by Linda Cace, Bexar County Master Gardener Now that the snow is melting and temperatures are warming, many of us will be heading outside to assess damage and maybe shed a few tears. I, for one, have been standing at my back windows and mourning my beloved plants, but things may not be as bad as they look right now. …
In February, the nurseries start selling tomatoes; the larger tomatoes earlier in the month, “cherry” tomatoes (Ruby Crush, BHN968) later in the month. The 4” tomatoes can be potted up into 1-gallon containers but it’s too early to plant tomatoes in the ground. As we dream about spring vegetable gardens; consider David Rodriguez’s 90% guidelines. The idea is, following these …
by Bill Swantner, Bexar County Master Gardener It’s almost Spring garden time and there will be a lot of talk about compost, fertilizer, and mulch. What is the difference? Compost is a soil amendment. Good soil is 25% air, 25% water, 45% mineral (sand, silt, clay) and 5% organic material (decomposed plants & animals). The soil in Bexar County is …
by Janice Tapp, Bexar County Master Gardener The olfactory and visual rewards of cultivating roses are some of the many benefits reaped from the labor of love in cultivating the many varieties of roses. Roses need pruning to rejuvenate the plant and to promote health and blooms. Once a gardener engages in rose cultivating, it is beneficial to learn about …
by Melody Stramer, Bexar County Master Gardener After being confined to our homes for so long, some of us may feel we are in a rut. Here are some ideas to consider at this time of planning for the new garden year, plus some encouragement to think outside the box and expand our perspectives. First, take a leisurely walk around …
by Bill Swantner, Bexar County Master Gardener Last month, the nighttime temperature was officially registered at 28oF (my south Texas thermometer doesn’t go below 50o). When the temperature gets this cold, the weather forecasters spoke of the “Three P’s”: plants, pets, and pipes. How does this coldest weather affect plants and at what temperature do I need to do something …
By the BCMG Vegetable Gardening Advance Training Team When the holidays are over, the temperatures are colder, and the nights seem longer. For some, it’s hot chocolate and dreaming of warmer days. But, for the serious vegetable gardener, January’s garden is full of cold weather crops. David Rodriguez, Bexar County AgriLife Extension Horticulturist, often says, the cold weather crops are …
by Bill Swantner, Bexar County Master Gardener There must be a dozen types of grasses grown as “lawn grass” in the state of Texas – but Texas is a big state. Along the coast of Texas, the turfgrass must be able to grow in sandy soil with a high salt content; in far west Texas the temperatures can be blistering …
by Deva Brown, Bexar County Master Gardener I was watching the black pipevine butterflies in my yard, which were flitting around and occasionally landing briefly, but persistently, in one area. Not seeing any flowers there, I wandered over. On closer inspection, I saw the strangest plant I had ever seen. The whole plant was about 5-inches tall, with this weird …
By Agnes Palys-McLean Most of us are familiar with plant hardiness zones that appear in many plant and seed catalogs. They serve as a guide to help determine which plants and trees are best suited for our growing area and which are likely to die due to the cold. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) plant zone hardiness maps …
