Vegetable Gardening in Texas

Today I planted most of Raised Bed #4.

I have dedicated half of this bed to Sweet corn. Whilst I had hoped I would have room for 4 rows, I only managed to squeeze in 3 rows of 10. I spaced the individual seeds roughty four to six inches apart, with ten inches between each row. My reading suggests that 3 rows is a rather marginal number for successful pollination of the corn kernels. I will therefore have to keep a close eye of that when the time comes, I may need to provide some kind of manual assistance with the fertilization.

The other half of Bed #4 now contains my Shallots (a set of 10 ‘sets’, to make a poor pun). There are lined up in one row against the edge of the bed, so I still have a large empty space behind them I can utilize in future (spinach perhaps?)

I am starting to run out of planting space, but thankfully I’m seeing signs some of my earlier plantings are finally germinating.

(Details)

Now that I have completed extending Bed #3, I have space for my remaining asparagus crowns.

My planting today consisted of two rows of 5 of Jersey Supreme Hybrid Asparagus – Giant Grade, and behind them one row of 5 of my remaining Purple Passion Asparagus crowns.

Once I had them planted I gave the entire asparagus bed a dosage of Gurney’s Asparagus Food(17-16-28). This involved measuring a couple of ounces of green powder out into my watering can, filling it up, and then sprinkling it generously over the bed.
I have to say it feels much more effective using the liquid soluble fertilizer, hopefully it really does help!

I have spent a lot of time the last few days working on a new raised bed (Bed #3) for my Asparagus. 

 I originally planned to plant these along the fence line, but given the long life span of Asparagus (10 years or even more) I decided against it.  With any luck the Asparagus will last a lot longer than my fence will! The new bed does not hug the fence, so now my Asparagus should survive the next fence replacement.  Who says I don’t plan long term?:)

I didn’t plan out everything to perfection however…my new Bed did not have enough room for all my Asparagus crowns, I found space for 15 of them (I have 30 ready to go in the ground).
Nearest the house I planted two rows of 5 of Mary Washington Improved Asparagus – Giant Grade, behind these I squeezed in one more row of 5, this time of Purple Passion Asparagus – 2 year.

At the same time I fertilized the new bed with ‘‘Vigoro Timed-Release All Purpose Plant Food 19-6-12′, hopefully this will get the Asparagus off to a good start. I do have some special ‘Asparagus Food’ fertilizer on it’s way, details in an upcoming post.
While I wait for it to arrive, I will work on extending Bed #3 to hold the rest of my Asparagus!

Today I planted half of bed #2.

I sowed 2 rows of Sweet Peas, 5 in each row, into the back left quarter of the bed. The plan eventually is to provide them some kind of trellis work for support, but I have a little while before I need to worry about that.

In front of the peas I scattered some carrot seeds, I was generous with the seeds, and suspect I will need to thin some seedlings before long.

The right hand half of Bed #2 remains empty for now.

Today was my first planting! A whole lot of seeds (as well as a selection of Tomato Seedlings) are ready to go in the ground

I had been unsure which Tomato Variety to go with, so I took advantage of Burpee’s Tomato Hall of Fame.  This package consists of a selection of different tomato cultivars as listed below (excluding those I gave away)…
Fourth of July The earliest tomato -arrives just in time for family picnics – 49 days.
Sweet Tangerine Bright orange, firm, super sweet favorite. Great for salads – 68 days.
Big Mama The ultimate paste tomato. Enormous fruit, few seeds, profound flavor – 80 days.
Sun Gold Tangiest and sweetest cherry tomato you will ever meet – 65 days.
Brandy Boy The greatest tomato we’ve bred in 50 years. Incredibly tasty pink – 75 days.
Burpee’s Burger Early to fruit; firm yet juicy, perfect slices for hamburgers and sandwiches – 72 days.
Health Kick 50% richer in antioxidants; ideal for tasty sauces; abundant yield – 75 days.

I planted 7 of these in a row in the back half of Bed #1, and gave the other two away to a coworker.
They are looking a little straggly right now as you can see. They are planted in order from left to right as listed above.

I filled the front half of the bed with an assortment of seeds, from left to right as follows:
Chives, Coriander/Cilantro, and three types of Lettuce, (Santa Fe – 55 days, Green Ice Looseleaf – 45 days, and Burpee Bibb Butterhead – 75 days).

Now that raised beds #1 and #2 are ready to be planted, I have decided to apply a little fertilizer in the meantime.

A quick trip to Home Depot and I have 2 pounds of ‘Vigoro Timed-Release All Purpose Plant Food 19-6-12′.  Honestly, I didn’t do much research on this.  I have applied it as per the directions, and have to say that in future I may go with fertilizers you apply in liquid form.  There is something rather disturbing about seeing little balls of fertilizer in the garden bed:)

 Not much else to report today.  I have been looking at my available planting space, and I don’t think these 2 raised beds are going to be near enough.  I suspect I will be outside again soon preparing some more!