http://www.houstonvegetablegarden.com Raising and growing vegetables gardens in Houston Wed, 30 Jul 2008 02:05:59 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en This blog is about advice on Houston vegetable gardening, but I will add a few thoughts on my experiences in trying to get started with some vegetables and herbs at our Montana home in Flathead County.  I have some sympathy for people moving to Texas and being lost on how ... http://www.houstonvegetablegarden.com/index.php/2008/07/21/montana-vegetable-gardening/ Or is it "black eyed peas"?  I planted black eyes along with the remaining purple hull seed I had left as a cover crop while I am in Montana.  Peas enrich the soil with nitrogen because they are a legume.  They also keep the weeds down.  My daughter has been ... http://www.houstonvegetablegarden.com/index.php/2008/06/28/black-eye-peas/ Corn ear worms are a annoying pest to the Houston vegetable gardener.  It is not that they eat so much of the corn, they just make it look bad.  Having members of the carrot/parsley in bloom is supposed to attract a wasp that attacks the moths.  I always try to ... http://www.houstonvegetablegarden.com/index.php/2008/05/20/corn-ear-worms/ This picture shows the third picking of beans from my Houston vegetable garden. They weigh about 1 .5 pounds. This quantity came from about 25 square feet of garden space. It shows how much food one can raise in a small space. The first two ... http://www.houstonvegetablegarden.com/index.php/2008/04/24/derby-bean-harvest/ I picked the first mess of Derby and Maxibel green beans today--right on schedule about 50 days after planting the seed. Derby is producing more heavily as expected. First tomatoes were picked--Sweet Chelsea and Sun Gold. The slicers still have a way to go. Also, the ... http://www.houstonvegetablegarden.com/index.php/2008/04/20/first-spring-vegetables/ I always mention varieties in my posts because the proper vegetable variety for our Houston climate is important. Of course, good soil, proper drainage, and sufficient sunlight and water are still the most important success factors. A lot of varieties will do at least reasonably well. Choices ... http://www.houstonvegetablegarden.com/index.php/2008/04/16/choosing-vegetable-varieties/ I pulled the last of the winter vegetables this week; sugar snap peas, beets and carrots. The sugar snaps gave a great yield and are one of the most rewarding vegetables to grow here, especially given the price and quality of supermarket offerings. We really enjoy the Kinbi ... http://www.houstonvegetablegarden.com/index.php/2008/04/08/end-of-winter-houston-vegetable-garden/ Back from New Zealand.  Everything did fine while I was gone.  The tomatoes are growing like weeds behind the frost cloth.  I will leave it on for another couple of weeks.  Broccoli did not get picked and seeded out.  I needed to pull it anyhow to plant beans.  I ran ... http://www.houstonvegetablegarden.com/index.php/2008/02/28/back-in-the-spring-houston-vegetable-garden/ The tomato plants were planted in the garden early this year because we are going to New Zealand for 2 1/2 weeks.  Normally I would wait another week or so, but I think chances are good.                          I plant them inside of cages with row cover wrapped around the cage as ... http://www.houstonvegetablegarden.com/index.php/2008/02/07/growing-tomatoes-in-houston-cont/ 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 ... http://www.houstonvegetablegarden.com/index.php/2008/01/18/winter-and-spring/