Local food, raised with organic methods

[sshurgot]

Originally Posted by Chaka

How much luck do you have with summer plantings? My fall/winter/spring garden was great last year, but my summer garden always suffers. It's not just the heat, but the bugs come out in full force and I can't seem to fight them off fast enough.

I try to avoid vegetable gardening in the summer, although I usually end up giving into the temptation to plan a couple of things. My tomatoes always get infested with harlequin bugs and chemical warfare is the only way to resist so I don't plant tomatoes. I planted two summer squash, 5 pole beans and 4 cantaloupes fully intending to let them shrivel up when the heat and drought came, but with the relatively well-behaved temperature and the rain everything seems to be doing OK. I also always have herbs and hot peppers (which tend to do well). By comparison, in the winter I grow 20 to 25 different vegetables. Between the bugs, heat, and required watering gardening in the summer is just a miserable chore so I get most of my veggies from one of the farmers' markets.

Out of 8 raised beds, I have the equivalent of 2 which are "active" right now and I have them in the shade. The other beds are taking a break and having a chance to recover in preparation for the fall. I do a lot of composting and before I get ready to plant again in September, I'll add fresh compost to each bed.

Speaking of compost, I forgot to mention in my last post - Malcolm Beck is probably the best resource in San Antonio. You can find him at Gardenville. He'll spend hours giving tours of his experiments and sharing the knowledge he has accumulated over many many years of organic gardening. He's THE compost expert.

[Chaka]

Originally Posted by sshurgot

I try to avoid vegetable gardening in the summer, although I usually end up giving into the temptation to plan a couple of things. My tomatoes always get infested with harlequin bugs and chemical warfare is the only way to resist so I don't plant tomatoes. I planted two summer squash, 5 pole beans and 4 cantaloupes fully intending to let them shrivel up when the heat and drought came, but with the relatively well-behaved temperature and the rain everything seems to be doing OK. I also always have herbs and hot peppers (which tend to do well). By comparison, in the winter I grow 20 to 25 different vegetables. Between the bugs, heat, and required watering gardening in the summer is just a miserable chore so I get most of my veggies from one of the farmers' markets.

Out of 8 raised beds, I have the equivalent of 2 which are "active" right now and I have them in the shade. The other beds are taking a break and having a chance to recover in preparation for the fall. I do a lot of composting and before I get ready to plant again in September, I'll add fresh compost to each bed.

Speaking of compost, I forgot to mention in my last post - Malcolm Beck is probably the best resource in San Antonio. You can find him at Gardenville. He'll spend hours giving tours of his experiments and sharing the knowledge he has accumulated over many many years of organic gardening. He's THE compost expert.

Ok, that makes me feel a bit better. I think I may skip summer gardening next year. Just not worth it - apart from the herbs. I have pepper plants which grow well, but no fruit. I've seen them start, but then gone...I think the birds are eating it all (they did get my blueberries!). I usually cover the whole area with a net but this year we were working on a fence so I waited...too late.

We do compost, but I've been having trouble with it. My compost tends to get fire ants

[sshurgot]

Originally Posted by Chaka

Ok, that makes me feel a bit better. I think I may skip summer gardening next year. Just not worth it - apart from the herbs. I have pepper plants which grow well, but no fruit. I've seen them start, but then gone...I think the birds are eating it all (they did get my blueberries!). I usually cover the whole area with a net but this year we were working on a fence so I waited...too late.

We do compost, but I've been having trouble with it. My compost tends to get fire ants

My serranos produced really well in the spring but always slow down when it heats up; I'll get another crop in the fall. Meanwhile, I have a ton of chile pequins if you want some; I'd be happy to share.

No fire ants over here, so far. I wonder what you could do to keep them away. Good compost is essential in San Antonio...

[Chaka]

Originally Posted by sshurgot

My serranos produced really well in the spring but always slow down when it heats up; I'll get another crop in the fall. Meanwhile, I have a ton of chile pequins if you want some; I'd be happy to share.

Thanks, but we have chile pequin bushes popping up everywhere. Love them, but they're also like a weed here.

[HerbGroBox]

Originally Posted by sshurgot

Here's a good place to start the day after tomorrow: Upcoming Events « Green Spaces Alliance and the seed swap in August is a nice event (please bring heirloom seeds only, they're readily available around SA). The network of community gardeners is a great resource. Some of their workshops are so-so and some are fantastic.

Green Spaces may be good for advice, but before you pay for it, you might want to go to thier website and lookup were all thier projects are located. Then follow that up by visiting at least 10 of them, and you might be in for a BIG surprise.

Gardens that are being grown in shaded lots.

Non-existant gardens, at some addresses.

Raised beds installed level with the existing ground.

[SnappyBob]

Originally Posted by sshurgot

I try to avoid vegetable gardening in the summer, although I usually end up giving into the temptation to plan a couple of things. My tomatoes always get infested with harlequin bugs and chemical warfare is the only way to resist so I don't plant tomatoes. I planted two summer squash, 5 pole beans and 4 cantaloupes fully intending to let them shrivel up when the heat and drought came, but with the relatively well-behaved temperature and the rain everything seems to be doing OK. I also always have herbs and hot peppers (which tend to do well). By comparison, in the winter I grow 20 to 25 different vegetables. Between the bugs, heat, and required watering gardening in the summer is just a miserable chore so I get most of my veggies from one of the farmers' markets.

Out of 8 raised beds, I have the equivalent of 2 which are "active" right now and I have them in the shade. The other beds are taking a break and having a chance to recover in preparation for the fall. I do a lot of composting and before I get ready to plant again in September, I'll add fresh compost to each bed.

Speaking of compost, I forgot to mention in my last post - Malcolm Beck is probably the best resource in San Antonio. You can find him at Gardenville. He'll spend hours giving tours of his experiments and sharing the knowledge he has accumulated over many many years of organic gardening. He's THE compost expert.

Summer gardens DO have their challenges but in a typical summer in my small back yard I grow around 150 lbs. of heirloom tomatoes, I pick enough okra to have it for dinner once a week or more. More eggplant than we can eat. About a half dozen varieties of peppers.Cucumbers do well. Yellow squash and zukes are the ones I gave up on. I can get them so cheap at the farmers market that I just buy them. I usually try to get my tomatoes in around March 15 to avoid the heavy infestations of stink bugs/harlequin bugs. In the early part of their arrival when they are breeding and their numbers aren't yet too high I hunt them down individually in the late afternoon or early evening and spray them with a shot of really soapy water. That will kill them. I eventually lose the battle as they defeat me with shear numbers but by that time my tomatoes are starting to wane anyway. I wouldn't give up on the summer garden.

[lindata]

Thank you! That gardening calendar is very helpful.