Week 35 Tips for the Zone 9 Garden

Posted on August 27, 2015 by Jay White

The bad part about the last time is you seldom realize it is the last time. A couple of months ago my Aunt Sarah gave my wife and I a stack of pot holders. That was not unusual. For the past twenty years or so she has crocheted pot holders constantly. She gave them to everyone she met. Sally and I (and all of our kids) have drawers full of Aunt Sarah’s pot holders. This Tuesday, her crocheting days came to an end. I am deeply saddened by the loss of the woman that is most responsible for making me a gardener. Sarah Louise Chandler (Feb. 28, 1928-Aug. 25, 2015) was an amazing and accomplished woman who taught me the love of gardening. She also made the best pickled beets, oyster pie and coconut pie in the world and she could crochet a pot holder for her doctor while waiting for him to see her!

I learned so many things from my Aunt Sarah. Her passing leaves a big hole in my heart! May God grant her eternal rest and let his perpetual light shine upon her!

Vegetables

Continue planting seeds – In my area the average first frost date is Nov 16. Because of that this is the about the last weekend to plant anything that takes 75 days or more to mature. You can still plant green beans, lima beans and black eyed peas and summer squash.
Get ready to plant Sugar Snaps-Sugar snap peas are an American made improvement on European green peas. These peas can take more heat than their English cousins. Because of this you can plant them here in September. If you have never grown this amazingly tasty and productive pea you really need to try it this fall
It is time to set out transplants – September 1 is the time to plant your transplants. While it is probably a little late for tomato transplants , it is the perfect time to put out broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, Brussel sprouts and other brassicas.
Mulch – Many of the transplants you put out now will be producing when the first freeze comes. Deep mulch will insulate the roots and help these plants survive the light freezes that we typically receive in late November and early December

Broccoli is my favorite fall vegetable. Plant it from transplants now and it will produce for you until spring.

Ornamentals

Plant, plant, plant – Fall arrived this past Tuesday. I know this for two reasons. First, we got a nice rain that encouraged my first oxbloods of the season to bloom. Second, the nurseries and big box stores are full of marigolds, vincas, chrysanthemums and croton. All of these are great fall choices for your beds or pots.
Prune roses – There are two times of the year to prune roses-Valentine’s Day and Labor Day. There are different types of roses and they all have different pruning requirements. Check out this great article from Heirloom Roses about how to properly prune your roses this fall. http://www.heirloomroses.com/care/pruning

Mike Shoup knows a few things about roses. He is the owner of the Antique Rose Emporium. He uses shears to prune “Old Blush” every fall

Trees and Lawns

Fertilize your grass – September is time for the final fertilizing of the year. While all feedings are important the final feeding will help establish a thick root system that will help the grass survive through the winter.
Plan your fall plantings – Fall is the time to plant shrubs, ornamental trees and fruit trees. While it is still a little early to plant (in my opinion) now is the perfect time to shop and plan for the trees and shrubs you will plant next months.
Prepare perrenials for transplant-if you have trees or shrubs that you need to move this fall begin watering them deeply and regulary to make sure they are fully hydrated for their move
Continue to baby your pecans! – The shells of pecans are beginning to fill with fruit. Keep your pecan trees well watered to ensure your best possible crop

Fall is the best time of the year to plant or transplant trees and shrubs

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 4 in the Zone 9 Garden

Posted on January 22, 2015 by Jay White

We got over an inch of rain at my house last night. We are expected to get another inch today. I am thankful but I hope the sun comes out tomorrow. If it is not too muddy there are tons of tasks to take care of this weekend. Here are some of the things I am doing:

Vegetables

Week 4 in the Zone 9 garden is a very busy time. It is time to replant all of your brassicas. The brassica family includes broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage and others. Click on each veggie above to read Patty Leander’s tips for growing the best brassicas possible.

Patty also wrote a great post about sugar snap peas. It is time to plant those as well. This year she has had great luck with “Amish” heirlooms. Get all the info you need to succeed with peas by reading her post “Make Room for Cool Season Peas”.

Week four is also the time to plant potatoes. The two varieties that do best for me are Red LaSoda and white Kennebecks. Buy now, cut into pieces preserving the eyes and allow to cure for a week or so before planting. Check out my post “Growing Potatoes” to learn all the other tips and tricks you need.

Cauliflower doesn’t have to be white! Try some of the colored varieties. Photo by Bruce Leander

Ornamentals

Patty’s latest post reminded me that it is time to cut back your cannas (and ginger). Cut them to the ground. Here’s another canna tip. When they start blooming, cut their flower stalks out at the base of the plant. This will encourage them to bloom more.

It is also a good time to trim up woody perennials. My bougainvillea has shed its leaves so it is ready for its annual haircut. Trim up other deciduous vines like coral honeysuckle, cross vine and wisteria.

If you want lots of flowers in early spring, start their seeds now. Two years ago I grew 100 marigold transplants. My beds never looked better. This weekend is a good time to start marigolds, petunias, begonias, periwinkles and many others.

Fruit

It is still a good time to plant bare root fruit trees. It is also a great time to plant container grown fruit trees. Container grown fruit trees can be planted anytime of the year but they will root in and become established quicker if you plant them now.

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

This post has been shared on the HomeAcre Hop. Be sure to stop by the hop. Tons of great information from gardeners and homesteaders all over the world!

Winter Garden Chores

Posted on December 30, 2014 by Jay White

There is always something to do in the Texas garden – even in the winter. Granted, winter does kind of reduce the number of tasks, but our mild winter ensures that we can be outside tending or growing something every single month of the year. While there are several tasks in winter that can help us get our gardening fix, winter gardening does have its challenges. It seems like every time I need to weed or plant or harvest it is either raining or miserably cold. Sunday was a perfect example of this. Despite the cold and the standing water in my rows, nature had decided to provide me with a bountiful brassica harvest; as long as I was man enough to brave the elements and harvest it.

The broccoli I harvested this weekend was planted on Sept. 28. It will continue to produce for me until April or May. Photo by Bruce Leander.

I am proud to say, I sucked it up and was richly rewarded for my efforts. Once I got in the garden and started cutting my cole crops I didn’t even notice the cold. Before long I had harvested six pounds of broccoli, some gumbo onions, a bunch of baby carrots and a three pound head of cauliflower. I don’t know about you but nothing gets my garden juices flowing more than a good harvest. As I worked I actually forgot about the cold and enjoyed myself in my muddy little garden. When I brought the veggies in I was reminded again why I love gardening in Texas. I really can enjoy healthy, organic produce year round.

While I was in the garden I also noticed lots of broad leaf weeds that were doing about as well as the broccoli. So, while I was out I took the hoe to them. Hoeing is not nearly as much work on a 40 degree day. Because it was such a “pleasant afternoon” I actually enjoyed chopping through all of the dandelions and thistles that were popping up.

This weekend I harvested my first cauliflower of the season – a three pounder! Photo by Bruce Leander

Luckily, not all winter gardening chores have to be done outside. It is currently time to do what I consider the most important gardening task of the entire year —STARTING YOUR TOMATO TRANSPLANTS!!! If you live in zone 9 you need to get your seeds started by January 15 to ensure you have big, healthy transplants on March 15. My friend, and MOH contributor, Patty Leander has a great article in this month’s Texas Gardener magazine on growing your own tomatoes from seed. If you don’t subscribe I really recommend picking up this issue. Her article is awesome.

It is time to start those tomato seeds! There is no other way to ensure you have the varieties you want when planting time comes. Photo by Bruce Leander

Fall Veggie Picks (Broccoli) by Patty Leander

Posted on August 20, 2013 by Jay White

Broccoli comes with its own bonus: sides shoots form on the plant after the main head is harvested

Broccoli belongs to a big, health-promoting family of vegetables known as the brassicas; sometimes referred to as cole crops. From arugula to turnips, this nutrient and phytochemical packed group includes Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, collards, kale, mustard, radish and numerous Asian vegetables. Broccoli ranks near the top as one of America’s all-time favorite garden vegetables and for good reason. If given a good start and proper care it is easy to grow, and all parts of the plant – crunchy stalks, hearty leaves and deliciously tender flower buds – are edible. And broccoli offers a bonus of multiple side shoots that are produced after the main head is harvested.

Home-grown broccoli transplants ready to be set out into the garden

Like all brassicas, broccoli is a cool season plant. It grows best in a temperature range of 50°-80° and once established can tolerate temperatures into the low 30s. Broccoli should be transplanted into the garden in early fall and if time and space allow stagger your plantings over a 2-3 week period so that all those heads of broccoli are not ready to harvest at the same time. Here in Central Texas we generally start planting in early September and continue into October. Check with your local Extension office or ask experienced gardeners for appropriate planting times in your area.

It takes a big, healthy plant to grow a big delicious head of broccoli

In order for broccoli to develop a big head it needs to first develop strong roots and healthy leaves. Prepare the soil by working in a layer of compost and about ½-1 cup of complete fertilizer per 10 foot row. A 15-5-10 lawn-type fertilizer (15% nitrogen, 5% phosphorus, 10% potassium) offers an adequate amount of nitrogen to support leafy growth but if you prefer to use an organic garden fertilizer double the amount since the percentage of nitrogen will likely be lower. Give plants plenty of room to grow by spacing them at least 12-18” apart. Water transplants in with a water soluble fertilizer diluted to half strength and for the first week or two use shade cloth, an old window screen or even an umbrella to help protect young transplants from the heat and sun. Broccoli will be ready to harvest in about 8 weeks but stress caused by high heat, lack of moisture or insect damage in the early stages will slow growth and cause smaller heads. Give plants a boost by sidedressing with 2-4 tablespoons of high nitrogen fertilizer when the head begins to form and again just after harvest. Ammonium sulfate (synthetic) and blood meal (organic) are both good choices.

A little shade will give young transplants a chance to acclimate to their new environment. BTW, did you see that A&M is ranked Number 7!!!

The main pest to watch out for is the cabbage looper which can do serious damage in a few short days. Carefully check the underside of the leaves for the small, green worms and remove them or dust them with a product that contains Bt. Considered an organic control, Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) is a naturally occurring bacterium that lives in the soil and is toxic solely to caterpillars. Be careful to spray it only where caterpillars are doing damage and repeat applications following label instructions.

‘Blue Wind’ broccoli grows happily in a large pot

Hybrid varieties of broccoli include ‘Arcadia’, ‘Belstar’, ‘Green Goliath’, ‘Marathon’ and ‘Packman’. Popular open-pollinated varieties include ‘De Cicco’ and ‘Calabrese’, both heirlooms that came to America with Italian immigrants in the late 1800s. Rather than forming one large head, these sprouting broccolis produce a few smaller central heads followed by several side shoots. ‘Blue Wind’ and ‘Small Miracle’ are suitable for container cultivation. Don’t confuse sprouting broccoli with broccoli raab, which may have broccoli in its name but is more closely related to turnip and shares that typical sharp, slightly bitter flavor.

Start your tillers!!!!

Posted on February 19, 2013 by Jay White

Even though you did not see it on the calendar, last weekend was the end of winter for the Zone 9 gardener. Ok, I realize that by making that declaration in print I am probably dooming us to a late season freeze. However, according to historical statistics, Feb. 15 marked the last day that we could realistically expect a freeze in Zone 9B. Because of this I am now suffering from a severe case of garden fever. Last weekend, to celebrate the end of winter, I planted 2 -33′ rows of potatoes (Yukon Gold, Kennebec, Red LaSoda). I also cleaned out the potager in preparation of the flowers and herbs that will be planted there in the next few weeks.

Now is the perfect time to plant all barassicas like broccoli and cauliflower

Because of our mild climate, we can now plant everything but the most cold sensitive plants. If you want to have fresh cole crops on your spring table (broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, brussel sprouts) you need to get them in the garden soon. The blue leafed cole crops in the brassica family can be safely planted from transplant anytime between now and March 15.

It’s not too late to plant root crops like carrots and beets from seed

It is also a great time to put out seeds of lettuce, spinach, collards, chard, mustard greens, beets, turnips, radishes and carrots. All of these are fast growers and they are very easy to grow from seed. Since they prefer temps below 80, this is probably the last chance you have to grow them until next fall.

Wait until early March to plant your green beans

In the next couple of weeks I will be planting my green beans. I grow “Contender” but there are several other varieties out there that do very well in our area (see Patty’s recommendations in the sidebar). Green beans are a little cold sensitive so I always hedge my bets and plant them a little later (around March 1).

Now is the perfect time to plant asparagus and artichoke crowns

Late February into early March is also a great time to put out the two perrinial vegetables that do well in our area – asparagus and artichoke. Both of these are grown from roots called “crowns”. They take a little more work and a little more care than our single season vegetables, but they are well worth the effort.

A redbud in full bloom is a great reminder that spring really is here again

The past two sunny weekends have induced in me a very bad case of gardening fever. As I write this, every muscle in body aches from the gardening I forced it to endure last weekend. And that’s fine! My achy body means that winter is finally over and the 2013 gardening season has begun. Gentlemen (and ladies), start your tillers!

See MOH on TV This Weekend!

Posted on September 6, 2012 by Jay White

Nine months ago, the folks at KLRU’s Central Texas Gardener (CTG) came and filmed my potager for an upcoming fall gardening segment on CTG. Well, that “upcoming time” is finally here! I am so excited to have this opportunity and I want to say a great big thank you to Linda Lehmusvirta and crew for all of the hard work they did on this. Click on the link below to watch it now.

Central Texas Gardener now airs on five Texas public television stations and is coming soon to New Mexico. Check the station link listed below for the most recent local schedule.

KLRU / 18-1, Austin

noon & 4:00 p.m. Saturdays
9:00 a.m. Sundays (repeat)

KLRU-HD, Austin

noon & 4:00 p.m. Saturdays
9:00 a.m. Sundays (repeat)

KLRU-Q / 18-3, Austin

6:30 p.m. Tuesdays
7:00 a.m. Wednesdays
9:30 a.m. Fridays

KAMU, College Station

5:00 p.m. Saturdays

KNCT, Killeen

1:30 p.m. Saturdays
5:30 p.m. Sundays

KLRN, San Antonio

11 a.m. Saturdays

KWBU, Waco

3:30 p.m. Saturdays
12:30 p.m Thursdays

KPBT, Midland (Permian Basin)

12:30 p.m. Mondays

KBDI, Denver

2:00 p.m. Sundays
2:30 p.m. Tuesdays

2012 Fall Gardening Tips

Posted on August 3, 2012 by Jay White

Right now it is so hot outside I work up a sweat just walking to the garden. Photo by Heather White

August 1 is the official kick off date for fall gardening in my part of Texas. In reality, I actually start working on my fall garden around the middle of July. Like most of us in zones 7-9, my tomatoes are basically done by July 4th. When your spring tomatoes stop setting fruit you have two choices. Pull ’em up and replace with new plants in August, or trim your exisiting vines up, give them a little shade, a few nutrients, and wait for the temperatures to drop.

In my opinion, the best way to ensure a fall tomato harvest is to keep your spring plants alive through July and August. These mature plants will flower and bloom much faster than new plants put out in August.

Ever since the November night that I was late to my anniversary party because I was building cold frames out of old windows around the tomato plants I planted in August, I have been in the tomato trimming group. Little tomato plants planted in the 100 degree August heat will not always produce red ripe tomatoes before our first freeze. Because of this, I try and keep my spring tomato plants alive through July and August. To keep my spring tomato plants alive, I prune them by about a third to a half in mid-July. I then add a thick layer of composted chicken manure, mulch and put up some sort of shade. For me, this has been the best way to ensure a harvest of a few fall tomatoes.

While I am out trimming tomatoes I also do a good garden clean up. July is when I pull down any vines on my trellises that have stopped producing. This can included beans, gourds, cucumbers, cantelopes and squash. I also pull up any old mulch that is still lying on top of the ground. I take all of this dead vegation directly to the burn pile. Many of those bugs that caused you so much grief earlier in the year are sleeping and laying eggs in the mulch and plant liter under your plants. Because of this, removing it and burning it twice a year is a good pest control measure.

Put out a fresh layer of compost on your clean Fall beds. Animal manures like cow manure and chicken manure are a little higher and nitrogen than the palnt types. I use these to give a boost to my newly trimmed tomatoes.

After my beds and trellises are clean, I amend the soil. I add about 3″ of whatever compost is on sale to the tops of my beds. I don’t usually till this compost in. I actually kind of use it as mulch. The compost will eventually get worked in when I plant or it rains or through the natural processes of all of the tiny little animals in the soil that feed off of the compost.

Finally, to conserve moisture, cool remaining roots and protect all of those micro-organisms in the soil I add a fresh deep layer of hay mulch. If you mulch with hay you need to be careful. Alot of herbicides that farmers use to control weeds in their hay crops are very persistent. There can be enough residue is some hays (particularly bermuda hays like coastal, Tifton and Jiggs) to kill your new plants that are trying to germinate or become established. I typically use rice straw as my mulch. In my experience rice hay has no residual herbicides and very few weeds.

A large $70 roll of rice hay will supply me with all of the mulch I need for an entire year of gardening

After doing all of this prep, I spend a lot of time on the internet figuring out what I am going to plant and when I am going to plant it. This year, I found the best planting guide/calendar I have ever seen. This guide is on the Austin Organic Gardeners website. (they also have one for herbs). Instead of a list of dates, this calendar is a graphical representative of the entire year. It’s easy to read format allows you to quickly look up any plant you want. The headers show every month broken down into weeks and the rows are an alphabetical listing of all of the vegetables we can grow in this area.

This very good planting guide is on the Austin Organic Gardeners website. This graphical guide is the easiest to use that I have found. They website has one for herbs as well.

My grandmother used to say you could find something nice to say about anything. So, I am going to say something nice about Texas summers. Even though it is 106 in the hot Texas sun right now, that sun is what is going to allow me to grow some of my favorite vegetables over the next six months. I know it is hot out there, but now is the ideal time to get that fall garden going. All of the sweat of July and August will pay off big in September and October. So suck it up and get busy. You will forget all about how hot July was when you are OUTSIDE in your garden harvesting broccoli, cauliflower, collards, and cabbage in January!

The Fall Potager

Posted on December 12, 2011 by Jay White

Even though it is the middle of December, my little potager has never looked better. This is one of the reasons I love living in Texas. Because of the mild winters, I can literally garden year round. Everyone loves to complain about our hot summers. However, in my opinion, our winters more than make up for it. I heard last night that Houston averages 16 days per year below freezing. We are about 90 miles north of Houston but I am willing to bet we only have 20 to 24 days that are that cold. Due to this, with proper crop selection, some rotational planting and the willingness to occasionally cover things up, your fall garden can last right up to the spring planting. Below are several pics of the things that are currently growing in my potager:

I have three different varieties of broccoli growing in my garden.

I have 12 cauliflower growing. I planted the cauliflower in blocks of three two weeks apart. This way I don’t have to worry about eating 12 cauliflower in one week!

My wife and I love spinach. Because of this, two of our triangular beds are lined with it. In classic gardening form, one bed had a bout a 100% germination rate. In the other bed, the germination was very spotty. These little set backs are the things that keep me interested. I will spend hours trying to figure out why one bed performed perfectly and the other, identical bed, was somewhat of a disappointment.

I always grow lettuce in the fall. We eat a ton of it and it is so easy. I only grow leaf lettuce. Nothing against head lettuce, but once you harvest a head you have to replant and wait. With leaf lettuce you can continuously clip the leaves through out the season.

I love shallots. Their form is lovely in many applications in the potager. I grow these things year round. I never harvest them all. Many people call them dividing onions and there is a good reason. I recently left a clump in the ground for a year and there were almost 50 off shots on it. I have about a dozen heads of cabbage scattered around the potager. We are going to try our hand at homemade sauerkraut when the harvest comes in.

I don’t just have veggies growing in the potager. I have tons of flowers. These are baby larkspur. I also have lots of Victoria Salvia, poppies, calendula, mums, two different roses and hollyhocks. There are also a few byzantine glads and dianthus scattered around as well.

Pansey’s, vi0las (Johhny Jump Ups), carrots and shallots in the center bed.

A very dedicated little bee is gathering nectar on a 40 degree day.

Calendula are often called pot marigolds. Their petals are edible and they will bloom until it gets about 90 degrees.

Growing Broccoli (Brassica oleracea) and Other Cole Crops

Posted on December 5, 2011 by Jay White

Broccoli flower head beginning to form. These heads are actually hundreds of little flowers. Harvest the head as soon as you see any yellow tint begining to form.

Right now, I am eating so much broccoli that my skin has a greenish tint! Back in September I planted 36 plants of three different varieties and now I am being rewarded with tons of big, full heads of broccoli every night. Now there is absolutely no way that my wife and I can eat this much broccoli. However, that is never really a problem. To me, one of the greatest joys that I receive from my garden is the ability to share my harvests. People are always so happy to receive fresh, all organic produce directly from the garden.

The first four heads that I harvested this year. the large head in the back was 8" in diameter.

You might wonder why on earth I planted so many broccoli plants. I normally grow broccoli in the fall, just not this much. However, this year I was offered an opportunity that I just could not pass up. The largest gardening program in Texas, Central Texas Gardener, offered to come and film my little potager. I was thrilled. However, there was a catch; they wanted to film in December! So, I had a challenge. What could I grow that would make the potager look great in the middle of the incredibly unpredictable Texas winter? So, that’s how I wound up with so much broccoli. I needed something fool proof to make sure my garden looked good for the cameras of CTG and broccoli fit the bill.

Now my garden does not have just broccoli in it. It also has a lot of cauliflower and cabbage (plus flowers and lots of other root crops). They made the cut for the same reason as the broccoli, they are fool proof.

Notice the slight yellow starting to show. this head is ready for harvest.

Broccoli belongs to the plant family Brassicaceae. The genus is brassica and plants that belong to it are often called simply brassicas or cole crops. Cole comes from the Latin word caulis which means stem or cabbage. The genus Brassicas contains some of the most important agricultural crops in the world. This family has been a favorite food of humans for so long that there are species that have been improved to allow us to eat literally every part of the plant. Rutabagas and turnips are brassicas that are grown for their roots. Kholrabi is grown for its stems. Cabbage, kale, brussel sprouts and mustard are grown for their leaves. Broccoli and cabbage are grown for their large, edible flower heads. All brassicas are very good for you. They contain vitamin C, lots of soluble fiber and various cancer fighting compounds as well.

Growing Cole Crops – Almost all cole crops are great choices for the garden. In fact, because of the mild winters that we have in Zones 7 thru 9, we can usually grow them in both the spring and the fall garden. Brassicas like cooler weather and they can easily survive temperatures in the middle twenties. It grows best when the daily temperature is in the mid seventies and nights are 20 degrees cooler. Because of this, it is best to plant your brassicas in early spring (February) or late fall (September). Most varieties in this genus mature in 90 to 120 days so plant according to when temperatures will be best suited for them. Do not plant too late in the season as they strongly dislike high heat.

I love the large foliage of broccoli.

Brassicas need full sun exposure and respond best to soil that drains well and has been deeply worked with compost. All brassicas are fairly pest free but they can get aphids. They are also often plagued by cabbage worms and cabbage loppers. Both of these pests are the larva of moths and they can defoliate a plant if the infestation is severe (more likely to happen in the spring). You can control these with floating row cover or BT.

The brassica’s biggest enemy in the fall is the grasshopper. Young plants are very susceptible to grasshopper feeding. To help the plant beat the grasshoppers, place one gallon tin cans with the top and bottom cut out over the plants until they are about a foot tall. I am not really sure why this works, but it does. My theory is that either the grasshopper can’t see the plant or they cannot fly in way that allows them land inside of the can.

As far as I know, I have grown every type of brassica and I love them all. However, broccoli has a trait that makes it my favorite of all the cole crops. With most cole crops, you harvest the vegetable and then the plant is done. Not broccoli. Cut the green head and in a few days, additional little florets will start to form around the site of the cut. While these florets will not reach the size of the original flower head, they are just as tasty and each plant will produce several of them.

Little broccoli florets forming around the site of an earlier harvest.

In my mind, cole crops are the absolute best plant family to grow in the fall Texas garden. Give them good soil, plenty of sun and regular water and they will reward you with some of the most flavorful and nutritious things you can take from your garden.