Calling all ZONE 9a Veggie Growers! PLEASE post here what your next veggie growing moves are, so a newbie in your Zone can keep up with when to start planting which things. Thanks and much appreciated!
So far, Bookwork8 has planted out her maters already!
I have lettuce and spinach seeds. Is it time to start seeding them, or is it too late already?
ZONE 9a Veggie Growers Planting Schedule for NEWBIES...
Can we grow corn and Yukon Gold potatoes in Houston? If so, could someone tell me the planting schedule? Thanks!
This vegetable guide is zoned for the first average freeze of the Fall. This zone this includes Houston, North to Tyler, Terrell and Waco (does not include DFW) Austin, San Antonio and South to Victoria.
July 1st
Eggplant
Pepper
Tomato
August 1
Black eyed peas
Pumpkin
August 15th
Sweet corn
Lima beans
Winter squash
September 1st
Snap bush beans
Broccoli
Brussell sprouts
Cabbage
Cauliflower
Cucumber
Potato
Summer squash
October 1st
Swiss chard
Collards
October 10th
Beets
Lettuce
November 1st
Mustard
Onion seed
Turnip
November 10th
Carrots
Spinach
25th
Radish
As always this a rough guide and you can plant later in hopes of a later freeze than average.
Coco_lulu,
So the dates above are when I should plant these items out into my EBs, according to the Texas Gardening schedule? What does it list as the 1st average freeze date for the Houston area, if you don't mind? I'm rooting branches from my Spring maters, and have been waiting for this rain to subside before I plant them out into the EBs. Actually, I'm hoping to plant LATER, than sooner, so they'll hit their peak of growth and production in late November to mid-Decekber, hoping to skirt any weather below 40 degrees. From my experience here lately, we could be wearing shorts and a light jacket close to Thanksgiving! I'm hoping to plant out the 1st weekend in September, and grow for 105 days to December 15th.
Please let me know what you might suggest on this proposed schedule. Thanks!
Hi Gym,
I never done anything but ground planting and have never planted too far from the guidelines. I always planted maters in July assuming they need the higher temps for growth and production. My guide doesn't actually give the last estimated freeze date, you should be able to look it up on-line.
It sounds like you should be able to move your EB indoors or protect it during cool temps, I just don't know enough about them. Sorry, I haven't answered any of your questions. Hopefully the mater people will chime in soon.
Coco_lulu
Please send details of the Texas Gardener book. I'm gonna look for one at Amazon.com. Thanks.
Ok. Thanks!
I found the book I was thinking of. Month-by-Month Gardening in Texas by Dale Groom and Dan Gill. I don't recommend it unless your really new to gardening and even then DG has much more useful info.
The Texas Gardener Magazine is a great subscription. You won't get everything you need out of one issue but in a year they cover most of the basics and include monthly tips and solutions over a broad range of gardening subjects, including vegetables.
Thanks, Coco! I went ahead and got a subscription to the Texas Gardener Magazine. I've already started reviewing the archives and have seen the tips and solutions.
GG - I found the book I dmailed you about - not packed yet - which is good because I still need and will use it. The Urban Harvest - Houston, has published a great book by Dr. Bob Randall, Ph.D. entitled, "Year Round Vegetables, Fruits and Flowers for Metro Houston, A Natural Organic Approach Using Ecology" 12th Edition. I bought this at the spring Urban Harvest Fruit Tree Sale when I bought my citrus trees. It's an awesome book, and includes all kinds of veggies. His planting dates are specific to Houston. He even talks about the micro climates in Houston - like south of downtown and north of 1960 areas, etc. - that specific. It's spiral bound and very user friendly.
Cocoa - glad to learn about Texas Gardener magazine. I also find that DG has great info in the plant files. These folks sure know a lot and are so willing to share. I do love the plant files and threads.
Also like to hear personal experiences from others. My tomatoes are doing pretty well - the one that's doing best is in a large plastic pot in a very sunny spot. It did perk up when it cooled below 100 this week with all the rain that dumped on us.
Thanks, Nancy,
You got any maters in EBs? Any Idea where I can find that book? I'm struggling to keep my maters alive in the pots they're in. The tallest ones are doing ok. It's the little ones that are trying to catch on. The rain and humidity are prime breeding conditions for those darned mealybugs. We got more rain Saturday and today, I had a tremendous headache that drove me to bed until after dark. So, maybe tomorrow I'll crank up the sprayer with some Ortho Bug B Gone and some Lemon Ajax. That'll do it for a minute, barring no more rain, and lots more sunshine.
Yes Linda - the link to www.urbanharvest.org - they are the ones who run the community gardens that supply some of the food pantries here in Houston, as well as sponsor a Farmer's Market. It's community outreach to teach gardening, they also help set up and run school teaching gardens for children, and grow area community gardens. They publish the book - Dr. Randall is their Exec. Director and author of the book. I'm not an expert on them - just know they've helped me greatly in the past year.
You might just as well go ahead and put them in the EB's or the ground and see what they do. A bit of shade cloth might help - but I think we are over with the 100's - oh I hope!
I have a cut-back Cherokee Purple in the EB from spring. So far it looks very happy. We need NO more rain here right now. Way too much rain here as well.
Ok, Nancy. I'll put em' in the boxes this Saturday/Sunday. I have 14 left, so not much room for error, here. Also, I want to direct sow the lettuce and spinach seeds in the EBs, so pray for a cloudy (NOT RAINY) weekend! Lots to do. You think I could grow lettuce and spinach in large pots rather than the EBs? P.S. You ever saved okra seeds? Cause I just pulled two dried seed pods off the okra plant and there are little black seeds in there. Can I plant them next spring and hope to get some okra?
I'll go to that link and look for the book. Thanks. Stay posted on your fall crop progress. We can compare notes, even tho you started earlier than I did.
Gymgirl - I consulted "The Book" and he recommends mid to late July, but you might save some for later and do your own experiment. The book says south of downtown is a bit warmer. I think the goal in Houston and southern areas is not just beating frost, but having plants set fruit before it gets too cold. It's kind of like the race in the spring to set fruit before the heavy heat and humidity hit in May when the blossoms won't set fruit. We have a tight window for tomatoes - even tho we have the advantage of getting two seasons to try it. We had some really early cold weather last year - October as I remember. I'm no expert by any means, but I read everything I can get my hands (eyes!) on - here at DG, seed sites, Urban Harvest, TAMU - I think that's the librarian in me. I enjoy researching! Maybe those who've grown more crops can give us their experience.
Spinach and lettuce are all cool weather lovers and will germinate and grow at much cooler temps. So there's time for those as I read it. The lettuce plants I bought last year did fine in really cold weather. Broccoli is also a good choice, as are sugar snap peas. I've tried both of those in my earlier gardening years during very chilly weather - but I bought the plants back then.
I've never saved seeds and probably won't because it's been so much fun to read the seed catalogs and decide which new varieties to try. And for the cost - it's just too much fun to try something new. I still have Clemson Spineless okra seeds (from Parks, I think) left over if the saved ones don't take next spring. Happy to save you some.
Have fun this weekend whatever you do! Hopefully it will be dry enough for us to work outside - hoping so...
Nancy
We could never follow that time line here in zone 9a in south Texas...............gymgirl..........i can only tell you what we do..................we have been through with the summer garden for almost a month.............too hot................everything was ready starting in May-July 15.............
Okra, tomatoes (still have some), blackeyed peas, green beans, green peppers, sweet corn, squash and the best squash is Tatuma.............
We will start the winter garden in October ...............cauliflower, eggplant, broccoli, spinach, onions etc...............all winter veggies
Gessie - are you near Corpus Christi? Our zones are maybe different, then? Do you get freezes in December? We sometimes do.
An interesting thing about Houston is that there are several micro-climates according to Dr. Randall. The outlying areas north and northwest get colder sooner than southwest and south central Houston where GG and I live.
This message was edited Aug 20, 2007 9:35 PM
I lived in Houston near the Galleria for 30 years.............but not in the last 15 years.........I think mine down here is the same as Houston............we usually don't get a freeze until January and even then the temps don't stay down below freezing even two hours.......same way in Houston proper.................
I don't doubt that north and northwest are much colder than the southwest.........
So, realistically, anyone know how many days the vine takes to set fruit? I read somewhere that the ideal set temp was between 65 and 82 degrees. I guesst-imate that'll occur sometime in October. Of course, we could still be wearing shorts in October. I just seem to remember far more hot than cold days in October and the 1st coupla weeks in November..
Please correct me if I'm waaaaaaaaaaaay off here. Thanks!
It's interesting reading in his book - he says that if you live in inner city south of downtown out to Hobby temps will be warmer than listed at IAH by 3-6 degrees. (temps moderated by all that concrete) He lists areas north of 1960 and west of Hwy 6 as having earlier and later frost dates. His tomato planting schedule differs for different areas of town, which I found interesting.
Temperature charts in that book list average daily highs in October 86-77 and lows 63-53, and in November 76-58 and 52 to 45 - with the possibility of frost from Nov. 3 on. We got really cold weather very early on last year, but some years not until January would it freeze. My thinking was this: if I have the plants started and ready to go, they can go ahead and get their root systems started and be ready to set fruit hopefully in the October/Nov range and beat the cold weather.
GymGirl - you do what you think is best!
Gessie - Have you been back to see the Galleria area in the past few years? It has grown at an amazing pace. I lived on Westheimer 30 years ago - and you could actually get somewhere then in 10-15 minutes! Not anymore. I avoid it like the plague, now.
Oh, I also remembered the Texas A & M site that lists regions in Texas. Houston and Corpus are in different zones. On their planting schedule they have dates for all zones - more specific than just the 9a and 9b. So that's how my thinking came about.
http://plantanswers.tamu.edu/fallgarden/zones.html
bookworm...............i go back to Houston for drs. appts..................and have relatives and friends..............I moved there in 1964.................fresh out of college ................we thought we were living in the outskirts of Houston....................when we married, we all bought houses in Briargrove for less than 30,000.00.............can you believe that....................
Wow - and if you owned it today...
We all remodeled them and added space back in the seventies................last I heard about 5 years ago, they were tearing them down and building two story houses with lot prices going at 500,000.00
That's why we're keeping our SW area home and remodeling. Nothing like Briargrove here, though. It's all about location, location.... Nothing like Briargrove, though! And I have plenty of back yard for flower beds that I interplant flowers and veggies in. Some of those new homes only have postage stamps for yards. GG and I are first timers with EB's this year - in my case to extend the area I can grow more tomatoes, squash, maybe strawberries...
I remember exactly the size of the lots in Briargrove.........I moved into several houses there...............80x130..................not big for a big two story house............they are more like townhouses now.................
Sounds like West U - not many cottages left - and huge homes on small lots.
OK ----- Gymgirl - back to topic we go...
Gessie says Tatuma is the best squash. Funny - so does "the book." Gessie- Is it a zucchini, a yellow, or a different kind? I can't quite get the type of it. It's on my list to try. Right now in an EB I have a patty pan put in from seed (about 2 weeks ago) that is yellow and green - "space ship", I think. It's going to blossom any day, now. A total experiment with the fall weather. I always loved teaching science the best - now I can do my own experiments! (Well really - maybe I loved reading books the best!)
So far the tomato that looks the best is the one in a huge plastic pot and gets the brightest sun. It's an Eva Purple Ball - now at 18". The ones in the ground don't look as happy, and about 12". The Cherokee Purple in the EB is branching and about 12". I'm in the experimenting mode with everything this fall. GG - let's see what happens..
I am not good at describing it but it is a green oval shaped squash............about 3-4" long and around...................it is quite firm and not real fleshy which means you can cook with it in so many ways and it retains the flavor...................we even cook it with sliced onions and tomatoes............fresh tht is...........and then add some cheese on the top while it is still in the pan on top of the stove..................it never seems to get so soft and fleshy............the taste is unmatched for squash............
Next spring..............you can dmail me..............the farmers get all their seeds from their suppliers of farm 'stuff'......................they get the best cultivars.................
You bet gessie - great offer! Dr. Randall says it grows the best around here for heat, humidity, and resistance to pests. You cook it like a zucchini or a patty pan squash, then. Sounds really yummy! Can't wait to try it.
I would call the whole fall experience with the squash and tomatoes an experiment, here at my house. I think it's a race against a freeze or cold we can't predict. At least in the spring race, we are pretty assured the heat and humidity will arrive in late April. Last October we had a near freeze and quite a few in December - it was a cold one.
Ok, Nancy,
I'm planting ALL the maters this weekend, come Hell or high water (God forbid). Pray for a cloudy day!
also, I"m gonna direct sow some lettuce and spinach seeds into 5-gallon buckets.
I'm not sure I have squash seeds, but I can go to Wally World or the Lowe's and see if they have a few seedlings already.
PRAY for me!
Sounds like a good plan for the weekend - hope no rain but some clouds! I decided to wait for the spinach and lettuce - they love cool weather and it won't be cool until October. Squash seeds germinate really quickly, and in 2 weeks my plants are huge. The problem will be that they are hot weather lovers, and may not get there fast enough. Oh well - it's all a learning curve kind of fall. I consulted with the TAMU and the Urban Harvest websites for my planting dates, so
hopefully something will produce. Urban Harvest has lots of articles about types of vegetables and a really good one about planting a fall garden. I enjoy that site so much.
Just read a post by Carolyn over on the tomato forum (stupid question thread) and she says her zone 9 and 10 friends will be putting out their tomatoes in early September. Still, I'm happy with my experiment idea and seeing what will happen. The plants that get afternoon shade look ok, but the one in the pot that gets full sun and the brunt of the heat is looking good, so who knows.
So GG - do what your gut tells you!
We grow tomatoes in September in big clay pots.............bring them in the garage every time we think it might freeze.....................need a dolly for that................
...and a good strong man LOL... We have to rebuild our garage/carport this fall, so they'll be on their own outside. I guess another reason for me to try the experiment to set out so early. I did move my EB's way under the carport during our freaky cold early April.