Many of our members have asked for guidance on planting dates/information. So we have created another blog series titled "What/When to Plant". We will occasionally post valuable gardening information for the North Texas Area.
So here is our 1st Post!
Its hot! Frankly too hot for gardening, but believe it or not it's time to start planting/planning your Fall vegetable garden. First, if you would like to know all of the dates for the Fall planting season, go to the bottom of the 2 Hands web page and click the resources link. There you will find a document titled "North Central Texas Vegetable Planting Dates" in three different formats. Look at all of the vegetables that work well here in the Fall, select which ones your interested in growing noting the planting dates for them, and then figure out where your going to plant them. Don't be afraid to start small or concentrate only on a few vegetables, especially if this is your 1 st time.
Also, please remember you don't have to have a traditional bed for growing crops. You live in an urban area. This is not little house on the prairie. You do not have overalls. So feel free to start with a small bed (even one the size traditionally used for flowers) or even pots (make sure you research the growth habit of your vegetable. I.E. squash in pots = crazy). The most important thing is having at least 6 hours of sun (preferably more) and good loamy (loose) soil. We could spend a whole day discussing soil and maybe we'll designate a blog for it, but here are the basics.
Our soil here is mostly clay, the ideal soil for most vegetables is a loam (equal parts clay, sand, and silt). (Soil particles are classified by size, Sand>Silt>Clay. Don't get tripped up on the semantics, we can discuss this later.) Therefore, you will likely have to add things to your soil. Most locals suggest adding greensand, lavasand, expanded shale, and organic compost. Yes, this can be overwhelming. For most of us on a modest budget, I suggest initially tilling your soil and adding as much as you can afford of the above product. Most experience gardeners state that it takes about 3 years to really "build" your soil. So do not hesitate to add these amendments to your soil gradually over time. If you had to choose only one thing to add, add compost. In fact, make your own compost. Its probably better and cheaper (another blog topic by itself). For the record, lots of people just till the soil they have and go at it... Just do whatever meets your physical and fiscal limits. This is also another reason why its great to start small (small bed = less amendments).
These are the vegetables that can be planted right now from seed:
JUNE 15 JULY 1
- Eggplant
- Cantaloupe
- Watermelon
JUNE 15 JULY 15
- Pumpkin, large
JULY 1 JULY 25
- Eggplant transplants
- Pepper
- Tomato
JULY 1 AUGUST 1
- Peas, Southern
JULY 1 AUGUST 10 –
- Squash, winter
JULY 15 -AUGUST 15
- Okra
- Pumpkin, small
JULY 25 -AUGUST 10
- Potato
AUGUST 1-AUGUST 15
- Beans, snap pole
- Broccoli seed
- Brussels Sprouts -seed
- Cabbage seed
- Cauliflower seed
- Corn, Sweet
- Cucumber
There are a few more that can be planted now but their planting date range extends into September, and for most people this is enough to get started. Of course check the resources section, if your interested in more. Don't get overwhelmed. Choose your favorites (keeping in mind your space limits & the fact that there are more vegetables to come), and start from there.
We have a few starts at the shoppe and will be growing more as the season develops. Please note, we can not grow every type of vegetable and we can not grow the veggie if it's not the appropriate time. You have to be patient and work with the seasons!
Finally, we are beginning to create a handout that will act as a guide/resource for beginning gardeners. It will be available for a small fee in the shoppe. We hope to have it ready by Fall. In the meantime, use this blog as a jumping off point!
--Michele
