Williamson County Master GardenersTexas A&M AgriLife Extension Service

Vegetable Demonstration Garden Report for July 2019

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Vegetable Demonstration Garden Report for July 2019

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 Accomplishments 

  • Donations to The Caring Place. This month will include both harvested and donated items. 799 lbs. harvested and 8 lbs. donated for a grand total for the year of 3656 lbs. 
  • Plantings for this month include oats and barley ground cover, okra, trial fall tomatoes, brown crowder peas, dimpled brown crowder peas, purple brown crowder peas, cream peas.
  • Huge amount of Fall tomatoes planted in both the rows and pots,   protected from the summer sun and reported on    
  • Solarizing of the Cinderblock Bed has begun.
  • Sonia and Rick are bringing the Fire Ant Eradication Trial to an end with a report to follow.  Ant eradication will continue.
  • More Pea Trials are now in the ground and on their way
  • Very good update reports on Tomato Trials and Pea Trials received
  • Much of the new irrigation line has been laid out to the orchard area
  • Continue to ready garden for upcoming trial plantings
  • Trees composted, mulched and weeded
  • 239 inches of rain for the month  Need more.
  • A week of “cool” front made for a couple of pleasant weather days in the garden
  • Placed much critter fencing
  • Had several people visiting the garden with some new to our area.

Problems: 

  • Heat, heat and more heat and lack of rain
  • Lots of supplemental watering needing to be done
  • Rats and rabbits are munching on both new plantings and irrigation lines
  • Several leaks in the garden due to rats chewing to get water
  • Getting plants removed and rows and beds ready for new plantings on a strict schedule.
  • Need to make sure everyone is recording what they plant in their beds.

Vegetable Demonstration Garden Report: June 2019

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Accomplishments

 

  • Donations to The Caring Place and The Round Rock Area Serving Center.    This month will include both harvested and donated items.   688 lbs. harvested and 20 lbs. donated for a grand total for the year of 2849 lbs. 
  • Plantings for this month include sweet potatoes, okra, pear trees, zipper cream peas, purple hull peas, top pick peas, carrots and replanted chives.   
  • Sonia and Rick continue their Fire Ant Eradication program with the enhanced Neem oil. With all the rain it has been difficult to determine its effectiveness.
  • The Pea Trials are now in the ground and on their way
  • Trenching was completed to run irrigation lines out to the end of the orchard
  • New program started, Summer Evenings in Garden which invites members to join us in the garden on Sunday evenings for dinner, work and a short information tour. Family members are also invited with one of the members sponsoring the evening.
  • Field Trip mad to Sweet Eats Farm to learn about strawberries, which is coming up on our trial list.
  • Some warm days, rain and sunshine have really made the plants produce well and the abundant harvest shows that.
  • Continue to ready garden for upcoming trial plantings
  • Trees composted, mulched and weeded
  • 9 inches of rain for the month
  • Received large delivery of compost.
  • New irrigation lines were run in the Demo Garden and Herb Garden

 Problems: 

  • Weeds have flourished due to all the rain.
  • Leaf-footed bugs and stink bugs continue, but we vacuumed them and sprayed
  • ADA Bed bottom collapsed due to all the rain.
  • Need to make sure everyone is recording what they plant in their beds.

Vegetable Demonstration Garden Report for May  2019

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Accomplishments

 

  • Donations to The Caring Place This month will include both harvested and donated items.   1185.5  lbs. harvested, for a grand total for the year of 2141 lbs. 
  • Plantings for this month include green beans, cream peas, sweet potatoes, mulberry trees.  
  • Sonia continues her Fire Ant Eradication program with the enhanced Neem oil. It seems to be doing well, but with lots of rain it is difficult to really know.
  • BT injected in squash plants
  • Concentrated kelp -garlic solution and spinosad used for pest control
  • Some warm days, rain and sunshine have really made the plants produce well and the abundant harvest shows that.
  • Discussing and readying beds for new Trial Program
  • Trees composted, mulched and weeded
  • 9 inches of rain for the month
  • Mulched and composted everything

Problems:

  • Rain, glad to have it but lots of it in a short time keeps things from getting done.
  • Have had to remove some eggplant due to disease
  • Squash Vine Borer
  • Tomato worms
  • Flea beetles and loopers
  • Need to make sure everyone is recording what they plant in their beds.

Vegetable Demonstration Garden Report for April 2019

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Accomplishments

  • Donations to The Caring Place This month will include both harvested and donated items.   5  lbs. harvested,  45 lbs. donated for April and a grand total for the year of 955.5 lbs. 
  • Plantings for this month include green beans/pole and bush, sweet and hot peppers, red lima beans, zephyr squash, marigolds, cucumbers, eggplant, African Blue Basil, chard.
  • Sonia has begun a new Fire Ant Eradication project with a new Neem Oil and it looks like it is being successful.
  • Some warm days, rain and sunshine have really made the plants burst out
  • Peach trees mulched and weeded
  • 005 inches of rain for the month
  • Unwrapped tomato cages
  • Cattle panels installed for squash
  • Mulched and composted everything
  • Routine pest control.
  • Irrigation system upgraded for entire garden area by Steve and Dale.

 

Problems:

  • Hate to say rain a problem, just timing of rain.
  • Need to make sure everyone is recording what they plant in their beds.

 

Fire Ant Treatment Experiment: Summary and Results

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Fire Ant Treatment Experiment:
Summary and Results

Our results showed that all three mixtures, neem oil mix, orange oil mix, and the combined mix eliminated the fire ants in the original application area for approximately two weeks. In the compost area, where the combination mix was applied, ant activity was not detected for 5 weeks. In the case of both neem oil mix and the orange oil mix a secondary ant mound appeared in close proximity to the original treatment area by the second or third week following the origin application. We concluded that the fire ant mound moved from the original location to a nearby
location.

The major difference between the neem oil mix and the orange oil mix is that the orange oil ‘burned’ the surrounding turf after it was applied.The combination mix applied in the compost area seemed to have the best results. However, it was difficult to tell whether the ant mound that appeared 6 weeks after the initial application was a secondary mound or a new mound. In addition, the quantity of the drench varied by the location based on the ant mound size. Another observation we made is that the penetration of the drench seemed better in the compost area versus the turf areas.

In conclusion, our recommendation is to try one of the methods in the demo garden and use the same treatment method for one growing season to test the effectiveness of the treatment.

To read the full report, click the following link. https://txmg-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/williamson/files/Fire-Ant-Experiment-March-2019-FINAL.pdf

March Vegetable Demonstration Garden Report

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Vegetable Demonstration Garden Report for March 2019

 Accomplishments

 

  • Donations to The Caring Place This will include both harvested and donated items.   5  lbs. harvested, 41 lbs. donated for February and a grand total for the year of 753 lbs. 
  • Plantings for this month include potatoes, blueberries, purple potatoes, tomatoes and squash
  • Sonia is beginning a new Fire Ant Eradication project with a new Neem Oil
  • Some warm days and sunshine have really made the plants burst out
  • Lots of seaweed tea used to protect from weather
  • Rows readied for pepper and squash planting
  • Crimson clover is ready to be tilled around fruit trees
  • .582 inches of rain for the month  –  far too little
  • Wrapped tomato cages placed around all the tomato plants
  • Bug netting put up around squash
  • Rows readied for pepper, bean and pea planting
  • Mulched and composted everything
  • Routine pest control.
  • Dedicated members who brave really bad conditions to make sure the garden is taken care of.

 Problems:

  • Weather continues to be a thorn in our side. Warm days followed by freezes and damp cold mornings Temperatures dipping into the 20’s.
  • Very little rain and lots of drying winds.
  • Much time spent hand watering plants
  • Time spent covering and uncovering rows to protect from freezes
  • Need to make sure everyone is recording what they plant in their beds.

 

February Vegetable Demonstration Garden Report

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Vegetable Demonstration Garden Report for February 2019

 Accomplishments

  • Donations to The Caring Place This will include both harvested and donated items.   224.5 lbs. harvested, 59 lbs. donated for February and a grand total for the year of 608.5 lbs. 
  • Plantings for this month include potatoes, lots of them; peach and pecan trees, turnips, chives, dill and lettuce.
  • Sonia is putting together a recap of the Ant Experiment
  • Potato mounds are in and look great
  • Lots of seaweed tea used to protect from weather
  • Rows readied for more potatoes and tomato planting
  • Daikon radishes continue doing their job loosening the soil under peach trees and yielding a large harvest
  • .499 inches of rain for the month  
  • Cages and scare tape put around new trees to protect them from grounds crew
  • Covering and uncovering crops from freezing weather
  • Routine pest control.
  • 50 lbs. of rotten carrots donated for compost. Teresa did her thing
  • Dedicated members who brave really bad conditions to make sure the garden is taken care of.

 

Problems:

  • Weather continues to be a thorn in our side. Warm days followed by freezes and damp cold mornings
  • Time spent covering and uncovering rows to protect from freezes
  • Need to make sure everyone is recording what they plant in their beds.