zone 9 Garden

Well folks, this is THE weekend in the Zone 9 vegetable garden!  If you have already prepared your beds then this weekend looks to be a perfect time to plant the spring vegetable garden.  If you haven’t prepared your beds the weather man says that you will have perfect weather to do it this Saturday and then plant on an absolutely gorgeous Sunday.

It is time to transplant the tomato you have been babying for the last three months.  Photo by Bruce Leander

It is time to transplant the tomatoes you have been babying for the last three months. Photo by Bruce Leander

Vegetables

March 15 is the recommended planting date for most of the vegetables that we think of as “spring” crops.  This weekend is the perfect time to plant some of them from seed and others from transplants.  For a complete list of what to plant check out the planting guide on the blog.

Seed – Now is the time to plant snap beans, Lima beans, cantaloupe, corn, cucumbers, black eyed peas, crowder peas, summer squash and winter squash from seed.  Be sure to check out the variety list on the blog.  Patty Leander has spent years determining the very best varieties for central to south eastern Texas.

contender-bush-beans

My favorite variety of snap beans are Contender Bush Beans. Find out which varieties work best in our area on Patty Leander’s Variety list in the sidebar of the blog.

Transplants-Now is the “kind of recommended” time to put those tomato, pepper and eggplant transplants in the ground.  I say “kind of” because none of these plants really like temps below 55 degrees.  If you put them in the ground now be prepared to cover them or to cover and give supplemental heat if a late season cold snap comes through.  IMHO, if you don’t mind the extra care, it is best to go ahead and get your transplants in the ground.  The plants will mature quicker and provide you tomatoes earlier.

There are other great transplants for this weekend.   If you have not tried things like chard and kale pick up some at your local nursery and give them a try.  You can still find lettuce, collard and mustard greens starts at many places.  Get them in the ground now and enjoy fresh salads until temps start getting into the 90s.

homemade-arrangement-6

Cut flowers early in the morning to extend their vase life. Also change your water daily once they are arranged

Ornamentals

March 15 is also a great time to plant your spring color.  Right now is a great time to transplant things like salvias, portulaca, periwinkles, impatiens, marigolds and my all time favorite-petunias!  The “Carpet Series” is the most successful hybrid line.  However, my favoriote is “Laura Bush”.  This magenta petunia was developed by my friends at A&M and it is an absolute winner for our area.

Don’t miss this opportunity to seed some of our other old reliables.  I grow TONS of zinnias each year.  My favorite variety is Benary’s Giant.  Scatter them out, rake them in and harvest beautiful flowers up to the first frost.   Each spring I also plant lots of sunflowers, gomphrena and cocks comb.  All of these flowers can take the heat and actually seem to hit their peak when temps are approaching 100.

zinnia

I grow zinnias in my beds but I also grow them in rows in my garden. They make great cut flowers and hopefully pull a few bugs away from the veggies.

Flowers don’t have to be grown in beds.  My wife and I love to have fresh arrangements in the house.  To make sure I have a ready supply I plant many flowers in rows in my vegetable garden.  You can plant things like sunflowers, cocks comb and zinnia every two weeks starting now.  This ensures that I have a ready supply of fresh flowers all the way through the fall.

 

****Be sure to check out my friend Bart’s blog (Our Garden View) for more great tips for the Central and South Central garden!

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!