Jannie Vaught

We are almost at Easter and hopefully the last possible cold snap. The tomato starts that are under lights or in the hoop house are now beginning their “hardening off” process, this includes, lettuce, herbs, eggplants, etc. What is already in, onions, beets, radish, potatoes, foot-long green beans, southern peas, spinach.

I have also planted flowers zinnias, marigolds, and single stem sunflowers for cut-flower bouquets. At the Natural Gardener site, there is a what to plant, April guide. Beans, pole, snap, lima. Beets. Cantelope, Corn till late April. Cucumber. Greens warm-season “collards”. Okra. Southern peas. Squash, summer, and winter (if you have squash bugs plan on starting in mid-July. watermelon. Things to transplant. Eggplant, peppers, tomatoes, sweet potatoes. To sow or transplant. Swiss chard. I am still doing plant starts, watermelon for later transplanting, also some peppers that I missed. I also do a few cover crops between rows of lentils, these I purchase from the grocery store. I also will be planting peanuts in between the potato rows, when the peanuts begin to send out their peanut-producing runners called pegging on the vining variety.

There are also bunching varieties of peanut and they need calcium or gypsum to develop, and a weekly deep soak is needed to develop the peanut. Peanuts were and are a major crop in Texas. Hardening-off seedlings gradually expose the tender plants to the wind, sun, and rain to toughen them up by thickening the cuticle on the leaves so they lose less water when exposed to the elements. Begin 14 days before you plan to transplant on the outside. When you begin this process, set the plants in a shady location. Keep them watered and your feeding schedule. I use a liquid seaweed mix for transplants and a specific tomato feed in the ground when they are planted. I use this same feed on All my seedlings and to be safe keep the feed Diluted.

At this busy time keep your Garden Journal with you to keep track, this is very helpful for the following seasons and next year. I also make a chart that hangs on the wall in the mud porch for what to do” Now “and later. Were in the growing season and the trees are leafing out and are especially beautiful this spring.

Growing Green With Jannie