4 minute read
Falling for fall
Master Gardener offers tips on growing fall vegetables
BY ANITA MILLER
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For all the work that goes into a vegetable garden, some of the produce won’t even make it to the kitchen, much less the dinner table.
“Peas don’t make it in the house,” explained Hays County Master Gardener Melissa Tyree said. “We really enjoy the snow peas and snap peas and eat them fresh.”
Tyree, who achieved the rank of Master Gardener last year and now volunteers for the organization, spreading her knowledge about Central Texas soils – which vary widely within Hays County – and the kinds of popular vegetables they most readily produce.
In a way, her certification couldn’t have been more timely, as the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the availability of some foods even though grocery stores have remained opened.
During and after the spring lockdown, the coronavirus has also meant more people are staying home and many have turned to do-it-yourself projects to pass the time as well as accomplish something meaningful.
Many people associate vegetable gardens with the spring and while tomatoes, peppers and other crops do best then, Central Texas residents can also raise fall crops.
Right now, Tyree said, would-be gardeners have a choice of seed or transplant for crops like broccoli, cabbage, Swiss chard, lettuce and spinach.
She’ll be mixing in some radishes and turnips because of their tendency to control pests through companion planting.
Before buying either plants or seeds, however, you have to consider your soil.
Tyree’s first experience was
Melissa Tyree’s first experience was with the deep, sandy soils of East Texas. It was amazing, according to her, but a far cry from anything in Central Texas. “I moved to Round Rock and realized you can’t go down. Raised beds are the way to go with our soils.”
with the deep, sandy soils of East Texas, where she grew up on a Christmas tree farm.
That soil, she said, was “amazing” to work with and was a far cry from anything in Central Texas.
“I moved to Round Rock and realized you can’t go down. Raised beds are the way to go with our soils.”
Because of the wide disparity between different parts of the county, Tyree recommends getting soil tested before any attempt to “amend” it. Basic to the test is to determine the pH of the soil, whether it is acidic or alkaline.
That can be accomplished through the Texas A&M Agrilife office. “There is a charge involved,” she said. “You send in a sample and they send you back an analysis of your soil. Then, you will know what to add.”
In addition to her home garden, Tyree was instrumental in maintaining one at Rooster Springs Elementary School in Dripping Springs, where her youngest daughter is in the eighth grade. (Her older daughter is a sophomore this fall at Dripping Springs High School).
“Another parent had started the garden. I took it over and ran it for a couple of years. It started as a site no one wanted, on a courtyard” primarily designed to promote drainage. “We turned it into an amazing
FALL GARDENING, from 12
raised bed demonstration garden” using materials from railroad ties to corrugated stock tanks, cinder blocks and cedar to hold the soils and plants.
She said the stock tanks proved among the best options for kids because they are two feet high and easy for them to reach into.
The return is well worth the investment, she said.
“There’s nothing like fresh food from your garden and you’re burning calories while you’re gardening. You’re getting a workout and getting fresh vegetables to your table.
“And of course you’re outside. We do it as a family. It’s a great family activity.”
COVID-19 has also disrupted Master Gardening classes, though the Agrilife office has some online classes scheduled this fall. For more information call 512-393-2120 or visit https://txmg.org/hays/.
Central Texas Planting Guide What to plant and when
Artichoke (crowns/transplants) Asian greens (seeds or transplants) Asparagus (crowns) Beans, snap and lima Beets Broccoli (transplants) Brussels sprouts (transplants) Cabbage (transplants) Cantaloupe (muskmelon) Carrots Cauliflower (transplants) Chard, Swiss (seeds or transplants) Collards (seeds or transplants) Corn Cucumber Eggplant (transplants) Fava beans Garlic Greens, cool season Greens, warm season Kale (seeds or transplants) Kohlrabi (seeds or transplants) Leeks (seeds/transplants) Lettuce (seeds or transplants) Mustard (seeds or transplants) Okra Onion, bulbing (transplants) Onion, bunching/multiplying Peas, English, snap and snow Peas, Southern Pepper (transplants) Potato, Irish Potato, sweet (slips) Pumpkin Radish Shallots Spinach (seeds or transplants) Squash, summer Squash, winter Tomatoes (transplants) Turnip Watermelon
Jan Feb
crowns
March April May June July Aug Sept Oct
transplants
Nov Dec
Average last freeze March 4 Average first freeze Nov. 27
Source: Texas A&M Agrilife Extension Service
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