I couldn’t wait to get out in the yard this morning! The temperature was just right in the mid sixties and the high is predicted to reach only eighty five, Yippee!!!!
I rushed through my daily chores of feeding and watering the chickens, scooping their poop to stir into the compost bins, pick the okra and peppers, and water the potted plants. I was on a mission to go to my local nursery to buy some tomato plants, and check to see if broccoli or parsley plants had come in yet. I came home with 5 chubby cherry tomato starters, but the other fall veggies had not been delivered.
The following are some guidelines for what to do in the garden in September in Texas as cool fronts are beginning to make their way into the state, bringing welcome relief from the heat.
1. Continue to harvest okra, peppers, and eggplant.
2. Plant another round of tomatoes, especially the cherry variety. Also plant lettuce, spinach, arugula, radish, and carrot seeds. Carrots can be planted now and in early spring.
3. Greens of all varieties thrive in Texas winters since we only occasionally get below freezing. I plant broccoli and swiss chard as plants instead of from seed.
4. I carry around a pair of garden shears and a hand pick whenever I walk through the garden. Grooming plants like dead heading is an important part of flower gardening. I also pull out the occasional weed as I see them.
5. The leaves are starting to turn and drop, so be sure to collect them for composting and mulching.
6. Many perrenials have gone to seed. Cut the perrenials back and collect the seeds for replanting. You can either gather and scatter seeds now or later in the very early spring. I do both and observe which do best. Most perennial plants are already self seeding.
7. Trim back lily and iris fronds to about 4 inches allowing the sun to nourish the bulbs and not the greenery.
Have fun this year and do some experimenting, comparing and contrasting what does best in your own individual eco-system.
What new seed will you plant this month?
As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease.