Hey... I read posts over here a lot, but have never posted here... we got a really late start this year on a garden at all, due to moving and not moving, etc.. my tomatoes are just now putting on blooms.. and everything else is just barely struggling along. I have been reading Carla's Book on what grows good in winter, but would love some input from others too. I live in the south east of texas, about 70 miles inland from the gulf coast.. we dont usually freeze at all, if we do, its maybe only a week total. we have plenty of plastic to make covers, etc, along with some pvc pipe.. sandy soil that we have been augmenting with mulch and straw.. i have the tomatoes growing, some radishes, the green onions and carrots never came up, zuchinni that is very far behind, some small beets and tiny pepper plants.. oh and some sunflowers.. what else should i be planting... cabbages? try the carrots again? any suggestions will help... thanks Lynn in Texas
Carla is in zone 8 as are we. She said her root crops grew here last year despite the snow on top of them. What have you got to lose by trying different things?
Lynn, we are in Central Texas, and can grow the root crops(carrots, onions, turnips, radishes, etc.) and cole crops(broccoli, cabbage, etc.) right through the winter. In fact, these crops do better planted in the fall than spring here, because they like the cooler weather. Since you get late frost, if at all, you might as well plant whatever you want to try that you have room for. What have you got to lose? Just so you know that if you do get frost, it might kill your summer type crops. The other things I mentioned will be fine even with frost. The teeny-tiny seeds, btw, I find best planted right before a rainy spell. Rake the top of your row and broadcast the seed, then tamp them down with the top of your rake; don't bury them. mary
You might already know about Elliot Coleman, but in case you don't I would suggest that you check out his "Four Season Harvest" which explains in very straightforward way how to get things to grow all winter, with minimum energy expenditures (ie no heated greenhouses). He's gardening in Maine, which is probably just a bit cooler than you there in Texas, but his advocating a year-round approach to growing, as opposed to a seasonal activity with a beginning and an end, and his practical examples and directions for building coldframes, windbreaks, etc. . . would be relevant to any gardener wanting to set down to a crispy, just-picked salad in January. I'm not familiar with Carla's book, but am going to check it out.
