Join the Brazos County Master Gardeners for an educational event at the Clara Mounce Public Library in Bryan.
This event is open to the public at no charge.
Learning at the Library – Starting Tomatoes by Seed for Fall
Join the Brazos County Master Gardeners for an educational event at the Clara Mounce Public Library in Bryan.
This event is open to the public at no charge.
Fall Flowers in the Fields
By Stephen Brueggerhoff, CEA – Horticulture, Brazos County AgriLife Extension; published 10/14/2025
All images unless otherwise noted by Stephen Brueggerhoff
I often refer to the fall season as our second spring, with native flowering plants expressing brilliant colors in natural areas before a short winters rest. Fall is a great time for viewing the beauty of Texas landscapes, as well as prime time to plant both perennials for permanence and annuals by seed for our renowned spring wildflower season.
Seasonal Color Viewing on Your Travels
As you botanize speeding along the backroads and highway, you may see broad bands of yellow appearing like a sheen across pastures and prairies. Closer inspection reveals the brilliance of perennial Goldenrod (Solidago sp.), expressing waste high, sun yellow wands that gracefully bow in the wind. You may notice other yellow-flowering plants such as 3-feet tall coneflower (Rudbeckia sp.) Coneflower is a member of the same plant family as sunflowers, the Asteraceae. What looks like one single flower are uniform ray petals surrounding a brown, cone-shaped structure made of hundreds of individual complete flowers. Once pollinated, these plants are very successful in producing future generations via seed.
Recommended Native Vines
Benefits for using native plants in the home garden include best resource conservation practices: using less water and limited fertilization. These plants also provide food for wildlife in the form of nectar and pollen. There are quite a few native plant species that can enhance your home landscape and come in all shapes and sizes. For vining plants try Crossvine (Bignonia capreolata), a vigorous evergreen growing to 50-foot and producing large 2-inch orange trumpet-shaped flowers fading to a golden throat. The vine blooms on new growth in full sun from end of March through May and intermittent through summer. Crossvine forms paired tendrils at the leaf petiole, grasping onto structures and running along a fence or gracefully cascading over an arbor. Explore Coral honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens), forming delicate 2-inch-long tube-shaped flowers that bloom from spring through early summer. Coral honeysuckle forms a spiraling vine rather than tendrils to hold itself and may need tying for support. Both vining plants attract hummingbirds and Crossvine appears to also be a favorite of bees.
Recommended Native Shrubs
American beautyberry (Callicarpa americana) is a deciduous shrub with graceful arching stems that tolerates occasional saturated soils. Individual shrubs can reach 5 feet tall and wide, and the payoff are clusters of magenta berries clasping in bunches about 6 to 7-inches apart along outward facing stems in late summer through fall. The shrub can be grown in the understory and make sure to place it in the landscape with dappled shade exposure. For full sun and well-draining and dry soil, you may try Barbados cherry (Malpighia glabra), a native shrub that has the potential to reach 6-feet tall. It offers petite wrinkled leaves and produces clusters of small flowers across the surface of its canopy. This shrub is semi-evergreen, meaning it has the potential to retain leaves in milder climates. The shrub will tolerate shearing and formal pruning to form a dense hedge for ornament or privacy. Finally, Turk’s Cap (Malvaviscus arboreus var. drummondii) is a shade tolerant woody sub-shrub of our forested areas, with arching single stems that reach 4-foot tall. Unique turban-shaped and brilliant red flowers are produced in spring and again in fall, emerging as a resource for migrating hummingbirds. Texas A&M AgriLife Texas Superstar® program promotes Turk’s Cap cultivars ‘Pam Puryear’ with soft pink flowers, and variegated ‘Fiesta’ with yellow and white splotched leaves.
Garden Bed Prep for Spring Wildflowers
October through early November is a great time to plant seeds for a spring wildflower show. Preparing your yard for these beauties is a simple process: identify areas with full sun exposure, till the soil where appropriate and create open spaces where the seed can be placed in direct contact with the soil. Lightly press in and cover the seed with a very thin layer of fine soil or organic matter, then water in the seeds with a lawn sprinkler. You may have to water a few more times in the following weeks to mimic rainfall and encourage germination.
Seed Mixes
Seed can be purchased in bulk or in handy single packets. Be aware that some packets marketed as wildflower mixes may contain non-native annuals. You will have to familiarize yourself with plant names on the packet if you wish to exclusively cultivate Texas native plants. Texas wildflower mixes will contain a combination of easy to recognize wildflowers like the bright red clusters of Indian paintbrush (Castilleja indivisa). Some include pastel Pink evening primrose (Oenothera speciosa). Butterfly gaura (Oenothera lindheimeri) sports petite pink to pure white ½-inch butterfly-shaped flowers that nod at the end of a 2-foot-tall flower stalk. Winecup (Callirhoe involucrata) best describes this beauty, offering chalice-shaped two-inch wide flowers with deep maroon petals off-set by a whitish spot toward the flower center. Winecup appears to crawl along the ground up to three-feet long and attracts butterflies and bees. Bluebonnets! These lupines are the beauty we would like to bring to the ball. While you may see smaller pockets of seeded bluebonnets at local vistas, you will see higher populations as you travel west.
Our second spring is here, offering beauty and color coming out of the doldrums of summer. Time to prepare your yard and garden by sowing wildflower seeds for a true spring show. Browse online and explore Texas A&M Forest Service, using the search tool to look for the article ‘Wildflower Establishment’. Tune in your radio for my show Garden Success airing weekly, 12 pm on Thursdays on KAMU-FM 90.9 and let’s talk wildflowers. Get your garden ready for spring wildflowers, and I look forward to seeing you in the garden.
Cultivating Asparagus
By Stephen Brueggerhoff, CEA – Horticulture, Brazos County AgriLife Extension; published 09/30/2025
I am always thinking of the next gardening season and taking a reflective moment to marvel at asparagus. While we are several months away from planting asparagus, it is time to think ahead and begin your veggie wish lists for future cultivation.
Asparagus: A Global Delicacy
Edible asparagus (Asparagus officinalis) is the only one out hundreds of Old-World plant species that are consumed. The edible asparagus has been in cultivation for over 2000 years and is thought to have originated in the Mediterranean region. The largest contemporary global exporter of asparagus is China, followed by Peru and Mexico. Germany is the largest producer for European markets, and asparagus is celebrated nationally in a season known as Spargelzeit. While the US is the largest importer of asparagus, California, Michigan, Washington and New Jersey are leading producers in the US. Aggie Horticulture reports that there is limited production in Zavalla County near Crystal City in the Winter Garden region of Texas, and in north Texas near Bonham. My experience has been more local, swapping growing practices with neighbors over this delectable backyard veggie.
Head and Spears Above the Rest
Asparagus is a unique tender perennial plant that can be cultivated from a one- to two-year-old vegetative part called the crown. The crown acts as a storage organ for carbs, and produces buds that can become roots, or stem tissue such as rhizome or stolon. The plants are dioecious; male and female reproductive organs are produced on separate individuals. The female plants will produce flowers that will form berries after pollination, and the plant can be spread throughout the landscape by seed dispersal. One can cultivate asparagus by seed; however, it will take longer to mature and harvest.
Plants are grown in well-draining soil, preferably sandy loam with what we call a sweet pH, between 6.5 to 7 on the scale. For our region, planting begins at the beginning of the New Year through to end of February. Prepare the garden bed and plant crowns in a 12-inch-deep furrow at 12-inches apart to accommodate crown development. Asparagus produces spears that emerge from the ground in late winter or early spring when soil temps are above 50-degrees, an environmental trigger that breaks dormancy. As the stems emerge, what appears to be large diamond-shaped bracts along its length are scale leaves that are thought to protect the developing branch buds. Did you know asparagus lacks true leaves? As the stem lengthens, branches are expressed with needle-like structures known as cladophylls, giving the stems a fern-like appreance. If you have never grown asparagus before, steal yourself because these stems can grow to 6-ft tall!
Fertilizer application is reliant on the stage of growth, and general maintenance for established beds is one pound of fertilizer per 10-feet of row before spring growth, and same amount after the last harvest. Deep watering is key to general maintenance during the growing season. Always ensure the growing bed is weed free by hand cultivation or mulching.
Measured Harvest
Photosynthesis is carried out through all parts of the above-ground vegetation, sending carbs and sugars to the crown for continued growth and stored energy. This biological process is important to consider when you are harvesting spears. We harvest the spears when the growing tip, also called the head, reaches 6 to 10-inches. You will want to limit harvest depending on the age of planting to increase vigor and growth in the crowns for current and future spear production. Delay harvesting spears from a freshly planted crown during the first year. You may be able to harvest a few spears in the second year, and certainly by the third year after planting, you should be able to take several harvests during the growing season. Harvest pencil-thick or larger spears and let the skinny spears grow to full vegetative state.
Putting Asparagus to Bed in Winter
Asparagus undergoes a period of dormancy when average soil temps cool down in the fall. You will see the vegetation begin to turn yellow and brown as we stroll into winter, and the spears will die back after our first freeze. Cut back the dead foliage at soil level and await newly emerging spears in late winter. Add 2 to 3-inches of mulch over the growing area for crown protection during winter months. If growing asparagus in an open area, contain the planting in a raised, framed bed. If cultivated properly, asparagus will slowly spread outside of its contained area but can be kept in check by crown removal. Rely on natural rainfall during this period of dormancy.
Varieties
Varieties on the market include the Jersey series, such as Jersey Giant, Jersey Knight and Jersey Supreme, all high-yielding and cold tolerant. Mary Washington is another popular variety that is cold tolerant. UC-157, developed at University of California-Davis, is purported to be more heat tolerant than other varietals and has potential for markets in south Texas. Try purple-colored varieties like Purple Passion. Note that the spears turn green after cooking, and best to shave tender, fresh spears into your salad or plate for that gourmet look. Browse online and explore Aggie Horticulture for more details about asparagus. You know I’m live with a call-in garden show Garden Success airing weekly, 12 pm on Thursdays on KAMU-FM 90.9. Get your garden ready for gourmet growing, and I look forward to seeing you in the garden.
Sweet Potato Harvest
By Stephen Brueggerhoff, CEA – Horticulture, Brazos County AgriLife Extension; published 09/30/2025
In my last article I wrote about creating a fall vegetable garden. We all know that prior to planting, you must harvest what you are growing. I am delighted to inform you that I grew out and harvested sweet potato in my garden, a joyful endeavor that is now a treasured tradition.
Sweet potatoes are an interesting plant. Their botanical name is Ipomoea batatas and are members of the Morning Glory Plant Family (Convolvulaceae). This is evident by their sprawling vegetative habit and showy large, mauve colored tubular flowers. These beauties come from the tropics of the central and south American continent, treated as perennial plants in their native habitat and grown for annual production in the United States. Technically, sweet potato is a tuberous root rather than a true tuber. This delectable vegetable produces enlarged lateral roots that act as a storage organ for plant energy and growth. The ones we harvest for storage and future propagation are called slips. Sweet potatoes are a great source of carbohydrates, fiber and micronutrients. The edible leaves and shoots are good sources of vitamins A, C and B.
Plant in Spring, Harvest in Late Summer
Even though we are harvesting at this time of year, the best time to plant sweet potatoes is next spring when ambient temps begin to warm. For Brazos Valley residents, this would be about mid-April. It is standard practice to root out slips in a glass of water prior to planting. Either use those that are stored from home production or purchased from a retail outlet. Cut the slip in half, insert a few toothpicks and suspend each over a jar of water. Prepare the slips about two to three weeks prior to planting, or about two weeks prior to the estimated last frost date for your location. Plant sweet potatoes in rows 8 to 12-inches high and three feet apart. Shallow out a spot in the row and separate the plants 10 to 18-inches apart. The thought behind planting shallow in rows is to allow the soil to warm quickly. Ensure planting the slip in a well-draining soil to prevent rot.
Earlier this year I was gifted with one 6-inch-long slip that I had rooted out in a glass of water. I waited until we purchased our new house this past March and planted it into the established veggie beds about mid-April. You can stagger plantings from April through the first week of July to meet the estimated 90 to 120-day harvest period and extend your harvest. Keep an eye on the vegetation at the estimated harvest date: sweet potato leaves often start to turn yellow, a sign that growth has stopped and the roots have matured. My indicator was seeing blunt orange ends emerging above the soil line, almost like an egg hunt in the sprawling foliage. Take care when harvesting as they have thin, delicate skin easily bruised or gouged. Dig around the top of the soil with gloved hands to see if you can estimate where they lie in the soil. I did use a spading fork to dig them out, carefully excavating starting about 10-inches away from the enlarged roots.
Mine were finished and harvested on August 18, and from one 6-inch slip we produced nine medium-to-large sized roots that collectively weighed in at 9 pounds. I’m experimenting with replanting and observing how productive selected harvested slips will be before our first frost. I replanted viable slips on August 20 and am gambling that I will have adequate harvest by late October. Cultivation can continue into late fall if soil temps are above 50-degrees to maintain growth.
Many Named Varieties, Select a Few for Your Garden
I had a resident recently ask me what varietal of sweet potato I was growing. Because it was a gift, that information was missing. I have read a broad statement indicating that there are thousands of named sweet potato cultivars. There certainly may be hundreds as I counted 132 named varieties on a sweet potato list. The more common varieties we grow in our area are fast-maturing ‘Beauregard’, red skin with orange flesh and harvested within 100 days; ‘Centennial’ with a shorter season harvesting at 90 days; ‘Jewell’ is elongated and oval-like with small, pinched ends and retaining moisture, great for baked treat, casseroles or roasted for fries. ‘Vardaman’ is described as a bush variety, producing a compact plant without long trailing vines and appropriate for container planting. Descriptors I have read state that the flesh is firm, not moist, stores longer and harvested within 100 days. Cure them after harvest by keeping them at a constant 85-degree temperature. After I dug mine out of the garden, I placed them on newsprint in the shade of my porch for about five days before lightly scrubbing off the dirt, then bringing them indoors and stored them on the countertop at air-conditioned room temperature. I am delighted to report that the Brueggerhoff household has made a delicious curry, casserole and fries with our harvest.
Browse online to the Brazos County Master Gardener webpage to find out more about seasonal vegetable and ornamental programs: txmg.org/brazos. I invite you to share your ideas and successes by joining me for my live call-in garden show Garden Success airing weekly on Thursdays at 12 pm on KAMU-FM 90.9. Enjoy a sweet harvest, and as always, I look forward to seeing you in the garden.
Second Spring – Fall Gardening
By Stephen Brueggerhoff, CEA – Horticulture, Brazos County AgriLife Extension; published 09/03/2025
I consider our annual fall season to be our second spring, a time of year projecting a promise of cooler weather and just in time to establish a fall vegetable garden. In a way, the fall gardening season is just like asking for second helpings at the table; we’re working our garden beds for a second serving of vegetables in one year, and we can be successful for our efforts with a little preparation and planning.
Time to Refresh and Dig In
You would use the same set of criteria for your fall garden if you were starting from bare soil as we use for spring gardening. Establish new garden beds in early September, then wait a few weeks to plant. Choose a good location in your landscape that receives 6 to 8 hours of direct sunlight. Remember that light duration and quality diminish in the fall and to compensate with an appropriate garden location. Have a water source nearby for ease of garden watering and consider connecting a drip irrigation system for resource conservation. Develop your vegetable beds to properly space your plants for good air circulation and ease of harvest. You may wish to build garden rows up to 10-inches to provide adequate water drainage if you are having challenges with periodic saturated soils. You can also construct prefab raised garden beds. Make sure to add composted organic matter to your soil as a general practice when establishing veggie beds. If you haven’t done so, I recommend committing a soil test to check on soil nutrient availability, pH and soil salinity levels. Our Brazos County AgriLife Extension office has forms, instructions and collection bags you can use to submit your samples to the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Soil, Water and Forage Testing Laboratory, and you can always download forms and instructions from their website for the convenience of sending from home: http://soiltesting.tamu.edu/.
Choose Frost Tolerant Vegetables for Planting
In your planning and garden preparation stage, take into consideration the average first frost date for our county, which can range from December 2 to the end of the month and depending on where you live and your local climatic conditions. This information is very useful when planning on the right type of vegetable to put in your garden. I was given sage advice from a colleague, and I offer this to you: when choosing vegetable varieties for a successful fall garden, think of plants in terms of frost susceptible or frost tolerant. This method of choice considers the biology of plants. Frost tolerant plants can withstand light to moderate freezes, and frost susceptible plants cannot. You can continue to successfully cultivate already planted frost susceptible plants in the fall with varieties of tomatoes, bush beans and even okra. Just pay attention to information on days to harvest specific for each variety. You will have a much longer growing season with frost tolerant plants that include the usual suspects like broccoli, carrots, kale, and collards. Plant cool season vegetables like beets, radish and turnips by seed, broccoli, Brussel sprouts, cauliflower and cabbage by transplants. Get ready to germinate carrot and spinach seed by mid-October.
Selected Cole Crops for Fall Veggies
A few broccoli varieties that perform well in Brazos County and can begin harvest in less than two months are Calabrese (48 days), Green Comet (40 days), Packman (50 days), Green Magic (57 days) and Lieutenant (60 days). Both Green Magic and Lieutenant are heat resistant and produce adequate secondary side shoots. Cauliflower varietals include Snow Crown (55 days), forming a 2-pound, full dome curd. Colorful cauliflower varietals include bright purple Graffiti (80 days) and orange-yellow Cheddar (68-days). To find out when to plant and information related to varietal days till harvest, visit the Brazos County Master Gardener webpage and look for links listed toward the bottom of the home page: txmg.org/brazos.
I invite you to share your ideas and successes by joining me for my live call-in garden show Garden Success airing weekly on Thursdays at 12 pm on KAMU-FM 90.9, podcast available online kamu.tamu.edu/radio/radio-programs/garden-success/
A second helping of seasonal gardening activities can be beneficial to your health and extend your nutritional options throughout the season. Enjoy this second spring, and as always, I look forward to seeing you in the garden.