Fall Tomato Guide 🌿. the Glories of Arroyo Sweetwood 🌿 Make your own Biochar

NURSERY NOTES: join expert Colleen Dieter to learn all about "Seed Saving Basics" at 10 am on Aug 15 at the Natural Gardener. TNG 🌿 The Texas Gourd Society's Rona Thornton leads a hands-on gourd crafting class at 5 p.m. on Aug 12 at St. John Branch Library TGS 🌿

For weekly boxes of wonderful fresh organic veggies, sign up for the Refugee Collective's CSA. The Fall subscription lasts from Sept. 28 - Dec. 20 (from $210). Their farm, in nearby Elgin, is staffed by refugees and immigrants new to the Austin area. CSA 🌿

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GROW GINGER FROM A ROOT: If you wrape the root in a dampened paper towel and place it in a plastic bag, you'll be on your way to sprouting a new houseplant - plus have a source of ginger for future family meals. Empress of Dirt ❦

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MAKE YOUR OWN BIOCHAR: from the depths of history (around 500 B.C.) comes this ancient method of improving the health of your soil. You can make it by burning twigs and little branches slowly, and then stop the fire when the charcoal starts to form. A complete guide from the pages of Mother Earth News ❦

A CELEBRATION OF ARROYO SWEETWOOD: "An absolute banger of a plant," concludes Willy Glenn

(Greensleeves Nursery) when describing this beautiful native. Myospermum sousanum can handle drought and the cold, creates a filtered shade, and its pretty blooms have a vanilla sweetness that reminds some of a bakery. instagram ❦

THE AUSTIN GARDEN relies on readers for support. Whether annual or monthly, all donations are welcome. At present 7 % of readers fund this newsletter. Many thanks in advance. PayPal link ❦

A Guide to Fall Tomatoes

by Chris Winslow

It can be difficult to think about fall vegetable gardening when the temperatures daily are now reaching 100 degrees. It’s also hard to believe that we have just 18 weeks until the first frost.

In order to have a fine crop of tomatoes ready before this average first frost date of Nov. 27, I am planting 14 heat resistant varieties.

I picked varieties that would set in the heat and had determinate modes of growth, which grow and bloom at a faster rate than their indeterminate cousins.

I chose Sunmaster, Heatwave, Celebrity, Valley Girl, Solar Fire, & BHN 444 (Healthy Surprise). By planting 2 or 3 of each, I will track their performance and see which ones grow the best in my raised bed garden.

During this year’s spring and early summer season, BHN 444 had outperformed the other varieties, producing an average of 20 tomatoes that were large (3/4 to 1 pound), meaty… and very tasty.

I had my doubts about the likelihood of my success since I planted them at the end of April… which is late. To my ‘healthy surprise’ this heat-set tomato proved wonderful – both in its performance in the garden and its flavor at our dinner table.

For my present planting, I micro-tilled in a fresh, generous supply of compost and added some Espoma brand organic fertilizer at the rate of 1 pound per 25 square feet. This organic fertilizer contains added beneficial bacteria and mycorrhizae to help feed the soil and produce better roots and larger blooms and fruit. It worked well for me in the spring and summer.

To beat the heat, I planted my tomatoes in craters. These craters help to channel water to the root zone where the water is most needed.

With our current oven-hot conditions, watering becomes crucial. You cannot miss a day.

Check and water the plants first thing in the morning and again in the evening. Fill up the crater to get the water where it’s needed – and not on the foliage, which can lead to problems with disease.

Coming up, with shorter days and cooler weather, we will have a multitude of new vegetables to plant. Cauliflower, and Brussels sprouts are just a few weeks away with lettuce, radishes, spinach, mustard and collard greens, and carrots to follow.

By the way, I haven’t purchased potatoes since last May and onions since last April and I haven’t bought a tomato all spring and summer. Gardening is not only fun, it swells the pocketbook. Happy gardening everyone! ❦