I live on the coast between Houston and Corpus......just south of Victoria. I would like to plant a late summer garden (squash, cucumbers, green beans) but I don't know when to plant.....now or mid - late August? It is so hot now, I would hate to be a baby squash plant and try to grow in this heat! My dad used to have 3 gardens each year.....and I can figure out the spring and winter.......but the late summer one has me beat!

Thanks for any help!

I know theres some others down your way that have gardens.. I hope they can advise you. The summer heat is really hard on plants here in Texas, even if they are sun lovers.

I think you are supposed to have two distict growing seasons in south Texas; March through June & September through December.

Could you possibly have some kind of shadecloth arrangement over a part of the garden? Starting in the ground from seed isn't easy in the heat. Here (I'm west of San Antonio) late August is possible if not in full sun, but you really have to baby those babies! Maybe some in pots first...and water often!

TexasBelle...I had written you a note about getting in touch with your local extension ofc. for guidelines to planting. I must not have hit "finished" and it went to heaven! That was in July....
Anyway, I just received a newsletter from Maas Nursery and it talks about fall planting... thought it might be what you're looking for. Now I can't figure out how to forward it from my e-mail....! I'll be right back!

Here's the link. if it doesn't work, you can just go to maasnursery.com and sign up for the newsletter. Check out planning for a fall garden

http://campaign.constantcontac...

Thank you so much, Sandi, for the link to Maas' Nursery.....LOTS of good information!

I really needed another nursery to tempt me and feed my addiction....NOT!!!! They have some really interesting things......will take time to drool a little later. Thanks, again, for your help.

Mae Belle

Hope it helps! I have to admit, I've never been to Maas...but I love the newsletter! Of course, I'll never get to Hidden Valley Hibiscus either...but I really enjoy their newsletter too...and will probably order from them eventually. Don't forget to try your extension ofc too. I wish I had space for a "real" garden, but I have very little sun in the backyard. Did manage to grow patio tomatoes in pots this spring.

A friend was talking about planting seeds for fall. I just groaned. Too dang hot, too dry...and I don't need any more plants...this written by the crazy person who bought a hanging basket recently. BTW, as dry as it is, remember to put out water for wildlife. My containers of water for the wildlife are usually about sucked dry within a couple of days...well, evaporation in this heat might play a part in that, too.

Well, TexasBelle...how does your garden grow? Did you decide to plant...or to wait till it got cooler?

Good Morning, Sandi

We planted cucumbers, squash and dill....and set out some tomatoes just before we got a good rain....they are looking good and growing pretty fast....maybe we'll have pickles before too long!!!

I plan on starting some cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower seed in a week or so for transplanting. We will direct sow the carrots, lettuce, beets and greens when the weather cools down.

The okra has gone completely crazy....cut it off with the shredder just before the rain....it's now almost waist high again, blooming and making okra like it did in the spring!

Mae Belle

Fantastic! That's an impressive variety of veggies!

Sooooo....it's' not too late to start a small garden? This is good news. I'd sure like to try.... And you've given me a "list" of things I can look for. I'm inspired now! We're in Zone 8b, but I think I can find some things that will be okay with a slight freeze later on.

Keep us up on your garden's progress if you don't mind.

Thanks! Sandi

I just planted my garlic, even though it might have been a couple of weeks early... I'll probably plant some more soon. I never seem to grow enough! love that stuff

Also planted some arugula, lettuce and dill. the arugula and dill overwinter well and will take off in the spring!

my okra is going crazy too but then our temps are still getting into the nineties!

We have garlic!!! The old couple we bought our lake place from grew a huge garden....the only thing that survived...and that was from 1984...is the garlic. I pull it up in summer and my DH won't touch it, even after it dries. Thinks it's a weed of some sort.

I've heard that from others who planted garlic and it just keeps coming back year after year...I always end up pulling it all so I'll have to try leaving some! that means I better plant more. We eat a lot of garlic and it tastes so much better home grown I think! my dh can't live without it!

I just made a pot of beans the other day and added some epazote that grows wild here. my dh was a rather leary about that because that stuff smells like gasoline! we pulled a bunch up last year not knowing what that stinky stuff was!! but some still came back and when I discovered that it can be used in cooking.... well had to try it! They actually tasted very good and had a very authentic flavor, I guess I would call it... dh really liked them too!

Is that the stuff that keeps you from burping beans??? I had no idea it grew wild/

yeah, it's supposed to keep you from "burping" beans!!

You're pretty funny this morning! I was trying to be "delicate!"
I swear I can kill any herb that crosses the gate to by backyard. Do they prefer a drier spot? I brought rosemary, thyme, basils, etc. home from a garden club mtg...and I've killed most all of them...still in their 4" pots....

Yeah, I was feeling kinda funny this morning!

And yes, most herbs do prefer to keep their feet dry. I find that mine do better when I put them in the ground, in some sandy-ish soil. It's amazing how many of them survive the summer heat and the cold winters outside in the ground.

for example, I planted several basil plants outside this spring and they grew like crazy, over three 3' x 3' now and I left one in it's pot sitting on the kitchen window sill... it's a tiny, pitiful thing.

Well, there's always next year for the herbs. I think I'm going to try some lettuce in a hanging basket. When it gets too cold, I can take it onto the patio that we make into a temporary greenhouse. Going to yank some non-performers this morning and scratch out a space for a small garden plot.

I remember, not too long ago actually, we were living in an apartment and all I had was a tiny little balcony to grow my herbs. I had them in pots and they did pretty good. I learned that I had to let the soil dry out between waterings. They were in partial sun too, which worked out well... I think full sun in a potted plant is sometimes too much with our heat! But that was in Houston where they would grow year around without much threat of freezing temps.

You have a greenhouse? That's wonderful. I am waiting for the day! I threated my dh that I would make my own that drives him crazy because he is a perfectionist and the thought of what I would conjure up as a greenhouse makes him shudder!!