It's About Thyme tel: 512-280-1192 June 17, 2011
Nursery Notes: Happy Father's Day to all gardening dads! Lots
of gift ideas around the nursery to choose from. Weekend sales:
40% off watering cans; 20% off all metal art: trellises, arches,
animals and planters. Drought-tolerant bat face cuphea (photo
above) also on sale: 3 gallon reg. $14.99; on sale for $9.99.
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In the new issue of Texas Gardener Magazine, look for Chris Winslow's
step-by-step guide to making compost tea. Congratulations Chris!
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"Is a rose an herb?" asks writer Jim Long in the latest beautiful edition
of Edible Austin. "Most people would say no, believing herbs to be
merely parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme and a few others. However, if you
visit India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Turkey or neighboring countries in the
region, you’ll find the rose firmly planted in the list of important culinary
seasoning plants... edible roses
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On this week's Central Texas Gardener on KLRU, enter the world
of psychoactive plants with author Susan Wittig Albert; also a visit to
the pond and gardens of Dr. Mark Akin Stott. Sat. noon and 4 p.m.
The perfect tomato is eluding many as temps rise early this year
Tomato Woes? Make Plans for the Fall!
by Chris Winslow
Our late spring weather pattern seems to have placed a damper on
tomato fruit production in the Austin area. When daytime heat hovers
above 95 degrees, and the nighttime temperature rests at 75 or more,
large tomato varieties will flower… but won’t set. They just fall off.
Discouraging at best.
Long-time tomato grower Sam Lemming of Buda advises gardeners
to get those transplants out as early in the spring as possible. This gives
them enough time to set fruit before the summer heat arrives.
The trouble is… this year the June weather pattern actually started
in early May. So how can we hope for any success with our tomatoes?
My thoughts are that we should be looking forward toward the poss-
ibilities that the fall growing season offers, rather than lamenting our
present situation. This second season begins during the second week
of July. Many experienced tomato growers feel they can get a better
crop in the fall.
Seedling tomatoes planted in early July through mid-August will take
60 - 70 days of growth to begin their bloom cycle. This places us
at the end of September when day and night temperatures are beg-
inning to drop. Thus a better chance of the fruit setting.
For fall production, look for determinate tomato varieties that grow
fast and produce lots of flowers in a short period of time. This will
mean maximum production before the first frosts of November arrive.
Some well-tested varieties: Celebrity, Surefire, BHN 444, Phoenix,
and Tycoon.
Between now and early next month I will start to get my fall garden
ready. This means lots of weeding, and I’ll be adding generous
amounts of compost and organic fertilizer to the beds.
Tomatoes aren’t the only crop that can be planted in July. Peppers,
okra, southern peas, summer and winter squash, corn, eggplant and
cucumbers are some other possibilities.
For those gardeners who want a shot at growing pumpkins for Hall-
oween, you should also plant the seeds in July.
As tough as summer vegetable gardening can be, we can take solace
in knowing a new gardening season is just around the corner and it’s
bound to get cooler – sometime!
Happy Gardening Everyone.
© Chris Winslow 2011
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