A total of 30.5 pounds of ripened tomatoes were collected this week. They were donated to the Caring Place and the Annunciation Maternity Home. To date, Williamson county master gardeners have donated a total of 3,541 pounds of demonstration garden produce to local charities!

Weekly garden activity summary
Tuesday was a “mulch-a-thon” day for the assembled master gardeners. The herb beds and both garlic rows were mulched.

We had plenty of master gardeners on-site to mulch the large herb garden!

Row 6 was cleared of old mulch and weeds then broad forked in preparation for replanting.

Garlic is already emerging in the row garden!

Spent lima bean plants were removed from trellises in the raised bed area. As in past weeks, general weeding and pest control were performed. More nut grass was plucked from the east ends of rows 2 and 3. These rows will be amended and replanted next week. Onions will occupy one of these rows. Row 8 was cleared of old mulch, amended then broad forked. The last of the green tomatoes were harvested from the last few bearing plants then those plants were removed from the trial bed area. Fire ants continue to find new homes in the garden and under the tarp covering the compost.

Measured rainfall: 0.5 inches of rainfall was measured the week ending 12/06/2015

Thinking of starting seeds for your spring garden?
Central Texas generally has its last frost in mid-March. Start tomato seedlings 6-8 weeks before time to plant tomatoes in your garden. Tomato transplants do best when planted in the ground as early in the spring as possible. If a late spring freeze is forecast, transplants can be protected with warming devices such as Tomato Tee-Pees, floating row cover, or 5 gallon buckets. Pepper and eggplant seedlings should be started 8-10 weeks before time to plant in your garden. Pepper and eggplant transplants do best when soil temperature reaches 70 degrees F.

December Gardening in Central Texas
The Texas A&M Agrilife Extension vegetable garden planting guide has a few suggestions for early winter planting. If planting or sowing seed in the next couple of weeks, be mindful that our average first freeze is late in some areas of central Texas. Transplants are the most hearty for winter planting. Options include the following:

Asian Greens (transplants)
Garlic
Cool season greens
Kale (transplants)
Spinach (transplants)
Radish
Lettuce (transplants)

Come and visit us!
Our demonstration garden is located beside the Williamson County Extension Office driveway at 3151 SE Innerloop Road, Georgetown, Texas. Master gardeners are usually at work in the vegetable garden on Tuesday, and Friday mornings from 9:00 to 11:00 weather permitting. Anyone is welcome to stop by to see the garden or to ask questions of the master gardeners.
Click here for location on Google Maps

The vegetable harvest from our gardens includes:
Tomatoes— 6.9 pounds
Sweet Peppers—0.7 pounds
Eggplant—1.1 pounds

A total of 8.7 pounds of produce was harvested this week. These vegetables were donated to the Round Rock Serving Center. To date, Williamson county master gardeners have donated a total of 3,511 pounds of demonstration garden produce to local charities!

Weekly garden activity summary
The rainy holiday week limited our garden activity. On Tuesday, the team cleaned up the rows removing all the tomato, pepper, luffah, and eggplant dead plant material. Swiss chard and collard transplants were planted in row 9 as well as 10 feet of carrots. The remainder of garlic seed was planted at the east end of the row.

The row garden shows the brassica row left, garlic in the middle and greens on the right.  The greens row is depicted in the image to the right.

The JMG raised beds are filled with mustards, brassicas and greens.  Our pea trellis is laden with climbing vines.

Friday was pretty much a washout. An army of cabbage loopers invaded one row of brassicas. They were meticulously picked off by hand and BT solution applied to the cabbage. Rapidly moving storms ended the work session early on Friday.

Measured rainfall: 1.5 inches of rainfall was measured the short week ending 11/27/2015

November Gardening in Central Texas
The Texas A&M Agrilife Extension vegetable garden planting guide has a few suggestions for early winter planting. If planting or sowing seed in the next couple of weeks, be mindful that our average first freeze is late in some areas of central Texas. Transplants are the most hearty for winter planting— options include the following:
Asian Greens (transplants)
Garlic
Cool season greens
Kale (transplants)
Spinach (transplants)
Radish
Lettuce (transplants)

Come and visit us!
Our demonstration garden is located beside the Williamson County Extension Office driveway at 3151 SE Innerloop Road, Georgetown, Texas. Master gardeners are usually at work in the vegetable garden on Tuesday, and Friday mornings from 9:00 to 12:00 weather permitting. Anyone is welcome to stop by to see the garden or to ask questions of the master gardeners.
Click here for location on Google Maps

The vegetable harvest from our gardens includes:
Tomatoes— 19.6 pounds
Okra— 2.78 pounds
Cucumber—0.6 pounds
Greens—1.4 pounds
Sweet Peppers—16.4 pounds
Hot peppers—18.7 pounds
Eggplant—8.7 pounds

A total of 68 pounds of produce was harvested this week. These vegetables were donated to the Caring Place and the Round Rock Serving Center.  To date, Williamson county master gardeners have donated a total of 3,502 pounds of demonstration garden produce to local charities!

Weekly garden activity summary
Rain put a damper on Tuesday’s garden activities. Vegetables were harvested on Tuesday. Lettuce and spinach were planted in the west end of row 9. In anticipation of the freeze warning expected on late Sunday into Monday morning, all the tomatoes and peppers were harvested on Friday.

                   

Master gardener Teresa will ripen the green tomatoes in her home then will donate the ripened fruit to area charities. Spent okra plants were removed and discarded. More garlic was planted in the raised beds. Worms in the brassicas were sprayed.

Routine garden maintenance was performed including irrigation leak repair. The old compost pile measured 87 degrees F and the new pile 97 degrees F. The piles were turned, cotton seed meal added along with green asparagus ferns.

Cutworms were identified near some dead plants and treated.

Repeated plant damage was noticed in the row garden again. An unidentified “varmit” is devouring our row garden despite the “rabbit proof” wire fencing.  The luffah are still on the vine!

The JMG brassicas are flourishing as are the herb and drought tolerant gardens.

The purple muhly grass is now in full color!

Measured rainfall: 1.0 inch of rainfall was recorded the week ending 11/22/2015

How to ripen the last of the green tomatoes?
Many home gardeners are faced with the dilemma of what to do with those green fall tomatoes lingering on the vine. Tomatoes need warm temperatures and sunshine to ripen on the vine. The gas stimulating the ripening process is called ethylene, emitted by the ripening fruit. There is an easy method to mimic this process. Place your green tomatoes in a plain brown paper bag with a ripe, or near ripe, tomato.

 

Seal the bag with a clip and leave it on the kitchen counter.

Open the bag every couple of days to check on the ripening fruit and to ensure none are rotting inside. The bag will contain the ethylene gas and facilitate ripening. When the fruit are ripe to your satisfaction, enjoy the last pickins of the season!

November Gardening in Central Texas
The Texas A&M Agrilife Extension vegetable garden planting guide has a few suggestions for late fall planting. If planting a winter garden in the upcoming weeks, be mindful that our first freeze is scheduled to occur tonight into Monday morning!  Transplants are the most hearty for winter planting.   Options include the following:
Asian Greens (transplants)
Garlic
Cool season greens
Kale (transplants)
Spinach (transplants)
Radish
Lettuce (transplants)

Come and visit us!
Our demonstration garden is located beside the Williamson County Extension Office driveway at 3151 SE Innerloop Road, Georgetown, Texas. Master gardeners are usually at work in the vegetable garden on Tuesday, and Friday mornings from 9:00 to 12:00 weather permitting. Anyone is welcome to stop by to see the garden or to ask questions of the master gardeners.
Click here for location on Google Maps

The vegetable harvest from our gardens includes:
Tomatoes—19.88 pounds
Zucchini—2.5 pounds
Okra—9.56 pounds
Sweet Peppers—2.85 pounds
Hot peppers—5.8 pounds
Eggplant—1.67 pounds

A total of 42 pounds of produce was harvested this week. These vegetables were donated to the Caring Place and the Annunciation Maternity Home. To date, Williamson county master gardeners have donated a total of 3,434 pounds of demonstration garden produce to local charities!

Weekly garden activity summary
General garden maintenance, including weed control and pest patrol, continue on a weekly basis. Fire ants were eradicated and perennial weeding accomplished. Spent southern pea plants and squash plants were chopped into the compost pile and turned. A new compost pile was started and it’s internal temperature recorded at 130 degrees F.

Irrigation was installed to the new raised bed and the JMG bed. A leak in the handicapped-access bed was repaired.

Row 9 was weeded, the soil broad-forked, and amended in preparation for planting next week. Predators enjoyed 9 of the 10 broccoli plants in Row 4.    Rabbit  fencing was installed to deter these invaders!

Master gardeners have been spending considerable time and effort deconstructing and reconstructing the raised beds.  The first phase in deconstructing is removing the old raised bed frame. Existing irrigation and hardware is moved aside as is existing bed soil.

The new raised bed frame is positioned into the desired space.

A job well done!!!  New soil and amendments are added to the bed. Irrigation is reconnected. The optimal raised bed height is at least 12 inches deep to accommodate growing plant roots.

Measured rainfall: 0.5 inches of rainfall was recorded the week ending 11/15/2015

November Gardening in Central Texas
The Texas A&M Agrilife Extension vegetable garden planting guide has a few suggestions for late fall planting.  We have yet to have our first frost but be mindful that our “average” first freeze is around November 15.  We may get lucky this year and enjoy an extended growing season!   Choose from the following cold hardy plants:
Asian Greens (seeds or transplants)
Garlic
Cool season greens
Kale (seeds or transplants)
Spinach (seeds or transplants)
Radish
Lettuce (seeds or transplants)

Come and visit us!
Our demonstration garden is located beside the Williamson County Extension Office driveway at 3151 SE Innerloop Road, Georgetown, Texas. Master gardeners are usually at work in the vegetable garden on Tuesday, and Friday mornings from 9:00 to 11:00 weather permitting. Anyone is welcome to stop by to see the garden or to ask questions of the master gardeners.
Click here for location on Google Maps

The vegetable harvest from our gardens includes:
Tomatoes—10.29 pounds
Zucchini—5.6 pounds
Yellow Squash—0.1 pounds
Okra—13.63 pounds
Crowder peas—1.7 pounds
Sweet Peppers—7.2 pounds
Hot peppers—4.5 pounds
Eggplant—7.7 pounds
Yard long beans—1 pound

A total of 52 pounds of produce was harvested this week. These vegetables were donated to the Caring Place and the Annunciation Maternity Home. To date, Williamson county master gardeners have donated a total of 3,392 pounds of demonstration garden produce to local charities!

Weekly garden activity summary
The raised beds were in need of repair and reconstruction after the heavy rains. One bed literally fell apart and was shored up with a t-stake then rebuilt!  The new raised beds are hosting healthy brassicas, green and red mustards, and radishes among other cool weather greens!

Planning for new raised beds was undertaken and some raised beds will be completely redone.

The red mustard is a deep purple color.  It’s neighbors include cabbage.

The herb garden team replanted herbs along the buffer zone. Signage for the herb garden was planned as well. Garlic was finally planted in rows 7 and 10! Cauliflower, broccoli, broccoli raab, red cabbage, kohlrabi, kale, spinach and Swiss chard were planted in row 5. Broccoli was planted in row 4. Weeding and other general maintenance, including fire ant eradication, were accomplished in the row gardens this week. An inventory of the leaks in the garden was tallied and repair parts were listed. Row 5 and part of row 4 were fenced. Spent southern pea vines and squash plants were added to the compost pile. The most recent pile temperature was 90 degrees F.

Measured rainfall: over 5 inches of rainfall was measured in the week ending 11/8/2015.

Heavy Rainfall Improves Drought Status
The U.S. Department of Agriculture U.S. Drought Monitor has classified the central Texas area as abnormally dry or with no drought conditions. This report was released on 11/05/2015 and reflects the record rainfall experienced over the last 2 weeks.

November Gardening in Central Texas
The Texas A&M Agrilife Extension vegetable garden planting guide has a few suggestions for late fall planting. If planting or sowing seed in the next couple of weeks, be mindful that our average first freeze is around November 15. Options include the following:
Asian Greens (seeds or transplants)
Garlic
Cool season greens
Kale (seeds or transplants)
Spinach (seeds or transplants)
Radish
Lettuce (seeds or transplants)

Come and visit us!
Our demonstration garden is located beside the Williamson County Extension Office driveway at 3151 SE Innerloop Road, Georgetown, Texas. Master gardeners are usually at work in the vegetable garden on Tuesday, and Friday mornings from 9:00 to 11:00 weather permitting. Anyone is welcome to stop by to see the garden or to ask questions of the master gardeners.
Click here for location on Google Maps

The vegetable harvest from our gardens includes:
Tomatoes— 1.63 pounds
Zucchini—2.3 pounds
Tatuma Squash—1.0 pounds
Okra— 4.6 pounds
Crowder peas—2.5 pounds
Peppers—3.0 pounds
Hot peppers—2.4 pounds
Eggplant—0.3 pounds

A total of 17.7 pounds of produce was harvested this week. These vegetables were donated to the Caring Place. To date, Williamson county master gardeners have donated a total of 3,340 pounds of demonstration garden produce to local charities!

Weekly garden activity summary
This week’s garden activities were curtailed by the rain. Our Friday garden workday was canceled, therefore, this is our Tuesday activity report. The compost pile temperature dropped to 80 degrees F. Sweet potato vines were added to the pile and turned. To achieve the appropriate browns to greens ratio, brown leaves will be added next week. The empty sweet potato bed was broad-forked then amended with cottonseed meal and dried molasses. Weeding took center stage, again, in the row and raised bed gardens. Rabbit deterrent fencing was placed around the strawberry and pea beds.

Measured rainfall: over 5 inches of rainfall was measured on 10/27/2015.

Heavy Rainfall Improves Drought Status
The U.S. Department of Agriculture U.S. Drought Monitor has classified the central Texas area as “moderate drought” or “abnormally dry”. This report was released on 10/29/2015 and is sure to change following the rains over the past week!

November Gardening in Central Texas
The Texas A&M Agrilife Extension vegetable garden planting guide has a few suggestions for late fall planting. If planting or sowing seed in the next couple of weeks, be mindful that our average first freeze is around November 15. Options include the following:
Asian Greens (seeds or transplants)
Garlic
Cool season greens
Kale (seeds or transplants)
Spinach (seeds or transplants)
Radish
Lettuce (seeds or transplants)

Come and visit us!
Our demonstration garden is located beside the Williamson County Extension Office driveway at 3151 SE Innerloop Road, Georgetown, Texas. Master gardeners are usually at work in the vegetable garden on Tuesday, and Friday mornings from 9:00 to 11:00 weather permitting. Anyone is welcome to stop by to see the garden or to ask questions of the master gardeners.
Click here for location on Google Maps

The weekly vegetable harvest from our gardens includes:

Tomatoes—1.23 pounds
Yard long beans— 1.2 pounds
Cucumber—.5 pounds
Zucchini—4.22 pounds
Tatuma Squash— 1.76 pounds
Okra— 26.21 pounds
Crowder peas—6.46 pounds
Peppers— 1.4 pounds
Hot peppers—5.7 pounds
Eggplant—2.35 pounds
Sweet potato—3.6 pounds
Sweet potato greens—1.76 pounds
Yellow fall squash—3.27 pounds

A total of 60 pounds of produce was harvested this week. These vegetables were donated to the Caring Place, the Annunciation Maternity Home, and the Round Rock Area Serving Center. To date, Williamson county master gardeners have donated a total of 3,322 pounds of demonstration garden produce to local charities!

Weekly garden activity summary
Our cooler fall weather has brought smaller harvests. We spotted some new four-legged visitors to the garden this week: rabbits and mice! A nest of small mice was found in the sweet potato patch. Rabbits have been snacking on the brassicas and new peas in the garden. Chicken wire fencing was installed over the plants to protect them from hungry wildlife. Old melon and sweet potato vines were cleared from the vertical garden and added to the compost pile. The pile was turned and it’s temperature recorded at 105 degrees F. Perennial weeding continued around the fruit trees, row garden and raised beds. This has been a banner year for nut grass invasion! This  pomegranate fruit is looking delicious!!

Our fall brassicas and cool weather greens in the raised beds are healthy and thriving in the cooler weather

The native adaptive garden is showing it’s fall colors in the cooler weather!

Measured rainfall: 1 inch of rainfall was recorded on 10/23/2015 at 9 a.m.  Additional measurements will be posted in next week’s blog.

Nature’s Pest Control
Many old-fashioned vegetable gardens mixed herbs and flowers alongside seasonal vegetables. Herbs and flowers attract pollinators to home gardens but have other beneficial features as well. Different combinations of flowers and herbs can deter vegetable pests such as aphids, tomato horn-worms and cabbage worms. Many of these pairings have evolved anecdotally from individual gardening experiences. Marigolds, from seed or transplants, can be placed near tomatoes to inhibit an attack of tomato horn-worms. Horn-worms can devour a whole tomato plant in a day or two! Thyme deters cabbage worms. Nasturtium and rosemary thwart bean munching beetles. Chives and garlic discourage aphids from finding a tender plant. Finally, oregano remains an all purpose pest inhibitor, is very hearty, and serves as a perennial ground cover in central Texas. Consider these options next spring for an all natural home garden!

October Gardening in Central Texas
The Texas A&M Agrilife Extension vegetable garden planting guide has many suggestions for fall planting. Options include the following:
Asian Greens (seeds or transplants)
Fava beans
Beets (transplants)
Brussels sprouts (transplants)
Broccoli (transplants)
Cabbage (transplants)
Cauliflower (transplants)
Carrots
Radish
Garlic
Leeks (seeds or transplants)
Turnips
Swiss chard (seeds or transplants)
Collards (seeds or transplants)
Kale (seeds or transplants)
Kohlrabi (seeds or transplants)
Mustard (seeds or transplants)
Spinach (seeds or transplants)
Lettuce (seeds or transplants)

Come and visit us!
Our demonstration garden is located beside the Williamson County Extension Office driveway at 3151 SE Innerloop Road, Georgetown, Texas. Master gardeners are usually at work in the vegetable garden on Tuesday, and Friday mornings from 9:00 to 11:00 weather permitting. Anyone is welcome to stop by to see the garden or to ask questions of the master gardeners.
Click here for location on Google Maps

The weekly vegetable harvest from our gardens includes:

Tomatoes— 3.31 pounds
Long green beans—2.19 pounds
Cucumber—0.2 pounds
Zucchini—7.71 pounds
Tatuma Squash—27.15 pounds
Okra— 38.4 pounds
Crowder peas—3.62 pounds
Peppers—6.41 pounds
Eggplant— 1.67 pounds
Sweet potato–7 pounds

A total of 98 pounds of produce was harvested this week. These vegetables were donated to the Caring Place and the Annunciation Maternity Home. To date, Williamson county master gardeners have donated a total of 3,262 pounds of demonstration garden produce to local charities!

Weekly garden activity summary
Despite our cooler morning temperatures, the garden is still yielding a nice variety of vegetables—and lots of okra!

This week we harvested half of the sweet potatoes then turned the vines into the compost pile. The temperature of the pile is 125 degrees F reflecting the cooler environmental temperature.  More brassica transplants were planted in raised beds with row cover applied to shade them from the hot afternoon sun.

Blackberry canes were staked and trained along wire. Tomatoes, peppers, eggplant and the brassicas were fertilized with Sea Tea or fish emulsion. Bright light Swiss chard, stevia and cilantro were planted in our container garden this week.

Red Lima beans had prolific yields this week!

Routine garden maintenance included aphid and fire ant control, weeding around the garden and trial beds, and harvesting. Multiple irrigation leaks were identified and remedied.

The native and adapted plant garden is thriving in the heat!

Measured rainfall: No rain was measured the week ending 10/18/2015.

Container Gardening: Options for Tight Spaces
Container gardening is well suited for limited garden space and innovative plantscaping! A patio, window sill, balcony or doorstep are space enough for container gardens. Consider using a novel assortment of make-shift containers such as cut-off milk cartons, recycled Styrofoam coolers, lined baskets and cinder block. Traditional flower pots, half barrels, and window boxes also work as decorative containers for intensive gardening. Any container under consideration must never have held toxic products, to either plant or human. Whatever type of container is employed, is should have enough holes in the bottom for drainage and be at least 6-8 inches deep for plant roots.

Commercial potting soil or a homemade mix of compost, vermiculite, and topsoil are healthy media for container gardening. The most common vegetables planted in containers include carrots, lettuce, radishes and herbs. Many plant breeders and seed companies have developed vegetable varieties specific for containers. The amount of sunlight that the container garden receives should determine which vegetables are best suited for the area. For example, root and leaf crops can tolerate partial shade whereas tomatoes and peppers need about 8 hours of full sun to bear fruit. It is important to pay careful attention to moisture levels in container gardening. Containers dry out quickly, especially in full sun. Water should be applied until it runs out the drainage holes. Drip irrigation tubing can be installed in garden containers and watered on a fixed daily schedule. It’s worthwhile to invest in an inexpensive moisture meter to determine the specific water needs of your container garden!

October Gardening in Central Texas
The Texas A&M Agrilife Extension vegetable garden planting guide has many suggestions for fall planting. Options include the following:
Asian Greens (seeds or transplants)
Fava beans
Beets (transplants)
Brussels sprouts (transplants)
Broccoli (transplants)
Cabbage (transplants)
Cauliflower (transplants)
Carrots
Radish
Garlic
Leeks (seeds or transplants)
Turnips
Swiss chard (seeds or transplants)
Collards (seeds or transplants)
Kale (seeds or transplants)
Kohlrabi (seeds or transplants)
Mustard (seeds or transplants)
Spinach (seeds or transplants)
Lettuce (seeds or transplants)

Come and visit us!
Our demonstration garden is located beside the Williamson County Extension Office driveway at 3151 SE Innerloop Road, Georgetown, Texas. Master gardeners are usually at work in the vegetable garden on Tuesday, and Friday mornings from 9:00 to 11:00 weather permitting. Anyone is welcome to stop by to see the garden or to ask questions of the master gardeners.
Click here for location on Google Maps

The 10/11/2015 weekly vegetable harvest from our gardens includes:

Tomatoes— 5.3 pounds
Long green beans—0.7 pounds
Cucumber—0.7 pounds
Zucchini—5.9 pounds
Tatuma Squash—1.7 pounds
Okra— 28.5 pounds
Crowder peas—3.8 pounds
Peppers—3.4 pounds
Eggplant—3.7 pounds
Cantaloupe—3.7 pounds

A total of 57.4 pounds of produce was harvested this week. These vegetables were donated to the Caring Place and the Annunciation Maternity Home. To date, Williamson county master gardeners have donated a total of 3,164 pounds of demonstration garden produce to local charities!

Weekly garden activity summary
Routine garden maintenance continued this week. Harvesting vegetables, weeding, amending soil, mulching and fire-ant control were priority tasks.  Master gardener Mike is covered in sweet potato vines!

And, our summer crops–peppers, eggplant, squash, tomatoes– continue to bear colorful harvests!

The new raised beds have been planted, mulched and fertilized.  Row cover serves as shade for young transplants!

The garlic row garden is now ready for seed—organic garlic seed is available around mid-October. Irrigation lines are installed and functional.

Sweet potatoes  were sampled and will be harvested next week.

More leaks in other irrigation lines were diagnosed and repaired. Soil sample analysis from the Earthkind trial beds was reviewed and demonstrated high nutrient levels with nitrogen levels extra low to none. An average alkaline pH of 8.6 was recorded.

Similar garden maintenance activities continued in the herb garden.

Cabbage was planted in the row garden and Sea Tea applied. Sea Tea is a liquid plant fertilizer containing 2% total nitrogen, 3% available phosphate, and 2% soluble potash. The concentrate is diluted and used as a foliar spray or watered into the soil around the plant.

An extra work session in the gardens was held on Saturday, October 10. More routine garden maintenance was undertaken in the drought tolerant garden and the vegetable garden as well.  The entry way arbor was cleared of growth.  Soil was added to a berm near the drought tolerant garden.

Roots of the Chinaberry tree had invaded the garden and were removed.

Measured rainfall: No rain was measured the week ending 10/11/2015.

Why Soil pH is so important
Hydrogen ion activity of the soil is measured by soil pH. The pH scale has 14 gradations known as pH intervals: this is a logarithmic scale rather than a linear one. Mid-scale is pH 7, which is considered neutral. Measurements below pH 7 are acidic and above pH 7 are alkaline. The optimum range for mineral soils is between pH 6 and pH 7. Extremes in pH affect binding of micro-nutrients in the soil. Acidic soils can promote the release of elevated aluminum and manganese concentrations. Low pH levels can make calcium, phosphorus and magnesium less available to plant life. In alkaline soils, phosphorus, iron, copper, zinc, boron and manganese are bound in the soil and become less available for plant use. Soil pH can be modulated through the addition of limestone (increases soil pH) or elemental sulfur (decreases soil pH).  Most soils in central Texas tend to be on the alkaline side (pH >8). The addition of organic matter is the easiest way to regulate soil pH and to promote a healthy soil ecosystem.

October Gardening in Central Texas
The Texas A&M Agrilife Extension vegetable garden planting guide has many suggestions for October planting. Options include the following:
Asian Greens (seeds or transplants)
Fava beans
Beets (transplants)
Brussels sprouts (transplants)
Broccoli (transplants)
Cabbage (transplants)
Cauliflower (transplants)
Carrots
Radish
Garlic
Leeks (seeds or transplants)
Peas (English, snow and snap)
Turnips
Swiss chard (seeds or transplants)
Collards (seeds or transplants)
Kale (seeds or transplants)
Kohlrabi (seeds or transplants)
Mustard (seeds or transplants)
Spinach (seeds or transplants)
Lettuce (seeds or transplants)

Come and visit us!
Our demonstration garden is located beside the Williamson County Extension Office driveway at 3151 SE Innerloop Road, Georgetown, Texas. Master gardeners are usually at work in the vegetable garden on Tuesday, and Friday mornings from 9:00 to 11:00 weather permitting. Anyone is welcome to stop by to see the garden or to ask questions of the master gardeners.
Click here for location on Google Maps

Our harvest from the garden the week of 10/4/2015 includes:

Tomatoes— 0.3 pounds
Lima beans—0.2 pounds
Squash—6 pounds
Zucchini—4.6 pounds
Tatuma Squash—4.8 pounds
Okra—40 pounds
Crowder peas—3.8 pounds
Peppers—0.6 pounds
Eggplant—2.5 pounds
Melon—4.8 pounds

A total of 65.8 pounds of produce was harvested this week. These vegetables were donated to the Caring Place and the Annunciation Maternity Home. To date, Williamson county master gardeners have donated a total of 3,107 pounds of demonstration garden produce to local charities!

Weekly garden activity summary
Master gardeners spent the week preparing rows and beds for fall crop planting.  Cauliflower, Brussels sprouts and broccoli were planted, mulched with pine straw and shaded with row cover.

New JMG beds were prepared and filled with soil, compost, cottonseed meal, and dried molasses.

The compost pile continues to cook reaching an internal temperature of 147 degrees F. Tenacious nut-grass was pulled and disposed of. Pest patrol uncovered more fire ants and aphids. Weeds were whacked and soil placed in low spots around the trees. Irrigation lines were checked for leaks.  New irrigation lines were placed in the drought tolerant garden.

Ongoing maintenance in the herb garden, rose garden and drought tolerant garden continues.

The new signage for the gardens was erected with a news bulletin board.

Measured rainfall: No rain was measured the week ending 10/4/2015.

The Compost Recipe:
Optimal composting includes a mix of organics that contribute carbon and nitrogen. Composters mix 75% “brown” organic material with 25% “green” organics (by volume). These ingredients plus water, oxygen, heat and microorganisms get the degradation process going. The carbon-rich component of a compost pile is often referred to as the brown material. Carbon-rich organics include dead, dry leaves, woody materials, and dried grass. Greens are the nitrogen-rich component. Green materials include fresh grass clippings, fruit and vegetable scraps, and livestock manure. Microorganisms that get the reaction going need a warm, moist environment. Some food scraps have a high water content; water can be added slowly if the pile is dry and flaky. Composting can occur with oxygen (aerobic) or without oxygen (anerobic). Aerobic composting requires a well aerated pile. Aerobic decomposition occurs more quickly than anerobic decomposition and generates very little odor. The pile should be turned every 4-5 days or right after fresh materials are added to it.

Late September Gardening in Central Texas
The Texas A&M Agrilife Extension vegetable garden planting guide has many suggestions for fall planting. Options include the following:
Asian Greens (seeds or transplants)
Fava beans
Beets (transplants)
Brussels sprouts (transplants)
Broccoli (transplants)
Cabbage (transplants)
Cauliflower (transplants)
Carrots
Radish
Garlic
Leeks (seeds or transplants)
Peas (English, snow and snap)
Turnips
Swiss chard (seeds or transplants)
Collards (seeds or transplants)
Kale (seeds or transplants)
Kohlrabi (seeds or transplants)
Mustard (seeds or transplants)
Spinach (seeds or transplants)
Lettuce (seeds or transplants)

Come and visit us!
Our demonstration garden is located beside the Williamson County Extension Office driveway at 3151 SE Innerloop Road, Georgetown, Texas. Master gardeners are usually at work in the vegetable garden on Tuesday, and Friday mornings from 9:00 to 11:00 weather permitting. Anyone is welcome to stop by to see the garden or to ask questions of the master gardeners.
Click here for location on Google Maps