Week 36 Tips for the Zone 9 Garden

Posted on September 2, 2015 by Jay White

I am really looking forward to this weekend. Work has been very stressful so I really need three days of intensive garden therapy. While many of you will be beaching, boating or barbecuing, I will be spending all of my Labor Day Weekend laboring. I am going to spend all three days catching up on chores and planting lots and lots of transplants.

This is a great weekend to plant cabbage and other cole crops from transplants.

Vegetables

Transplant! – I love the vegetables that come from the fall garden best of all-and this is the weekend to plant the ones I love. This weekend I will be planting broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage and Brussels sprouts from transplant. It is also a great time to plant shallots. Plant transplants in well-draining soil that has been thoroughly worked with compost. Keep soil moist for the first couple of weeks to ensure good rooting. No fertilize is needed at transplant time.
Plant from seed- We are running out of time to plant a lot of fall crops from seed. My first freeze usually comes around November 16. Because of this it is too late to plant anything that takes more 70 days to mature. You can still plant most beans (green, lima, runner, wax). You should still have time to get a cucumber harvest from seed if you plant now. Some yellow squash will produce in under 70 days. However use transplants at this late date to ensure a harvest.
Plant herbs from transplants – Herbs do great in the cooler fall temperatures. Plant basil, chives, cilantro and dill. Use that dill to make fresh pickles with cucumbers that you will plant this weekend.

Mexican mint marigold is an anise flavored herb that blooms prolifically in the fall

Ornamentals

Prune roses – If you have not yet pruned your roses, do it this weekend. 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
Redo Potted Plants – Fall potted plants require less water and their foliage stays bright the entire season. While marigolds and chrysanthemums are perennial fall favorites consider adding some clumping grasses or large scale cactus to your arrangements. They will add color, texture and drama to all of your creations.

Fall is the best time of the year for potted plants in Texas. Spice up your arrangements by mixing grasses or cactus with the standard annuals

Trees and Lawns

Plant bluebonnets and other wildflowers – To over seed wildflowers, mow the lawn as close as possible then spread your seed. Once the seed is down walk around on them. Wildflowers need to come in contact with the soil to get the best germination
Control fire ants organically – Fire ants love okra and broccoli. If you are like me you do not like to use chemicals anywhere near the vegetable garden. Control fire ants organically by combining compost tea, molasses and orange oil.

Plant Texas wildflowers in September

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Drought-Busting Rains by Patty G. Leander

Posted on June 11, 2015 by Jay White

As the designated voice of vegetables for Jay’s blog, it seems fitting to commiserate with all the vegetable gardeners out there who are dealing with the challenges of May’s drought-busting rains. First let me say that my heart and deepest sympathy go out to those who have experienced tragic losses as a result of the flooding and I extend my admiration and gratitude to the hard-working first responders, rescue teams and dedicated volunteers who have come to the aid of the distressed.

Here in Central Texas we broke the record for total rainfall for May with a little over 17 inches; our average May rainfall is normally around 4 inches. The experts have declared that we are officially in an El Niño year which means more rain and hotter temperatures can be expected. After receiving almost 10” of rain the last week of May things are starting to dry out around here and a look at the latest drought monitor map indicates that the rains have finally pulled Texas out of the extreme drought category:

http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/Home/RegionalDroughtMonitor.aspx?south

Not the most stylish look but it works!

All of this moisture has created an ideal environment for lots of pesky mosquitoes and each individual gardener must decide how far they want to go to combat this pest. After a recent morning in the garden spent waving my arms hysterically to shoo the mosquitoes from my face, I abandoned fashion and style in favor of practicality and protection and pulled out my secret weapon: a mosquito hat my nephew bought for me at a Boy Scout Trading Post during summer camp a few years ago. He told me it worked great and he was right. I get tremendous satisfaction when I hear the buzzing around my ears and I know the little buggers can’t get to me. If you don’t have access to a Boy Scout Trading Post, look for these nets at hunting, camping or sporting goods stores – you might even find something more stylish.

Potatoes growing in open-ended bushel baskets

The excessive rains and water-logged soil caused some rotting among my onions and garlic but fortunately I planted my potatoes above ground in open ended bushel baskets and got a modest harvest of Red LaSoda, White Kennebec and La Ratte fingerling potatoes.

‘La Ratte’ fingerling potatoes

Hoping for tasty tomatoes

It’s been a good year so far for cucumbers and green beans but not so good for tomatoes. From Houston to Austin to San Antonio and beyond I have been hearing reports of delayed ripening and watered-down flavor due to the rainy weather and cool, cloudy days. My favorite variety from a couple of years ago was ‘Marianna’s Peace’, a rich red tomato with juicy, complex flavor, but the first fruits I’ve tasted from this year are washed out and bland tasting. Has this been a good tomato season where you live? Hopefully the warmth and sun and drier weather will help intensify that flavor we crave in the tomatoes yet to ripen. Hope you are blessed with a good harvest and many sumptuous tomatoes in your future!

Tip of the Week – Week 22 in the Zone 9 Garden

Posted on May 27, 2015 by Jay White

I am getting a lot of questions about what to do about all of this rain. I really don’t know. According to the weather man we are experiencing “historical rain events”. This means that nobody really knows how all of this water is going to affect our yards and gardens. I am certain that if all of this moisture doesn’t kill our plants out right, we are going to have problems with fungus and mold and bugs once the sun comes out. The only advice I have right now is pray that all of these “historical rain events” end soon!

Planting time is slipping away. However you can still plant southern peas like crowder and black eyes.

Vegetables

Pick cucumbers regularly. With this much rain it is not unreasonable to expect to harvest every day
Make pickles with all of those cucumbers
You can still plant basil. If you have basil ready to harvest pick often and pick early in the morning when flavors are strongest
We are nearing the end of planting season but you can still plant sweet potatoes, lima beans, okra and southern peas. However, your planting window is closing.

Prune your climbing roses after they finish blooming

Ornamentals

Prune running roses after blooms fade. Train new growth onto or around structures
Feed roses and other blooming shrubs. Add compost monthly and blended fertilizers every six weeks
All of this rain is going to make fungal diseases a problem. Inspect roses regularly for black spot or powdery mildew. Treat with a fungicides easily found at your garden center.
All of this rain will leach nutrients from your potted plants. Now is a great time to replant, or at a minimum, fertilize them. I like to use a slow release fertilize like Osmocote so they are feed all summer long

Lawns

If you can stand it, do not mow until things dry out a bit, especially if you use a riding mower. The ground is so wet you can damage your lawn and your equipment.

This cool, wet weather has extended the time we have to plant small trees and shrubs.

Trees

Take advantage of the unusually cool temperatures and large amounts of water to plant small trees and shrubs. This extended planting season for trees and woody perennials is the only bright spot I can think of right now.
If you grow fruit trees in containers be sure and fertilize them regularly. Right now they have fruit so they need water and nutrients. Feed weekly with a liquid organic solution like compost tea. One of my favorite liquid organic applications is John’s Recipe from Lady Bug.

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

Posted on March 10, 2015 by Jay White

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.

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.

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.

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!

A Garden Shower

Posted on April 6, 2011 by Jay White

Andrew and Bridget with their new container garden

Bridget O’Brien and Andrew Hoyt are getting married! Bridget is the Tours Program Manager at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston and her betrothed is an English teacher at the Christo Rey Jesuit College Preparatory School in Houston. To celebrate their upcoming nuptials, my daughter Heather and her friend Lindsey Smith threw them a “Garden Shower” this past weekend. Now from what I gathered, a “Garden Shower” is much like any other bridal shower. Invitations were sent, punch was made, cakes were baked and gifts were presented. However, where this one differed was in the entertainment. Now I have to admit, I have never actually been to a bridal shower before. But, from what I am told, the entertainment usually takes the form of silly party games. Not this one. This shower, being garden themed, featured a very engaging, entertaining and educational garden speaker.

If you haven’t guessed by now, that garden speaker was me. While I am not really all that famous, I do love talking to others about gardening. Most of the attendees were young museum professionals that have the desire to garden but are somewhat lacking in the space. So, we covered several topics related to container gardening. As one of Andrew and Bridget’s gifts, the group worked together to create a 15 gallon veggie/flower garden that they got to take home. In that garden, they will be growing and harvesting tomatoes, cucumbers and marigolds.

The yupneck explaining the finer points of plant selection

Most of the attendees are recent college graduates that work for non profits (translation-they are still poor), so we also talked quite a bit about plant selection and propagation. My friends at A&M donated a very large coleus that we proceeded to chop up and turn into about 20 new plants. Each guest got the opportunity to take cuttings and root them in their own 5” bio-degradable peat pot.

The betrothed and a large portion of the Education Department of the MFAH. From left to right: Andrew Hoyt, Bridget O'Brien, Lindsey Smith, Sarah Wheeler, Margret Mims and Heather White

All in all, it was a lovely event. We laughed, we learned and we gardened; a perfect afternoon! I would like to thank everyone that came and say a special thank you to my daughter for inviting me to participate in this celebration. Andrew and Bridget, I wish you all the best. May your life and your garden be bountiful!