by Lydia Holley May 4, 2020
If you have been considering growing your own food, but are unsure which plants do well in East Texas, when to plant, best practices for growing, or how to preserve your harvest, you will want to visit the Harvest Garden, Henderson County Master Gardener Association’s newest project. Designed to teach the public how to grow edibles, the garden showcases vegetables, herbs, grapes, berries, fruit trees, a hoop house for seed starting, and even a cutting garden for bouquets.
Fruit trees have been pruned and are full of leaves soaking up the sun’s rays, ready to put on fruit later in the season. Four types of tomatoes are reaching toward the sky. Planting various varieties allows the public to decide which will best fit their needs. Shallots and onions are almost ready to be harvested. Short day onions were chosen so they would bulb before the heat sets in.
Purple hull peas and Blue Lake beans, both bush types, will mature and be harvested as the days grow longer. Sugar snap beans are producing now and will soon be replaced with hot weather crops, such as okra or sweet potato. Crookneck and patty pan squash are in bloom, hinting at the promising harvest to come this summer. Pepper plants should also mature at the same time.
Grapes are growing up special trellising. Several varieties were planted so you can see and taste the grapes. This will help you determine which you would like to add to your own garden. Blueberries are loaded with fat, juicy berries. Raspberries will soon follow.
Herbs are loving the warm days. These can be used in cooking and/or medicinally. The scents from this portion of the garden are intoxicating. The hoop house will be filled this winter with strawberry plants in anticipation of selling them at next year’s plant sale. The cutting garden’s plants are beginning to emerge and bloom. It was divided into three sections for early, mid and late blooming varieties.
Master Gardeners hope you will soon be able to visit and learn everything you need to know to grow your own fruit, vegetables, and herbs. This will give you a sense of pride as well as security. From seed starting through harvesting and preserving, the Harvest Garden will become a place for education, demonstration, and inspiration.
For more information, call 903-675-6130, email [email protected].
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