Love those Texas Gardens

[Mudpuppie]

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!

Duh. Just carefully read your post. My first answer was definitely not correct.

I agree about the borers. I think the only thing you can really do is watch the stems. Check them every day to look for entry points, then dig the suckers out. BT isn't all that helpful. Pyrethrums sprayed on the stem might work if you start really early in the plant's life.

Edited again -- saw memesuze's post. Injecting is a good way to go. The reason BT doesn't work so well on the borers is because they're inside the stem and don't come in contact with it. An injection, though, now that's sneaky!

Edited February 10, 2004 by Mudpuppie (log)

[sparrowgrass]

I ain't in Texas--2 states up, in Missouri--but I do appreciate the squash borer suggestion. Haven't had a problem with them in this new garden, but only because they haven't found the plants yet.

I bought some broccoli seed the other day--that is all the gardening I can do right now, in the sun room.

[lovebenton0]

Too many to quote you all. Thanks much for the borer advice. Going to look into that bt injection. Be thinking of you all when I enjoy my beautiful squash this year!

Broccoli, sparrowgrass? Another favorite I haven't tried in my garden yet. That may have to go on my list for this year's new attempts. Glad to have you with us anytime. Spent lots of time in Missouri on my Archaeological research.

And if you're looking in on this, snowangel, serves me right to brag on our sunshine. We've had gray wool here for days. But it did start raining, finally, yesterday, and hasn't let up yet. We needed something to break the drought!

[jschyun]

Anyone growing melons this year?

[lovebenton0]

Anyone growing melons this year?

Melons here! We always give something a shot. I love to eat 'em, and mr loves to drink his melon requirement.

Mr always goes for a small icebox variety watermelon in "his" end of the garden. I like the cantaloupes up on my end, but am thinking about trying a hard rind this year, like honeydews.

Or??? Any suggestions?

What are you growing jschyun? Anyone else?

[lovebenton0]

Good morning! It was such a beautiful morning here outside Austin that I thought I'd share this with you all. Where else in Texas would you see this hit the majority news rag?

For your amazement/amusement check out these garden tips for Fairies in Texas gardens from the Austin American Statesman.

And I thought I was just attracting butterflies and hummingbirds.

[QuinaQuen]

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.

Breeds? Honey, the climate in Austin is very different from the climate we get here.

Nevertheless, haricots are uniquely suited to out wacky GulfCoast climate. But wouldn't you rather buy the 2footers for a song from Kim Hung while growing nice litltle cowpeas in your yard?

[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.

Breeds? Honey, the climate in Austin is very different from the climate we get here.

Nevertheless, haricots are uniquely suited to out wacky GulfCoast climate. But wouldn't you rather buy the 2footers for a song from Kim Hung while growing nice litltle cowpeas in your yard?

I can't find it now, someone mentioned Breeds for them. I have a weird always humid little section behind our storage building where the moonflowers and passion flowers grow like it was Houston. Thought I would try them in there, for an experiment. I'm stuck here all the time and piddling is what I'm able to do best.

I love those cowpeas! Farmers called them cream peas around there, but they were the same thing. Used to have about a 30 ft square plot of them in the wilder section on my land outside Bastrop/Elgin. But we lived in a geolocical river bed area there, within a few hundred yards of the existing Sandy Creek flow; all sand! The garden was way out, in the old hog pen area, and I fed it with horse manure tea. Thirsty coyotes and loose cattle were my biggest/baddest pests out there! The cowpeas grew on the edge of that. I'm in heavy clay, lots o' rock here; about a mile and a half down our road is Lake Austin. Without any help the Lantana grows to giant proportions in my yard. But they just don't make good eating. The giant rosemary bushes make up for that.

[jschyun]

What are you growing jschyun? Anyone else?

Mmm, icebox watermelons.

I got some seed in trade last year and was meaning to try growing them in a month or two. I got a charentais melons called "petit gris de rennes" and a watermelon called "blacktail mountain". I wonder how they'll do.

Last year, the rats ate up all my melons. I had trained some up a trellis but the ones that were on the ground grew the best. I got to eat one of my melons (cantaloupe) and it was very sweet, just wonderful. I only got 2 melons on that plant, and I left the other one to ripen a little further, but the rats got to it first.

I garden in a coop garden that is surrounded by an open field filled with gophers and rats. Ah! Sometimes a coyote will come by and I pray that he eats up a lot of gophers along the way, but housing here is crowding them out. 20 years ago, this city used to have some open land and you could ride your bike down to the farmer's shack to get groceries. Now, there's no such thing.

[Mudpuppie]

Good morning! It was such a beautiful morning here outside Austin that I thought I'd share this with you all. Where else in Texas would you see this hit the majority news rag?

For your amazement/amusement check out these garden tips for Fairies in Texas gardens from the Austin American Statesman.

And I thought I was just attracting butterflies and hummingbirds.

Bah. When did the Statesman start requiring registration? It must be very, very recent.

[robyn]

Just an update. I put my peas in the ground a couple of weeks ago (couldn't do it in March - we're at 80+ here in north Florida in May). They've sprouted. But it's cold. Hope this wasn't a fool's errand (peas aren't really a Florida crop - but I couldn't resist). On the other hand - it just took me 10 minutes to plant the seeds after I cleaned out the bed - which I had to do anyway so the early spring flowers - like Louisiana Iris - would show nicely.

For those of you not familiar with Louisiana Iris - it's something I discovered at a Farmer's Market in Tallahassee (have never seen it in a nursey here). Not a true (bearded) iris. But it looks like one. And it seems to grow great here. Doesn't need a ton of chill hours - and it can take the summer heat - and rains. Suspect the only thing it wouldn't take is baked soil - since it's native to the swamps in Louisiana. I just have it in a bed which is watered regularly - and it does fine. There are internet sites where it's available. If you plant it - give it some room - because it spreads if it's happy.

I got the haricot verts seeds from Swallowtail Gardens. Nice web site - good service. Thank you for the recommendation. I'll wait until March to plant those.

Some of you who are interested in gardening are probably also interested in other aspects of nature. I recommend a web site - Journey North - a global study of wildlife migration. It's funded by the Annenberg Foundation. Although it's designed to be an educational resource for children - adults can have fun with it too. For example - I report my sightings of monarch butterflies and migratory robins. Don't have much occasion to report the comings and goings of caribou - unless I've had too much to drink . There's something for everyone - no matter where you live. Don't be afraid to join in if you're an adult - and if you have children - so much the better. And spring is the best time to report what's going on. Take a look. Think you'll like it. Robyn

[jschyun]

By the way, thanks to you Texas gardeners that let us 'foreigners' to invade your thread.

I love gardening! Finally a thread is starting on the CA forum, but I expect it to die a fast death. It's too damn early.

[lovebenton0]

By the way, thanks to you Texas gardeners that let us 'foreigners' to invade your thread.

I love gardening! Finally a thread is starting on the CA forum, but I expect it to die a fast death. It's too damn early.

Thanks for the fun link in your previous post, jschyun. I'm sending it to my godson; they do home schooling and I try to supply him with all kinds of maps and other fun/educational science and nature links and books. I think he'll like this one, too.

And don't give up on your CA garden thread; post every once in a while to bring it up current. More gardeners will jump on it before too long.

I'm dying to get out there to plant, but I need to do some starters in here first, give the plants a chance to escape our last frosty nights for another month or so.

We have to watch the melon carefully out here or it will just run and not produce. We never get that many, but they are oh so sweet.

Bah. When did the Statesman start requiring registration? It must be very, very recent.

Oh, didn't realize that myself! I probably registered way back when I was doing City work and just didn't remember. Sorry.

[Mabelline]

I've two things to tell youall about that are fabulous!

www.burpee.com/features/bigmamas.htl has those enormous roma that the old fellers call "sheep's cods"! Those grew so spectacularly that I despaired of ever finding them. They are a new introduction to Burpees, I believe.

Now, one of the greatest plant catalogues I've ever gotten is from www.mountainvalleygrowers.com. This catalogue rocks. They are in Squaw Valley, CA, and they have plants we talk all the time about on in the Med. cooking threads, for instance.

Angelica,Vanilla grass (which dogs love like cats to catnip)Greek Bay,22 different lavenders,Syrian and Greek Oreganos,Patchouli,Fo Ti, Vietnamese Cilantro,Clary Sage,betony,Moroccan mint,Egyptian mint....

I'm am now in severe soil withdrawal till we are situated. You lucky, lucky Garden Gulleters! They even had cardomom plants! Happy gardens, my friends!!

[fifi]

That Mountain Valley Growers site is awesome.

Vanilla grass (which dogs love like cats to catnip)

I just got this instant vision of a pair of bassets passed out on their backs, ears askew, tongues lolling.

[Mabelline]

Lucybelle was always such a good sport. Whenever kids were around, I'd ask them did they think Lucybelle could do impressions? When they said "No,", I'd have her lay on her back, stretch her ears straight above her head, and pull her her lips back from her teeth, then say "There, Lucy thinks she's the Easter Bunny!" Kids loved it...

[lovebenton0]

Loved the Lucybelle story. I had a great dane/mastiff that did a perfect impersonation of a horse.

I grew nasturtiums for both viewing and eating pleasure for years; not since we've been out here, though. What kind of edible flowers do you all have the best luck with? I'm ready to try something new, beyond yummy squash blossom soup, and just not sure what I want to grow. Any ideas?

[fifi]

My sister and I were just discussing yesterday how we miss the "heirloom" violets that my mother grew in great abundance for years. We would sprinkle the flowers on salads. They were really beautiful with nastursiums. The tender leaves were used in salads. They are sort of like spinach. We even made violet jelly once. My mother's violets looked like the dark purple kind you find in the east Texas woods but supposedly they were originally from our great grandmother and may have traveled here from the east in a covered wagon along with cuttings for the fig tree. We think there may be some violets surviving at the old homestead in Garden Oaks and we plan to go knock on the door and go into our begging routine with the current owner. Mother kept some escaped rabbits at the current homeplace and they ate them all and killed them off there.

You might be able to grow violets in central Texas if you find a cool and shady place for them. I highly recommend having them around.

Does anyone know if you can eat sweet pea flowers?

[Mabelline]

Do not know about the flowers, but the peas are a no-go.Ask extension agent.

Pansies. Chrysanthemum. Marigold. And I saw on tv a place in New Mexico where a woman put lilies in bottles of vinegar, although the bulbs is nix.

[fifi]

I forgot about daylilies. We used to eat daylilies. We would put the buds in stir fry. Then, when I was on my tempura kick, I would dunk some small ones into the batter and drop them just-so into the fry pot. If you got it right, they would come out like fully opened flowers. It blew the guests away.

On another subject... I was out shopping a little bit ago and got stopped next to a subdivision entrance with a beautiful planting. There were closely spaced purple flowering kale and alyssum border. But nodding above it all were ranunculus. I had not thought of those in years. I used to love those for cut flowers. It seems like I planted them along with anemones. Does anyone grow these? Do you plant them in the late fall or winter for blooming now?

[lovebenton0]

I forgot about daylilies. We used to eat daylilies. We would put the buds in stir fry. Then, when I was on my tempura kick, I would dunk some small ones into the batter and drop them just-so into the fry pot. If you got it right, they would come out like fully opened flowers. It blew the guests away.

On another subject... I was out shopping a little bit ago and got stopped next to a subdivision entrance with a beautiful planting. There were closely spaced purple flowering kale and alyssum border. But nodding above it all were ranunculus. I had not thought of those in years. I used to love those for cut flowers. It seems like I planted them along with anemones. Does anyone grow these? Do you plant them in the late fall or winter for blooming now?

Thanks fifi. Lovely ideas for daylilies. I have never eaten them before. The tempura sounds especially impressive for guests. And the violets, too. What stories you must have about your great-grandmother coming across country in a covered wagon with her precious plants.

I used to grow ranunculus in Houston, have never started them in Central TX, but they are still appropriate here, just take more watering. If you planted the corms after your last freeze, you should get blooms from about May through the summer. If you plant more in the fall (alpine variety if I am remembering correctly? lots of varieties out there) you will get those early blooms you saw at the site you mentioned, if you can protect them through our unstable winter-to-spring-to-winter weather. I saw a similar planting out in north Austin, off Loop 1 at a Residential entry last spring. It was bold and colorful, but no ranunculus at that one. Typical TX, there was a quite large century plant in the background. Ranunculus are self-pollinators and I remember seeing a lovely picture of a field of the wildest color and shape varieties together in one of my old books.

Glad you mentioned them, they are easy to find at nurseries and I may have to try some again. I can't let the lantanas take over every sun spot out here that the honeysuckle and roses haven't claimed. We have a somewhat wild yet tamed yard.

Edited February 25, 2004 by lovebenton0 (log)

[jschyun]

I've noticed here in CA that if you wait until the end of the season (I think around May, but if I have time I'll check my receipts) you can get ranunculus and other bulbs dirt cheap. I get them for $1 a bag.

I forget if ranunculus has bulbs, but this is a nice deal for those of us who want lots of bulbs for little money. Just check over the bags to make sure you're not getting rotten or dried up ones.

Hope you can get these deals in TX. I recall seeing it most at the large chain garden centers like Lowe's.

What really angers me is that they throw out the leftover veggie seeds at the end of the season and don't care if some group would like to take them.

[lovebenton0]

Hi jschyun. You're right, Lowe's does run a good "bag o' goodies" deal late in the spring, early summer. Ranunculus actually do not have bulbs, but you usually find them in that section; they grow from little fat tubers that look similar to bulbs. Lots of times late in the winter here we can find a "buy 8 get 8 free" kind of deal from the Lowe's and other big market guys.

And I'm with you on the seeds. It is a shame to dispose of them, especially food seeds that could benefit people in need. We plant from the prior year's seeds many times, especially if it was something we had a hard time finding to begin with.

[lovebenton0]

Is this spring? Are you digging into your lush earth right now? Planting little vulnerable seeds?

Or are you holding off for that sneaky late freeze?

[jschyun]

After passing a certification test, I treated myself to a SunCherry Extra Sweet cherry tomato plant and put it in my garden along with a big stake and lots of compost.

2 days later, leaves are all stripped. Damn rodents! AAAGGGHH! Grrr!

luckily, I have 7 more tomato plants. This time I'm going to cover them with a tent of row cover.

I have dreams of cherry tomatoes in every color. Red, orange, white, black cherries. My dream is starting to piss me off.

Nothing touches the turnips though. I have 2 heirloom varieties growing: Golden Ball and White Egg. Not one leaf has been nibbled, while whole tracts of beets, carrots and lettuce were mobbed before I had the sense to swath everything row cover.

I also have some squash started in the garden which is also doing well under row cover. Starting cukes and some melons now.