Onions. Still my Texas sweets look like poo and some are totally dying off. I noticed today that my green onions I planted from seed are starting to turn brown at the tips. Could it be that I'm watering too much or too little?

Stick your index finger into the bed up to the middle knuckle. If it's moist (not wet) at the tip you should be ok. Another way is to grab a hand full of dirt and squeeze. If the dirt falls apart: water. If it stays in place : ok. If you can build a miniature sand castle : let it dry out a few days.

You might want to test your soil. Onions are heavy feeders.

Siber, I was thinking about planting a mater plant like you said, on its side. But also looking at You Tube I got another idea that might complement lying them on their side. You lay it on its side to get more roots, a bigger root system. Planting them deep I guess would be about the same but put the root system "deeper" then laying on its side. But if you plant them deep or on its side instead of staking the plant you can let it go on the ground. Where ever the vine touches the dirt it should start to set roots so you should have a huge plant that half of its mass is roots. More roots, more nutrients, bigger plants, more produce. Has anyone tried this, I have always staked and grown straight up?

Sounds good but I'd use a larger plant (than the average "six-pack" size ) if I was gonna plant 'em that deep.
Yes, the vines on the ground will root . That's a good way to clone your plants for a fall garden. You'll have better success by covering the rooting part with some dirt and maybe using a garden staple to keep it in place. When the roots are established you can cut it away from the mother plant and hopefully get another harvest. I'd keep the fruit off the ground , though, to discourage insects and rot.

Finally got the tomatoes in the ground yesterday. The rest will have to wait. Got some fishing to do, and headed to College Sta. this weekend for a little college softball. Ags vs OU, Gig'em Ags Whoop!
Brought three tomatoe plants to Rockort with me today to repay a friend for some concrete reinforcement wire that made some dandy cages. Wife's in charge of taking care of the newly planted tomatoes, while I'm fishing for reds and specks!

Anyone know where to get some great organic fertilizer in the D-FW area?

Hit up local feed stores and small nurseries for their rabbit or chicken manure. Mansfield Nursery has a sign on the wall (don't have the phone number) that says you can have all the rabbit manure you want for free. Might try giving them a call, but that's a bit of a drive for you.

You could also get a rabbit That's what I did.

Yesterday I bought 2 bales of wheat straw and mulched my gardens. That was fun in the wind...

Well, here's my update...

carrots, bunching onions, cukes, beans, radishes and peas are looking good. It's amazing how fast a bean can sprout.

Texas sweet bulbing onions are looking sad but I've got a friend that said his white onions are also looking bad but his red onions are doing pretty good so maybe it wasn't a good time for white onions around here?

Tomatoes and peppers in the ground and looking fine.

Hops in the ground. The chinooks are starting to sprout and I've yet to see the cascades but it's early yet.

Lettuces, well, they have come up and put on thier two primary leaves but they have been that way for quite some time. I'm wondering if they need more water. I'll wait till after this rain we are supposed to get to see if that jump starts em.

Anyone have any luck growing sweet corn if so what is the trick?

I'm growing about 45 or so stalks. I'll let you know how it turns out in a few months

When you plant the corn, fertilize it with a well balanced fertilizer...Something like a 12-24-12...

What I do is hoe the row, plant the kernels every 3 to 4 inches, then lightly sprinkle with the fertilizer. Cover them up about .5 to 1 inch deep and water...Then water every day and you'll have corn...Now, also, I plant 4 rows of each kind of corn for the best cross pollination. I've planted 6 different kinds before when I had the 10,000 sq. ft. garden, but wouldn't recommend that on most lots...

The year that I had 6 different kinds, I had half and half...It really depends on what I can find in the local stores...I'll say this, the Ruby Queen is one of the best growing, best tasting, hybrid corn I have found...I usually try to hoe the dirt around the stocks once they are between 18 - 24 inches tall...Prior to that I just weed...

Thanks for the Tinkers Garden link.

Anyone try this stuff? Still trying to find info if its all organic, the label says organic base.
http://www.bonnieplants.com/LearnGrowLib...eat-Plants.aspx

What do you guys do for pest preventatives? I try to do 100% organic but it did not work at all last year. I used neem oil and retonone ( I think thats the name, bad stuff) but I ended up losing the battle. Dont want to make the same mistakes this year.

I use Sevin dust to keep things like squash bugs at bay...Or if you can catch the bugs before they hatch (they will be on the underside of the squash leaves), you can remove that leaf from the plant. You will, however, need to stomp the adult squash bugs to keep the population under control.

I'm kind of dispointed my corn hasn't come up, and several other people are telling me theirs has. Maybe I put the mulch on too much/early?

How long ago did you plant it? Did you mulch it before seeing some growth?

About 5-6 days ago I planted it, and yes, I added the mulch before seeing seed growth. Probably shouldn't have done that. I used wheat straw.

Take off the mulch and wait until it's at least 6 inches tall before you put it back...Water it tonight and you should see some growth by next Wednesday...

You didn't plant it deeper than an inch did you?

No I only planted it an inch deep. Alright, I'll do that.