Garden Line – December 2010
Brent Moon, Urban Garden Manager

Well, folks, it’s only a few weeks until winter! Where, oh where, has another year gone? I hope that you all had a nice Thanksgiving and were able to enjoy some time with your families, as well as enjoying some fresh veggies from your garden.

We normally see our first frost of the season sometime this month. Luckily for us, that doesn’t mean that gardening has to come to an end. As long as the frosts are light (and they almost always are here in Houston), plants such as lettuce, cabbage, radishes, carrots, Swiss chards, and most of the other cool season plants will shrug off the frost and keep on growing. That’s our good fortune, as there are so many great-tasting, nutritious plants we can grow in our gardens this time of year. Also, broccoli, cauliflower, beets, kohlrabi, bok choy, spinach, mustard greens, collard greens, turnips and several other cool season veggies can be started now. Some of the best salads you’ll ever have can come right out of your very own garden!

If your space is limited (such as an apartment or a small lot), don’t feel you have to miss out on the bounty. Many vegetable crops can be grown quite easily in containers, though maybe on a limited scale. Anything you can grow in the ground or in a raised bed you can grow in a pot; you just have to pay more attention to water and fertilizer requirements. Start with a good quality potting soil and maybe mix in some compost. Make sure you don’t use topsoil, as it will pack down and drain poorly, dooming your plants to a slow death in their pots. Plan to fertilize every two to three weeks for potted vegetables to keep them growing well, as all that watering leaches the nutrients out of the soil very quickly.

Now, about frost! No one likes it, but you need to be prepared. Make sure you have some old sheets, blankets, or some frost cloth handy to cover your tender plants on those cold nights. It’s only a matter of time, you know. A few years back I purchased a product called the “Planket”, available at Home Depot. They are a bit pricey but have a sewn-in drawstring which makes them easy to install over shrubs or big flower-filled pots. They come in several different sizes and are made of a breathable fabric. I have five or six of them and they come in handy each winter.

I hope that you all have a very happy holiday season. Try to find a little time to spend in the garden this month. Get out there and plant some cool season veggies or add some winter color to your landscape in the form of snapdragons, pansies, violas, kale, and alyssum! Stay warm, and happy gardening!

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Garden Line – November 2010
Brent Moon, Urban Garden Manager

Well, November certainly started out on a warm and humid note. As I write this it is very cloudy with a promise of much needed rain and another cool down on the way. The past several weeks have been unusually dry, so I hope you have been keeping all of your plants well-watered. Long-established plants should be fine but anything planted in the past year or two will benefit from a good, deep soaking until regular rainfall returns to our area.

November is a good time to get your winter garden going, if you haven’t done so already. I started mine last month and things are off to a good start. So far I have cabbage, radishes, carrots, three types of lettuce, and Swiss Chards growing. My space is a bit limited this fall, however, since I still have peppers, tomatoes, and lima beans going; the latter two were planted in late August. I’m really hoping for a nice fall crop of tomatoes and lima beans!

Other veggies you can plant or sow seeds for now include beets, bok choy, kohlrabi, mesclun, collards, turnips, mustard, broccoli, cauliflower, spinach, and Brussels sprouts. The fall and winter season really is a season of plenty when it comes to vegetable gardening here in Houston.

Now is a good time to put a light application of fertilizer on your lawn. Grasses are starting to slow down considerably, but will still benefit from an application of fertilizer. The grass will store the nutrients until spring. Feed your lawns now to get them off to a good start next spring. Having a healthy, vigorous lawn is the best way to combat weeds, if you do not like to use pre-emergent herbicides.

Fall is also a great time to plant new or move existing trees and shrubs. As I mentioned last month, the cooler months of fall and winter are ideal for allowing trees and shrubs time to get reestablished in their new locations before the brutal conditions of summer roll around again.

Don’t forget to get your vegetable garden going now and you’ll have plenty to be thankful for this Thanksgiving and all winter long!

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Garden Line – October 2010
Brent Moon, Urban Garden Manager

October is considered by many to be the real start of fall, even though it officially started last month on the 23rd. Regardless, here in Houston we don’t generally get a real cool down until October. This is a great time to be out in your garden, as temperatures are more pleasant and the bugs are present in lesser numbers. Here are some things to keep in mind as we head into fall:

If you haven’t yet started your vegetable garden, you still have time to get things started in order to have a great harvest this winter. I typically start my winter garden this month and plant a variety of veggies, such as lettuce, cabbage, carrots, radish, mustard greens, Swiss chards and kohlrabi. Other plants that do well this time of year include beets, broccoli, cauliflower, collard greens, kale, onions, turnips, globe artichoke, Brussels sprouts, and leeks. Don’t forget that many herbs do well in the cooler months, including cilantro, oregano, dill, fennel, garlic chives, and parsley. Plant some of these and you’ll be amazed at how productive gardens can be in Houston this time of year. My garden is a mere 9’x13’, and last year I gave away lettuce and mustard greens by the bagsful!

On the ornamental side of things, October is a great time for planting shrubs and trees. Planting them now will give them plenty of time to get their roots established and be in much better shape to handle the stresses of summer next year.

This is also the time to divide daylilies. Don’t worry about being too gentle with them; simply slice them in half or in thirds with a spade, depending upon how large the original clump is, and replant as soon as possible. By spring, they’ll be blooming like nothing ever happened to them. This is a good opportunity to increase the number of plants you have or trade with friends.

As we get closer to winter, you may need to start thinking about bringing in house plants that you put outside in the spring. Many house plants enjoy being outdoors in the shade during summer because it replicates the growing conditions of their native environment, which is usually shady and humid. Now is a good time to evaluate these plants, as many of them have shown their appreciation at being outside all summer by growing prolifically. I have often brought a plant back inside, only to realize that it is now waaaay bigger than when I originally put it outside and it is much too large for the spot I’d planned to overwinter it. It’s amazing how they don’t look so large out on my patio, but inside next to our couch or aquariums, they just seem huge.

Begin by cutting them back by no more than 1/3. You can either remove top growth, thin them out, or both. It is also important this time of year to evaluate for pests prior to bringing your plants inside. Houseplants are notorious for harboring hitchhikers that you’ll have to deal with all winter if you don’t take care of them now. I usually start by blasting them really well with a stream of water to dislodge any pests (especially spider mites). I then follow up with an application or two of insecticidal soap or orange oil to take care of any remaining pests. You may want to do this a couple of days prior to moving your plants inside, in case they need more than one treatment. Be sure to do a good job, as pest populations can really explode once in the warm environment of your home. Your plants won’t be happy about that and neither will your spouse!

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Garden Line – September 2010
Brent Moon, Urban Garden Manager

Ahh, September, cooler temperatures, fall color … oh, wait, that’s right, we’re in Houston. I thought I was back in my home state of Kentucky, where mid-late September usually brings a respite from the brutal temperatures and humidity. Not to fear, it won’t be much longer before fall is here. In the meantime, here are some tips for your garden as summer winds down.

Many perennials can be divided this time of year, including iris, daylilies, cannas, hostas, etc. Dividing them now gives them plenty of time to get re-established before winter sets in. They will spend fall and winter regrowing roots, which will get them off to a good start next spring.

Mid-September is the time to get your wildflower seeds sown for a beautiful spring show. Wildflowers that do well in the Houston area include blue bonnet, Indian paint brush, Gaillardia, wine cup, phlox, poppies, and coreopsis, just to name a few. A great source for wildflower seeds is Wildseed Farms in Fredericksburg, TX. You can order from them online at www.wildseedfarms.com. There will be several opportunities to volunteer with HPARD staff and help sow wildflower seeds this month. If you are interested, go to www.houstonparks.org and look for the wildflower link.

Keep an eye out for Brown Patch in St. Augustine lawns this month, too. Treat with an approved fungicide, if necessary. As with most things, prevention in the first place is the best practice and the easiest way is to avoid watering late in the day, which allows the grass to remain wet all night and creates a friendly environment for the spores that cause Brown Patch. The better practice is to water early in the morning. That way the sun’s rays will dry the grass before the fungus can get going.

Most pruning should be wrapped up this month, as well. Heavy pruning of trees or shrubs much later will only encourage soft, new growth that can easily be damaged by any cold weather we get this winter.

Switching over to the vegetable garden, mid-late September is the ideal time to get your transplants going for a winter garden. As much as I love my tomatoes, egg plants, and peppers, I really enjoy the winter garden more. The temperatures are much easier to deal with and I love a good salad that I picked just moments before from my garden.

If you haven’t done so already, add 3-4 inches of good, aged compost to your garden and lightly till it in. If you don’t have a tiller, you can easily work it in with a shovel, rake, or 4-tined pitch fork. Adding a bit of organic fertilizer of your choice is a good idea too.

Plants to consider for this time of year include a variety of lettuces, Swiss chards, spinach, broccoli, cabbage, kale, cauliflower, radish, carrots, bok choy, kohlrabi, turnips, collard greens, mustard greens, and many others. You can pick up many of these in affordable seed packets at you local garden store or nursery. If mail order is your thing and you want more choices than you can shake a stick at, go to www.Johnnyseeds.com. They are very reliable and have an outstanding variety of seeds and garden-related products to choose from.

Until next time, happy gardening!

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Garden Line – August 2010
Brent Moon, Urban Garden Manager

Everything that applied to gardening in July applies to August, as well. Work early and late in the garden when possible, keep your plants mulched and well-watered, and watch out for pests. Some might consider August a good month to stay inside and monitor your garden from the windows of your nice, cool house. While that might work for awhile, the elements and the bugs will eventually get the best of your garden, so slather on your sunscreen, grab your water bottle and mosquito spray, and head out there!

Fall veggie crops to start now include green beans, snap beans, lima beans (aka butter beans), sweet corn, cucumber, cantaloupe, and squash. If you enjoy growing plants from seed, now is a good time to start such crops as broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, and kohlrabi for this fall/winter. Seed potatoes can also be planted now for a harvest later this fall.

On the ornamental side, August is typically when we cut back and divide our iris, which can multiply rapidly. It needs to be divided every few years when you notice them getting crowded or having fewer blooms. Divide them and replant in a sunny location. Consider sharing extras with a friend, or move them to a new area in your landscape.

For those of you who enjoy growing from seed, flowers you can start now include cornflower, larkspur, California poppy, snapdragon, sweet alyssum, blanket flower, calylophus, calendula, and delphiniums, among others. Think cool season …if it’s a cool season flower, now is the time to get your seeds sown.

If some of your summer annuals are starting to look tired and worn out, consider removing them, adding a bit of fresh compost, and planting some marigolds in their place. Marigolds do wonderfully for us in the Houston Parks and Recreation Department from late August all the way up to pansy and viola planting season. Often, they are not plagued by spider mites as they are if planted in the spring and summer. We’ve had some amazing displays of marigolds in Hermann and Memorial Parks over the past years, and luckily they come in all the shades we associate with fall: yellow, orange, and burgundy. Some varieties to look for include Bonanza, Discovery, Antigua, and Inca. Don’t even think about wasting your money on mums in Houston’s climate! Plant some marigolds and you’ll never go back to mums again.

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Garden Line – July 2010
Brent Moon, Urban Garden Manager

Now that the hot summertime temperatures are here to stay, here are some things to keep in mind for your lawn and garden:

- Raise your mower height to allow your grass to grow a bit higher. St. Augustine can be allowed to grow 3-3 ½” tall, while Bermuda can be allowed to grow to 2”.  Doing this reduces the stress on your turf and allows it to grow in thicker. This does two important things: the thicker turf crowds out weeds and shades the soil more, which helps to hold in ground moisture and prevents germination of weed seeds.

- A light application of fertilizer can be applied now to your turf.  Don’t overdo it, though, or you will be chasing your grass all summer long!

- Keep an eye out for chinch bugs, grubs, and turf diseases such as Take All Patch in St. Augustine. 

- Mid-July is the time to get your fall tomato transplants in the ground.  Plan to shade them temporarily using a couple of cinder blocks with a board or some shade cloth extending between them.  Keep them well-watered until they are established.  Getting your tomatoes in the ground now will provide you with a great harvest this fall.

- Continue to fertilize vegetables such as peppers, eggplants, okra, and other heat-loving veggies to keep them productive.

- Check weekly for pests such as aphids, spider mites, and stink bugs on your veggies.  Blast them off with a strong spray of water or use insecticidal soap on them.

If you are lacking color in your landscape, consider adding some heat-loving annuals such as zinnias, vinca, celosia, and perennial verbena for a nice shot of annual color.  For perennial color, look for bulbine (a South African succulent) and some of the different cigar plants (Cuphea sp.), which take our heat and humidity well and also attract hummingbirds. More permanent plantings could include Yellow Bells (Tecoma stans), Hummingbird bush (Hamelia patens), Pride of Barbados (Caesalpinia), Bottlebrush (Callistemon citrinus), and any of the various candlestick trees (Cassia sp.)  These tough shrubs/trees will thrive in the heat and keep your landscape full of color all summer long!

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Garden Line – June 2010
Brent Moon, Urban Garden Manager

The first day of summer arrives on June 21, but summertime temperatures are already here. April and May were pretty dry months, and I hope this is a trend that doesn’t continue. Here are some things to think about as we go into summer.

2.) Make sure your plants have a 3-4” layer of mulch over their root zone. Mulch has a threefold benefit. First, it greatly hinders weed germination around your plants. Second, it helps conserve moisture, keeping the soil more evenly moist than areas without mulch, thereby reducing moisture stress on plants. The third benefit of mulch is that it improves the soil as it breaks down into organic matter. Mulch, mulch, mulch!

Welcome to summer, and remember to work smart, stay cool, and enjoy being out in your garden!

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Garden Line – May 2010
Brent Moon, Urban Garden Manager

Temperatures and humidity will be on the increase this month and there are several things to be on the lookout for. Pests and diseases thrive in our warm, humid environment. Keep an eye out for aphids, thrips, spider mites, stink bugs, leaf footed bugs, etc. For a good insect ID guide, go to http://vegipm.tamu.edu/ and click one of the buttons that says “Insects by Name” or “Insects by Photo”. There are also sections for insects according to the vegetable they most commonly affect, as well as control methods.

Powdery mildew can begin affecting your plants now, also. Plants that are especially susceptible to this are squash, roses, zinnias, and verbena. Try to keep water off of foliage to help prevent mildew. Watering early in the morning rather than the evening allows the foliage to dry off quickly once the sun comes up, helping to prevent powdery mildew. If you find it on your plants, mix baking soda and water or baking soda and a “summer oil” and spray it on affected plants.

Use 1 tablespoon of baking soda and 2 ½ teaspoons of summer oil mixed into 1 gallon of water. A word of warning: do not apply this mixture on very hot days or on plants that are suffering from moisture stress, as this may damage plants. If you are unsure what powdery mildew looks like, do an image search for it on Google.

Don’t forget to give your vegetables and flowers a monthly application of fertilizer to keep them healthy and productive. There are many excellent organic and synthetic fertilizers available to today’s gardener. Choose the one that’s right for you.

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Garden Line – April 2010
Brent Moon, Urban Garden Manager

Things should really be kicking along out in your garden by now. Temperatures are warming up and sunny days are at hand! April usually brings the last of our nice days before the real summer heat and humidity sets in, so take advantage of these days to get any last minute projects done before it becomes unbearable out there.

Many common pests rear their ugly heads now; insects dig the warm weather. Watch for aphids, cutworms, spider mites, as well as squash vine borers. About the only way to control squash vine borers is to plant resistant varieties or to apply Bt (Bacillus thurengiensis), a naturally occurring organism, to the vines. It has been my observation that squash is tough to grow here, at least for me. You might have better luck. The old variety of yellow squash (Yellow Crookneck) seems especially susceptible to the squash vine borer. Some resistant varieties include Tatume, Tahitian, and Calabaza.

Make sure you keep up with fertilizing your veggies. If you planted tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, and the like last month, it’s probably time to side dress with some fertilizer to keep them growing strong. Remember not to go too heavily on the nitrogen or you’ll get big, beautiful foliage and very little fruit.

Speaking of bananas, I grow several fruiting types in my landscape. Fruit is obtainable in our area if you select the correct cultivars (a technical term that is simply short for cultivated variety) and can protect them somewhat through the winter. Look for the following cultivars for our area: ‘Orinoco’, ‘Dwarf Orinoco’, ‘Raja Puri’, ‘Ice Cream’, and ‘Dwarf Brazilian’. For more information on growing bananas, go to www.bananas.org, the home page of the International Banana Society

Growing fruit is very popular in our area, as witnessed by the huge success of several fruit tree sales over the past couple of months. A plethora of fruit can be grown in Houston, including citrus, figs, grapes, blackberries, persimmons, strawberries, blueberries (with some soil modification), Barbados cherry, Pineapple guava, loquats, pomegranates, etc. Some are even having success with avocado, guava, and mango. Be sure to do your research, as some of these are only marginally hardy here. For a great resource on fruits and veggies for the Houston area, check out Dr. Bob Randall’s book Year Round Vegetables, Fruits, and Flowers for Metro Houston. It is available through Urban Harvest www.urbanharvest.org, as well as several local nurseries, such as Wabash and Buchanan’s.

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Garden Line – March 2010
Brent Moon, Urban Garden Manager

So, March is here and Spring officially starts on March 20th. Many people will really get busy in their lawns and gardens this month, and the garden centers will become very popular (and crowded) venues. Also, many people feed birds during the winter; consider feeding them all year long. You’ll appreciate their company in your garden, and they are good at controlling certain insects.

For those of you who may not have gotten your tomatoes planted in February, there is still time to do it now, but do it as soon as possible so you can get a crop before it gets too hot. Be sure to look for early-maturing varieties (such as ‘Early Girl’) or tomatoes that produce better once it gets warmer (such as many of the cherry or grape types).

March is also a good time to plant peppers, egg plants, squash, zucchini, and watermelons. They may grow slowly at first, as they prefer it a bit warmer, but I find it helpful to go ahead and get them growing so they can start getting their roots established. Once the warmer weather in late March and April gets here, they’ll really take off and reward you with lots of delicious fruit this summer.

Consider adding some herbs and other beneficial insect attractors to your vegetable garden, as well as scattered about your landscape. Beneficial insects such as lady bugs, green lacewings, and assassin bugs will help you control problems insects such as aphids, leafhoppers, thrips, and spider mites (technically arachnids) the natural way. If you do get an outbreak of destructive insects, try simply blasting them off with a hose and water first. If that doesn’t work you can try insecticidal soap that you either make yourself or purchase at the store. Here’s a simple recipe for making your own:

- 1 water bottle with a spray trigger
- 1 tbs of dishwashing liquid
- 2 cups of water

I sometimes add a bit of rubbing alcohol to help desiccate soft-bodied insects. Be sure to spray both the surface and undersides of the leaves of infested plants. You may have to make a few repeated applications to completely control stubborn insects (why won’t they just die?!).

March is a good month for installing soaker hoses or making sure your irrigation system is running smoothly before hot summer-time temperatures set in. Also, be sure to add a thick layer of weed-suppressing, moisture-retentive mulch. It will help reduce the amount of time you have to spend weeding and will help to lower your water bill, not to mention the fact that it helps to improve the soil as it breaks down.

This is also a great time to add annual color in pots, containers, and your flower beds. Plants to consider for this time of year include cockscomb (celosia), zinnia, portulaca, salvia, coleus, begonias, impatiens, and verbena, to name a few. Last year, I planted some ‘Hot Lips’ salvia and it attracted hummingbirds late into fall. Visit your local garden center today for a plethora of plants to spruce up your landscape!

And for those of us who haven’t grubbed out all of our turf to make way for more gardening space, now is the appropriate time to fertilize, as the Bermuda and St. Augustine should be waking up by now. Consider getting a soil test done to see if you even need to fertilize. Be sure to fertilize at the recommended rate or even slightly lower. Over-fertilization results not only in overly lush lawns (resulting in rampant, disease-prone growth) but also in all that excess fertilizer being washed into the storm drains where it makes its way to the Gulf and contributes to a dead zone that occurs each year and kills thousands of fish. Be responsible when you fertilize. There are some great organic products out there that really minimize the chances of over-fertilizing and damage to the environment.

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Garden Line – February 2010
Brent Moon, Urban Garden Manager

Hopefully the last vestiges of winter will soon be behind us and we can start thinking about spring. February is usually the month when we start seeing a bit of a warm up, if not by mid-month, then at least by the end of the month. Hopefully you had a nice winter’s rest and are ready for all the work, and fun, that spring brings.

Late February is a good time to put out pre-emergent weed products in your lawn and landscape, if you are into those sorts of things. I have done it in the past, but I have heard that the active ingredient in these pre-emergents is hard on the roots of our woody shrubs and trees. I may not put out the traditional weed and feed this year and just do a low rate of fertilizer on my lawn.

Now is a good time to add a nice layer of compost to your landscape and vegetable garden. If you put it in your landscape, simply mulch over it later; however, till it in lightly if applying to your vegetable garden. Your plants will thank you for this great additive to your soil all season long.

Don’t forget that if you want to have a successful tomato crop, you’ll want to get your tomato transplants in the ground this month for best results. For more details on successful tomato growing, see my article from February of 2009 in the archives.

February is also a great time to consider planting citrus trees. They are very low maintenance and will reward you with fruit for many years to come, once they are well-established. There are several fruit tree sales around Houston this time of year. For more information on growing citrus in our area, go to www.urbanharvest.org.

Other things to do in your garden/landscape this month include:

• Transplanting dormant trees, shrubs, and vines
• Cut back roses, grapevines, and certain other flowering shrubs (do not cut back spring bloomers now or you’ll remove their flower buds)
• Continue to sow cool season crops such as radishes, lettuce, carrots, kohlrabi, beets, Swiss chard, spinach, etc.
• Sow Bermuda and buffalo grass seed, lay St. Augustine sod
• Cut back ornamental grasses to a height of around 6”
• Make sure your lawnmower and weed eater are operational

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