Category: Spring Vegetable Gardening
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What to do in your May garden
Our spring vegetable garden is looking pretty good right now. Tomatoes are filling out, beans have set blossoms and are starting to produce pods. Because of the cooler than average March and April weather, lettuce has probably not bolted yet. Peppers are also setting fruit just about now, eggplant looks good, strawberries are turning red. […]
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Cowpeas? Southern Peas? Or Just good eating?
As a legume, they put a considerable supply of nitrogen back into the soil. That makes these peas an excellent rotation crop to plant between spring and fall gardens. Drought-resistance and low water requirements make it an ideal crop for our hot Gulf Coast summers.
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Lawn and Garden Chores for May
If you’re planning for a late summer garden, you might want to look at the following: okra, southern peas (crowder, black-eyed, purple hull, zipper cream), watermelon, cantaloupe, sweet potatoes, eggplant, peppers, and pumpkin
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Tomato Growing tips
Just about every vegetable gardener along the Gulf Coast has tomatoes coming into fruition in April. Here are some helpful hints for you. Prune your plants I don’t mean just prune the suckers on your indeterminate tomatoes. Tomatoes, like its sister plant, potatoes, can form roots anywhere along its stem. See the little hairs on […]
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Controlling Pests in your spring garden
Our job is not only to manage our gardens but to manage the organisms that benefit our gardens. Mass and indiscriminate spraying of pesticides kill not only the ubiquitous stink bugs but also bees, ladybugs, praying mantids, and other beneficial insect predators.
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Almost time to plant a spring garden
The temptation to put plants in the ground before March is sometimes overwhelming, so anxious are we to begin our spring garden. Late unexpected frosts around the end of February can lead to disaster for tender seedlings, even if they have been hardened off.
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Plant tomatoes soon!
The USDA tells us that the “average” date of the last frost here is around February 27. It also reports that we are “almost” assured that we will receive no frost between March 20 and November 1, making the frost-free growing season around 270 days.
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Spring vegetable varieties that do well along the Gulf Coast
As reported in the last blog, it’s not too early to begin planning for your spring vegetable garden, if you’re so inclined. My winter cabbages are well on the way, lettuce is up and broccoli is looking good. Raccoons got into my onions and wreaked havoc. None of them have sprouted yet, so I’m doubtful […]