Love those Texas Gardens

[lovebenton0]

Hey, not a foreigner, just an ex-pat! Big difference. My native Texan credentials stand!

Though the spider mite shortage is definitely a plus, I must bemoan the okra shortage.

(I'm in the NoCal Central Valley, by the way. I have no idea why people move to SoCal.  )

Just razzin' you, Mudpuppie. Your TX gardening creds are in no danger.

I stand corrected on your location. Don't know why I thought that. I was thinking that So Cal seemed a bit too cool to fit any TX gardens area I know about.

What about these pea shoots you mentioned? Not familiar with that. I'm always wanting some peas, and beans, in my garden and am never satisfied with result. Last year my neighbors brought me some well started Anasazi beans, we were all so excited. The plants did great, the beans did poo!

No okra? you are deprived. I would think that the Louisiana Velvet might do well in your area, as it is very tolerant of both neglect and actual watering.

[Mayhaw Man]

No okra? you are deprived. I would think that the Louisiana Velvet might do well in your area, as it is very tolerant of both neglect and actual watering.

[hillvalley]

Anyone ever tried pea shoots? I got some seeds this year from the Kitazawa folks. First time out. Still too wet to plant them right now, but soon....

One of my favorite veggies!! I love watching people try them for the first time when they realize it tastes just like peas. If I had a garden I would give this a try. I wonder how hard they are to grow?

[Mudpuppie]

Aren't pea shoots great? I swooned when I first tasted them. Not that peas themselves aren't great, but it's pretty cool to experience a so-familiar flavor in a completely unexpected texture. It would be like biting into a cucumber that tasted like a banana or something.

Anyhow, I'm a little curious about how easy they'll be to grow. I was just going to grow regular sugar snaps and snip their little arms off, but then I came across the seeds for the shoots. Am assuming that it's a variety that has tender leaves and not-so-high pod yields. The biggest problem I've ever had with peas, though, has been mildew (in other words, stuff that affects the leaves), so harvesting the leaves will be interesting.

I've seen the Kitazawa seeds in TX, I think. I think Breed & Co in Austin has them, and other upscale garden stores probably do too. (If you're unfamiliar, they specialize in asian veggies.) The package says

SNOW PEA SHOOTS

tobyo, dau miu

USUI

Their website is here. Sort of bare bones. Can't really tell if they do mail order or not.

Anywho, as for okra, I have some seeds from my dad's garden. They've never done very well here, though. We certainly have the heat. I think it's probably, uh, overwatering that kills them. I have them on drip irrigation, which they probably don't like.

God, I miss okra.

[robyn]

No spider mites? No wonder people move to So Cal.

I've never seen a spider mite in my Florida yard. I think the other bugs scare them away .

By the way - has anyone ever tried to grow haricot verts (I like to cook them - but they're not sold where I live)? Robyn

Edited February 1, 2004 by robyn (log)

[fifi]

I second the request for haricot verts. I have never tried to grow them and I never can find them. I don't even know anyone that grows them, come to think of it. Why is that?

[Mayhaw Man]

Verts, schmerts.

They're just a variety of bush beans. You could probably grow them in Houston year round. I found a couple of sources and they all pretty much referenced the same type of bean. They are here.

Now, for those of you that want to do something productive in your garden that can and will provide months of dining pleasure for your family-I highly reccomend this delicious addition to your garden.

[Mudpuppie]

Most of the seed catalogs have some variety of haricot verts. One of the major catalogs -- I'm sorry, but I'm blanking right now; might be Park's -- has one of its test gardens in Texas. Pick a catalog that's close to home and you can be reasonably certain that their products will work where you are.

[jess mebane]

Verts, schmerts.

They're just a variety of bush beans. You could probably grow them in Houston year round.

Amen, brother. But bush beans are best begat between breezy and blustery, before beastly and boiling.

Typically, mid-October.

[lovebenton0]

Anyone ever tried pea shoots? I got some seeds this year from the Kitazawa folks. First time out. Still too wet to plant them right now, but soon....

One of my favorite veggies!! I love watching people try them for the first time when they realize it tastes just like peas. If I had a garden I would give this a try. I wonder how hard they are to grow?

Well now I have to try them.

I'll be off to Breeds soon as I can. Sounds perfect for me since I do really well growing the plant but not the peas.

[jschyun]

Haricot verts are basically small skinny beans. The name translates to "green beans". I pick around 1/4" wide. I love them. I recently grew "Straight N Narrow" and it lives up to its name. I got my seeds at Pinetree.

[robyn]

Verts, schmerts.

They're just a variety of bush beans. You could probably grow them in Houston year round. I found a couple of sources and they all pretty much referenced the same type of bean. They are here.

Thanks. They look good. Ordered some today. Robyn

[snowangel]

Is this just a tease for those of up in the Northern area of the Heartland? Sub-zero, feet of snow covering our gardens...

I go to bed everynight with a seed catalogue or gardening magazine...

[fifi]

No this isn't a tease. It is more like...

NYAH NYAH NYAH NYAH-NYAH!

BWAHAHAHAHAHA!

[robyn]

Is this just a tease for those of up in the Northern area of the Heartland? Sub-zero, feet of snow covering our gardens...

I go to bed everynight with a seed catalogue or gardening magazine...

Are you really in Minneapolis? My heart goes out to you (I have a good friend in Minneapolis - and this time of year the only thing that he dreams about is Hawaii). Robyn

[hillvalley]

No this isn't a tease. It is more like...

NYAH NYAH NYAH NYAH-NYAH!

BWAHAHAHAHAHA!

I heard a rumor that the sun even shines there

[snowangel]

No this isn't a tease. It is more like...

NYAH NYAH NYAH NYAH-NYAH!

   

BWAHAHAHAHAHA!

I heard a rumor that the sun even shines there

But, we have an Ice Palace.

So there!

[lovebenton0]

But, we have an Ice Palace.

So there!

OK. You're right! Ours would have to be a plastic palace. Or maybe that nearby barn, with Xmas lights still flashing.

Bet you don't have 55 degrees out with sunshine today, though. That's why we don't build igloos sorry, Ice Palaces.

Just curious here, as always. Do any of you have scarecrows in your garden? Our neighbors do, and I love seeing them go out to change its clothes so the birds think its someone new out there.

Speaking of pests. . .what is your worst fiend?

[Mudpuppie]

My own chickens are my worst enemies. Today is the first nice full day we've had since, I dunno, thanksgiving. I, of course, wanted to dig. So did they. For some reason we had to compete for the same patch of ground.

Anyway, after I put up the anti-chicken fence, I got some beets and peas planted. Will plant the pea shoots tomorrow if my back isn't out. (The first gardening day of spring is always hell on the back....)

As for pests that I don't feed intentionally, I've found a new nemesis out here in CA -- slugs. Never had a slug problem in TX. (Also have lots of earwigs and occasional aphid infestations.) The slugs are a real pain, but I wouldn't trade them for spider mites, harlequin bugs, fire ants, various loopers and other caterpillars, flea beetles, etc., etc., etc.

[fifi]

We have plenty of slugs on the coast. The SE part of Texas is pretty wet. But I was going to nominate spider mites. They appear out of no where and can kill pretty quickly or will debilitate the plants to the point that you don't get anything. Hard as hell to kill, too. I will even take fire ants over spider mites.

[lovebenton0]

If we're trying to grow a couple rows of sweet corn, then I'd have to say ants, ants, and more ants; pissants, fireants, damants. They don't bother us much as garden pests if we don't grow the corn. So, we've just given that space over to more Tomatoes. (Of course, the fire ants are everywhere else in the yard, and invading the house right now from under the concrete slab. )

I'd have to agree about the spider mites. They just move in as though we invited them! The okra is tough enough to withstand an attack and I can usually just lop off a branch here and there, and keep them under control. But I watch the tomatoes fearfully. . .

The pill bugs are insidious here. They get around the base of the plant and start eating into the stem and roots. Before I realize it my beautiful plants have collapsed to the ground, and no more veggies there! Really have to watch the peppers, and for some reason they have destroyed two palm trees in the yard.

And we have something, I have never seen them, don't know what they are. I call them the squash vampires, because one day my squash plants are big , blooming, pumping out nice firm little babies, and the next the plants have rotted at the base, and the squash is shriveled. I'm lucky to get a couple nice squash before they get vamped. Anybody have a clue here? The garden guys I talked to around here, said if I could just tell them what my vampires look like they could give me some pinpoint help. . . we just don't poison the garden. I miss that nice squash crop!

Used to have big ugly grubs, in the top end of the garden; that was a hand extermination project about four years ago. Thought maybe it was the grubs getting to the squash. I think I terrorized them. They haven't returned.

[memesuze]

One of the worst pests hereabouts is the squash vine borer - all of the sudden the stems collapse and your crop is history.

ugly little m******

to be controlled by cutting open the stems and hunting for the m******

the hunt is on

I've successfully treated the vines before by injecting bt [bacillus thurengensis] into the stems. [i never did the cut open and hand-remove technique] Use a syringe about an inch and a half above the soil line, just after first flowering. One of my source books says to inject at 4-inch intervals if the caterpillars are already inside the vines. You could also try pyrethrum powder at the base of the vines. Be sure to rotate your squash planting site from year to year.

[lovebenton0]

One of the worst pests hereabouts is the squash vine borer - all of the sudden the stems collapse and your crop is history.

ugly little m******

to be controlled by cutting open the stems and hunting for the m******

the hunt is on

I've successfully treated the vines before by injecting bt [bacillus thurengensis] into the stems. [i never did the cut open and hand-remove technique] Use a syringe about an inch and a half above the soil line, just after first flowering. One of my source books says to inject at 4-inch intervals if the caterpillars are already inside the vines. You could also try pyrethrum powder at the base of the vines. Be sure to rotate your squash planting site from year to year.

Thanks, memesuze. Got to be it! That's just what my poor vamped squash plants look like. Just never sited any of the larvae. No wonder I couldn't see the little suckers. I just knew they had to be somewhere. Looking forward to some mighty fine squash this year, lots of 'em.

We have our very own nasty here, Southwestern Squash Vine Borer, as well as the usual garden variety.

To check this out, and other pesty info go here.

[fifi]

My sister may remember an "organic" solution to the squash vine borer problem. I will ask.

[memesuze]

the bt injection is what John Dromgoole of The Natural Gardener here in Austin recommends....