AgriLIFE Extension -Denton County

                                                                                                                                                  306 N. Loop 288, Suite 222

                                                                                                                                                   Denton, Texas 76209-4887

February 11, 2008

 MAKE GARDEN NICHES PRODUCE FOR YOU

 Contact:  John N. Cooper, County Extension Agent-Horticulture, 940.349.2883

  e-mail: jn-cooper@tamu.edu

          It has only been a couple of generations since Americans got a high percentage of their vegetables from their own home gardens.  “Victory Gardens” of World War II accounted for 40% of vegetables consumed by Americans.  If cultivated properly, our land is as productive as ever and gardeners today can enjoy the same garden-fresh produce their predecessors enjoyed.

          As land prices have gone up, yards have shrunk which makes it difficult to plant full-fledged vegetable gardens.  If you look around though you can probably find enough spots of sun here and there to plant a variety of crops.  Fruiting crops such as tomatoes, peppers, okra, beans, and the like need a minimum of 8 hours of direct sunlight but leafy crops and root crops can produce with as little as 4 hours of direct sunlight and 4 hours of dappled shade each day.

          If the soil is not adequate where the niches of space and light are found, plant your vegetables in containers filled with rich potting soil.  Decorative containers make vegetables suitable for setting out on the patio or terrace.  Plant in wheel barrows or carts and you can move your crops around the yard to take advantage of additional sun rays as the seasons change.

          We are now entering the prime planting season our cool-season crops.  Transplants of broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower and onions should be set out from mid-February through mid-March.  Seed beets, carrots, collard greens, kale, lettuce, mustard greens, green peas, potatoes, radishes, spinach, Swiss chard and turnips in the garden now through mid-March.

          The next round of crops to plant will be our warm-season crops which will go out after the danger of frost has past in late March through the end of April and some throughout the summer.  These include snap beans, lima beans, cucumbers, eggplant, cantaloupe, okra, southern peas, peppers, tomatoes, squash, pumpkins, and watermelons.  Plant sweet potatoes from slips when they reach our nurseries from East Texas growers in early to mid-April.

          All the crops listed above can be grown in containers except corn, okra, and southern peas which have such low productivity small plots aren’t worth planting.  Even vining crops like cucumbers, cantaloupes, watermelons, and pumpkins can be grown in containers by allowing them to trail out of the containers onto mulched ground or suspending the fruits in slings.

          If you want to plant a full-fledged garden in open ground look for a well-drained site with at least eight hours of direct sunlight.  Till the lawn or other vegetation and rake the debris away.  Repeat this process until only bare soil remains on the surface.  Broadcast two pounds of 10-10-10 or equivalent fertilizer per 100 square feet, plus one inch of well-digested, finely-screened compost over the ground surface, and till into the top six inches of soil.  In heavy clay soils, spread two inches of expanded shale and 6-8 pounds of gypsum per 100 square feet and till into the soil.  For additional drainage, shape prepared soil into one-foot wide, eight-inches tall beds.

          This will get your garden off to the best start possible but test your soil this summer before you plant your fall garden.  The more you crop and amend your soil, the more dynamic your mineral availability becomes and the greater the need to test it.  Call the Denton County office of Texas AgriLife Extension Service at 940-349-2883 and request soil testing information or download the forms and instructions directly from the internet at http://soiltesting.tamu.edu.

          Vegetable seed packets tell you to plant so many days or weeks before or after your last spring frost or your first fall frost depending on the crop.  The official dates from the National Weather Service for our area are March 18 for the spring and November 16 for the fall.  Those are the 50% dates.  The date for a 90% chance of no more frosts occurs on April 6 in the spring and October 30 in the fall.  For some crops, like tomatoes and potatoes, you have to plant them a bit early and take your chances because heat is as much an enemy as cold.  You can take some of the risk out of any crop though by making successive plantings a week or so apart to take advantage of early springs and late falls while escaping the full brunt of untimely frosts.        

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The information given herein is for educational purposes only.  Reference to commercial products or trade names is made with understanding that no discrimination is intended and no endorsement by AgriLife Extension is implied.

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Extension programs serve people of all ages regardless of socioeconomic level, race, color, sex, religion, disability or national origin. The Texas A&M University System U. S. Department of Agriculture, and the County Commissioners Courts of Texas Cooperating.