Bug problems on mustard greens. These, which appear to be eggs imbedded in the leaves, have hit my mustard greens. So far nothing has hatched.
Broccoli (Packman) is ready for picking. The heads already picked are putting out nice side shoots.
Bug problems on mustard greens. These, which appear to be eggs imbedded in the leaves, have hit my mustard greens. So far nothing has hatched.
Broccoli (Packman) is ready for picking. The heads already picked are putting out nice side shoots.
The Contessa onions sets I ordered from Dixondale Farms ( see links) arrived yesterday and planted in garden today. The date recommended by Dixondale for planting onions in Houston vegetable gardening is about a week earlier than this, but I was a little late in ordering. Should be fine though. A bunch of 60 plants cost about $10 including shipping. Incremental bunches are much cheaper. See a previous post of these great, sweet onions. Give them plenty of fertilizer ideally below the root line. They should mature in April-May.
Sugar Snap Peas are a great for the Houston winter vegetable garden. I planted mine yesterday. The normal guideline is to plant between Christmas and New Years, but Bob and Gary at Urban Harvest now recommend planting them earlier. They planted them last week at the Old Sixth Ward Garden. In the inner Houston area the earlier planting should be ok unless we have a hard freeze after they bloom. The plants are moderately cold hardy and work perfectly for the mild winters we have had in recent years. However, temperatures in the low 20s can damage the plants severely. A strong fence of 6 feet or so is needed. I previously planted them on the lattice at the back of my garden, but they did not get enough sun. This year I put up a fence in a sunnier area.
The first of the winter vegetables are coming in. Today will be the second batch of mustard greens. I planted Florida Broadleaf, a variety with huge flat leaves and Southern Giant, a variety with curly leaves. I much prefer the FB. It produces better and has a milder mustard flavor. The Southern Giant is a bit strong for my taste without being mixed with other greens such as collards (which I find a little bland on their own).
Chioggia beets and Packman broccoli will be picked this week. Some of the beets matured much more quickly than others. Some of the laggards are ones I transplanted, but not all are. The greens on the beets look wonderful.
Lettuce of various vintages are ready. The Winter Density I started indoors in September is fully mature, although cut worms and grub worms got a lot of it. The other varieties are large enough for leaf picking or basal clipping. The mizuna mustard matured quickly and is ready to add a little zest to the salads. Arugula is also ready.
I picked a mess of turnips but found they were infested with sucking bugs, mealy bugs or something of that kind. I sprayed them with insecticidal soap and killed the bugs, but a lot of damage was done because I did not notice them soon enough.