GARDENING CALENDAR

TEXAS AGRILIFE EXTENSION SERVICE

BEXAR COUNTY BY DAVID RODRIGUEZ

November 15, 2008

Looking for something unusual and new to bloom throughout fall, winter and early spring? Consider adding the new Matrix Morpheus pansy from Ball Seed. It is a wonderful bi-colored bluish yellow pansy that would add color to any border, foundation, garden bed, hanging basket, large container, landscape, mixed container, pathway, or small container. Look for it at your favorite independent nursery or garden center and even try some other colors from that series.

Nutritionally speaking, spinach is a super-champ of the vegetable garden. Spinach has twice as much protein, calcium, iron, potassium, vitamin A, vitamin B, and B-2, niacin and vitamin C as any other of the leafy greens. This is also a great time to set out transplants. Look for the variety called ‘Coho.’

Oriental persimmon makes a very attractive lawn tree and it will produce a large harvest of nutritious fruit with minimal care. The brightly colored fruit is harvested at this time of the year. Once the fruit becomes mushy soft, it is very sweet, but until that time it is astringent. The exception is the Fuyu variety.

This is a good time to begin feeding sunflower seeds and thistle seed to cardinals, doves, chickadees, titmice and jays. Finches enjoy the thistle.

Maintain sugar water feeders throughout November as long as the hummingbirds are buzzing around. Occasionally rufous hummingbirds stay all winter.

David Rodriguez is the County Extension Agent-Horticulture with the Texas AgriLife Extension Service in Bexar County. For more information, call the Master Gardener “Hotline” (210) 467-6575 or visit our County Extension website at http://bexar-tx.tamu.edu.