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Posted

Too soon? Dunno.

Slowly digging out long-abandoned beds in the rolling vastness of our back 1/3 acre. Very grassy, haven't planted there in 4-5 years. Idea is to then mix in black dirt from where I pile the dead leaves.

I like to plant peppers, okra, and cherry tomatoes. Okra and peppers don't get messed with much by critters. Cherry tomatoes do, but they still leave plenty for me.

For this year I hope to attain the dream of setting up stakes and cross-pieces like a giant model Man o'War, and let the tomato vines be the rigging.

Going very slowly, partially to keep from jumping the gun and planting too soon, partially so I unfeeble my muscles at a non-painful rate.

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Posted

Not too early.  I got more serious about staring transplants from seeds and picked up a few heat mats and LED grow lights from Amazon.  So far I have tomatoes, peppers, watermelons, cantaloupes, cukes, zukes, basil, cilantro, kale, onions, shallots, beans and peas started.  I also have some flowers, some decorative and some for tea and marigolds to accompany the tomatoes.  
 

New this year is tobacco, nightshade huckleberry and otricoli berry.  I’m also pumped to have 4x the producing blackberry plants compared to last year as well as a decent shot at production from my three year old plum tree.  
 

My winter garden is still cranking out lettuce, carrots and more.  The salads are amazing and I have no regerts on going year round. IMG_3344.thumb.jpeg.81cadeef7e08cd5bd6d265ec118bea55.jpegIMG_3326.thumb.jpeg.f1223eaf5e1dd770d30c8436b014ac5e.jpeg

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Posted

Little help please. My 9 year old has the plant bug. He wanted an apple tree, so I bought him a Mollie's delicious. Got home and sounds like to produce fruit I need 2. So we went back and got another (Mollie's delicious). Now more reading and it sounds like you have to have different varieties?? to produce fruit. I'm confused as shit. Anybody know how the fuck this shit works? 

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Posted

I dunno, planted an oak tree in front of our old house when I was 5, watched it grow and always felt a connection to it. Tornados wrecked it a few years ago but before that, sometimes I'd swing down that street just to see how big it was. Then park, sit there, and watch the house while saying "tick, tock, tick, tock," no idea why it just felt right.

Posted (edited)

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Built another box. 5 x 5. Going to do all tomatoes in the 5 x 10 and cucumbers, serranos,  Jalapeños,  and bush tomatoes in the 5 x 5. Hope the damn spider mites don't return.  Last year they really kick my tomatoes ass. Any suggestions on preventive treatments or companion plants? 

Edited by CoachTex
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Posted
26 minutes ago, CoachTex said:

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Built another box. 5 x 5. Going to do all tomatoes in the 5 x 10 and cucumbers, serranos,  Jalapeños,  and bush tomatoes in the 5 x 5. Hope the damn spider mites don't return.  Last year they really kick my tomatoes ass. Any suggestions on preventive treatments or companion plants? 

I didn’t have mites last year, but I’m definitely going to mix marigolds and basil in this year to keep weeds suppressed and hopefully help with pollinator attraction.  Both are in those trays above and grow extremely easily from seed. 

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Posted

Adding a small little collection of trees around the garden. Will be in containers for few years then plant at my FiL's place. I don't expect much fruit if any, but the flowers alone on each make it worth it. Dad, wife and the two kids each picked their favorite fruiting tree. Already found the Santa Rosa plum.

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Posted

Pomegranates are great, my neighbor’s produced well last year and mine grew three feet.  They’re not always trying to die when it’s hot and I appreciate that.  
 

Most of my seeds have sprouted and I already had to move some beans to grow bags outside.  Also, if you baby tomatoes in pots and bring them in during freezes you can pick them fresh in February.  I planted these in late June and it’s been about 10x more work than I can recommend, but whatever. 

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Posted

I started a bunch of pepper seeds from last year's crop.  A bunch have sprouted, but this is when they all seem to die mysteriously.  I have them on a heat map, and I'm trying to keep the grow lights close, but the adjacent cucumber seeds are getting taller than the lights are. 

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Posted

Austin peeps. Don't know this group, but if I still lived in town I would go see what they have.

 

Annual Plant Sale & Benefit

Mark your calendars for the next Annual Plant Sale & Benefit, Saturday March 1, 2025, from 9:00-2:00 at 4814 Sunshine Drive!

Learn from knowledgeable gardeners while you choose from 87 varieties of tomatoes, 72 varieties of peppers (40 hot, 32 sweet), 19 varieties of eggplant, 6 varieties of tomatillos, and 7,000 herbs.

In addition to the over 24,000 vegetable and herb plants for sale, there will be native flowers, pass along plants, succulents, organic compost, silent auction items, and a children’s carrot patch. You can also explore booths of local vendors, walk through our gardens, and listen to some local music. 

Check out the listings and descriptions below for the tomato, pepper, eggplant, and tomatillo varieties available at the sale.

Descriptions of tomatoes, peppers, eggplants and tomatillos (no photos).

Descriptions of tomato varieties with photos.

Descriptions of pepper varieties with photos.

Descriptions of eggplant and tomatillo varieties with photos.

You can also review the results from the 2024 Sunshine Tomato Trials and Taste Testing to find our garden’s best performing and favorite tastiest tomato varieties.

If you’d like to volunteer for the Plant Sale & Benefit, please sign-up here

We also have Herb Tent workdays in the Sunshine Gardens greenhouse every Saturday from 9:00am – 12:00 pm leading up to the sale. 

https://sunshinecommunitygardens.org/news-aboutus/#brxe-zxfxpe

 

  • 2 weeks later...
Posted

Can any of you pros offer recommendations for good soaker hoses? We're going to have 3 or 4 Arizona Cypress trees planted in our (large) backyard next week and we know that we'll need to give them a lot of water and TLC throughout this first summer. We've only got one spigot available in the back so the plan is to coil the soaker around a tree daily and then alternate throughout the week.

Posted

How far of a run from the spigot to the trees?  I've previously DIY'd a similar setup with this type of product.  You can either buy a kit or mix and match at Home Depot.  Not ideal long term, but worked for a year or two.  Get it set up, then throw it on a timer.  Plus, you can cut the supply line to length so you're only irrigating the trees and not wasting water between locations.  

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Posted

I'm going to look into that Rain Bird. It's probably 40-45' from spigot to the trees. We're planting 4 of them in a straight line, trunk to trunk span will be 50' or so. We're basically building a large evergreen privacy fence/shade from the morning sun. Oak wilt took out the two massive split trunk oaks we had a number of years ago. Looking for hardy, drought tolerant trees that will block the sun when I'm watching sports early in the morning on the patio TVs & hide the view of the neighbors behind us (renters w/ young boys, a trampoline & a crappy grad they don't maintain.

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Posted
On 2/27/2025 at 2:37 PM, GhostOfTomJoad said:

I'm going to look into that Rain Bird. It's probably 40-45' from spigot to the trees. We're planting 4 of them in a straight line, trunk to trunk span will be 50' or so. We're basically building a large evergreen privacy fence/shade from the morning sun. Oak wilt took out the two massive split trunk oaks we had a number of years ago. Looking for hardy, drought tolerant trees that will block the sun when I'm watching sports early in the morning on the patio TVs & hide the view of the neighbors behind us (renters w/ young boys, a trampoline & a crappy grad they don't maintain.

I went to dripdepot.com and bought individual parts for a system to irrigate my vegetable garden.

For 4 trees, you can put together a system with a timer for less than $100.

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Posted

This is my third year with this plum tree and it looks like I’ll be getting fruit this summer.  Also, strawberries are already producing along with the world’s tiniest broccoli, another round of carrots and more great lettuce.  

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Posted

I'm gonna try some gardenin' this spring. I am sure I will screw it up like the rest of my life but what the heck. Starting small (that's what she said). About 200 sq.ft.  I weedeated the crap out of an area that has been neglected forever, then did a little hoeing. Added some compost today. Planning to plant some corn, beans, and squash in a few weeks.20250309_124333.thumb.jpg.c439081c84214d8ee96f64bcbee293f2.jpg

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Posted
38 minutes ago, Fred Garvin said:

I'm gonna try some gardenin' this spring. I am sure I will screw it up like the rest of my life but what the heck. Starting small (that's what she said). About 200 sq.ft.  I weedeated the crap out of an area that has been neglected forever, then did a little hoeing. Added some compost today. Planning to plant some corn, beans, and squash in a few weeks.20250309_124333.thumb.jpg.c439081c84214d8ee96f64bcbee293f2.jpg

Definitely try cow pea/black eyed peas.  They’re one of the easiest things ever ever grown and seemingly cannot be killed. 

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Posted

Put a bunch of stuff in the ground. Typical tomatoes, peppers, green beans, etc.. and some new stuff.

New stuff for this year:

Trombocino Rampicante squash - supposed to be SVB resistant. We'll see. 

Thai Kaprao Basil - planted tulsi holy basil last year, but found the right seeds for this year.

Native Dewberry - transplanted after the foraging season last summer; expanding nicely in a dedicated bed.

Black-Eyed Peas - The Natural Gardener convinced me to try this as a green/living mulch. Probably put down way too much.

Posted
On 3/9/2025 at 5:38 PM, Fred Garvin said:

I'm gonna try some gardenin' this spring. I am sure I will screw it up like the rest of my life but what the heck. Starting small (that's what she said). About 200 sq.ft.  I weedeated the crap out of an area that has been neglected forever, then did a little hoeing. Added some compost today. Planning to plant some corn, beans, and squash in a few weeks.20250309_124333.thumb.jpg.c439081c84214d8ee96f64bcbee293f2.jpg

Corn is tough in small areas.  Worth a shot, especially if you want beans and squash to trellis up it naturally, but I've never had much luck with it, and an old gardener friend of mine told me that you needed.  Squash and beans will take off, especially green beans.  Throw some cucumbers in there too if you like 'em.  They're pretty bulletproof as well.  Okra does great through the summer if you can get enough water to them.  Those four seem to be the ones that I have the most luck with.  

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Posted

Smells like Jalapeno time outside. Blackberries, dewberries, peaches, and plums are starting to wake up too.

 

Also my mint from last year is back and by back, I mean it is everywhere. In the flower pots, in the garden, in the lawn. Everywhere.

Posted
1 hour ago, Masshole Horn said:

Native Dewberry - transplanted after the foraging season last summer; expanding nicely in a dedicated bed.

I have a hard time controlling the dewberry and blackberry. They're damn near indestructible. 

I didn't get a lot of fruit last year from them though but the birds sure as shit did.

Posted
On 3/8/2025 at 1:01 PM, USCATX said:

This is my third year with this plum tree and it looks like I’ll be getting fruit this summer. 

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What kind? I'm on year 3 with a Santa Rosa and it's looking the same as yours right now.

Posted
7 hours ago, SimonBolivar said:

What kind? I'm on year 3 with a Santa Rosa and it's looking the same as yours right now.

I think it’s a Methley, but I’ll double check.  It’s grown from a 1/2” diameter 3-4’ bare root twig to 12’ tall, it’s crazy.  

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