Pages

Wednesday, November 6, 2013

Fall Garden Update - Lookin' Good!

I remain convinced that Texans should ignore traditional summer gardening for many plants and focus on off-season gardening. It is just too hot and dry in July and August for many plants.

I have a test garden I planted in late summer. Some beds got started in August, some not until early September, and a few planted in late September for a winter harvest. (My goal was to plant August 1, but life just got in the way. I know it never happens to anyone else. ;) I spent a week in August dealing with a child's summer camp gone bad. Yes, the whole week was spent on that and nothing else. sigh. But, that's done and gone.)

The late september plants are the ones that I am hopeful will be winter-long harvests: carrots, cabbage, green onion, turnips.

Note: temps at time of planting were still in the 90s. Current temps as of late October have been in the 70s and 80s, with some overnight temps dropping to the 50s. 

My test plants include: multiple varieties of squash and melons, bell peppers, cucumbers, and eggplant. Most are doing well.

The grasshoppers killed off a few of squash/melons before they really had a chance to thrive. They killed my ronde du nice, bush buttercup, table queen bush acorn, and sweet dumpling. :(

I did not replant. Of those that survived the grasshoppers, they all have young fruit. Yea!!!

This is the Patisson Golden Marbre Scallop squash.



Here you can see the massive sucrine du berry. This plant needs a row space of 20 feet! It is huge - and gorgeous! (Those are grapevines it is growing beneath.)


Look at those gorgeous leaves. They are bigger than a man's hands!
  


This squash is a tondo scuro di Piacenza. It will be round like the new eight ball, but this is an heirloom variety from Italy.


The galeux d'eysines is growing, but it is very small still. I am hopeful that it will produce. It was very slow to get growing.  Also slow and small is the Uconn squash.

I planted three variety of eggplants, but only one survived the grasshoppers. It is the ping tung. I am hopeful that it will produce. This plant is one I am more unsure about. It needs a lot more time than the others, I think.


Beit Alpha cucumbers are blooming and have little fruits on them.



Stars and moon watermelon has fruit and blooms as does the Ananais Amerique and another melon.

0 comments:

Post a Comment

 
Copyright (c) 2010 Emerging Providence. Design by WPThemes Expert

Themes By Buy My Themes And Web Hosting Reviews.