i just put some peas, beets, and radishes out yesterday but it got pretty cold at night so they are suffering a little. my mother in law has a friend who gave me 20 blackberry cuttings and root sets so i planted them all over the place on fence lines. i guess next month i will start some other vegies.

You're a bit lucky being so far south you should be able to start a few things earlier than most of us. I'd love to get some berries growing.

double check the berries PH ,I believe the PH is different then "regular" veggies.

LSS, any recommendations on tomato plants?

I had really good luck with the Lemon Boys, Heatwave, Early Girls and Homestead tomatoes. Those will be my primary plants this year.

Just found out the feed store in Keller has onions in now. Gonna stop by there later and pick some up.

Should I till now????

Sure, Turning the dirt wont hurt anything. If you have some critters that have burrowed in the soil , tilling and the next cold blast should take care of them. Try tilling in some organic matter also.

Like Tin Head, stated, it won't hurt to turn the soil. I plan on turning the soil tomorrow before the rains and letting the worms go back down before the next freeze...

Well the garden has been tilled. I can't wait till it's planting time...

My Garden is also Tilled --Perfect weather for January, I almost broke a sweat ---Cant wait to plant also

Onions planted in Squeezepenny. 400-1015's 150 white onions and 50 purple. A couple months all will need is some corn bread ,beans and sweet tea

It'll have to be last years corn and beans, though.

I planted 4 dozen of the Texas sweet onions this week.

LSS, what tomato brand do you recomend for a garden area that sees little sun. I had very healthy plants last year, but very little fruit. I assume it is due to the lack of sun.

95 percent of my yard is coved by shade from Live and Red Oak Trees.

Homestead (medium to large tomatoes), Early Girl, Lemon Boys and the Texas 100 (small cherry tomatoes) would probably do okay. It's probably not just from a lack of sun, but a lack of movement. You need to shake those plants every day, or every other day, and thunder really helps to get things going...

Shake the plants? Never heard of that. I'll keep that in mind this year, thanks.

Most people call it spanking 'em. Basically, I grab the tallest vine and shake it. Not too hard, as you don't want to break the vine. Both tomato and pepper plants need vibration, either by the wind, a lost honey bee, thunder, or someone shaking them, to pollinate.

I'm sold. Now that I think about it, I did not hand water much last year. I had the sprinklers back there set to go off every other day because I was lazy. Most years I hand water with a rain head sprinkler, which moves the plants around some what. The sprinkler system does not.

Yep. I hand water early in the spring until the plants and tomatoes are too big for me to walk through. I spank the plants every other day while I'm watering. I use an overhead sprinkler after that to keep the plants alive and the tomatoes growing. It gets awful hot awful early come summer, but that sprinkler doesn't seem to mind.

No need to mind.hehe

i lost the beets and radishes due to freezing but i have lettuce and onions doing nicly under a blanket of much. i need to start some carrots, cucumbers, beets and radishes agin this weekend. my garden is small becaus it is fenced in to protect it from goats, chickens and others but after i get rid of the goats i will make it larger.

Where can I buy expanded shale in the DFW araea? Also need some compost. Thanks

Gonzz, welcome to the Gardening Thread. North Haven Gardens in Dallas should have the expanded shale. I would be willing to bet if they don't have compost, they can tell you how to get your hands on it...

Good luck and thank you for your service...


http://www.nhg.com/

What's "expanded shale" ?

Thanks for the info.