Our growing seasons (San Antonio, Abilene, Wichita Falls: house, to live, garden)

[teatime]

I was hoping for a bit of guidance on our growing seasons. My garden is doing great (especially the corn and lettuce this year!) and I was thinking of planting a second round of corn, spinach, etc. to take me into the fall.

Do any of y'all do this? When do you plant? We usually get our first freeze around Thanksgiving. Our hot weather started WAY early this year -- we've been in the high 90s since mid-May -- so I'm fairly confident that my veggies would do OK starting out in the high heat, as long as I water a lot and use compost.

Advice?

[Bo]

Depends on where in Texas you are. Here in San Antonio, I have had tomato plants overwinter and produce in the spring when we didn't have a hard freeze to kill them off.

Off the top of my head, I would guess that beans and spinach could produce multiple crops, but not corn. I suspect it requires more heat than it will get in the fall to produce a good crop.

[teatime]

Hi Bowie,
I'm in Abilene, where we do get snow/ice and have a "real" winter. (LOL, at least as "real" as I like it to be!) Our first hard freeze or ice/snow event is usually around Thanksgiving. Last year, I had a lot of tomatoes on the vine but had to harvest the day before Thanksgiving because it snowed.

Yeah, you're right about the corn. My plants are growing at variable rates so I should have an extended harvest anyway. I will plan for a "second season" of lettuce, spinach, and beans, though!

[BobTex]

I can do the corn twice if I hit it right. My fall garden though is generally "greens" only. I put up enough peas and beans there is no need for another rotation. Tomatoes I can keep going up until our first frost and on the south side of the house that can go into December.

I love my spinach though and I go heavy on that.

[Brookillz]

Well im doin this for a project thing(Rofl)Anyways liek so
Its ask "How Long Is the Growing Season In your state", And Obviously I live in texas SA
So Liek if you could help me with That
Its Not very specific< so liek you also try to be specific
PLEASE HELP!!!!! Dx By the way im 15 So liek thats the Project!! (Try to be as specific as can)!!! :"(

[txsizzler]

Here in coastal South Texas, IF we get a freeze, its usually at the end of December or in January, with the last freeze usually in late January to the very beginning of February, and it may only freeze once or twice. Many years, we don't see freezes at all, so we can grow veggies/fruits unabated all year long. We just cover them up if there is a threat of one. Its nice having this kind of diversity with our planting

I used to live up in Wichita Falls, TX., and our growing season was even shorter than yours (last freeze was usually in late March, first freeze around November 10th-15th), and summers there were torrid, making it hard on the more sensitive veggies. Although cotton sure did good there... hmmmm.


Ian