by Amanda Moon
As Texans we have a tendency to think of February as the official
start of spring. Even though we still get some cold snaps, the spring
weather tends to outweigh the frosts. So this is the month when we
start our spring gardens. A hardy few are already putting in tomatoes,
but for most of us this is a month of prep and planning. Some guide-
lines and ideas to help with this:
1. On a rainy day do some research in books and on-line about garden-
ing in central Texas. It’s a different game here, and you really need to
be ready for it.
2. Make sure you have enough time to put into your garden. You'll
need to be watchful daily, monitoring for pests, signs of disease and
moisture levels.
3. Let the time you have to spend gardening determine the size of the
garden area. This could be anywhere from your whole yard, to a few
containers on a sunny deck. Decide whether your beds will be tilled
ground, raised planter boxes, or large containers.
4. Select a sunny spot for your new garden with easy access to water.
To thrive most vegetables need at least 8 hours of direct sun and reg-
ular watering. Otherwise you can end up with pest and disease prob-
lems, lower quality fruit and stunted plants.
5. Remove all weeds before building your garden. Soil with Bermuda
grass and other weeds may need a season of solarization before your
garden can be planted. If not killed out completely these weeds can
create a lot of work. DO NOT use herbicides anywhere near your vege-
table garden. They're bad for the health of your plants, and bad for the
health of you and your family when you eat them.
6. Make a plan. What do you like to eat? Do you want to experiment
with new edibles or just stick with the basics? My number one priority
is always tomatoes. They're fairly easy to grow and the taste can’t be
beat. I then create my garden plan around them. I also throw in a few
new varieties every season to see if they're better than my old standbys
(and to keep things fresh).
7. Most important of all for vegetable gardeners is timing. You have
to get your plants in the soil at the correct time. If you do everything
else, but get your plants out too soon or too late, you'll be disappointed.
Mother Nature will intervene and either freeze your tomatoes solid or
toast your greens with early season 90 degree heat. The best planting
chart that I have found is from Texas A&M and is available to copy on-
of heartache and money.
8. Start your garden with fresh seed and small, unstressed potted vege-
table starts. These will germinate/establish faster and give you a larger
yield.
9. Water, water, water! Vegetable gardens are thirsty and require water-
ing several times a week to start, and up to daily as we get into summer.
Mulch with newspaper and pine-straw to conserve moisture and suppress
weeds and lay soaker hoses between the plants. Make sure you do this
after your seeds are up, but before they're too big to work around.
10. Stay up on your garden. Use organic fertilizer when planting, and
every few weeks during the growing season. Check daily for bugs and
any signs of disease. Be prepared with frost cover and shade cloth for
those late freezes and early heat waves. Harvest daily too. This keeps
the plants producing and makes sure you don’t lose any of your hard-
earned veggies to critters.
Gardens are a lot of work, but they're also relaxing, rewarding and fun
when done right. Happy spring gardening everyone!
Visit the website: www.itsaboutthyme.com