HoustonVegetableGarden.com

Last week I transplanted the tomatoes to 4-6 inch pots and planted the broccoli plants in the garden.  I planted several of the broccoli plants near the neighbors fence to the west to see if half a day of sun is enough.  The tomatoes will get to soak up some outside sun for the next couple of days; but then coldish weather returns and looks like it will stay for a while.  I want to plant the tomatoes outside under frost cloth as soon as possible, but I would like temperatures to be in the 60s during the day.

Continuing to harvest lettuce, arugula, greens and fennel.  Next week the beets and carrots will finally be ready.  The cold weather really slowed their growth this year.  The sugar snap peas are growing nicely, but are a long way from producing food.

The big freeze is past and hopefully will not repeat.  Now it is time to plan for the spring Houston vegetable garden.  I planted tomato seed under the grow lamp indoors on January 13.  They are coming up now.  One new variety this year, Early Girl, and the line up from last year:  Marglobe, Floramerica, Merced and Celebrity.  All of these are determinate tomatoes, which I believe are best for growing in Houston gardens. I still have 2-3 seed of Merced left–unfortunately this good variety for Houston gardens is no longer available.  I saw a seed catalogue that recommended Danson Tomato 435 as a replacement, but I have not tried it.  I planted some Sweet Chelsea to give to my brother and I may plant one myself.  I am leaving early this year for Montana and Sweet Chelsea just takes over the place.

I also planted some Packman broccoli under the lamp.  I normally raise broccoli in the fall but will try in the late winter/spring this year, because I am not going to plant corn since I won’t be here to pick it.  I also planted some super sugar snaps under the lamp to supplement the poor stand I got from direct planting.  The weather the last half of December was just too cold for good germination.

The green beans I planted I planted around October 1 (much later than recommended) are now producing very well.  The Contender beans came in about a week before Derby, a plus for late fall plantings.  It will be interesting to see if the Contenders produce multiple waves of crops as Derby does.  Of course, weather may interrupt this experiment because of the late planting. This year I planted beans in my best bed and the crop is much better.  I am not really sure why this bed is best, but it is probably because it gets the most sun.  As the days get shorter and the shadows of building and trees get longer, locations good in the spring may not get enough sun.  Last year I planted them on the most southern bed that starts getting some shade from the house in the fall.  I made a crop but not nearly as much as this year.  Of course, the weather has also been ideal.  It is hard to run gardening experiments because of too many uncontrollable variables.

Lettuce is being picked and the white turnips are ready–the purple tops still have a ways to go.  Beets are just beginning to form bulbs.  We have been eating bok choi and pak choi for a couple of weeks also. (I can’t tell the difference between them; maybe it is just different spelling translations from Chinese)  Mustard greens are also ready to be harvested.  I won’t be buying very much at the Urban Harvest Farmers Market for a while.

My Contessa onion order will be shipped on December 15; the leeks in early January.  I saved plenty of room for them.  Sugar snap peas will be planted in mid December.  I may try to get some “super” sugar snaps.  They are supposed to be more mildew resistant.  I always lose the plants to mildew, but usually they are about through producing anyhow.

Well almost fully planted.  I planted pak choi (will be interested to see how it differs for bok choi which I also planted), turnips, beets, carrots and green beans directly in the garden.  I started mustard greens, collard greens, some bok choi, fennell, lettuce, arugula, and chervil under the grow light.  All of these have now been transplanted to the garden during these cloudy days and with a forecast of cooler temperatures.  Sugar snaps will be planted in mid December as will onions and leeks.

I am trying a few new varieties:  Yellowstone carrots (I could not find kimbi for a yellow carrot), Red Ace beets and Contender green beans.  I will plant some more lettuce in a couple of weeks and save a lot of room for Contessa onions and leeks.

Sugar snaps are one of the highest reward vegatables for the Houston vegetable garden.  I planted them yesterday, a little earlier than the recommended date of between Christmas and New Years.  I prefer to get them started a little sooner before really cold weather typically comes.  Some people plant them as early as Thanksgiving, but you must wait until the chances of weather in the 80s are low.  A fence of at least 6 feet is needed.

Other vegetables are coming along fine.  We have more greens and turnips than we can eat.  I have really been pleased with the Osaka purple mustard greens.  They have done well, are beautiful in the garden and have a very nice flavor–somewhat milder than traditional mustard greens.  The Derby beans gave one last burst and I will have enough for 2 people for one more dinner.  They were burned a little by the frost last week.  After this picking they will be heading for the compost pile.  Lettuce is being harvested by clipping off leaves.  The bok choi is ready as “baby bok choi”.  Beets are doing well but it will be a while yet.  Cilantro and parsley are coming up everywhere and they have to been thinned for control.

I have been putting last year leaf compost around the vegetables.  The plants are big enough now and I need to make room for this year’s leaves.

Vegetables can be used in your Houston landscaping, not just hidden in a corner of the back yard. Vegetables add color and texture to plantings of shrubs and flowers. Shown above are some examples. In the middle is kohlrabi “azur star”. The fruit is a nice shade of blue purple and the leaves are a dusty green with purple veins. The curly leaf plant is mustard “purple wave” and the smooth leaf plant is mustard “osaka purple”. Although these are in my garden, it not hard to imagine them in a landscape setting. Beets and Swiss chard (especially “bright lights”) are also a good adders of color. Leaf lettuces are great for adding greenery and color. In addition to adding color, vegetable can add interesting texture. Carrots, onions and fennel are good in this respect. So just because you do not have room for a vegetable garden does not mean you can’t have vegetables!

The picture shows the status of the tomato plants that I planted on January 5.  They will be ready to transplant to 4″ pots next week.  Then in a couple of weeks before I leave for a trip to New Zealand they will be transplanted to 1 gallon containers.  I may go ahead and plant some directly with a frost cloth wrapping.  Wrapping works well for tomatoes and peppers for Houston vegetable gardening.

 The Packman broccoli planted around October 1 is now being harvested.  Fennel planted at the same time is also ready.  Mustard greens continue to produce faster than we can eat them.  They have lasted longer this year by picking the leaves when they are still relatively small.  I have much better luck with Florida Broadleaf Mustard than with the curly varieties.  In addition to the traditional southern way of cooking (and over cooking) them, I use them is soups with lentils and also by lightly stir frying with onion and then steaming for a few minutes.  They are more bitter with the shorter cooking.

The late planting of Derby and Maxibel green beans has been much more successful this year.  The week after Thanksgiving, about 50 days after planting, I began picking a lot of high quality beans and have had successive picking every few days of about the same amount.  I think the main difference from last year when the crop was rather weak is that I made sure it was in a sunny spot.  Compared to spring planting which mature in late April and May the amount of sun is much less per day in the fall.  Also the low angle of the sun makes more location subject to shadows.  Beans and other seed crops require a lot of sun.  Root crops can get by on less and leafy crops need the least.  However, more sun is better for everything.  In the fall Houston vegetable garden do a sun survey before planting.

Maxibel were a bit disappointing the last time I planted them, but this time they are produced right up there with Derby.  Maxibel is long (7″), slender bean that has good “plate appeal”.  I cannot tell the difference in taste between them and Derby.

Turnips have been disappointing.  First the usual green worms had a feast and then some sucking mites took over.  I will not get much of a crop, but I can always replant later.  The mustard greens are producing well and have not been bothered by the pests even though they are planted right next to the turnips.  Bok Choi is about ready for harvest.

I planted sugar snap peas yesterday.  It is a bit earlier than normal.  The old guide was about Christmas and then it was moved up to December 15.  I think it a good idea to get them started before the main possibility of really cold weather hits.  My brother already has some producing.  He may be a bit lucky because October was relatively cool.  They don’t like hot weather.

When I returned in early October I planted Derby green beans and turnips. Both came up well and are growing. Early October is really too late for beans, but I got a mess or two last year with the late planting. This year I planted them in a location that will get more sun in November. We will see.

I also planted seed of mustard greens, broccoli, bok choi, fennel and lettuce in a planter box under a grow light. (See Main Menu for information on this very good method) Those seed came up well also, but I had to delay transplanting them until the temperature got below 90, a longer wait each year it seems. The cold front this week gave me the opportunity to set them outside. The bright sunlight has been a bit hard on them, but I have watered them each day and I think they will catch on ok.

Next up will be carrots and beets. The weather should be fine for planting them now. I just need to get some carrot seed. I will plant Kinbi and Touchon if I can find the seed. Urban Harvest is stopping their seed selling program because of the time intensity of the effort; however, they probably still have some left. Also will plant some mache’ and some lettuce by direct sowing.

Time also to order my Contessa onions from Dixondale. The last time I checked they showed out of stock, but probably the plants just are not ready yet.

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.