HoustonVegetableGarden.com

This year I ran a test on the best varieties of slicer tomatoes for the Houston vegetable garden.  In the past I have had variable success with some recommended varieties, but they were planted in different areas of the garden so direct comparisons were difficult.  Conditions such as available sunlight can change considerably over a small area in an urban garden.  This year I planted 4 determinate varieties right together:  Homestead, Merced, Celebrity and Floramerica.  It was the best year I have ever had for tomatoes, probably because of the cool, relatively dry spring.  I can’t say I found much to choose from among these varieties.  All produced about 15 nice size tomatoes.  All ripened all the way through and were delicious.  I have trouble in other years with the top part of the tomato being white and pithy.

Merced was the first to turn pink, in early May.  All were planted outside from large pots around March 1.  Homestead and Celebrity followed about a week later and Floramerica was the latest.  I pick when they first turn pink on the bottom and let them ripen inside. Unfortunately, the mockingbirds beat me to several, so I bought some netting at Southwest Fertilizer and solved that problem.  For best quality you must let them fully ripen and not get impatient.  Never refrigerate tomatoes unless they are becoming over ripe.  All of the tomatoes were picked by June 1.  As determines, they quit setting fruit in late April.  My experience is that later setting tomatoes on indeterminate slicer varieties never turn out very good.  Thus, in Houston, as opposed to New Jersey, determinates are the best bet.

A rather slow time in the Houston vegetable garden.  I am picking lettuce, mustard greens and bok choi.  Carrots and beets are coming along but it will be a while.  The broccoli is starting to form heads–I should have started it a little earlier, but it should be ok if we don’t have a real hard freeze.  The mite problem seems to have gone away.  They spread from the turnips to the greens but I was able to control them with insecticidal soap.  I tried just washing them off.  It was easy to get them off, but they came right back up.  On large plants such as roses washing works well because they can’t get back up to the foliage.  Next week it will be time to start tomatoes under my grow light. (see post for how to)

I replanted lettuce where something had eaten the first batch and put some fine mesh wire over it, but the varmint got under it and ate all the Simpson lettuce, but left the Red Sails alone!  I am not sure what it is; I think an animal of some kind.  Snails or cut worms would get one plant at a time rather than all at once.  Also nothing was left of the tops so whatever it was ate everything.  Strangely in this one spot next to the trellis I have had this problem (last time it was peas), but nothing is bothered in the rest of the garden in this manner.  Any clues?

I will be working at the Urban Harvest fruit tree sale again (Jan 19), probably as a grapefruit salesman.  I got one grapefruit on my tree the first year.  The orange tree (2 years old) also had one orange, but the squirrels got it.  I guess they got all the persimmons also.  When we I got back from Montana they were all gone.

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.

Grub worms are creating havoc with the broccoli in my Houston vegetable garden.  So far 4 plants have been cut down.  I found the culprits by digging around the fallen plants.  They have only been in this one bed and have not bothered other plants elsewhere in the garden.  Unlike President Bush I, perhaps they just like broccoli.  Something also ate all of my little lettuce plants in one bed.  I do not think it was snails because no remnants were left behind.  Probably a rabbit or some other animal is the culprit.  I have not seen any around but a surprisingly large number of wild animals live right here in the middle of Houston.  A couple of years ago a raccoon got under the house and then into the chase and furr downs.  I trapped 16 coons and possums (live traps) before I got the one getting in the house.  Back to grubs, I do not know of any remedy for them (short of some mass poisoning) except to always have a few extra plants.  Grub worms are the larva stage of another Houston favorite, the June bug.

The Chiogga beets and carrots came up well.  A lot of volunteer parsley and cilantro plants are appearing.  When I plant small seeds like carrots and lettuce, I have the sprinkler come on for five minutes a day.  Normally, I use only the drip system for watering.

The beans, planted rather late around October 1, are now in full bloom.  I should get a good crop if a freeze holds off for a couple of weeks.  The surviving spring tomato, Sweet Chelsea has a lot of blooms but no fruit yet.

I got my order in for Contessa onions from Dixondale.  They are a must for Houston vegetable gardening and should be planted in early December.

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 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.

The squirrels have been picking a lot of my tomatoes.  I find them on fence ledges and various other squirrely places.  They seem to be gourmets; they prefer Arkansas Traveller to Merced.  Unfortunately, so do I.  I got the pellet gun down from its hiding place from the grandkids and am popping them with about 6 pumps.  It seems to be getting their attention.  I also put some frost cloth (which I use after transplanting) around the bottom of the cages to make it more difficult for them to find the tomatoes.  If that fails I will go up to 12-15 pumps and get lethal.

 Bob Randall, Urban Harvest director, says the way to handle squirrels is to cut off their escape path and scare them half to death waving your arms, hitting branches etc.  The problem with that approach for me is that I can’t cut off their overhead escape routes.  We have too many fences, buildings, trees and other nearby escape routes.