Austin supports farmers' markets where local produce is sold.
Austin, in mild central Texas, is a city in which you can plant something every month of the year. December is good for asparagus, for instance, and tomatoes love July. Texas cooperative extension says that the average last day of frost in spring is March 1 and the first day of frost in autumn is December 1. This gives Austin a long growing season. But you still need to plan according to the temperature. You can't plant tomatoes in December, for example, and expect them to grow. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
1. Create your planting calendar following the recommendations for Austin's seasons, noting when each vegetable should be planted. Both your local cooperative extension office and the Austin Organic Gardeners (AOG), a group that has met for 65 years, have planting calendars you can consult (see Resources). AOG meets every second Monday of the month at 7 p.m. inside the Zilker Botanical Gardens.
2. Pick a site for your vegetable bed in an area that gets full sun. Choose a spot away from the competing roots of area trees and shrubs.
3. Prepare the soil. Although central Texas has the perfect climate for vegetables, the soil in some parts of the region leaves a bit to be desired, according to the Texas Gardening website. Break up the soil to a depth of 8 inches with a rototiller or pickax and shovel. Spread a 2-inch layer of compost or manure over the surface and work it into soil with a garden fork.
4. Amend clay and heavy clay soil. These soil types have poor drainage and aeration. Although the organic matter you added improves soil structure, the Texas cooperative extension service also recommends adding 1 to 2 inches of sand to clay. Amend heavy clay with 6 to 8 pounds of gypsum per 100 square feet. If you need help identifying the type of soil you have, take a soil sample to your cooperative extension office and the staff will tell you.
5. Dig holes the size of your seedlings' roots. If you're planting seeds, make furrows with the depth recommended on the seed package.
6. Plant the seedlings and sow your seeds. Refill the holes with soil and firm the surface with your palms.
7. Mulch around the base of your vegetables with partially decomposed compost. Since the decomposing matter will use some nitrogen as it continues to break down, mix it with a little blood meal. Don't use fully decomposed compost because it isn't chunky enough to choke weeds.
8. Fertilize the soil based on its type. The Texas cooperative extension service recommends 1 to 2 pounds of a 5-10-10 fertilizer per 100 square feet of sandy soil. If you have clay, 1 to 2 pounds of a 10-20-10 formula is more effective.
9. Give your Austin vegetable garden 1 inch of water a week. As a general rule, the soil should stay moist to a depth of 6 inches when you grow vegetables in Texas.
10. Prevent pests in your garden plot by avoiding damp conditions. Irrigate your plants in the morning to give the sun plenty of time to dry leaves, flowers and fruit before evening. Use a soaker hose so the water goes straight into the ground, leaving the plants above dry. But since many insects thrive in Austin's mild climate, you may end up with pests in your garden regardless of your preventive efforts. When that happens, your local cooperative extension office is equipped to identify the problem and advise you on effective and low-toxicity options for controlling it.
11. Harvest vegetables when they're ripe and eat them shortly after to prevent the loss of flavor that happens in storage.
Tags: cooperative extension, cooperative extension office, extension office, Texas cooperative, Texas cooperative extension, Austin mild, central Texas
