GARDEN TIP: Use Faux Plants to Protect Seedlings

 

This is an easy garden tip I learned by accident.   I had tried and tried to grow plants from seeds on my back porch when I was living in an apartment, but time and again the hot Texas sun fried the seedlings before they could grow.   So, in frustration one day I just stuck a bunch of fake flowers in the pot, strait down into the soil I had planned for real flowers.

And then, two weeks later, I noticed some new leaves pushing up through the faux plants.   REAL petunia seeds had sprouted under the shade of the fake flowers and were now inching their way past them to the sunlight.

Even when we moved to a house in Waco with a real yard, I used this technique.   I'd buy dollar store fake flowers, and stick them in the ground over my rows of carrots, beans, peppers, etc. until the plants were strong and hardy enough to do without the shade. 

Above you can see a young green been being protected by some of these dollar store flowers.  

Yes, you can also start seedlings inside and transfer them once they're stronger...but that doesn't work with all types of plants, and it's an extra step you can skip if you use fake flowers or something else to shade them.   And the fake flowers are easy to use and look pretty in the meantime. 

Waco Planting Calender: August

 

I know, it's hot...and who wants to garden when its hot?   But there are some vegetables you can plant this month, most of which it will be too late to plant next month (those are highlighted in bold below).  If it's not too late to plant them next month though, I suggest waiting until then.

As always, this is just about the vegetables and herbs. 

START SEEDS OUTDOORS

Beans, snap bush (by Sept 1)
Beans, Lima (by Aug 20)
Beets (by Aug 20)
Broccoli (by Sept 1)
Brussels Sprouts (by Sept 1)
Cabbage (by Sept 1)
Carrots
Cauliflower (by Sept 1)
Celery*
Collards
Corn (by Aug 10)
Cucumber (by Sept 1)
Garlic Cloves
Okra (by Aug 7)
Oregano (in late Aug)
Parsnips (by Aug 12)
Potato (by Sept 1)
Squash, Summer
Squash, Winter (by Aug 10)
Swiss Chard
Zuchini (by Aug 17)


START SEEDS INDOORS
to transplant later

Broccoli (by Aug 4)*
Cauliflower (by Aug 4)*
Kale (by Aug 24)*





Most of the info for this month's planting guide came from the Aggie Fall Direct Seeding Guides.


*This info came from the Farmer's Almanac planting guide for Waco (possibly for a previous year).  I've been told this is not as accurate as the Aggie Guide, but will include info from it only for veggies not listed in the Aggie Guide.  I will also use it for dates for planting indoors to transplant if it seems to be within a reasonable period from the Aggie transplanting guidance, since their guide doesn't cover this.

 





MORE PLANTING TIPS
These tips are from the book Month to Month Gardening in Texas.   This was written before climate change started to alter things, so keep that in mind and make what adjustments you feel are wise.

Flowers and Bulbs
August is the last chance to plant the dormant bulbs of late summer and fall blooming lycoris  and fall crocus (Colchicum), which begin blooming in September.  August is also a good time to buy and plant Salvias.

Roses and Shrubs
You should prune your roses this month to get them ready for the fall blooming season. The exception is ramblers, climbers, and some varieties of old garden roses, which bloom on growth made the year before prolifically in spring and early summer. These should only be pruned now if absolutely necessary now (it's better to prune these type of roses earlier in the summer). Now is a really bad time to plant roses and shrubs, as the August heat is almost certain to kill new transplants.

Trees
This month is your last chance to plant palm trees, which will need time to get established before the cold. The heat makes this a bad time to plant other types of trees.