Williamson County Master GardenersTexas A&M AgriLife Extension Service

WEEK ENDING 12/18/2016

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Vegetable Demonstration Garden

This week’s harvest includes:
Cabbage—4.6 pounds
Mixed greens—27.2 pounds
Radicchio—1.9 pounds
Broccoli— 3 pounds
Kohlrabi—6.5 pounds
Beets—3.9 pounds
Tomatoes ripened at home—15.5 pounds

A total of 62.6 pounds of produce was harvested this week. These vegetables were donated to Heaven’s Harvest Food Bank, the Caring Place and the Round Rock Area Serving Center. To date, Williamson county master gardeners have donated a total of 3,786.785 pounds of demonstration garden produce to local charities.

Weekly rainfall: 0.02 inch of rainfall was measured the week ending 12/18/2016.

Summary of garden activities
Garden cleanup and routine maintenance occurred this week. The last two tomato plants were removed from the trial beds and elbon rye planted. All trial beds now have elbon rye planted as a winter cover crop. Irrigation lines and mulch were removed from row 10A&B. The area was amended, including humate, and broad-forked. New irrigation lines were installed in those rows. Irrigation was tested for leaks and none were found. Garden debris was hauled to the dumpster area. On Friday, the garden was prepared for the forecast hard freeze over the weekend. Row 2 was recovered. Row 9 was cleared of mulch and broad-forked to loosen Bermuda grass growing in the row. The west end of row 6 was amended with compost, cottonseed meal, molasses and 6-2-2 fertilizer then broad-forked. Raised bed gardeners harvested their crops and covered their beds. Compost piles were cold at 62 and 60 degrees F.

The blog will return on December 31, 2016. Happy Holidays!

December Gardening in Central Texas
The Texas A&M Agrilife Extension vegetable garden planting guide suggests the following vegetables for fall planting:
Garlic
Lettuce (seeds or transplants)
Spinach (seeds or transplants)
Radish

Come 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

WEEK ENDING 12/11/2016

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Vegetable Demonstration Garden

This week’s harvest includes:
Sweet peppers—1.05 pounds
Hot peppers— 2.3 pounds
Eggplant—12 pounds
Kale/cabbage/mustard mix–11 pounds
Lima beans/king of the garden beans mix—11.6 pounds
Bok choy— 3.3 pounds
Turnips—3 pounds
Tomatoes ripened at home— 9 pounds

A total of 53.25 pounds of produce was harvested this week. These vegetables were donated to the Caring Place and the Round Rock Area Serving Center. To date, Williamson county master gardeners have donated a total of 3,724.185 pounds of demonstration garden produce to local charities.

Weekly rainfall: 1.95 inches of rainfall were measured the week ending 12/11/2016.

Summary of garden activities
The arctic blast we experienced last week forced master gardeners to implement protective measures in the demo garden. A hoop house with row cover was constructed to protect the new seedlings in row 2.

row-2-seedlings-protected-with-trellis-windbreak-12092016Liquid seaweed was applied to plants in row 2 for added protection against the cold. Raised bed gardeners covered seedlings with pine straw. Other gardeners recovered their beds with heavier row cover to protect plants from freezing. On Friday, dead tomato plants and eggplants were removed from the row garden (left pic).  Root knot nematodes were identified on a pepper plant root (right pic).

clearing-last-eggplant-from-row-3-12092016 root-knot-nematode-infection-pepper-plant-12092016

Mulch was scraped off those rows. The wind break trellis was reassembled after the winds blew it over. An irrigation leak in the orchard area was repaired. Compost piles were cold with temperatures measuring 42 and 58 degrees F.  Elbon rye in the trial beds, image below, tolerates cold weather.  It survives even in hardiness zone 3!

elbon-rye-in-trial-beds-12092016Some root veggies do very well in cold weather.  Master gardener Carol shows what a Texas-sized rutabaga looks like!!

rutabaga-harvest-12092016

Protecting your garden in cold weather
Shrubs, annuals, perennials, trees, flowers and vegetables have hardiness zone designations. A hardiness zone is a geographically-defined area in which a specific category of plant life is capable of growing, as defined by its ability to survive the minimum temperatures of the zone.   Our hardiness zone is 8b.  The vegetables in the demonstration garden are selected with this characteristic in mind.

Central Texas usually experiences it’s first freeze around mid-November.  A freeze occurs when the ambient temperature drops below 32 degrees F. When water inside a plant freezes, it causes plant cells to burst causing irreparable damage. There is a range of freeze damage caused by dropping temperatures. A light frost or freeze occurs when temperatures drop to 28 degrees F for a couple of hours. Ice forms on the outside of the plant. Only tender plants and herbs will be harmed. Green basil leaves, for example, will  die back as temperatures approach 32 degrees. A hard freeze or killing frost occurs when temperatures drop to 25 degrees for several hours. Blossoms and foliage are damaged. Root hardy perennials and crops may be damaged. A severe freeze occurs when temperatures drop below 25 degrees for several hours. Most plants sustain damage through desiccation or drying out.

So what can we do to protect our cherished plants? When a freeze is forecast, vegetable gardeners may harvest tender crops and let them ripen indoors. Tomatoes, for example, can be harvested green and successfully ripened on the kitchen counter. Harvesting tender herbs and dehydrating them for long term storage is another way to preserve herbs as well as some vegetables. Container plants should be moved indoors when freeze warnings are posted for the area. Tender, in-ground plants including citrus and freeze-sensitive shrubs can be covered with an old sheet, blanket, row cover, or commercially available protective thermal coverings. Some gardeners hang a string of Christmas lights on the limbs of their shrubs before covering them. Lights generate heat, which is trapped under the coverings, giving the shrub some degree of protection from colder temperatures.  In-ground crops can also be protected by thoroughly watering the plants. Well hydrated plants can withstand a light freeze or frost. Applying a generous layer of mulch, pine straw, or other ground covering around the plant will also protect the root zone in freezing temperatures. Fertilizing plants ahead of a freeze should be avoided. Again, the inherent hardiness of the plant or vegetable is predictive of its survival in sub zero temperatures.

December Gardening in Central Texas
The Texas A&M Agrilife Extension vegetable garden planting guide suggests the following vegetables for fall planting:
Asian greens (seeds or transplants)
Cool season greens
Garlic
Lettuce (seeds or transplants)
Spinach (seeds or transplants)
Radish

Come 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

WEEK ENDING 12/04/2016

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Vegetable Demonstration Garden

This week’s harvest includes:
Sweet peppers—0.36 pound
Hot peppers— 3.07 pounds
Eggplant—3.93 pounds
Kale—2 pounds
Bok choy—10.95 pounds
Tomatoes—6.7 pounds
Cabbage—5.2 pounds
Rutabaga—0.62 pound
Shelling beans—1.4 pounds

A total of 34.23 pounds of produce was harvested this week. These vegetables were donated to Heaven’s Harvest Food Bank and the Round Rock Area Serving Center. To date, Williamson county master gardeners have donated a total of 3,670.935 pounds of demonstration garden produce to local charities.

Weekly rainfall: no rainfall was measured the week ending 12/04/2016.

Summary of garden activities
General garden maintenance including pest management, amending beds, fertilizing,  harvesting crops, and  irrigation installation were priorities this week. Trial bed A and row 2 were amended with compost, cottonseed meal, molasses and 6-2-2 fertilizer. After broad forking row 2, romaine lettuce, spinach and broccoli were planted. The row was fenced to prevent rabbits from snacking on greens. Elbon rye was planted in the trial bed and watered in.  Elbon rye seedlings sprout in the trial bed image below.

elbon-rye-germinates-12032016

Fish fertilizer was applied to the garlic row. On Friday, the garlic row was mulched, depicted below.

garlic-row-12032016

Liquid BT was applied to all cabbage family plants in the row garden area and raised bed area. Raised bed gardeners planted lettuce and spinach.  Lettuce, broccoli and cabbage are part of the row garden (image below).

row-2-with-lettuce-broccoli-spinach

Spent pepper plants were cleared. An irrigation installation tutorial was held for the herb trial bed volunteers (right pic) . On Friday, the herb gardeners finished connecting all irrigation lines (left pic).

herb-garden-12032016 irrigation-crew-11292016

Compost temperatures in the piles read 60 and 62 degrees F.

December Gardening in Central Texas
The Texas A&M Agrilife Extension vegetable garden planting guide suggests the following vegetables for fall planting:
Asian greens (seeds or transplants)
Cool season greens
Garlic
Lettuce (seeds or transplants)
Spinach (seeds or transplants)
Radish

Come 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

WEEK ENDING 11/27/2016

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Vegetable Demonstration Garden

Tuesday’s harvest includes:
Sweet peppers—3.89 pounds
Hot peppers—4.3 pounds
Eggplant—2.5 pounds
Kale—2 pounds
Kohlrabi—3.5 pounds
Tomatoes—4.2 pounds
Cabbage—8.2 pounds

A total of 28.59 pounds of produce was harvested this week. These vegetables were donated to the Caring Place and the Round Rock Area Serving Center. To date, Williamson county master gardeners have donated a total of 3,636.705 pounds of demonstration garden produce to local charities.

Weekly rainfall: no rainfall was measured the week ending 11/27/2016.

Summary of garden activities
The first seasonal frost last weekend damaged row garden tomatoes, eggplant, luffa (left pic), some lima beans, a few beets, kale, and one cabbage. Salvageable tomatoes from row 9 were harvested and the plants cut back. Dead tomato plants were removed on Friday. The right pic shows master gardeners mulching the orchard in the background and clearing spent plants in the foreground.  Garlic and cabbage are in the foreground rows.

luffa-11-26-16 mg-garden-cleanup-11262016

One dead Black Krim tomato plant was removed from trial bed A then mulch was raked off and transferred to the orchard. Mulch was also cleared from trial bed D and used to mulch the orchard trees.  Rabbit fencing (pic below) protects the “salad rows” from hungry rodents eager to make a meal of these nice greens!

fencing-for-rabbits-11-26-16Trial beds B,C and D were amended with compost, cottonseed meal, molasses and 6-2-2 fertilizer. These trial beds were broad forked and Elbon rye planted. Elbon rye was planted in Carole’s raised bed. Beneficial nematodes were sprayed on the garlic row and in all the raised beds, except for a few areas. Irrigation lines were tested. Weeding and edging the decomposed granite pathway was completed. Master gardener Radhika harvested a huge daikon radish  in this image.

radhikas-radish-11-26-16

November Gardening in Central Texas
The Texas A&M Agrilife Extension vegetable garden planting guide suggests the following vegetables for fall planting:
Asian greens (seeds or transplants)
Cool season greens
Garlic
Swiss Chard (seeds or transplants)
Kale (seeds or transplants)
Lettuce (seeds or transplants)
Spinach (seeds or transplants)
Shallots
Radish

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

WEEK ENDING 11/20/2016

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Vegetable Demonstration Garden

This week’s harvest includes:
Sweet peppers—1.3 pounds
Hot peppers—0.4 pound
Eggplant—12.36 pounds
Bok Choy—8 pounds
Radicchio—1.38 pounds
Kohlrabi—3.36 pounds
Tomatoes—13.71 pounds
Cabbage—9.8 pounds

A total of 50.31 pounds of produce was harvested this week. These vegetables were donated to the Caring Place, Healthy Harvest, and the Round Rock Area Serving Center . To date, Williamson county master gardeners have donated 3,608.115 pounds of demonstration garden produce to local charities.

Weekly rainfall: 0.02 inch of rainfall was measured the week ending 11/20/2016.

Summary of garden activities
Routine garden maintenance occurred in the garden this week. Strategies to manage the root knot nematode infestation in the raised beds were discussed. Maggie’s bed was seeded with Elbon rye, Sheila’s bed was sprayed with Actinovate, and beneficial nematodes will be added to Carole’s bed. Row 2 was cleared of debris and weeded. Nut-grass was removed in the asparagus bed. More weeding was completed on the decomposed granite path. A scare crow and fake snakes were installed near the fig trees to deter hungry birds! Fire ants were treated. On Friday, raised beds and the row garden were sprayed with BT. All green tomatoes were harvested in anticipation of the season’s first freeze warning for the weekend. Compost piles registered 96 and 82 degrees F. More chopped green material was added to the colder pile.

Cold weather crops are developing nicely in the row garden.  Row 3 (left pic) has red mustard up front.  Arugula, bok choy, collards, and kale are depicted in the middle pic. Rubarb, chinese cabbage and regular cabbage are enjoying the fall weather (right pic)!

row-3-with-red-mustard arugula-in-front-then-bok-choy-then-collards-then-kalerhubard-then-chinese-cabbage-then-reg-cabbage

November Gardening in Central Texas
The Texas A&M Agrilife Extension vegetable garden planting guide suggests the following vegetables for fall planting:
Artichoke transplants
Asian greens (seeds or transplants)
Collards (seeds or transplants)
Cool season greens
Garlic
Swiss Chard (seeds or transplants)
Kale (seeds or transplants)
Lettuce (seeds or transplants)
Spinach (seeds or transplants)
Shallots
Radish
Turnip

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

WEEK ENDING 11/13/2016

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Vegetable Demonstration Garden

This week’s harvest includes:
Okra—4.36 pounds
Sweet peppers—3.02 pounds
Hot peppers— 3.39 pounds
Eggplant—24.45 pounds
Bok Choy—21.3 pounds
Tomatoes—2.14 pounds
Lima beans—5.26 pounds

A total of 63.92 pounds of produce was harvested this week. These vegetables were donated to the Caring Place and the Assembly of God Food Bank in Georgetown. To date, Williamson county master gardeners have donated a total of 3,557.805 pounds of demonstration garden produce to local charities.

Weekly rainfall: 2.5 inches of rainfall were measured the week ending 11/13/2016.

Summary of garden activities
Harvesting, clearing spent plants, irrigation maintenance, and pest management were key activities in the garden this week. Spent okra plants in row 2 and cucumber plants in row 5 were cleared. Okra trunks were removed from row 2 and trial beds. The lima bean trellis in the raised bed area was reshaped and cleared of old lima bean vines. A few remaining lima bean plants were cleared from raised beds on Friday. Asparagus plants were tied up. Broccoli was planted in raised beds.  Rabbit fencing was installed installed in rows 4 and 5.  Two irrigation repairs were made to an emitter and sprayer heads. An irrigation hole in the herb trial bed was bailed out. Trenching was also completed for irrigation in the herb bed. To control cabbage loopers, BT was applied to all the brassicas in the row, keyhole and raised bed gardens. Multiple holes in cabbage leaves are the hallmark of a looper!

cabbage-loopers-11092016

Root knot nematodes were discovered in beets from the raised bed gardens. Pathways between rows 3&4, 4&5, and 5&6 were mulched. The decomposed granite pathway was weeded. On Friday, the compost temperatures were 100 and 80 degrees F in the two piles. Additional green garden material was added.

Fall tomatoes are still abundant in the garden!  Master gardeners harvest tomatoes (left pic) and the BHN602 tomato variety is loaded with fruit (right pic).

harvesting-tomatoes-11082016 tomato-bhn602-11082016

We had a bumper crop of bok choy harvested this week.  Master gardener Teresa holds two Texas-sized bok choy plants.   WOW!!!

mg-teresa-with-bok-choy-11082016

Butterflies nectar on the African blue basil in the garden.  Looks like monarchs in the center of the plant!

butterflies-on-african-blue-basil 11082016
November Gardening in Central Texas
The Texas A&M Agrilife Extension vegetable garden planting guide suggests the following vegetables for fall planting:
Artichoke transplants
Asian greens (seeds or transplants)
Beets
Collards (seeds or transplants)
Carrots
Cool season greens
Garlic
Swiss Chard (seeds or transplants)
Kale (seeds or transplants)
Lettuce (seeds or transplants)
Mustard (seeds or transplants)
Spinach (seeds or transplants)
Shallots
Radish
Turnip

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

WEEK ENDING 11/6/2016

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Vegetable Demonstration Garden

This week’s harvest includes:
Okra—3.8 pounds
Sweet peppers—7.84 pounds
Hot peppers—5.75 pounds
Eggplant— 9.7 pounds
Turnips—15 pounds
Tomatoes—6.73 pounds

A total of 48.82 pounds of produce was harvested this week. These vegetables were donated to the Annunciation Maternity Home, the Round Rock Area Serving Center, and a new charity, Healthy Harvest. To date, Williamson county master gardeners have donated a total of 3,493.885 pounds of demonstration garden produce to local charities.

Weekly rainfall: 0.5 inch of rainfall was measured the week ending 11/6/2016.

Summary of garden activities
Soil preparation, pest management, weeding, harvesting and planting were underway this week in the vegetable garden. The east end of row 5 was amended and broad forked. American cabbage, Chinese cabbage, and rhubarb were planted in that row. The valve box was unearthed in preparation for connecting irrigation to the herb garden. Zone 18 is dedicated to the herb garden. A persistent leak in the keyhole garden was repaired by cutting the stand pipe down level to the garden and reattaching. Irrigation lines were tested. Irrigation lines were installed in Maggie’s raised bed. Then, compost and amendments were added to the bed and planted. Raised bed gardeners harvested veggies and planted Toy Choy and cabbage. On Friday, compost pile temperatures read 88 and 80 degrees F. New material including coffee grounds was added to the pile. Cabbage loopers and fall webworms were hand picked (yuck) off plants in rows 3, 4,5 and 7. Rabbit fencing was removed from row 7. The east end of row 4 was amended, broad forked and planted with arugula and bok choy (image below).

row-4-planting-pak-choy-and-arugula-11042016Master gardeners are picking peppers in the row adjacent to the plantings.

picking-peppers-11042016

November Gardening in Central Texas
The Texas A&M Agrilife Extension vegetable garden planting guide suggests the following vegetables for fall planting:
Artichoke transplants
Asian greens (seeds or transplants)
Collards (seeds or transplants)
Carrots
Cool season greens
Fava beans
Garlic
Swiss Chard (seeds or transplants)
Kale (seeds or transplants)
Lettuce (seeds or transplants)
Mustard (seeds or transplants)
Spinach (seeds or transplants)
Shallots
Radish
Turnip

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

WEEK ENDING 10/30/2016

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Vegetable Demonstration Garden

This week’s harvest includes:
Okra—5.95 pounds
Sweet peppers—1.81pounds
Hot peppers—1.67 pounds
Eggplant— 3.9 pounds
Lima beans—1.3 pounds
Tomatoes—0.57 pound

A total of 15.2 pounds of produce was harvested this week. These vegetables were donated to the Caring Place and the Round Rock Area Serving Center. To date, Williamson county master gardeners have donated a total of 3,445.065 pounds of demonstration garden produce to local charities.

Weekly rainfall: no rainfall was measured the week ending 10/30/2016.

Summary of garden activities
Garlic seed arrived this week! So, row 8 was amended and planted with garlic seed. Raised bed gardens were also planted with garlic. Swiss chard seed was planted in row 3 and hand watered in. Row cover was removed from the fall tomato plants. No irrigation leaks were diagnosed on Tuesday but one leak was repaired on Friday. A second row of irrigation was added to the east half of row 3. That area was subsequently planted with broccoli and mustard transplants. Rabbit fencing was installed to protect those new transplants. More nut-grass was removed from the east end of row 4. Compost was added to the east ends of rows 4 and 5. Trial beds were weeded. All brassicas in the garden were treated with BT to control cabbage loopers and fall webworms. Fire ants were also treated. Newly planted garlic seed and Swiss Chard were hand watered. Raised beds containing Elbon rye grass were turned. The diversion wall project near the orchard was completed. The wall will be extended all the way to the end of the orchard area. On Friday, the compost pile temperatures read 80 and 120 degrees F. Grass clippings were added to the cold bed to stimulate some heat!

Fire ants love fall weather…
It’s a great time of year to work in our flower and vegetable gardens. Chances are you’ll find fire ants under some mulch, nesting under your fall tomatoes or crawling up your leg! Fire ants are a major problem for central Texas home gardeners. Despite our efforts with different eradication methods, those ants just pick up and move right over to your broccoli transplants! What’s a veggie gardener to do?

Like most avid gardeners, I’ve spent a lot of time employing recommended organic methods to rid my garden of fire ants. These pests get into the roots of susceptible plants like okra and cucumbers or kill seedlings before you know it! They can decimate basil and other tender herbs as well. Sometimes you’ll get lucky when those ants move and find a home in your neighbors yard. But, they will inevitably return after a rain event! I’ve recently reviewed several articles published by various extension offices with their recommendations for fire ant eradication. So, I thought I’d share some gardening nuggets with you from my research efforts!

First nugget: a garden that is frequently tilled has fewer fire ants! Tilling disturbs fire ant homes and causes them to move. Unfortunately, they’ll move to another veggie or flower plant and set up home again. So, the next option is bait!

Second nugget: before applying bait to the mound, treat the turf surrounding the garden! This is very important to do and will result in optimal suppression. There are organic turf products on the market available for ant control. A hand spreader works well for granular turf products. Baits shouldn’t be applied to wet grass or if a rain event is expected within 24 hours of application.

Third nugget: use a product containing the active ingredients spinosad and pyriproxyfen. Spinosad is a metabolite produced by Saccharopolyspora spinosa, a soil microorganism, which affects the ant’s central nervous system—fast kill! Many products with spinosad are approved for organic vegetable gardens. Pyriproxyfen is a growth regulator that reduces the production of viable ant eggs. It prevents the development of worker ants but doesn’t kill existing adults. Slower kill. Check the label on your favorite product. There are several organic products on the market to choose from.

Fourth nugget: apply bait in early morning or late afternoon when ants are foraging. When applying bait to the mound, spread the granules or liquid bait around the base of the mound first before sprinkling or drenching the top. Follow instructions on the product label.

Final nugget: during seasons when everyone in your neighborhood is battling a fire ant army, consider joining forces! If neighbors on all sides of your home treat their turf and you treat your yard, fire ant suppression is more successful!

October Gardening in Central Texas
The Texas A&M Agrilife Extension vegetable garden planting guide suggests the following vegetables for fall planting:
Artichoke transplants
Asian greens (seeds or transplants)
Beans, snap and lima
Beets
Broccoli (transplants)
Brussels sprouts (transplants)
Cabbage (transplants)
Collards (seeds or transplants)
Carrots
Cauliflower (transplants)
Cool season greens
Fava beans
Garlic
Swiss Chard (seeds or transplants)
Kohlrabi (seeds or transplants)
Kale (seeds or transplants)
Lettuce (seeds or transplants)
Onions (bunching/multiplying)
Mustard (seeds or transplants)
Spinach (seeds or transplants)
Shallots
Radish
Turnip

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

WEEK ENDING 10/23/2016

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Vegetable Demonstration Garden

Tuesday’s harvest includes:
Okra—9.1 pounds
Peppers—14.6 pounds
Eggplant—4.3 pounds
Lima beans—1.7 pounds
Tomatoes—0.22 pound

A total of 29.92 pounds of produce was harvested on Tuesday. These vegetables were donated to the Caring Place. To date, Williamson county master gardeners have donated a total of 3,429.865  pounds of demonstration garden produce to local charities.

Weekly rainfall: 0.15 inches of rainfall were measured the week ending 10/23/2016.

Summary of garden activities
Weeding, irrigation checks, and clearing spent plants continued this week. Nut grass was weeded from rows 3 and the east end of row 4. Row 3 was amended and composted. On Friday, Swiss Chard was planted in row 3. Southern pea plants were cleared in row 8. Then, compost was admixed into that row. Rabbit fencing was installed around row 4. Gardeners removed spent lima bean vines from raised bed areas. A leak was identified in the drought tolerant garden and repaired. The compost pile temperature measured 110 degrees F on Tuesday.

October Gardening in Central Texas
The Texas A&M Agrilife Extension vegetable garden planting guide suggests the following vegetables for fall planting:
Artichoke transplants
Asian greens (seeds or transplants)
Beans, snap and lima
Beets
Broccoli (transplants)
Brussels sprouts (transplants)
Cabbage (transplants)
Collards (seeds or transplants)
Carrots
Cauliflower (transplants)
Cool season greens
Fava beans
Garlic
Swiss Chard (seeds or transplants)
Kohlrabi (seeds or transplants)
Kale (seeds or transplants)
Lettuce (seeds or transplants)
Onions (bunching/multiplying)
Mustard (seeds or transplants)
Spinach (seeds or transplants)
Shallots
Radish
Turnip

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

WEEK ENDING 10/16/2016

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Vegetable Demonstration Garden

This week’s harvest includes:
Okra— 6.62 pounds
Hot peppers—6.59 pounds
Sweet peppers—4.44 pounds
Eggplant—6.39 pounds
Southern peas—0.3 pound
Lima beans plus okra mixed—4.62 pounds
Lima beans—1.83 pounds
Tomatoes—0.3 pound

A total of 31.09 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 3,399.945 pounds of demonstration garden produce to local charities.

Weekly rainfall: no rainfall was measured the week ending 10/16/2016.

Summary of garden activities
Soil preparation, weeding, planting and mulching were priorities this week. Nut grass was removed from rows 3 and 4. Pak choi and collards were planted in row 4 and the raised bed areas. Carrots, beets, and pak choi were planted in the keyhole garden. An irrigation leak was repaired in row 5. Four buckets of lima beans were harvested from the raised beds. On Friday, lima bean vines were cleared from their trellis. Okra was harvested (left pic)  then the very tall plants were pulled from the garden (right pic).

harvesting-okra-10142016 removing-okra-plants-10142016

Garden waste was chopped into the compost pile. Compost temperature measured 90 degrees F on Friday. Two large mulch piles were finally depleted after mulching the herb trial bed, the drought tolerant garden and veggie garden.

October Gardening in Central Texas
The Texas A&M Agrilife Extension vegetable garden planting guide suggests the following vegetables for fall planting:
Artichoke transplants
Asian greens (seeds or transplants)
Beans, snap and lima
Beets
Broccoli (transplants)
Brussels sprouts (transplants)
Cabbage (transplants)
Collards (seeds or transplants)
Carrots
Cauliflower (transplants)
Cool season greens
Fava beans
Garlic
Swiss Chard (seeds or transplants)
Kohlrabi (seeds or transplants)
Kale (seeds or transplants)
Lettuce (seeds or transplants)
Onions (bunching/multiplying)
Mustard (seeds or transplants)
Spinach (seeds or transplants)
Shallots
Radish
Turnip

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