GARDENING CALENDAR

TEXAS AGRILIFE EXTENSION SERVICE

BEXAR COUNTY  BY DAVID RODRIGUEZ

April 19, 2008

Any vegetable that fruits and have seeds should be harvested early and often. Young tender fruit like cucumbers, squash, tomatoes, etc. are at best quality when picked young, somewhat immature and at an appropriate size. Vegetables which are not picked early often slow down the quality and quantity of the upcoming potential yields of the crop.

Growing black-eye peas and okra are a great southern tradition. Seed with Cream 40, Zipper Cream, or Texas Pinkeye selections and okra varieties like Clemson Spineless, Emerald, Lee, and Cajun Delight directly to the vegetable garden.

It was fun growing spinach this fall and winter. How about trying a vine like spinach plant called Malabar? Just provide this heat tolerant vegetable with enough growing space and support. Harvest and prepare the young tender leaves the same way as you would do spinach.

Having problems watering the vegetable garden? Drip irrigation and organic mulch is the most efficient and reliable means of watering properly. It minimizes foliar diseases and moisture evaporation from the soil.

The lilac of the south is Crape Myrtles. Go to the Texas A&M University’s Aggie-Horticulture Crape Myrtle site for the best varieties to meet your landscape needs. Full illustrations with color photos will help you with that decision process.

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.