Dallas Fruit and Vegetable Grower

June Harvest From The Vegetable Garden

 

June was a very productive month for our garden.  We had good  production from our plum trees, blackberry bushes, peach trees, and tomato plants.

I am particularly proud of our tomato harvest this year.

My favorite fruit or vegetable to grow is the tomato.  In my mind, nothing tastes better than a sun ripened fresh tomato sliced and seasoned with a bit of salt or in a BLT sandwich.  The taste has the biggest payoff versus store tomatoes bought because most store bought tomatoes cannot compete in taste or, if you buy expensive heirlooms at Whole Foods, they aren't always in the best shape after shipping.

But I have struggled the last three years growing tomatoes.  Either the varmits got to them before I did, the plants were stunted, or the plants just did not produce much fruit.

That changed this year.  We had so many tomatoes this year that I didn't know what to do with them all.   I think that I can attribute this year's success to a few factors.  First, I got the seedlings in the ground very early in the Spring.   (I did not have time this winter to grow tomatoes from seed so I had to buy seedlings from the nursery).  Second, I think I am finally, really building up my soil quality.  Last winter, I added a significant amount of homemade vermicompost to particular areas of the tomato beds, and I saw much better production from the plants where the heaviest amount of vermicompost had been added.  Third, I irrigated a lot more this year.  Last year, I used small drip hoses to irrigate the tomatoes, but I transitioned back to pop-up sprayers this year.  The pop-up sprayers put out a lot more water, and I think this was a signficant aid to the plants.  The drip hoses just were not putting out enough water over a consistent area.  (For my Fall tomatoes, I am going to use individual mini-spray heads for each plant to try and reduce the amount of spray that gets on the foliage and, consequently, late season blight or wilt.)  Fourth, our plum and peach trees were ripening throughout June, and the varmits targetted the fruit instead of our tomatoes.  Finally, I planted several hybrid varieties that really produced well for me.  SuperFantastic produced a great number of huge beautiful, perfect, tasty tomatoes.  I will be growing SuperFantastic again to see if I can repeat my success.  I also had good success with Green Zebra, but I do not prefer the taste of Green Zebra and will not be growing it again.  Maybe if I fried green tomatoes more often, I would have a greater appreciation for this variety.

Here are a few more photos of our vegetable garden in June:

 

In the bed above, we have zuchini, buttercup squash, and cucumbers growing.

 

 

In the bed on the left, you can see our Swiss Chard, butternut squash, and sweet corn growing.  On the right is a bed with eggplant and tomatoes.  The two trees in the background are peach trees.

 

 

In the bed on the right, we have okra growing in the foreground and artichokes behind them.  I also have watermelon seedlings beginng to sprout in this bed along with some beets still left over from the winter.  On the left, you can see several of our cucumber cages.  The trees in the background are fig trees.

 

Here is a close-up of the artichoke flower heads.

 

Vegetable Garden Photos - Late March

 

Here are a few photographs of our vegetable garden in early spring.  In the foreground above is our Swiss Chard.  In the second and fourth large beds to the left, we are growing tomatoes, eggplant, and peppers that are still very immature.  In the third large bed to the left, we have sweet yellow and red onions growing.   On the right side of this shot are our herb beds.

 

 

In this photograph, you can see our cilantro that wants to go to seed because of our unseasonably warm spring weather, along with immature fennel, dill and parsley.  You can also see one of our artichoke plants on the right, and our asparagus plants that look mature even this early in the year.  We have cucumbers and squash growing in the middle bed with the support towers.

 

 

 

This photograph shows our sweet yellow and red onions that were planted from starts.  They look to be doing well.

 

Our spring vegetable garden also has some color from the earlier blooming perennials that surround the garden.

 

 

Here is a vew looking west.  The vegetable garden is bordered by pear, peach, pluot, cherry, fig, jostaberry, gooseberry, wolf berry, honeyberry, pineapple guava, huckleberry, and kiwi bushes and trees.

Sweet Potatoes

A couple of weeks ago, we harvested our sweet potatoes.  The photograph above shows the bed shortly before harvest.  As you can see, the sweet potato vines had grown and spread prolifically.

 

In May, we had planted several sweet potato slips from Territorial Seeds.  Slips are essentially dry rooted seedlings.  Approximately six plants survived and thrived.

 

Sweet potatoes usually take about four months until harvest to fully form big, fat roots.

 

 

After cutting back all of the vine growth, the each plant looked the photograph above.  For some of the plants, you could see some of the roots protruding from the ground.

 

 

After it was all said and done, we harvested quite a few large, roots that are very sweet and tasty.  It is difficult to tell from the photograph below, but some of these roots were enormous.    To give you a sense of scale, the trowel in the photograph below is twelve inches long.

 

 

T0 cure these sweet potatoes, I put them in the shade under our covered porch and let them cure for approximately one week.  I am now keeping them in my second refrigerator.

 

Most experts recommend that you harvest sweet potatoes before temperatures fall below 50 degrees.  Harvest when the ground is dry so the roots are not damaged when you dig them up.  Do not brush the soil and dirt off of the roots until you are ready to eat them.  Howard Garrett recommends that after harvesting, to store the roots in containers in a warm, humid place for two weeks and, thereafter, at 55 degrees for up to three months.

 

Gardening Nirvana

Chives 

It is such a great time of year.  Although the days are getting much shorter, the weather is absolutely terrific for gardening.  After such a brutal summer, all of our plants are flourishing with this weather.  Highs in the lower 80s, and the lows are in the high 50s.  Perfect for vegetable and other plants.

Here are some photos of our garden from September and October of this fall.

Starting in late August and through September, our sweet autumn clematis were filled with beautiful white blossoms that emit a wonderful, sweet fragrance.  We have sweet autumn clematis across our back fence.  It is a fast grower that has covered the back fence in a relatively short period of time - 2 years.

Although the blossoms are small, they bloom in great profusion.  They are also very pretty when viewed up close.  And if you are looking for fragrance, this is a nice selection to grow along a fence.

 

 

Our other perennial flowers have also perked up since August.  In particular, the salvias are going wild.  We have a lot of salvia nemerosa, salvia gregrii, and mexican bush sage that have gone bonkers.  Our flowering tobacco is also doing well.   Although flowering tobacco can be somewhat rangy looking, its  tall spikes of white flowers are pretty and also put out a great smell at night.

 

The lavender provence that we planted this year is now full size and has been blooming non-stop since July.  It also brings a beautiful smell to the garden on a windy day.

 

 

The butterflies and bees are also enjoying the lavender.  Below are a couple of photos showing a buckeye butterfly sipping nectar from a lavender flower and, if you look closely, bees working feverishly within the multitude of blossoms. 

 

 

 

 

We have planted tons and tons of turk's cap, and they are in full bloom this fall.  On several occasions, I have come out to the garden in the morning to find one or two chirping hummingbirds  in the garden buzzing from salvia to salvia and turk's cap to turk's cap.

Fall Planting

This is a photo of a carrot blossom in honor of Fall planting time.

 

Although I have not finished yet, I have at least started planting our fall vegetables.

Earlier in the year, I wrote about Fall planting times based upon the suggestions of John Jeavon's book "How to Grow More Vegetables."

As usual, I am behind schedule and did not begin my fall plantings until September 10th.  Nevertheless, I think I am going to be just fine.  The good thing about starting later is that I was able to take advantage of a nice break in the hot weather.

Indeed, after only a week, some of my seeds are already starting to germinate and sprout which is always gratifying.

Because many of my summer vegetables are still producing, I am going to have to plant the fall seeds judiciously, interplanting some of them into existing beds because I don't want to wholesale rip out all of the summer vegetables which are still producing and will continue to produce until November.

I was able to clean out two beds and planted our lettuce, brussels sprouts, cauliflower, cabbage, and radishes last weekend in place of some melons and a fallow bed.  This weekend or next weekend, I hope to interplant beets, onions, carrots, and parsnips in among my cucumbers, tomatoes, and a harvested bed of sweet potatoes.

All of my beds are getting a fresh treatment of composted manure and mulch.  Each bed is 5 feet by 16 feet, and in each, I am putting 6 bags of manure and 6 bags of mulch.   I get such satisfaction looking at the tidy appearance of a freshly fertilized and mulched bed!!

Later, I will have to find a good time to plant the beds where the tomatoes, winter squash, and eggplant are growing.

Here is a complete list of what we will be growing this fall and winter:

Giant Winter Spinach  (Territorial Seeds)

Outredgeous Romaine Lettuce  (Territorial Seeds)

Petitie Rouge Romaine Lettuce  (Territorial Seeds)

Crisp Mint Green Romaine Lettuce  (Territorial Seeds)

Rossa Di Treviso Precoce Radicchio  (Territorial Seeds)

Filderkraut Cabbage  (Territorial Seeds)

Red Ball Cabbage  (Territorial Seeds)

Bright Lights Swiss Chard  (Territorial Seeds)

Amazing Cauliflower  (Territorial Seeds)

Broad Windsor Fava Beans  (Territorial Seeds)

Cherry Belle Radish  (Territorial Seeds)

Red Meat Radish  (Territorial Seeds)

Detroit Dark Red Beet  (Seeds of Change)

Chioggia Beet  (Seeds of Change)

Broccoli Raab  (Seeds of Change)

Early Green Broccoli  (Seeds of Change)

Napoli Carrots  (Seeds of Change)

Tango Celery  (Seeds of Change)

Sherwood Leeks (Seeds of Change)

Falstaff Brussels Sprouts  (Territorial Seeds)

Valencia White Onions  (Seeds of Change)

Stockton Red Onions  (Seeds of Change)

Santo Slow Bolt Cilantro  (Seeds of Change)

Dark Green Italian Parsley  (Territorial Seeds)

Perfection Fennel  (Territorial Seeds)

Dukat Dill  (Seeds of Change)

Cobham Improved Parsnips  (Territorial Seeds)

Fall Planting Times for Dallas and North Texas

 

 

The following is a seed starting schedule for the Dallas area from John Jeavons' outstanding book How to Grow More Vegetables.

This schedule assumes an average first frost date of November 13th.  Note that this is an average date, and different sources claim an average frost date of anywhere from November 11th through November 30th for the Dallas / Forth Worth area.

Here is a link to a useful Interactive Map showing first and last frost dates.

If you are outside of Dallas, adjust the dates accordingly.

 

July 1st

Plant seeds in garden for:

pumpkins (assuming 120 day maturity)

winter squash

 

July 1st - 15th

Start seedlings for:

fall tomatoes (assuming 75-100 day maturity)

 

August 1st

Plant seeds in garden for final corn planting (assuming 100 day maturity) 

Start seeds for:

parsnips

 

August 14th (14 weeks before first frost)

Start seeds for:

broccoli

cabbage

lettuce

chard

brussels sprouts

cauliflower

You are probably better off starting the forgoing indoors and then transplanting them later, but you must slowly harden them before transplanting.  Nevertheless, I am a lazy gardener and prefer to just take my chances by direct sowing them into the garden with regular waterings for germination.

fennel

parsley

cilantro

 

August 28st (11 weeks before first frost)

Start seed for:

peas

carrots

spinach

kale

kohlrabi

fava beans (for fall harvest)

 

September 18th (8 weeks before first frost)

Start seeds:

radishes

 

September 25th (7 weeks before first frost) 

Start seeds:

beets

 

October 1st-October 15th

Plant strawberry crowns for Spring

Plant potted fruit bushes

 

October 15th

Plant:

garlic cloves (for spring harvest)

shallots (for spring harvest) 

onions (for spring harvest)

fava beans (grown as a cover crop)

 

Late December after numerous frosts

Harvest horseradish after numerous frosts.  Divide the roots using the largest to make horseradish sauce.  Transplant smaller roots for next year.

 

The items in red are not listed in John Jeavons' How to Grow More Vegetables.

Some of these vegetables like beets and radishes can be succession planted.

Remember, when you are starting seeds directly in the garden. you need to supply steady, daily moisture to these seeds for them to germinate and thrive.  Also remember to consider the soil depth for the particular variety of vegetable when planting and mulching.

Putting Away the Hoop Houses

On March 20th, the last average freeze date in my part of Dallas, I decided it was time to put away our winter hoop houses.  Given how this spring has played out after the freezing weather in January, I was pretty confident that we would be avoiding any late spring frosts.

So far, so good.

I was pleased by how tightly all of the material could be packaged up.  We had 11 hoop houses, and I was able to group all of the material into 2 groups of pvc and one bundle of frost cloth for use next year.

 

Here is what the hoop houses had looked like when they were in service:

 

 

 

First Asparagus Spear of the Season

I was pleasantly surprised to find this pink asparagus spear poking out of the ground this morning.  It was fatter than my thumb and tasted like sugar coated asparagus.  If you have never had fresh asparagus, it is a real treat.  It tastes nothing like what you get at a restaurant or the grocery store.  It is super-sweet, and I often eat them raw because they are so sweet.

This spear arrived two weeks earlier in the year compared to last year.

Spring Garden Photo Tours

To get ready for Spring, here are a few links to some online photo tours of some pretty gardens that I recently came across.  These photo tours were clearly taken last year before winter!

The first tour is from today's Dallas Morning News - Tour Link.  The entire article can be read here if you sign up for the DMN site.

The second group of tours came from the Martha Stewart site - Second Tour Link.  There are 11 tours in all.

Finally, check out Martha Stewart's personal vegetable garden here.  Don't feel too bad if your own garden does not look quite as good.  She has her own personal vegetable gardener.

Planting Times for Spring Seedlings in Dallas

The following is a seed starting schedule for the Dallas area from John Jeavons' outstanding book How to Grow More Vegetables.

This schedule assumes an average last frost date of March 21st.  Note that this is an average date, and different sources claim an average frost date of anywhere from March 10th through April 8th for the Dallas / Forth Worth area.

Here is a link to a useful Interactive Map showing first and last frost dates.

If you are outside of Dallas, adjust the dates accordingly.

February 7th (6 weeks before last spring frost)

Start seedlings for:

broccoli

brussel sprouts

cabbage

cauliflower

celery

lettuce

parsley

tomatoes

February 14th (5 weeks before last spring frost)

Start seedlings:

carrots

beets

spinach

February 28th (3 weeks before last spring frost)

Start seedlings:

bush peas

March 7th (2 weeks before last spring frost)

Sprout: sweet potatoes

Start seedlings:

chard

dill

eggplant

green peppers

spinach

Transplant/plant outside:

beets

broccoli

brussel sprouts

bush peas

cabbage

carrots

cauliflower

lettuce

onion sets

radishes

March 21st (last spring frost)

Start seedlings:

cantaloupe & melon

cucumbers

pumpkin

basil

zucchini

Transplant/plant: potatoes

April 4th (2 weeks after last spring frost)

Start seedlings:

bush green beans

bush lima beans

Transplant/plant:

chard

spinach

green beans - vining

April 11th (3 weeks after last spring frost) 

Transplant/plant:

early corn

tomatoes

April 18th (4 weeks after last spring frost)

Transplant:

basil

bush green beans

bush lima beans

cucumbers

dill

pumpkin

zucchini

May 2nd (6 weeks after last spring frost)

Transplant:

cantaloupe & melon

celery

May 9th (7 weeks after last spring frost)

Transplant:

eggplant

green peppers

parsley

I personally like to plant some of these directly in the ground and save myself the trouble of starting seeds under grow lights in my garage.  The items listed in blue above are the vegetables/fruits that I sow directly in the ground (bush green beans, bush lima beans, cucumbers, cantaloupe, corn).  With my space limitations, I usually cannot get my warm weather vegetables in the ground right after the last frost date because I am still waiting on some of my spring vegetables.  If you want to get an early jump on your warm weather vegetables, by all means get them started as seeds using this schedule.

For the items in red, I have planted these in the late fall and let them grow through the winter under hoop houses.

For some of these vegetables, I will plant succession sowings every 2 to 4 weeks (radishes, corn, climbing green beans, melon, water melon)