Photo Flashback - September 2015

 

Every now and then I like to look old photos from the current month, several years back, and find one that I've never shared.   I don't remember what kind of flower this was but it looks prim and pretty by the fence. 

Waco Gardening Tips: AUGUST

Field of Sunflowers Poster Print by PerennialGardens

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.

Vegetables and Herbs
Even though the weather is hot, there are many vegetables you can plant this month.   September 1st is the last day you can plant cabbage, swiss chard, and bush beans and still expect a yield before the frost.  Find out what other plants are good to plant this month in our are here.


I'm just an amateur gardener...not an expert. Most of the information above came from the book Month to Month Gardening in Texas.

Waco Planting Tips for Late June, Early July

• The first week of July is the last chance to plant okra, luffa, and peanuts.
  
  
• Transplants of Tomatoes and Peppers should be planted no later than July 4th.
  
  
• Plant pumpkins now through early July for Halloween Jack-o-Lanterns.
  
  
• There are many other herbs and vegetables you can plant this month!  Find out what you can plant HERE.

(I found these tips in the book Month to Month Gardening in Texas).

Planting Tips: June

If you want to plant pumpkins for Halloween, you need to start early! Pumpkins take three to four months to mature, so you want to plant from June to early July, depending on the variety you're planting and how big you want your pumpkin (the longer they grow, the bigger they get!).  Learn more about planting pumpkins here.

Waco Garden Calendar: April

1. Cantaloupes, 2. Collards, 3. Corn, 4. Cucumber, 5. Cushaw (and Pumpkins) 6. Eggplant, 7. Melons (honeydew), 8. Lima Beans, 9. Luffa, 10. Malabar Spinach, 11. Okra, 12. Peppers, 13. Pumpkin., 14. Snapbeans (19), 15. Southern Peas, 16. Summer Squash, 17. Sweet Potatoes, 18. Swiss Chard, 19. Tomato* 20. Watermelon

*On tomatoes plant transplants (too late to plant from seed)

These are all plants which are great for planting in April here in Texas.  I've been learning all about the best time to plant different plants from a book called Month-to-Month Gardening in Texas.  I wish I had gotten this book years ago...it's teaching me so much about Texas gardening that I really was absolutely clueless on!  I knew Texas had two growing seasons but I really didn't understand when the seasons started or ended.  It turns out I trying to grow nearly everything at the wrong time!  I'm going to try to share tips from the book each month (but there's so much info, I couldn't even begin to share it all).   They also share what else you need to do each month (when to fertilize, aerate your soil, tackle weeds, etc.). 

But, if you just want info on what veggies and herbs to plant each month, you can also get that information online here.  That's a good resource for  other states too.

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I found the photos for my mosaic on Flickr, and the photographers were nice enough to offer up for use through Creative Commons (click on the links to see the photos larger).  Yes, the Sountern Peas (ie cowpeas) in that picture are blighted (that was just a hard one to find, so I took what I could get.)

I'm linking up at the gardening linkies at Living More, Spending Less and Ramblings of a Christian Mom.  Also linking up at Mosaic Monday.