Vegetable Demonstration Garden

This week’s harvest includes:
Tomatoes— 16.75 pounds
Okra—4.72 pounds
Cucumbers—49.73 pounds
Armenian cucumbers—0.84 pounds
Lemon cucumbers—5.3 pounds
Sweet peppers—1.4 pounds
Hot peppers—0.86 pounds
Eggplant—8.1 pounds
Crowder peas—0.4 pounds
Acorn squash—1.98 pounds
Mexican Mint Marigold—0.5 pounds (from the Drought Tolerant Garden)
Green beans—0.5 pounds

A total of 91.08 pounds of produce was harvested last week. These vegetables were donated to the Caring Place. To date, Williamson county master gardeners have donated a total of 2,547.985 pounds of demonstration garden produce to local charities.

Weekly rainfall: 3.35 inches of rainfall were measured the week ending 07/31/2016

Summary of garden activities
Looks like those “hit-or-miss” summer showers hit the demo garden last week giving the veggies an extra drink! Several leaks were identified in the irrigation system during the week. The leaking backflow preventer was repaired on Wednesday and zones 21-23 tested. More leaks were noted and fixed. Irrigation leaks were also identified in the drought tolerant garden. The peach orchard was weeded, composted and mulched. Rabbit fencing was removed from the okra row. On Tuesday, the old compost pile measured 95 degrees whereas the newer pile read 98 degrees F. The piles were turned and green material added to the bins. An “icky” disease on the Contender green bean stems was observed. Those diseased plants were pulled out and disposed. On Friday, peppers and okra in row 6 were fertilized with 6-2-2 and watered in. Fall tomatoes were planted in row 10. Varieties include Tycoon, Phoenix and Marzan Red. Humates were added in the south section of row 10 and left out in the north section. One of each tomato variety was planted in both sections. Let’s see if humates make a difference. As always, harvesting, weeding and general maintenance continues in the row garden and raised beds!  Master gardeners are harvesting veggies in the left pic.  Fall tomatoes are planted in the container garden in the right pic.

Red lima bean blossoms are showing on the vine in the left pic.  Golden crispy melons (right pic) are going to yield a HUGE harvest!

July Gardening in Central Texas
The Texas A&M Agrilife Extension vegetable garden planting guide suggests the following vegetables for summer planting:
Warm season greens
Corn
Summer squash
Winter squash
Eggplant transplants
Tomato transplants
Pepper transplants

Come and visit us!
Our demonstration garden is located beside the Williamson County Extension Office driveway at 3151 SE Inner Loop Road, Georgetown, Texas. Master gardeners are usually at work in the vegetable garden on Tuesday and Friday mornings from 8:30 AM to noon, 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

Vegetable Demonstration Garden

This week’s harvest includes:
Tomatoes—53.62 pounds
Okra—4.61 pounds
Cucumbers—61.41 pounds
Green beans— 0.63 pounds
Armenian cucumbers—18.8 pounds
Lemon cucumbers—10.7 pounds
Sweet peppers— 1.5 pounds
Hot peppers—3.92 pounds
Eggplant—2.79 pounds
Sweet potato leaves— 3.8 pounds
Acorn squash— 2.5 pounds
Summer squash—2.41 pounds

A total of 166.69 pounds of produce was harvested last week. These vegetables were donated to the Annunciation Maternity Home and the Caring Place. To date, Williamson county master gardeners have donated a total of 2,456.905 pounds of demonstration garden produce to local charities!

Weekly rainfall: no rainfall was measured the week ending 07/24/2016

Summary of garden activities
Compost bin temperatures were measured as 95 degrees F in the new bin and 92 degrees in the old bin. Row 10 was weeded, amended and broad forked in preparation for fall tomato planting (left pic). The perimeter of the gardens and orchard were trimmed with the weed wacker (right pic).

The irrigation system was tested and a leak repaired in bed 6. Summer squash in row 3 was hand watered and zone 21 supplying the southern peas was turned on for extra watering.  A number of pests were observed in the okra row. Hordes of cucumber beetles along with another chewing insect pest were identified. Pest eggs were noted on leaf undersides and sprayed with water. Raised bed gardeners performed their usual garden maintenance and weeding (left pic).  The lesion on the pear (right pic) looks like bitter rot.

July Gardening in Central Texas
The Texas A&M Agrilife Extension vegetable garden planting guide suggests the following vegetables for summer planting:
Warm season greens
Corn
Summer squash
Winter squash
Eggplant transplants
Tomato transplants
Pepper transplants

Come and visit us!
Our demonstration garden is located beside the Williamson County Extension Office driveway at 3151 SE Inner Loop Road, Georgetown, Texas. Master gardeners are usually at work in the vegetable garden on Tuesday and Friday mornings from 8:30 AM to noon, 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

Vegetable Demonstration Garden

This week’s harvest includes:
Tomatoes—112.06 pounds
Okra—3.61 pounds
Cucumbers—41.81 pounds
Green beans—5.5 pounds
Crowder peas— 0.61 pounds
Sweet peppers—1.08 pounds
Hot peppers—0.74 pounds
Eggplant—2 pounds
Potatoes—6.34 pounds
Lima beans—1.1 pounds
Barese melon—5.24 pounds
Summer squash—2.4 pounds

A total of 182.49 pounds of produce was harvested last week. These vegetables were donated to the Annunciation Maternity Home, the Caring Place and the Round Rock Area Serving Center. To date, Williamson county master gardeners have donated a total of 2,290.215 pounds of demonstration garden produce to local charities.

Weekly rainfall: 0.5 inches of rainfall were measured the week ending 07/17/2016

Summary of garden activities
Most of the week’s work centered around harvesting a wide variety of veggies.  The west end of row 3 was weeded and we found more potatoes in the process!    The area around the pear tree, in the right pic, was also weeded.

Row 3 (left pic) was then amended and broad forked. Humates were added to the far west end of row 3. Metal markers now divide the prepared soil in row 3 into two equal sections. Zucchini and zephyr squash seeds were planted, in equal numbers, in each section. The objective of this exercise is to examine the effect of humates on squash crops. Irrigation leaks were identified in zone 23 and attempts were made to repair them. Raised bed gardeners harvested and maintained their beds.  More garden material was added to the compost bins.  Raised beds (left pic) and the herb garden (right pic) were hand watered.

Cantaloupe and watermelon were harvested from the raised bed area then sampled during a work break (left pic)!  Watermelons are ready to harvest when the closest tendril to the fruit turns brown.   Okra is flowering and developing pods in the right pic.

July Gardening in Central Texas
The Texas A&M Agrilife Extension vegetable garden planting guide suggests the following vegetables for summer planting:
Warm season greens
Cantaloupe (muskmelon)
Corn
Summer squash
Winter squash
Southern peas
Eggplant transplants
Tomato transplants
Pepper transplants

Come and visit us!
Our demonstration garden is located beside the Williamson County Extension Office driveway at 3151 SE Inner Loop Road, Georgetown, Texas. Master gardeners are usually at work in the vegetable garden on Tuesday and Friday mornings from 8:30 AM to noon, 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

Vegetable Demonstration Garden

This week’s harvest includes:
Tomatoes—108.64 pounds
Okra—1.93 pounds
Cucumbers—78.22 pounds
Green beans—1.54 pounds
Crowder peas—7 pounds
Sweet peppers—5.5 pounds
Hot peppers—7.6 pounds
Eggplant—1.65 pounds

A total of 212.08 pounds of produce was harvested last week. These vegetables were donated to the Annunciation Maternity Home and the Caring Place. To date, Williamson county master gardeners have donated a total of 2,107.725 pounds of demonstration garden produce to local charities. We passed the one vegetable ton mark this week!!

Weekly rainfall: no rainfall was measured the week ending 07/10/2016

Summary of garden activities
Routine maintenance and harvest activities were performed this week. Compost material was added to the new bin. Asparagus plants were tied up. Raised beds and the pear tree were hand watered. Some weeding was done in the row gardens. The intense summer heat has limited garden activities this week.  Gardeners in the right pic are picking peppers adding them to the bucket full in the left pic.

That cantaloupe weighed in at 3.5 pounds–YUM!   The luffa in the right pic is hanging on the vine.  Luffas are part of the Cucurbitaceae family.

July Gardening in Central Texas
The Texas A&M Agrilife Extension vegetable garden planting guide suggests the following vegetables for summer planting:
Warm season greens
Summer & Winter squash
Corn
Southern peas
Eggplant transplants
Tomato transplants
Pepper transplants

Come and visit us!
Our demonstration garden is located beside the Williamson County Extension Office driveway at 3151 SE Inner Loop Road, Georgetown, Texas. Master gardeners are usually at work in the vegetable garden on Tuesday and Friday mornings from 8:30 AM to noon, 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

Vegetable Demonstration Garden

This week’s harvest includes:
Tomatoes—215.81 pounds
Okra—2.45 pounds
Cucumbers—56.05 pounds
Long red beans—4.31 pounds
Yard long beans—2.79 pounds
Green beans—2.6 pounds
Potatoes—52 pounds
Sweet peppers—4.75pounds
Hot peppers—7.35 pounds
Eggplant—1.19 pounds

A total of 349.3 pounds of produce was harvested last week. These vegetables were donated to the Annunciation Maternity Home and the Caring Place. To date, Williamson county master gardeners have donated a total of 1,895.645 pounds of demonstration garden produce to local charities!

Weekly rainfall: 2.25 inches of rainfall were measured the week ending 07/03/2016

Summary of garden activities
Large vegetable harvests and garden maintenance activities kept the gardeners busy this week. How about those HUGE tomatoes (left pic) and that whole bucket of tomatoes came from just one plant!

Areas around the melon plants, the trellis row and the east end of row 9 were weeded.  The red arrows point to those growing melons in the left pic.   In the right pic, the gardeners are weeding and working the curcubita–melons cukes, squash and watermelons!

Artichoke plants were cut back. In the orchard, spaces around the peach trees were trimmed back. Weeding and harvesting in the the raised beds was also completed.  The most important thing to do in the heat of summer is to take frequent breaks as the gardeners are doing in the left pic while sorting the harvest in the right pic!  Have a safe and happy 4th of July holiday!!

July Gardening in Central Texas
The Texas A&M Agrilife Extension vegetable garden planting guide suggests the following vegetables for summer planting:
Warm season greens
Cantaloupe (muskmelon)
Okra
Southern peas
Pumpkin
Tomato transplants (yes, it’s time to think about planting a second crop of tomatoes for fall harvest!)

Come and visit us!
Our demonstration garden is located beside the Williamson County Extension Office driveway at 3151 SE Inner Loop Road, Georgetown, Texas. Master gardeners are usually at work in the vegetable garden on Tuesday and Friday mornings from 8:30 AM to noon, 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

Vegetable Demonstration Garden

This week’s harvest includes:
Tomatoes—340.16 pounds
Okra—0.31 pounds
Cucumbers—42.31 pounds
Garlic— 7.5 pounds
Yard long beans—1.325 pounds
Potatoes—13.6 pounds
Red Lasota potatoes—14.1 pounds
Fingerling potatoes—3.7 pounds

A total of 423.005 pounds of produce was harvested last week. These vegetables were donated to the Annunciation Maternity Home and the Caring Place. To date, Williamson county master gardeners have donated a total of 1,546.345 pounds of demonstration garden produce to local charities!

Weekly rainfall: no rainfall was measured the week ending 06/26/2016

Summary of garden activities
The primary activity this week centered around harvesting a prolific variety of vegetables maturing in the garden. Imagine picking 340 pounds of tomatoes–OMG!!! At least these gardeners are staying cool in the shade!

Weeding the row garden and raised beds took up the rest of their time. A rabbit proof fence was placed around young okra plants in the east end of row 2. The newest peach tree in the orchard appeared unhealthy and was fertilized. General maintenance continued throughout the week.  Here’s what else is happening in the demo gardens….

Brown turkey figs (left pic) are beginning to ripen.  Jicama is flowering and climbing up our trellis (right pic).

Slings support mini watermelons (right pic).  Raised bed gardens (left pic) appear to weather the heat!

Purple cone flowers keep the herb garden colorful in the summer heat!

June Gardening in Central Texas
The Texas A&M Agrilife Extension vegetable garden planting guide suggests the following vegetables for summer planting:
Warm season greens
Cantaloupe (muskmelon)
Okra
Southern peas
Sweet potato slips
Pumpkin

Come and visit us!
Our demonstration garden is located beside the Williamson County Extension Office driveway at 3151 SE Inner Loop Road, Georgetown, Texas. Master gardeners are usually at work in the vegetable garden on Tuesday and Friday mornings from 8:30 AM to noon, 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

Vegetable Demonstration Garden

This week’s harvest includes:
Hot peppers—1.05 pounds
Sweet peppers—0.81pounds
New Zealand spinach—14.4 pounds
Tomatoes—145.86 pounds
Swiss Chard— 3.6 pounds
Cucumbers—15.53 pounds
Garlic—13.4 pounds
Potatoes—45.3 pounds
Squash—11.2 pounds

A total of 251.15 pounds of produce was harvested last week. These vegetables were donated to the Annunciation Maternity Home, the Caring Place, and the Round Rock Serving Center. To date, Williamson county master gardeners have donated a total of 1,123.34 pounds of demonstration garden produce to local charities!

Weekly rainfall: no rainfall was measured the week ending 06/19/2016

Summary of garden activities
Extreme heat remained the biggest challenge for gardeners this week. But, how about the tomato poundage?! You can tell it’s summer time in central Texas–tomatoes come on all at once!!

Harvesting ripe veggies was the number one priority on both days. Potatoes were harvested on Tuesday and Friday. More potatoes still remain in the ground! Weeding in the row garden continued, in conjunction with potato digging.

Routine maintenance in the raised bed gardens was accomplished throughout the week.  More irrigation leaks were discovered and await repair.  Additional irrigation was placed in the drought tolerant garden.   On Thursday afternoon, another nematode treatment was applied to the garden and the remainder of the garden will be treated on Sunday.

June Gardening in Central Texas
The Texas A&M Agrilife Extension vegetable garden planting guide suggests the following vegetables for summer planting:
Warm season greens
Cantaloupe (muskmelon)
Okra
Southern peas
Watermelon
Sweet potato slips
Pumpkin

Come and visit us!
Our demonstration garden is located beside the Williamson County Extension Office driveway at 3151 SE Inner Loop Road, Georgetown, Texas. Master gardeners are usually at work in the vegetable garden on Tuesday and Friday mornings from 8:30 AM to noon, 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

Vegetable Demonstration Garden

This week’s harvest includes:
Peppers—0.78 pounds
New Zealand spinach—5.4 pounds
Tomatoes—78.33 pounds
Swiss Chard—3.2 pounds
Cucumbers—5.04 pounds
Garlic—24.03 pounds

A total of 116.78 pounds of produce was harvested last week. These vegetables were donated to the Annunciation Maternity Home and the Caring Place. To date, Williamson county master gardeners have donated a total of 872.19 pounds of demonstration garden produce to local charities!

Weekly rainfall: no rainfall was measured the week ending 06/12/2016

Summary of garden activities
Maintenance activities in the veggie demo garden included fertilizing the row garden and peach trees, weeding nutgrass, and testing the irrigation system in the raised bed areas.

Spent plants were removed and added to the compost pile. Squash, beans, tomatoes, figs, Swiss Chard and blackberries were harvested from the raised bed areas. The east end of row 2 was broad forked and amended then Burmese okra, a green variety, was sown.  Walkways between rows 1 and 2 and 2 and 3 were weeded.

Tomato plants in row 9 were pruned and tied back from walkway access. On Saturday, master gardeners assembled in the veggie demo garden to apply beneficial nematodes to the garden. The process involves first watering all soil surfaces well. Then, the nematodes are sprayed over the surface and watered into the soil. The raised bed area, the keyhole garden and trial beds were treated on Saturday.

The remainder of the veggie demo garden will be treated next week.

Beneficial Nematodes
Beneficial nematodes are microscopic roundworms that search and destroy all stages of harmful soil dwelling insects. Entomorpathogenic nematodes (Steinernema and Heterorhabditis species) are natural inhabitants in the soil and attack soil dwelling insects while leaving plants and earthworms alone. Nematodes enter the larval pest through its mouth, anus or respiratory openings then begin to feed. Intestinal bacteria emerge from the GI tract of the nematode and rapidly multiply. These bacteria degrade host tissue into material the nematode can readily ingest. The soil dwelling insect then dies within a few days. Nematodes have rapid, positive, wide spread effects on harmful soil pest populations. For more information on the life cycle of nematodes, please follow this link: http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/newsletters/hortupdate/hortupdate_archives/2005/julaug05/Nematodes.html

June Gardening in Central Texas
The Texas A&M Agrilife Extension vegetable garden planting guide suggests the following vegetables for summer planting:
Warm season greens
Cantaloupe (muskmelon)
Okra
Southern peas
Watermelon
Sweet potato slips
Pumpkin

Come and visit us!
Our demonstration garden is located beside the Williamson County Extension Office driveway at 3151 SE Inner Loop Road, Georgetown, Texas. Master gardeners are usually at work in the vegetable garden on Tuesday and Friday mornings from 8:30 AM to noon, 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

Vegetable Demonstration Garden

This week’s harvest includes:
Thyme herb—0.19 pounds
New Zealand spinach–4 pounds
Tomatoes—40.08 pounds
Swiss Chard—5.3 pounds
Leeks—0.54 pounds
Garlic—5.19 pounds

A total of 55.3 pounds of produce was harvested last week. These vegetables and herbs were donated to the Annunciation Maternity Home and the Caring Place. To date, Williamson county master gardeners have donated a total of 755.41 pounds of demonstration garden produce to local charities!

Weekly rainfall: 1.9 inches of rainfall were measured the week ending 06/05/2016

Summary of garden activities
On Tuesday, 78 Chesnok Red garlic bulbs were harvested from the west end of row 7. That row was then weeded, amended and broadforked. Butternut and acorn squash were planted there. Row 7 is now the squash row. The east end of row 5 was also amended and broadforked. Melons were planted filling up the rest of row 5. Trial beds were cleaned up and mulched. Irrigation leaks were diagnosed and repaired. The compost pile read 120 degrees F. Cottonseed meal was added to stimulate more heat. Squash vine borers were discovered in the raised bed area!

The diagnosis was made by opening base of the squash stem and finding the larvae, shown in the above pic. To treat the borers, the base of the squash stem was opened, the borer removed and liquid BT was injected (using a turkey baster) into the open stem. The infected area was then covered with soil. In some instances, this can be an effective cure. Time will tell if the treatment was successful!! On Friday, weeding was accomplished between rows 3 and 4, in the potato row, and under the tomatoes between rows 4 and 5. WOW—what a haul!

Lower leaves of tomato plants in row 4 were trimmed. And, of course, more fireants were treated!!

Purple cone flowers (left pic) are thriving in the drought tolerant garden.  In the rose garden, the Souvenir de St. Anne’s bush enjoys sunshine (right pic).

MoonGlow pears (left pic) are developing nicely.  The stevia plant (right pic) is part of our container garden

The Squash Vine Borer
Melittia calabaza is the scientific name for this garden pest that will damage your squash crop! The adult moth lays eggs near the leaves and stems of the target squash plant. Hatched larvae then burrow into the stem destroying the plant. The earliest signs of this in the garden is a wilting or dying plant.

Eggs remain in the soil and can winter over to the next season. Some home gardeners plant radishes and onion sets in the same vicinity as the squash to deter the adult moth from laying eggs near the squash. Other gardeners use light weight floating row cover over the developing squash plant to prevent the adult from laying eggs. Care must be taken to remove the row cover when female flowers appear to allow pollinators access to the flowers. Once infected, however, the borer destroys the squash plant from the inside out. Definitive diagnosis is made by identifying the point of entry, usually at the base of the stem, where a gritty, saw-dust like lesion is found (left pic).

Some home gardeners physically remove the borer (right pic)  and cover the base of the plant with soil. Others inject liquid BT into the stem, as we did with our borers. Watchful waiting will tell if the treatment worked! There are some varieties of squash with tougher stems that make it harder for the borer to destroy. They include acorn and butternut squash, tatume squash, and an heirloom squash called Zucchino Rampicante. For more information about the life cycle of the squash vine borer insect, please follow this link: http://texasinsects.tamu.edu/cimg251.html

June Gardening in Central Texas
The Texas A&M Agrilife Extension vegetable garden planting guide suggests the following vegetables for summer planting:
Warm season greens
Winter squash
Cantaloupe (muskmelon)
Okra
Southern peas
Watermelon
Sweet potato slips
Pumpkin

Come and visit us!
Our demonstration garden is located beside the Williamson County Extension Office driveway at 3151 SE Inner Loop Road, Georgetown, Texas. Master gardeners are usually at work in the vegetable garden on Tuesday and Friday mornings from 8:30 AM to noon, 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

Vegetable Demonstration Garden

This week’s harvest includes:
Eggplant—0.36 pounds
New Zealand spinach—7.4 pounds
Hot peppers— 0.83 pounds
Sweet peppers— 1.7 pounds
Tomatoes— 7.68 pounds
Swiss Chard— 0.94 pounds
Leeks—1.89 pounds
Garlic—14 pounds

A total of 34.8 pounds of produce was harvested last week. These vegetables were donated to the Caring Place. To date, Williamson county master gardeners have donated a total of 700.11 pounds of demonstration garden produce to local charities!

Weekly rainfall: 0.625 inches of rainfall was measured the week ending 05/29/2016

Summary of garden activities
Despite soggy conditions in the garden this week, routine maintenance, planting, and pest control were successfully accomplished. The west end of row 2 was weeded, amended, and Burgundy Red okra planted. Rabbits found our tender bean plants!  Fencing was installed to keep them away. Seems to have worked!  Squash bug eggs were identified in the raised beds and eliminated. In row 8, tomato plant lower leaves were trimmed. Pepper plants were caged for protection. Trenches in the asparagus bed were filled. Compost from the old pile was screened and applied in row 2.  Additional green material was chopped into the new pile.

A plastic bird of prey sits atop a stake to deter birds from feasting on ripening tomatoes (left pic).  Plastic snakes placed on the ground near tomato plants will have the same deterrent effect–just make sure none are moving!  The herb garden is tolerating the heavy rainfall (right pic).

Flowers are a common sighting in summer gardens.  An artichoke head with purple flower in bloom is depicted on the left.    Crimson snapdragons are a colorful addition to a summer garden and attract pollinators as well (right pic).

Figs are developing in the left pic.   As you see in the right pic, the wind has blown over a loosely caged tomato plant.  It’s important to anchor your cages if they are not self-staking in design!

Enjoy the Memorial Day Holiday and please be safe.    A heart-felt “thank you” to all current and former service members on your special day!

June Gardening in Central Texas
The Texas A&M Agrilife Extension vegetable garden planting guide suggests the following vegetables for early summer planting:
Warm season greens
Winter squash
Cantaloupe (muskmelon)
Okra
Southern peas
Watermelon
Sweet potato slips
Pumpkin

Come and visit us!
Our demonstration garden is located beside the Williamson County Extension Office driveway at 3151 SE Inner Loop Road, Georgetown, Texas. Master gardeners are usually at work in the vegetable garden on Tuesday and Friday mornings from 8:30 AM to noon, 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