Gardening 2024: Zukes, Cukes, and Nuke The Flukes

Mrs Whiggins · January 7

2023 was a disastrous year for our garden. The extreme heat combined with being away visiting family meant slim pickings although our neighbor who kept an eye on the place did get a nice crop or two of my green beans, lettuce, and tomatoes before the temps climbed. Going into fall the jalapenos, eggplant, and basil did well as expected, yielding several dishes of pesto, salsa, etc--little buggers love the warm weather but overall it was challenging.

New year and optimism abounds, however. Due to various issues, I elected to avoid a fall planting so am starting with the early spring stuff and it's the usual greens which I love--the spinach, the lettuce, etc. The flowers will come later, although I've noticed the larkspur and poppies have been sprouting from the seeds I scattered at the end of summer/fall.

Although it belongs in the lawn & landscape thread, gosh darn was it difficult to keep a decent turf going. I'm going to need remediation with some fresh sod in the dead spots just to get it back into shape this spring. Some of it will cover during the growing season but I'm going to hasten it along with a few squares here and there.

What are you lot planning? Got anything growing now?

Vanderpool · January 7

I’ve got the kids out harvesting some collards as we speak. We planted a few different types of greens and some broccoli this fall. The broccoli is coming along nicely but just seems to grow so slow and I never seem to plant enough for a decent haul.
We are still picking jalapeños and serranos, they just won’t quit. I also have a few tomato plants that still look good. I’ve never held on to tomato plants through the winter, any idea if they will produce again in the Spring?
Can’t recommend David’s Garden Seeds out of San Antonio enough, everything I planted from them last year did really well.

texasdago · January 7

I have some pepper plants that are still hanging in there. Otherwise I have a ton of arugula and mixed greens seedlings and in the fall I planted garlic cloves.

Rosemary is looking great and our oregano is the best I've ever seen. Absolutely tons of oregano.

cactusflinthead · January 7

Whatever survivors have made it this far in my pepper patch are going to freeze during this upcoming arctic blast. I'll give the rosemary one last trim and hope for the best. The thyme has done surprisingly well. The garlic chives are basically groundcover now there are so many of them.

Mrs Whiggins · January 7

I have a trailing rosemary that survived The Great Freeze with a little damage here and there but I blanketed the thing to the nth degree. It's in a sunny spot near the front and slightly sheltered and perhaps that helped. I love being able to snip a few pieces whenever I'm roasting a chicken. But rosemary does seem rather fickle with the cold.

4th and 5 · January 13

I could pick up big bowl of spinach every day and not put a dent in it

Mrs Whiggins · January 16

15 hours ago, CoachTex said:

So pulled all fruit off of tomato and pepper plants before freeze. Pretty sure everything will be trashed after the freeze. What is the best protocol for the raised beds to prep for next planting season, only a few months away? Do I pull out all the dead plants or just bury them in the soil and turn it over?

I hope you don't mind, but I moved your quote to this thread for 2024...

Thoughts vary as to 'best' when it comes to protocol. I have a very small garden compared to some of you and I pull up my tomatoes when they're done. That is mostly due to concerns about fungal diseases and such that can be present in the soil. Since I have a combination of the large black plastic pots and one small 4X8 bed, you can see why it's a little harder to rotate and/or turn over the soil. I do try and rehabilitate the soil as much as I can with some amendments. I also grow some veggies and herbs mixed in with our flower beds and so it isn't as noticeable if I yank or leave them either way. These are the types of plants that are not as fussy--the chards and the dills and so on.

Other gardeners advise leaving the dead plants, especially the roots as it provides nourishment but also advise crop rotation if you do this. If you have the space to rotate, then this may be a good plan for you. Maybe some other posters here will chime in with their methods.

Lastly, I've never done a cover crop as that is something I picture more with large expansive beds, but that is another way to keep the soil in good condition.

CoachTex · January 16

So any idea how to prevent spider mites? Got them bad this year. Hoping to prevent this this year.

Masshole Horn · January 17

Ok. In this year. New place with plenty of space and deer.

Currently have 2 3'x5' beds prepped behind some fencing... hope it will be enough to deter the deer. Gonna plant some cold season seeds based on Natural Gardener's planting guide... Lettuce, green onion, bok choy, spinach, and beets.

Started up Juliet, San Marzano, Early Girl, Jalapenos, and Ground Cherries indoors to plant as soon as I can.

My Juliet from HEB last year yielded over 700 tomatoes and survived until this latest blast. Couldn't believe it.

Mrs Whiggins · February 10

On 1/16/2024 at 10:44 AM, CoachTex said:

So any idea how to prevent spider mites? Got them bad this year. Hoping to prevent this this year.

That's a tough one. I only ever got them on the marigolds until I started planting them for fall blooms only. Never had them on the produce. However, I use Sevin dust once the pollinators have done their job and while that's not organic, it works for me on a lot of pests.

I don't know that we're going to have any more freezes where I am in central Texas. Wild. I am thinking I'll fold up all the covers and put them in the garage....

NorthLoop · February 11

This was something that sprouted out of my compost a couple months ago and I'm pretty sure it's a cucumber but I've never had a cuke sprout flowers like this. Yes my garage is messy.

Mrs Whiggins · February 11

Have you ever grown zucchini in your garden? That almost looks like zucchini to me.

NorthLoop · February 11

24 minutes ago, Mrs Whiggins said:

Have you ever grown zucchini in your garden? That almost looks like zucchini to me.

No and there wouldn't be any in my compost

Mrs Whiggins · February 11

Cool, the flowers on the cukes I've grown seem smaller than that. Did you look at the base (flower) to see if it's male? If it's male then it wouldn't hurt to trim it off so that the plant could produce a female flower and set fruit. I don't know enough about how a volunteer would work in that regard (pollination/self pollination) to say though. It's neat that it sprouted. Seems the only volunteers I get are wild petunias and weeds!

miguelito · February 11

Has it asked you to feed it blood?

NorthLoop · February 12

Been racking my brain as to what could be in my compost that's something I've never grown before but can't figure it out. Google and Youtube don't turn up anything either. I still think it's a cucumber but just has some genetic freak flowers. Only way to find out is to wait until it fruits I guess.

Pato del Muerto · February 12

First season in the PNW. No room for a greenhouse, but no real need either. Need to figure out what to grow, where to grow it, and when to start. Close on house this week, so gardening of any kind won’t be happening until March at the earliest.

there is an area of river rock all along our fence line, so I’d love to eventually build up some raised beds that sit above that space.

NorthLoop · February 12

56 minutes ago, NorthLoop said:

Been racking my brain as to what could be in my compost that's something I've never grown before but can't figure it out. Google and Youtube don't turn up anything either. I still think it's a cucumber but just has some genetic freak flowers. Only way to find out is to wait until it fruits I guess.

Oh shit I think I figured it out. It's a pumpkin.

4th and 5 · February 14

I bought 10 Celebrity+ about 2’ tall for $2/plant at Inevitable Homegrown in Lockhart and replanted them deep, in large pots.

4th and 5 · February 19

We have bush

miguelito · February 19

Lookin' good, Popeye.

Mrs Whiggins · February 19

On 2/12/2024 at 1:26 PM, NorthLoop said:

Oh shit I think I figured it out. It's a pumpkin.

Aha! So now we know that @Prepuce of Doom's scary porch group can travel and procreate. Beware!

Mrs Whiggins · February 24

Weather is really beautiful today. Have almost all the beds cleaned out; lettuces are going quite well, have beets and carrots underway, and tomatoes still indoors under lights. I've got Roma, cherry, and Early Girl varieties growing from seed and will purchase a small flat of Celebrity transplants with a group of friends. We go in together to get bulk pricing and then split up the cost. Works well for those of us that have gardens large and small and don't want to waste plants. Still haven't started the Swiss Chard or the beans etc.

Am very unhappy with the squirrels digging right now. Ruined a beautiful larkspur that was almost to maturity.

miguelito · February 25

I got a couple of Husky Cherry tomatoes and an Early Girl yesterday, and some misc herbs and stuff. But my trusted source at the nursery was pretty sure we're going to get one more freeze. So I put the tomatoes in grow bags for now (new trick for me this year), and I'll have more time to prepare the bed with compost.

My onions are looking good. I have volunteer parsley in a lot of places. I'll probably cut it all today and dry it on racks.

I guess it's a good sign that I found a whole bunch of earthworms while digging around yesterday, in my raised beds and in my compost pile.

CoachTex · February 25

I'm planning on putting plants in the ground in a week or so. Wanting to plant some dwarf tomatoes. Anyone have experience or suggestions on what variety of dwarf tomato to plant?

Mrs Whiggins · February 26

I've never tried dwarf varieties so perhaps someone else will chime in; I have had a lot of success with the bush cherry tomatoes and putting them in containers with a sturdy cage. They seem to produce a lot except during the exceptional heat of August but rebound and go into fall with more tomatoes than we can sometimes handle.

irishtexan · February 26

Gonna put all the stuff I normally do in the ground this week. I don't think it's gonna freeze again this year. I'll do 4 types of tomatoes, japs, serranoes, habaneros, and cayenne. I make fermented hot sauce from the peppers. I put two chili pequins in the garden last year and they got huge and killed off most of my peppers because they robbed all the light. I'll put one pequin in a large container this year instead. I put cukes directly into the lawn soil and run them up a trellis. These "winter" temps and lack of rain have me concerned about this summer.

UT_OB1 · February 28

I think we’re going to stay in Brazoria where we have a couple acres this summer. Kids really want to plant a garden. Is there anything we can plant late May that would give some enjoyment? Peas? I don’t need award winning fruits/veggies or a harvest that will feed us all winter, just something to enjoy. Would any tomato’s grow? Is there anything incredibly low maintenance we could plant in a weekend in March that would survive and produce in the summer?

NorthLoop · February 28

42 minutes ago, UT_OB1 said:

I think we’re going to stay in Brazoria where we have a couple acres this summer. Kids really want to plant a garden. Is there anything we can plant late May that would give some enjoyment? Peas? I don’t need award winning fruits/veggies or a harvest that will feed us all winter, just something to enjoy. Would any tomato’s grow? Is there anything incredibly low maintenance we could plant in a weekend in March that would survive and produce in the summer?

Peppers survive the heat just fine as long as you water them

UT_OB1 · February 29

22 hours ago, NorthLoop said:

Peppers survive the heat just fine as long as you water them

Thanks. Reading around, sounds like planting sweet corn anytime in March or even early April should be ok. I’ve never grown corn before. Is it something I can walk away from for 2 months except on the weekends?

Celery Man · March 5

On 1/2/2023 at 9:51 AM, Celery Man said:

towards the end of the year my boss (who is... a good guy but a little loopy) sent out an invite for "MANDATORY TEAM MEETING". First couple of slides were about the art of bonsai, something about how they are meticulously pruned to yada yada yada you get it, at this point I have linkedin jobs open in a separate tab and am looking for my next position. And then it turned out that the meeting was literally about bonsai trees, which were the team gift.

That was early December....

This is now....

this may not really be the thread but I'm going to be keeping this thing alive and figuring out how I'm supposed to prune it

homeboy needs a trim, still truckin in 24

CoachTex · March 12

Tomatoes, serranos, Jalapeños, basil and cilantro going in the ground tomorrow.

CoachTex · March 12

Garden 2.0

CoachTex · March 12

Also found about 6 of theese fuckers. About the size of a golf ball.

miguelito · March 14

Nice gloves. Mine are all dirty and have holes in some of the fingers, lol.

UT_OB1 · March 14

Sort of related - anyone know where I can get some cheap / free laying hens near lake Jackson?

CoachTex · March 14

38 minutes ago, miguelito said:

Nice gloves. Mine are all dirty and have holes in some of the fingers, lol.

Brand new this year my brotha.

UT_OB1 · March 17

Y’all have a place to buy seeds from? I’m assuming there much better price/variety from somewhere that isn’t HD e Lowe’s online

Parliament · March 17

On 3/12/2024 at 4:15 PM, CoachTex said:

Also found about 6 of theese fuckers. About the size of a golf ball.

Nuke it from orbit.

Kennythetiger · March 18

On 2/28/2024 at 8:08 PM, UT_OB1 said:

Thanks. Reading around, sounds like planting sweet corn anytime in March or even early April should be ok. I’ve never grown corn before. Is it something I can walk away from for 2 months except on the weekends?

Corn needs a lot of water.

SimonBolivar · March 18

On 3/13/2024 at 8:30 PM, miguelito said:

Nice gloves. Mine are all dirty and have holes in some of the fingers, lol.

Mine did too until I stupidly tried to mess with the dewberry with them and got a shit ton of thorns in my fingers. New gloves were purchased that very day.

NorthLoop · March 18

Was gonna get plants in the ground this past weekend but the weather said no. Should be planting within the next week.

Mrs Whiggins · March 18

On 3/17/2024 at 10:29 AM, UT_OB1 said:

Y’all have a place to buy seeds from? I’m assuming there much better price/variety from somewhere that isn’t HD e Lowe’s online

Here are a few sources I've used in the past:

Burpee's--often sold in stores, but their online store has packets w/o the fancy photo packet and it was slightly cheaper, or at least it was. Haven't ordered from them in a couple of years. https://www.burpee.com/

Select Seeds: (Online)I have good luck with germination with their seeds. https://www.selectseeds.com/

Johnny's Seeds: (Online) same, they do a lot of commercial sales and target that market, but their seeds are solid. https://www.johnnyseeds.com/

Botanical Interest: (Online and in some garden centers that are not big box stores) I've gotten a lot of seeds from them as they have some decent heat friendly and heritage varieties. https://www.botanicalinterests.com/

There are some other companies from which I've ordered when searching for specific seeds, but the above places have a good overall variety. One additional note: while I try and order from small businesses, sometimes small companies will have less overall supplies so you've got to order early in the season. Harvest time being what it is, they've only got so many fields/sources and while most are upfront about availability, there were one or two where I had to inquire about why my order hadn't shipped (because the planting window for viability was shrinking). I didn't list every company because there are a lot(!) but the ones above are some of the companies I use most often along with Territorial Seed Co, Seed Savers Exchange, Baker Creek, and Harris Seeds.

I can't speak to price so much. Growing from seed is fairly economical and since I'm often looking for a specific variety, I'm pragmatic about it. I've used Ferry-Morse (I think they might be a Lowe's vendor (?) but had less success with germination rate unless it was a variety that was super easy. Park Seeds (another one you might find in stores) is also okay but I haven't bought/ordered from them in a while. For tomatoes, I both buy a transplant or two from our local garden shop but grow my own indoors and then put out when it's warm enough, which has worked well. I grow a fair amount of flowers and thus seeds are worth the trouble for me unless it's something that is difficult due to germination rates or other picky issues. From seed this year I've got tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, beets, carrots, beans, various parsleys and some are already in the ground and growing while others are still under the lights. (I was a little late with some of them this year due to illness). For flowers, I haven't yet planted zinnia seeds, but I've got alyssum, petunia, amaranth (for ornamental purposes), coleous, celosia, lobelia and some others. I get a lot of volunteers every year as well; the larkspurs are blooming right now and some of last years petunias have gone rogue, sprouted and bloomed. Morning glories are practically a weed in the garden now they sprout so much but I can yank them out and leave the ones that are in a good location--the anole love them as do the bees (which helps the tomatoes).

InkaUtexas · March 18

I can vouch for Johnny's Seeds. Good germination rate.

CoachTex · March 19

Anyone in SA know where I can find persian or lebanese cucumber plants? Rainbow Gardens and Garden center did not have any.

InkaUtexas · March 19

Grow them from seed. You have time.

LCHorn · March 21

So this is a Monterey Oak planted spring 2021 in Austin and who had a rough go of it during last year’s drought. It’s irrigated weekly but it’s a rental so I can only do it one day automatically. Any opinion on if it’s salvageable?

Mrs Whiggins · March 21

24 minutes ago, LCHorn said:

So this is a Monterey Oak planted spring 2021 in Austin and who had a rough go of it during last year’s drought. It’s irrigated weekly but it’s a rental so I can only do it one day automatically. Any opinion on if it’s salvageable?

I'm not an arborist, but is the green towards the bottom new growth sprouting on the tree or something else growing up the trunk? If that was my tree, first thing I'd be tempted to do is climb a ladder and take a very small cutting in that top third to see if the inside of a tiny branch is still green and alive. If not, then I'd likely not keep the tree because 'topping' a tree is normally not great. People do it, however, so that would be your call. It has/had a nice fairly straight trunk. The issue with topping is that it can expose the tree to stress, insect and disease damage, and sometimes requires more returning to the site to prune it up to get to a nice shape. If the upper part is dead (the branches snap easily) then cutting on it may not do it much harm but again I'm not an expert. As it is not at your home property, you may wish to check the status (living wood vs dead) and if you decide to keep it, give it some fertilizer (at least a foot away from the trunk) as it is not a mature tree and could probably benefit. I don't know what your ratio needs to be, but I'm guessing something that has some nitrogen for certain. Now is a decent time to add nutrients because the soil is warming up and the things are growing.

Good luck!

*Also, if that's a bird nest in the tree, check for eggs before you start cutting!

CoachTex · March 31

Garden coming along nicely. Planted cucumbers from seed. 15 of 21 popped up in a week. Hoping for a good harvest.

Masshole Horn · April 9

Beets are good. Lots of greens still, roots should be ready in a few more weeks.

Baby Bok Choy has been phenomenal. Ready very quickly 5 weeks. Planted some more. Hopefully they make it.

Jalapenos in ground.

Lettuce and Spinach still producing.

Regular bok choy bolting like crazy.

Some chard doing ok.

Juliet and San Marzano tomatoes already flowering.

Cucumbers and more tomatoes in fabric pots all growing nicely

Peas are climbing.

What should I plant in the space the beets/baby bok choy are now once those are harvested?

Anyone in the hill country/Centex area grow blackberries? What was your method?

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