I know; it's triple digits outside, mosquitoes fly in squadrons, and it's hard to leave the relative comfort of the Indoors. That struggle is real, but something compels us to spurn inertia, get outside and make something grow. I can't explain it either.
For those of you who enjoy picking your veggies up in the backyard or plucking herbs from the patio mere moments before they are used in a recipe then NOW is the time in our East Texas neighborhood to plan your Fall garden! East Texas has two seasons and they do not function exactly the same way. Springtime is easy as the weather is cool and hopes are high. But the Fall garden gets started at the peak of the Summer heat and we all know how much fun that can be.
Most Fall garden crops are easier to start from transplants. It is no sin to let Bonnie's or Burpee's do the germination task for you in their automated greenhouses. Both of those companies produce great products and I use them myself often. There is no condemnation coming from our Club for choosing that option. In fact, we highly recommend starting your tomatoes and peppers this way due to the time you will save and the fruit production you will gain before the first killing frost. However, for the purists out there that need to start everything they grow from seed - just remember next year that you should be starting your Fall garden seeds indoors (or greenhouse) on the 4th of July. This way they will be ready to transplant into the garden at the appropriate time. Trial and error, Baby!
Our little vineyard and gardens are located just north of Union Grove, TX on Hwy 271 and that places us in Zone 8a - Texas Region III. For those of you that do not know your own gardening Zone there are charts available from Texas Agrilife (Whoop!) that will help you identify your Zone and Region. That knowledge is important because with Gardening - TIMING IS EVERYTHING!
I have attached a fantastic article published by Texas Agrilife to this blog post for your reference.
It is the Gold Standard & has a TON of great information about planning your Fall gardens!
Enjoy your last week of July my gardening friends...for August cometh!
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