how to grow a container garden in texas

8/8/2019 How to Grow a Container Garden in Texas

1/51

How to Grow aContainer Garden in

TexasBy: Tiffany Ondracek

TECM 2700

Fall 2010

TIPS AND TRICKS FROMMY FIRST YEAR OFGARDENING


2/51


3/51

Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION 5

CHAPTER 1: EVALUATING YOUR LOCATION 7

WHAT DO PLANTSNEED? 7 UNDERSTANDING OURWEATHER 8

CHAPTER 2: PICKING YOUR PLANTS 11

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO GROW? 11 WHAT CAN YOU GROW? 12

WHEN DO VARIOUSPLANTSGROW BEST? 13 SUMMARY 13

CHAPTER 3: SUPPLIES 15

CONTAINERS 15 SOIL 16

CHAPTER 4: PLANTING YOUR PLANTS 19

SEEDS VS. PLANTS 19 STARTINGSEEDSINDOORS 21 PLANTING INTOCONTAINERS 23

CHAPTER 5: DAILY/WEEKLY MAINTENANCE SCHEDULE 26

WATERING 26 FERTILIZING 27

CHAPTER 6: EXAMPLES OF EASY TO GROW PLANTS 35

BANANAPEPPERS 35 BASIL 37 CILANTRO 39 LETTUCE 41


4/51

CARROTS 43

CHAPTER 7: COMMON FUNGI AND VIRUSES 45

GRAYMOLD 45 MOSAICVIRUSES 46 POWDERYMILDEW 46 RUST 47

CONCLUSION 49


5/51


6/51


7/51

Introduction

Imagine stepping outside in the early evening and filling a basket with the ingredients of tonights

salad: lettuce, basil, peppers and tomatoes. The satisfaction from growing your own food is amazingand the process is fun every step of the way. Even if your only garden space is tiny, Im betting you

have room for a container or few, and with even a few containers and a little planning, you can doamazing things.

This guide is about growing good things to eat, and doing it in containers. I wrote this for those whoaspire to have garden-fresh food but no yard in which to grow it. I personally have lived inapartments and rented houses for the last seven years and I understand your pain. This year Idecided to go for it, to plan a garden and just go for it.

How to get the most from this guide

Heres a quick guide to how the parts of this book are arrang ed:

The first two chapters are designed to help you organize your thinking. All gardens involvesome sort of trade-off between what you want and what is possible, and in many ways thedelicate balance is even more delicate with container gardens. In these first two chapters wewill look at the aspects you need to consider: what kind of environment you have and whatyou would like to grow.

In the next two chapters we will deal with the how- tos of making a successful garden.Subjects addressed will be the supplies you will need and the methods of planting yourgarden.

Next, I will give you some examples of easy to grow plants. I have personally grown all of these and will share my knowledge on the subject with you.

Finally, I will address some of the most common problems faced in growing the selectedplants. Although there are many pests and diseases that you may face, I believe these to bethe most likely.

The desire to watch something grow, to help it along, is a powerful impulse. So too is the yearning tolink ourselves with nature, to know that some part of the natural world, no matter how small, is justover our shoulder. All of these threads come together in making a garden. I hope that with thisguide you will find the inspiration and encouragement to create a garden even if you have no land.From you own container garden, you will soon have the very great delight of serving a meal made of fresh things, grown with your very own hands and heart.


8/51


9/51

Chapter 1: Evaluating Your Location

Every gardener has to begin from the same starting point: evaluating the physical characteristics of the garden space itself and the environment that they live in. The challenge is then making the most

of what you have to work with. In this chapter we will discuss: What do plants need? Climate

There are resources available to help you pick the right plants for where you live and we will discussthem later in this chapter.

What Do Plants Need?

There are several locational factors that affect the health of your plants and some of them are morecontrollable than others. It is important to consider all of these carefully when deciding where tocreate your container garden. Luckily, as the conditions change throughout the day and throughoutthe year, containers can be moved to make the most of the conditions available to you.

Light

Light affects plants in two ways.

First, it is essential for photosynthesis-providing the energy to split water molecules, take upand fix carbon dioxide, and synthesize the building blocks for growth and development.

Second, light creates heat. Most plants enjoy large amounts of heat and light but some, likelettuce and cilantro; can become overwhelmed by high temperatures. It is the energyabsorbed from sunlight that affects the temperature of the plant.

You cannot control factors such as cloud cover, moisture in the air, and the ozone layer are factors wegardeners can't control-affect light and temperature, but you can adjust light by changing where youchoose to put your plants.

Daylength

Closely related to light is day length, which varies based on the direction faced and the time of year.Day length is a critical factor in regulating vegetative growth, flower initiation and development, andthe induction of dormancy. The long days of summer add substantially to the potential for heat tohave a profound effect on plant survival. In most perennials there is a strong correlation betweentemperature and day length and this is not a controllable factor in most home gardening situations.


10/51

Air Movement

While a gentle spring breeze can "cool" a plant through transpiration as it does us, fast-moving air ona hot day can have a negative effect, rapidly dehydrating it. Air movement in a garden is affected bynatural features such as proximity to bodies of water and the presence of surrounding vegetation, aswell as structures such as buildings and roads. You can reduce air circulation by erecting fences andplanting hedges.

Surrounding Structures

If the environment is wooded, transpiration from trees and shrubs will cool the air. On the otherhand, structures of brick, stone, glass, concrete, plastic, or wood will emit heat and raise the airtemperature. Gardeners wanting plants to produce early or survive during will often place them onthe south side of a brick wall. Obviously, this would not be a good place for a plant at the southern

limit of its heat zone!

Understanding our Weather

There are several guides that provide assistance in understanding the weather patterns in Texas.

The Plant Hardiness Zones

The Plant Hardiness Zones, developed by the

U.S. Department of Agriculture, divide theUnited States and Canada into 11 areas basedon a 10 degree Fahrenheit difference in theaverage annual minimum temperature. Forexample, the lowest average temperature inZone 2 is -50 to -40 degrees Fahrenheit, whilethe minimum average temperature in zone 10is +30 to +40 degrees Fahrenheit. Suitablehardiness means a plant can be expected to

grow in the zone's temperature extremes, asdetermined by the lowest average annualtemperature.

By using the map to find the zone in which you live, you will be able to determine what plants will"winter over" in your garden and survive for many years. Today nearly all American referencesbooks, nursery catalogs, and gardening magazines describe plants using USDA Zones and suggested

Figure 0-1: Courtesy of the USDA


11/51

hardiness zones are usually indicated on packages of seeds and plants purchased from your localgarden center. Make sure that the plants you choose to grow will grow well here.

Keep in mind that local variations such as moisture, soil, winds, and other conditions might affect theviability of individual plants.

The AHS Plant Heat Zone Map

Although the Plant Hardiness Zone is the most common indicator of plant suitability, there is anotherguideline that has become more popular lately and is just as helpful to these living in the southernparts of the country.

Cold isn't the only factor determining whether our plants will survive and thrive and the effects of

heat damage are more subtle than those of extreme cold. Heat damage can first appear in manydifferent parts of the plant:

Flower buds may wither Leaves may droop or become more attractive to insects Chlorophyll may disappear so that leaves appear white or brown, or roots may cease growing.

Plant death from heat is slow and lingering. The plant may survive in a stunted state for several years.When desiccation reaches a high enough level, the enzymes that control growth are deactivated and

the plant dies.

That is why, although the Plant Hardiness Zone is the most common indicator of plant suitability,there is another guideline that has become more popular lately: The AHS Plant Heat-Zone Map.


12/51

Use the AHS Plant Heat-Zone Map in the same way that you do the Hardiness Map.

1. Start by finding your town or city on the map. The larger versions of the map have countyoutlines that may help you do this.

2. The 12 zones of the map indicate the average number of days each year that a given regionexperiences "heat days"-temperatures over 86 degrees. That is the point at which plantsbegin suffering physiological damage from heat.

The zones range from Zone 1 (less than one heat day) to Zone 12 (more than 210 heat days).

Thousands of garden plants have now been coded for heat tolerance, with more to come in the nearfuture. You can find the heat zone designations joining hardiness zone designations in garden centers,references books, and catalogs. Use this information to choose suitable plants for a successfulgardening experience.

Figure 1-2 Courtesy of the American Horticulture Society


13/51

Chapter 2: Picking your Plants

There are two main questions that you will need to answer to pick what kind of plants to grow: What do you want to Grow?

What can you grow?

Also important is what can grow during the time of year you want to garden.

What do you want to Grow?

If you dont know where to start, a seed catalog or a trip to the garden center can be helpful. The

catalogs organize their inventory alphabetically. This is helpful for experiences gardeners who knowwhat they are looking for but can be a bit daunting for beginners. Still, a quick run though is a good

way of seeing all of the possibilities. The next step is to narrow down the possibilities to amanageable number of choices.

The most important rule is: Be Honest . Do you really like spinach or do you just want to grow itbecause its good for you? If you dont really enjoy the taste of something, youre unlikely to feeldifferently just because you grew it yourself so it is okay to go ahead and cross those items off yourlist.

My advice is to pay attention to what you eat. If you are always asking for Banana Peppers at thesandwich shop, maybe home grown peppers would be fun. If you love mashed potatoes and eat

them all the time, maybe potatoes would be a good crop to grow. In the end, I picked my first plantsbased on good but odd logic. I decided to grow things I was tired of seeing go bad in my refrigerator,namely cilantro because it spoils in just a few days and basil because it comes in such a large quantity.The basil had the added advantage of being something a little too expensive for me to purchase asoften as I would like and the thought of growing my own and turning it into pesto on a regular basiswas very exciting. The logic of growing things you cannot afford to buy tends to only hold true withherbs which are highly price at a local grocery store. When it comes to fruits and vegetables, highprices tend to come for a reason and often these produce items are either difficult to grow, dontgrow well in this climate or require expensive machinery to do so.

My last little bit of guidance is to try to pick things that go well in a meal together. It is often less costeffective to grow your own vegetables if you have to then purchase many other ingredients in orderto enjoy eating them. Stables like herbs, onions, garlic, and peppers go well with almost anything andare great choices to satisfy most taste buds and wallets.


14/51

What can you grow?

The second aspect of deciding what to grow understands what your garden can support. Researchthe items on your growing wish list and compare what the plants need with what you can give

them. Take in to account: Climate Sunlight Level of work needed Time before harvest

For example, many vegetables need at least six hours of sunlight a day. If your only garden space is abalcony that is blocked from all directions by tall buildings it is going to be very difficult to growtomatoes and peppers but you could grow an amazing collection of salad greens with all kinds of gourmet lettuces and Asian greens. On the other hand, if you are planning on growing on a largeconcrete patio, lettuces will quickly wilt and require more water and energy than it is probably worth.Keep in mind that concrete stores and reflects heat raising the temperature directly above them towell above 100F during a hot Texas summer This last year when temperatures were 107F outside, Idecided to measure the temperature of the soil near the bottom of my containers and found that itwas reaching as high as 127F. At this temperature, root systems will burn and plants will suffer fromstunted growth. These are problems that can be worked around with solutions such as raisedplanters but all of this will need to be taken into consideration.

One thing that cannot be worked around is the level of work needed to grow certain crops. Its just a

fact: some plants are high maintenance. If you know you do not have time to prune and water yourgarden every few days or if you go out of town frequently and there is nobody to check on yourplants, you will never successfully grow high maintenance plants, especially in the harsh andunpredictable weather we frequently deal with. If a plant goes without water for too long or toooften, even if it does not die, its roots will become dehydrated and collapse. After that it will neverbe able to draw water at the same capacity and even if it looks healthy, it is slowly dying as itstruggles to get enough to drink. If certain vegetables are not harvested in a timely manner the peakproduction level will be drastically reduced. It is important to maintain plants at the level theyrequire, or at least pretty close to it. There are many low maintenance plants like onions, garlic and

many herbs that are a better fit for someone with a very busy schedule. Besides, gardening should befun, not a chore!


15/51

When Do Various Plants Grow Best?

Unfortunately, most plants can only grow successfully during certain parts of the year. Although

there are many factors that go into deciding when to start your plants, the following chart can offerguidance about what time of year is the best for planting certain crops in North Texas.

Crop Start Seeds Indoors Start Seeds in the GroundBeans Mar 18-Apr 1Beets Feb 24-Apr 8Broccoli Jan 20-Feb 3 Feb 24-Mar 3Brussels sprouts Jan 20-Feb 3Cabbage Jan 20-Feb 3 Mar 10-25Carrots Feb 10-24Cauliflower Jan 20-Feb 3 Mar 10-25Celery Jan 20-Feb 3Corn Apr 1- 8Cucumbers Feb 17-Mar 3 Mar 25-Apr 1Lettuce Feb 3-17 Mar 10-Apr 1Melons Feb 17-Mar 3 Apr 1- 8Onion sets Feb 17-24Parsnips Feb 24-Mar 18Peas Feb 3-17Peppers Jan 20-Feb 3Potato tubers Mar 18-Apr 1

Pumpkins Feb 17-Mar 3 Mar 25-Apr 1Radishes Mar 10-25Spinach Feb 3-17Squash, summer Feb 17-Mar 3 Mar 25-Apr 1Squash, winter Feb 17-Mar 3 Mar 25-Apr 1Tomatoes Jan 20-Feb 3

Summary

Basically, when planning your container garden examine the factors discussed above and followwhere they may lead. A good plan of action is:

1. Start with what you know you enjoy eating.2. Leave some room on your list for experimenting with new things.3. Eliminate whatever your garden space will not support.4. Eliminate whatever your climate and other environmental conditions will not allow.5. Eliminate whatever your lifestyle will not support.


16/51


17/51

Chapter 3: Supplies

Your first venture into a large garden center can be overwhelming; there is simply so much stuff, howcan anyone now whats what? In this chapter I will help you sort it all out and focus on what youreally need.

Containers

Nearly all containers are made from one of five materials: Clay Plastic

Wood Paper Pulp Metal

Each has its own advantages and disadvantages. The key is to pick the one that works best for you. Ifind that the two most important factors are aesthetics and price range. Personally, I haveexperience working with mostly clay and plastic so I will discuss those two here.

Clay

Clay pots come in both glazed and unglazed. . Unglazed pots are porous, which is both good andbad. It is good because air circulates more easily to the root zone; its bad because soil moistureevaporates more rapidly and youll need to water more often. Even this evaporation, which doeslead to more work, has its advantages. The process of evaporation creates a cooling effect so thatplants in clay pots are provided with some summertime protection against ultra-hot soil which canburn the roots.

Another variation of clay pots is glazed. The glaze serves to give the pot color and also seals the clay,creating a smoother surface. Because glazed-clay pots are less porous, evaporation is less of a

problem than with unglazed clay. The primary attraction of these pots is their beautiful colors andartful designs. Glazed clay pots are usually quite a bit more expensive than the equivalent sizes of plain terra-cotta.

ADVANTAGES: Terra-cotta pots are aesthetically pleasing to many people. They are easy to mix and match and

still create a neat, well-planned garden area.


18/51

They are often inexpensive and come in a variety of sizes.

DISADVANTAGES: Clay pots are heavy and relatively fragile; they break and chop easily.

In the winter, wet soil or even water trapped in the pores of the pot can freeze, expand, and crackthe container. This isnt a problem that we face in Texas to often but it does happen for a few

months out of the year. This is less of an issue with glazed clay pots than unglazed because theglazed variety is less porous.

Plastic

ADVANTAGES: Inexpensive Lightweight Non-breakable Nonporous (holds water well) Available in a variety of shapes

DISADVANTAGES: Often less aesthetically pleasing, although they have improved in the recent years. They have a less consistent appearance sometimes resulting in a haphazardly planned garden

space.

Soil

In a garden, everything begins and ends with soil quality. Good soil allows both fast drainage andmoisture retention. This is accomplished with the right blend of ingredients that provide bothqualities while still having adequate nutrients and the right structure to allow good aeration.

When it comes to choosing potting soil for containers, there are basically two ways to go: dead easyand almost as easy. Dead easy is selecting a high-quality potting soil and using it straight from thebag. Almost as easy is buying any all-purpose potting soil and adding other things to it to fit yourspecific needs. The first option is generally easier; the second option is generally less expensive.

Broadly speaking, commercial potting mixes are a combination of:

1. A material that holds water well (often peat or ground bark)2. A material that keeps the soil from compacting (Often perlite, vermiculite or pumice)


19/51

Mixes may have regional variations depending on locally available materials and sometimes include:earthwork castings, compost, ground fir bark, sand. The possibilities are countless. One item thatyou will not find in a commercial potting mix is actually soil. P otting mixes do not usually containsoil as it is found on the ground in your front yard and we only call it soil out of habit.

THINGS TO AVOID: Potting mixes for one specific type of plant (roses, rhododendrons, orchids) unless you are

growing that particular plant. Bags of topsoil (garden soil), which is too dense for container gardening. Using actual soil, straight from someones yard. Even if its nutrient rich and well balanced, the

very structure of garden soil presents some special problems for container gardens. Becauseit is very dense, water will not drain well from a container. It also compacts easily, limiting theamount of oxygen that is able to reach the roots of the plant.


20/51


21/51

Chapter 4: Planting Your Plants

Seeds vs. Plants

Planting seeds is not hard; you learned how in the first grade. Neither is setting out transplants; wediscuss this later in this chapter, but the fact is its pretty self -evident even if youve never done it.What is not so obvious is deciding whether you should start with seeds or transplants.

BUY SEEDS IF: The items you want, or the varieties youre interested in, arent availa ble any other way. The items dont transplant well: beans, peas, carrots, beets and radishes, for example. Youre trying to stretch your budget, especially if you can split seed packets with another

gardener. You dont mind that youll have to start some s eeds indoors (a fairly tricky operation) in colder

climates. You enjoy the convenience of making small repeat sowings of things like lettuce, radishes,

cilantro, and spinach; just tuck in a few seeds whenever an empty space appears. You dont want to miss the fun of witnessing a very accessible miracle.

BUY TRANSPLANTS IF: Your growing season is short. You want to grow your plants with a long maturity. In many cases this means that they need

to be started indoors early, and you may rather have someone e lse like a commercialgrower do that part.

You want only one or two of certain plants, not a hundred. Something dies and you need a fast-track replacement.

As a practical matter, nearly everyone is better off with transplants either from our own windowsillor a commercial greenhouse for these plants:

Tomatoes Peppers Eggplant Basil Chives Perennial herbs Pansies, violets, violas


22/51

And you usually have to start these from seeds:

Peas Beans Carrots Beets Radishes Sunflowers Cilantro

Generally, these plants grow equally well regardless of the method you choose to start them. It is not hard togrow these plants from seed, provided the growingseason is long enough.

Cucumbers Squash Scallions Lettuce and other salad greens Leafy green vegetables


23/51

Starting Seeds Indoors

Inside your house or apartment, its nice and warm even when the outside temperature is chilly. You

can get a jump on the season by starting seeds indoors, then transplanting them into your outdoorcontainers when the weather is right.

In general, plants have two requirements for good germination:

Even moisture Heat

Here are the steps for starting seeds indoors:

1. Figure out when to plant the seeds. In general, you want to plant far enough in advance that theseedlings are ready to go into outdoor containers when the weather is ready to receive them and not before. A common mistake is starting the seeds too soon; they hit the transplant timebefore the weather is warm enough. Unless you take special protective measures they will dieoutside; and if you try to keep them indoors longer, theyll get leggy, rot, or succumb to fungaldiseases. You need to be aware of the seeds approximate germination time. The following chart

offers some suggestions:

Nighttime Lows Start Seeds ahead

Basil 55F 30 daysCucumbers 50F 30 daysEggplants 55f 50-70 daysLettuce 35F 20 daysPeppers 55F 50-70 daysSquash 50F 30 daysTomatoes 55F 50-70 days

2. Collect Your Equipment. Essentially you need: Seed-starting medium. In order to make the process the easiest, buy a bag of mix specifically

designed for starting seeds. It will be labeled as such. This mix is very lightweight andcontains very finely milled bits of peat or perlite or both nothing large enough to thwart atender seed trying to unfurl.

Something to put the medium and seeds into. Small pots made of dried, compressed peat(round or square in several sizes) are handy. When the seedling is ready to go outside, plant


24/51

the whole thing, pot ad all; the roots grow right through the side of the pot, thus minimizingtransplant shock.

You can also reuse small nursery containers that you saved from last year, as long as you cleanthem thoroughly with a mild bleach solution to kill any residual pathogens.

A very simple alternative is a product called Jiffy pellets, which are circles of compressed beatencased in very fine netting. These serve as both and soil, and they go straight into thegarden without any repotting, which is easier on you and the plant as it avoid transplantshock. When dry they are flat, about the size of a silver dollar. Soak them in water and theyexpand to about 2 inches high, with a little dimple on the top where the seeds go.

A drip tray to catch the excess water. Clear plastic to hold in the humidity while the seeds are germinating. Something to label the containers with (all baby seedlings look alike).

3.

Plant the seeds. First, dampen the seed-starting mix thoroughly and let it drain. Then add theseeds and cover lightly with more damp mix. Put the seedling pots on the drip tray.

4. Cover loosely with clear plastic. This will help keep the surface of the seed-starting mix fromdrying out. Use chopsticks, pencils or small twigs to prop up the plastic and hold it away fromdirect contact with the soil and the tinny sprouts. The plastic should not be airtight; you want airto circulate.

5. Make sure the seed-starting mix stays moist. If you have covered the pots with plastic, you can

easily tell if they are moist because water beads will form on the inside of the plastic. When themix gets dry, water gently with a mister; its important not to disturb the surface while the seedsare germinating. You can also pour water into the drip tray, and it will be absorbed up from thebottom.

Note: Up until this point, light has been irrelevant. Seeds sprout in the dark. But one a seedhas sprouted and form it first set of true leaves, the process of photosynthesis, upon which allgreen plants depend, has begun, and sunlight is necessary for it to continue.

6. Remove the Plastic and ensure good light. Carefully lift the plastic so it doesnt disturb the

growing seedlings, and check your light source. If you dont have good sunny windows, move afluorescent lamp close by. Special full-spectrum grow lights are available but not really necessary.

7. Thin the seedlings, if needed. If you planted lots of seeds for insurance and they all germinate,you will soon have a crowded forest of baby seedlings. You have to sacrifice some of them, ornone of them will do well. The roots are extremely tender, and pulling out the seedlings can


25/51

injure the ones you want to keep. A better technique is to snip off the discards, at the soil line,with something like manicure or embroidery scissors.

8. Protect against disease. Very young seedlings are particularly susceptible to a fungal disease

called dampening- off. Its a greenhouse version of sudden death syndrome: one minute theseedling looks fine; the next minute it has keeled right over. This fungus is rarely a problem withdirect seeding, but it seems to find an easy foothold in the indoor environment. The best way toprevent damping-off is to water from the bottom by filling the drip tray with water in which youhave dissolved a fungicide. For a homemade organic version, brew a batch of chamomile tea andwater the seedlings with it; chamomile contains a natural fungicidal ingredient.

9. Move seedlings into a larger pot if necessary. Sometime seedlings grow to an intermediate sizewhile it is still too cold to put them outside. This is a common dilemma with heat lovers liketomatoes, eggplant, and peppers. If they stay in the original indoor seedling bed too long, theirroot growth will be stunted and they will never develop into healthy, thriving plants. At this pointyou can also start feeding the baby plants with a balanced fertilizer dissolved in water.

10. Gradually adjust plants to the outdoor climate. Dont move tender seedlings directly into theiroutdoor containers; the shock of drastically different temperatures can be too much for them.Instead, adjust them gradually, in the process known as hardening off.

Day 1: set them outside for one to two hours and then back into a sheltered location Day 2: Set them outside for three to four hours, then back inside. Days 3-5: Continue to increase time by an hour or two each day.

After 4 or 5 days, they should be ready to stay outdoors and can then be transplanted intolarger containers.

Planting into Containers

Whether you are starting with plants straight from the nursery or transplanting your own seedlings,the process of actually planting your plants is relatively simple. There are some basic steps to follow:

If planting seeds directly into the container where they will grow,

1. Fill the container almost full with soil and follow the instructions on the seed packet for howdeep to plant them and how far apart. A seed should usually be planted as deep as its ownlargest dimension. That means that very tiny seeds should just get pressed down into the mixwith your fingers while very large seeds, like beans, might need to be planted at a depth asmuch as an inch.


26/51

2. Keep the soil watered well3. Once the seedlings tart to sprout, thin them with small scissors.

If planting transplants:

1. Before planting your seeds or baby plants, fill the containers with potting soil up to about 2inches from the top and water them thoroughly.

2. Make sure the mix in the container is lightly and evenly damp; also thoroughly water the smallpots holding the baby plants and let them drain while you proceed.

3. With your trowel, dig a hole about as deep as the small containers.4. Slide the fingers of one hand around the base of the baby plant, and turn it upside down so

that the plant and all its soil slide out into your other hand. If the plant doesnt c ome rightout, tap the rip of the small pot against something solid and try again.

5. Try to keep intact the soil ball around the transplant. If you see a thick mat of roots twisted at

the bottom, untangle them with your fingers and trim back the longest ones.6. Fit the plant and its soil ball into the hole you prepared, and fill it in with the extra potting mix.7. Tap the soil lightly with your hand and move on to the next plant.8. When everything is planted, water the entire container to help the plats se ttle.


27/51


28/51

Chapter 5: Daily/Weekly Maintenance Schedule

Compared to traditional gardens, ongoing maintenance in a container is not as work intensive. Thereare two main tasks that you will need to worry about:

1. Watering2. Fertilizing

However, these two areas are absolutely critical.

Watering

In the ground, plants have a wide soil area from which to draw moisture. Even more important, thesurrounding soil acts as an environmental buffer for the plant roots, tempering the drying effects of wind and hot sun. In a container, a plant has a limited area of soil, and there is nothing beyond thecontainer but air. If that air is hot and dry, it will quickly pull moisture from the plant and soil. In thedead of summer, it is not at all uncommon for containers to need to be watered twice a day.

In order to be successful with containers, especially in Texas, you must be prepared with a goodirrigation system and the discipline to use it. The system does not have to be high tech- a simplewatering can is perfectly acceptable- but it does have to be used consistently.

Some items that will make watering easier:

A hose:

Your life will be easier if you can run a hose to the area where your containers are. This may takesome ingenuity on your part but try to think of all possibilities. For example, if you live in anapartment and only have a balcony available for gardening, consider adding a Y-shaped fitting to thewater pipe that goes to your washing machine. You can then run one side of it to the washingmachine and attach a hose to the other end. Your local hardware store should be able to help you

find the right parts and show you how to install them.

Also, a rigid wand extension that fastens to the end of your hose can be extremely helpful forreaching hanging g containers. It will also allow you to switch from a hard, tight spray to a brad mistthat is more suitable for delicate plants.


29/51

If a hose is not possible, a watering can will do! You will just have to make several trips to refill iteach time.

Moisture-retaining elements

Moisture-retaining elements are fairly new on the market and can be an inexpensive way to lessenthe work load associated with keeping plants watered. The majority of these elements are verysmall, moisture-retaining polymers that start out the size of course salt. Once in the soil, they absorbwater every time that you water, swelling a size that is many times that of their original size. Theythen slowly release the absorb moisture back into the soil. To use these crystals, mix them into thepotting soil before planting your plants.

A variation on this idea is a thin mat made of similar material that absorbs and then graduallyreleases water. To use this mat, cut the mat to the size of the bottom of your container and put it in

place before adding the soil.

Using these products is no substitute for watering, but they may buy you a little extra time, and thatcouldnt hurt.

Self-watering pots

Several companies offer so-called self-watering pots. These are containers with a built-in waterreservoir that can hold several quarts of water. The water is then gradually wicked up into the soil.These containers are more expensive than plain pots of equivalent size, but are a good solution for

people who travel often.

Fertilizing

Fertilizing is how container gardeners make up for the limitations of natural nutrients found in thesoil. These nutrients are elements that the plant needs to live. Carbon, hydrogen and oxygen areabsorbed from air and water. The rest of the elements, called nutrients, are absorbed from the soil.Supplemental nutrients supplied in the form of a fertilizer allow plants to reach their maximumpotential.

How to use this section:

1. Read and become familiar with the most common nutrients and their properties.2. Reference this section when diagnosing problems found in your plants.

It may be tempting to only reference the parts that you need to diagnose problem but it will greatlyreduce your chances of being a proper diagnoses.


30/51

Catagories of Nutrients

Nutrient can be classified into one of two categories: mobile or immobile. Understanding these twocategories can make it easier to diagnose nutrient deficiencies in your plants.

Mobile Nutrients

Mobile nutrients are able to move from one portion of the plant to another as needed. For example,nitrogen accumulated in older leaves moves to younger leaves to solve a deficiency. As a result,when a plant is deficient in a mobile nutrient, the symptoms appear on the older, lower leaves first.

Examples: Nitrogen

Phosphorus Potassium Magnesium Zinc

Immobile Nutrients

Immobile nutrients doo not translocate to new growing areas within the plant. Instead they remaindeposited in their original place in older leaves. As a result, when a plant is deficient in a mobilenutrient, the symptoms appear first in the upper, new leaves on top of the plant.

Examples: Calcium Boron Chlorine Cobalt Copper Iron

Manganese Molybdenum Silicon Sulfur


31/51

The Two Most Important Nutrients

Although many nutrients are required for plants to grow and produce at their full potential, there aretwo that are the most important and are never found naturally in high enough quantities: Nitrogenand Phosphorus. It is important that a container gardener if they want their plants to produce abountiful harvest.

Nitrogen

Flowers and vegetables love nitrogen and require high levels of it during vegetative growth but lowerlevels of it during the rest of their lives. Nitrogen is easily washed away and must be replacedregularly, especially during vegetative growth. This is true for all gardeners but especially those whochose to garden in containers as nutrients tend to be washed away faster than in a regular garden.

WHAT DOES IT DO FOR THE PLANT?

Nitrogen is essential for the production of amino acids, enzymes, nuclei acids, chlorophyll andalkaloids. It is mainly responsible for leaf and stem growth, as well as the overall size of the plant.Nitrogen is most active in young buds, shoots and leaves.

SOURCES: Ammonium (NH4+) is the most readily available form of nitrogen. Be careful when using too

much of this form; it can burn the plants. Nitrate (No3-) is the nitrate form of nitrogen. It is much slower to assimilate than ammonium.

Hydroponic fertilizers use this slower-acting nitrogen compound and mix it with ammoniumbut it is also found in many multi-purpose fertilizers.

WHAT ARE THE SIGNS OF DEFICIENCY?

The visible symptoms of nitrogen deficiency include: Slow growth Older leaves yellow between the veins while the veins remain green. This happens because

the leaves cannot produce chlorophyll and is known as interveinal chlorosis. Yellowing progresses through the entire leaf and older bottom leaves turn entirely yellow. More and more leaves yellow. Severely affected leaves drop. Progressively younger leaves develop interveinal chlorosis. All foliage yellows and leaf drop is severe.

**Stems and the leaves undersides may turn reddish -purple, but this can also be a sign of phosphorus deficiency.


32/51

TREATEMENT:

Treat deficiency by fertilizing with N or a Complete N-P-K fertilizer. You should see results in 4-5 days.

Organic sources of nitrogen include:

seabird guano fish emulsion Blood meal.

Gardeners also report excellent results by adding bio-fertilizers to stimulate the uptake of nitrogen.

TOXICITY

An overdose of nitrogen will cause excessively lush foliage that is soft and susceptible to stress,including insect a fungal attacks. The stems become weak and may fold over easily. The vascular

transport tissue breaks down and water uptake is restricted. In severe cases, leaves turn a brownish-copper color, dry out, and fall off. Roots develop slowly, and they tend to darken and rot. Flowersare smaller and sparse. Ammonium toxicity is the most common in acidic soils and nitrate is moreprevalent in alkaline soil.

The visible symptoms of nitrogen toxicity include: Excessively lush, green foliage Weak stems that fold over Slow root development Flowers become wispy Leaves brown, dry and fall off.

TREATEMENT:

The best treatment for nitrogen toxicity is to flush the soil of the affected plants with a very mild,complete fertilizer. Severe problems require that more water be flushed through the soil to carryaway the toxic elements.

1. Flush a minimum of three times the volume of water for the volume of soil in the container.2. Do not add more fertilizer that contains nitrogen for one week. This allows the excess

nitrogen in the foliage to be used.3. If the plants remain excessively green, cut back on the nitrogen dose.


33/51

THE TAKE AWAY

Remember, nitrogen is very mobile and it dissipates quickly. It must be added regularly to sustainfast-growing gardens. In the hot summer, nitrogen will easily be washed away because of the

extreme amount of watering that must be done. A good guideline for Texas gardeners is to multiplythe recommended dosage by 1.25 if it is given in terms of time (Example: every 14 days). If therecommended dosage is stated in frequency (Ex: every 4 th watering) follow the recommendedsuggestion. If you see signs of nitrogen toxicity, reduce usage.

Phosphorus

Fast-growing annuals use the highest levels of phosphorus during germination, seedling, the taking of

cuttings and flowering. Super Bloom fertilizers, designed for flowering, have high levels of phosphorus.

WHAT DOES IT DO FOR THE PLANT?

Phosphorus is necessary for photosynthesis and provides a mechanism for the energy to transferwithin the plant. It is one of the components of DNA, enzymes and proteins. Phosphorous isassociated with overall plant health and seed production.

The highest concentrations of phosphorus are found in root growing tips, growing shoots, and

vascular tissue.

SOURCES: Bat guano Steamed bone meal Natural phosphates Barnyard manure

WHAT ARE THE SIGNS OF DEFICIENCY?

A lack of phosphorus causes stunted growth and smaller leaves. Leaves can also turn bluish-greenand blotches often appear. Stems, leaf stems (petioles) and main veins turn reddish-purple startingon the leafs underside although this reddening is not always well pronounced.

The leaf tips of older leaves turn dark and curl downward. Severely affected leaved develop largepurplish-black necrotic (dead) blotches. These leaves later become brownish purple, dry, shrivel up,contort and drop off.


34/51

Flowering is often delayed, buds are uniformly smaller, seed yield is poor and plants become veryvulnerable to fungal and insect attack.

Deficiencies are somewhat common and are often misdiagnosed. Deficiencies are most commonwhen:

Prosperous deficiencies are aggravated by clay, acidic, and soggy soils. Soil pH is above 7 and phosphorus is unable to absorbed properly Soil is acidic (below 5.8) There soil has a shortage or excess of zinc, an element that is necessary for proper utilization

of phosphorus but cannot be tolerated in large concentrations. There is an excess of iron in the soil. The soil has become fixated with phosphates.

THE VISIBLE SIGNS OF PHOSPHORUS DEFICIENCY INCLUDE: Stunted and very slow-growth plants Dark blue-green leaves, often with dark blotches. Smaller overall plants Blotches that overcome leaf stem and leaves that turn brownish purple, contort and drop

form the plant.

TREATEMENT:

Treat Phosphorus deficiency by:

1. Prevent problems by mixing a complete fertilizer containing phosphorus into the soil beforeplanting.

2. Lowering the pH of the soil to between 6-7 for clay soils and 5.5-6.5 for potting soils sophosphorus can become available.

3. Make sure to use finely ground fertilizers that are readily available to the plants.

Fertilizer Application

In order to determine if plants need to be fertilized, do one or more of the following:1. Make a visual inspection2. Take an N-PK soil test3. Experiment on test plants.

No matter what method is used, remember that plants in spall containers use available nutrientsquickly and need frequent fertilizing, while plants in large planters have more soil, supply morenutrients, and can go longer between fertilizer applications.


35/51

Visual Inspection

If plants are growing well and have deep-green, healthy leaves, they are probably getting all

necessary nutrients. The moment growth slows or leaves begin to turn pale green, it is time tofertilize. Do not confuse yellow leaves caused by lack of light with yellow leaves caused by a nutrientdeficiency.

Taking a N-P-K soil test

Taking an N-P-K soil test will reveal exactly how much of each major nutrient is available to the plant.The test kits:

1. Mix a soil sample with a chemical.

2.

After the soil settles, a color reading is taken from the liquid and matched to a color chart.3. The appropriate percent of fertilizer is then added.

This method is exact but can be more trouble than it is worth.

Experimentation

Experimenting on two or three test plants is the best way to gain experience and develophorticultural skills. Cuttings are perfect for this type of experiment.

1. Give the test plants some fertilizer and see if they green up and grow faster. You should notice

change within three or four days. If a fertilizer is good for one plant, it is probably good for allof them.

2. After it has been determined that the plants need fertilizer you must decide how much. Thereare two strategies here: either mix the fertilizer as directed and water as normal or dilute thefertilizer and apply it more often. In the winter months when watering is less frequent, gowith the first option; in the summer months when watering is more frequent, go with thelater.


36/51


37/51

Difficulty: Difficult

Lifecycle: Annual

Plant Size: 12 to 16 inches

Start With: Transplants

Frost Hardiness: Tender

Days to Germinate: 20

Days to Harvest: 70

Sun Requirements: Full Sun

Watering Requirements: Average

Type of Soil: Rich

Recommended Plant Spacing:

14 inches

Sowing Depth: Surface

Minimum Soil Depth: 8 inches

Chapter 6: Examples of Easy to Grow Plants

Although there are a variety of plants that I could have chosen from, here are the ones I havepersonally experimented with. I will provide you with what I know, both from research and frompersonal experience.

Banana Peppers

Pepper Basics

Peppers are among the most decorative of vegetables. They are

covered with pretty white flowers before they produce fruit andthe foliage is handsome enough to pass for a houseplant evenbefore the flowers begin to show. They are great container plantsbecause they stay at a manageable size throughout the growingseason and in general, peppers suffer relatively few problems. Themain concern is keeping the soil and plant warm enough toproduce fruit but not so hot that they burn. This is easy withcontainer gardens as you can simply move them in and out of thesun. Peppers are very successful in containers. Although the plants

will stay smaller, they often will produce fruit earlier because of the ability to manipulate their environment.

Planting

Pepper plants are tricky to grow from seedlings and although itmight mean limiting your choice of varieties, you may decide its simpler to buy transplants than to

start your own. At the garden center choose the healthiest, strongest young plants- not tall and

leggy, but dense and compact. Dont allow yourself to be taken by large pepper plants in galloncontainers, with several flowers or even tiny fruits already showing. Although it would seem likethese are the best because they have a head start, if you transplant a young pepper that is alreadyshowing fruit the growth curve has a potential to hit a dead end and the plant might never recover. If you do purchase plants with flowers or fruit, clip them off before you transplant.


38/51

Success with Peppers

The greatest success from peppers comes from managing todo two things at once: keep them warm and preventingthem from getting too hot. Peppers love sunlight and thriveon sunny days but if it too hot they will shut down for aperiod of time and simply work on surviving. Often bookson the subject will say in a heat wave, move any pepperplants that already have fruit into the shade. Dont let this

fool you; keep in mind that to many in the countrytemperatures in the mid to upper 90s is considered a heatwave. In Texas that can be considered a cooler day in July orAugust so make sure to keep a close eye on your plants,provide them with plenty of water and make sure they haveall the nutrients they require to help them survive the hotweather. If you do, you will be rewarded with a very bountiful harvest.

Harvvesting

When to harvest peppers is somewhat a matter of personal taste. Early in the season green pepperscan be picked when they reach a goods size, around 3 inches, and will be deliciously crisp in salads

and pasta. It is good to harvest the plant frequently, the more you pick from it the more productionyou will get.

In the later part of the season, it can be fun to let the peppers stay on the plant until they are fullyripe; until they reach their mature color. It is a little known fact that red, yellow and green peppersarent actually different kinds of plants. Instead, all peppers start out green and then slowly changecolors the longer they stay on the plant. Although it is most noticeable in varieties like bell peppers,many banana peppers will change colors also, from green to yellow to a deep, deep purple that isdelicious. Just be careful, after pur ple comes black and rotting.


39/51


40/51

When it comes time to plant the basin in your big container (either your own seedlings or the onesform the nursery), start with an all purpose potting mix with a bit of sand and dolomite lime added.Theres nothing particularly special about planting basil.

1. Set it into a planting hole in the container at the same level it was in the starter pot.2. Firm it in, water just enough to settle the new soil.3. Let it grow!

Success with Basil

Like many of the most popular herbs, basil is a Mediterranean plantand develops its best flavor when the temperature is sizzling hotand it is allowed to go slightly dry between watering. Big, lushplants with soft leaves and stems may be pretty, but they are not

the most flavorful.

To ensure strong, healthy basil plants, dont plant them too early.Wait until the nighttime temperatures to not dip below 50F. If yousimply cannot wait, you can cheat a bit by covering the young plantswith a protective cover on those nights when the weather is a littletoo cold.

Feed ones when first planted, then again about mid-summer, with ahigh-nitrogen plant food. Also, take a light hand with watering. Water the young plants very

sparingly until they tart to show signs of new growth. Then water enough so that the plants dontwilt, but be on guard against overwatering.

Keep an eye on the weather conditions as summer draws to an end. Cold temperatures just stopbasil in its tracks, and even the merest hint of frost can be fatal. The first time you come outside inNovember and see your beautiful basil has turned black overnight, youll never forget it and youll bevery watchful thereafter. This is particularly important in Texas where it seems to get cold suddenly,over a period of a day or two. The combination of sudden weather changes and a plant that is likelyto die suddenly gives a gardener reason to be watchful.

Harvesting

To harvest enough basil for tonights supper, simply snip off a few leaves. To keep the plant bushy for

the season, pinch off an inch or so of the growing tips as each new branch develops. This forces theplant to grow side branches, which will give you even more tips to harvest. Eventually the plant will


41/51

Difficulty: Easy

Lifecycle: Semi-a nnual

Plant Size: 20 inches

Start With: Seeds

Frost Hardiness: Tender


Days to Harvest: 40Sun Requirements: Full Sun

Watering Requirements: Average

Type of Soil: Rich

Recommended Plant Spacing:

14 inches



flower and the pretty flowers are also useful, but the most flavorful part of the plant is the growingtips, and you can keep them coming by regular harvesting.

Cilantro

Cilantro Basics

This annual herb gives us two harvests. Cilantro is the name we giveto the leafy part of the plant. At the end of the season, the plantflowers and make seeds that wee call coriander. Many peopleconsider coriander a spice rather than an herb, thus complicatingthe old debate over the difference between the tow. The plantdoes very well in the cooler parts of the growing season (late spring

and early summer); in hot weather the lush, leafy growth fizzles outas the plant moves into seed making mode, eager to reproduceitself before the season ends.

If you wish, you can allow a plant or two to produce flowers. Theyare quite lovely little pink or white-hued clusters that wave atopgraceful stalks.

Planting

Cilantro is best grown from seed because a maturing plant forms asignificant taproot that doesnt like to be transplanted. Out in a

garden, the taproot anchors the plant and helps it survive periods of dry weather. In an undersizedpot, the taproot can hit the bottom and result in a struggling or stunted plant; be sure to sow cilantroin a fairly deep container to avoid this problem.

You certainly can start seeds indoors to get a jump on the season, but transplanting takes carefulhandling, especially of the taproot. So all things considered, youre proba bly better off starting seedsdirectly in the container where they will grow.

Sow the seeds in early spring in a shallow furrow or hole, and cover them lightly but firmly with abouthalf an inch of the potting ix. They will germinate in about two weeks in cool soil (60F or so). Whenthey are a few inches high, thin out the little seedlings to the remaining have room to grow. If youstarted your seeds indoors, move them to outside now.

If youre purchasing plants, your best bet is to go for the ones that are still small and show no signs of flowers or flower bud development. One way to avoid transplant shock is to simply keep them inn


42/51

the pot you bought them in if it is deep enough, or to cut out the bottom and sink the whole thinginto a slightly bigger pot.

Success with Cilantro.

For the best flavor and lush, attractive foliage, cilantro must have panty of sun. Set on a brightwindowsill indoors, or place in a sunny location on your deck or patio. Because the plants are loosegrowing and somewhat floppy, they appreciate a little shelter from tossing breezes, which can alsodry out the plants. As for water, make sure there is always enough. Cilantro is a greedy drinker butkeeping it hydrated will lead to succulent, delicious leaves.

If you re growing this plant so you can harvest the leaves, you will have to be especially vigilant.Cilantro grows quickly and bolts, or goes to seed, quickly. Keep up with watering and harvest often.

Harvesting

To gather leaves for use in the kitchen, cut leafy stalks right at the base, at the soil level. Youngleaves are the tastiest, older leaves can veer toward a bitter or sharp taste. Cilantro is best used freshas dried leave are virtually flavorless.

For a continual harvest of tasty leaves, you want to make small, repeated sowings every few weeks.Tear out spent plants and reuse the same part to start new ones.

If youve had enough cilantro, or if you want coriander seeds, allow the flowers to bloom and fade

away naturally. Clip off the seed heads just as they are turning brown; gathered too early and theydont smell or taste as good. Dont wait too long though or the plant will dump the entire crop ontothe soil. Dry them before using and store them in an airtight jar.


43/51

Difficulty: Average

Lifecycle: Annual

Plant Size: 8 to 10 inches

Start With: seeds or transplants

Frost Hardiness: Semi-Hardy


Days to Harvest: 80

Sun Requirements: Full Sun or

Partial Shade

Watering Requirements: Heavy

Type of Soil: Moist

Recommended Plant Spacing: 6

inches



Lettuce

Lettuce Basics:

Lettuce may be just about the perfect container garden vegetable:easy to grow, a short time between sowing and harvesting, prettyto look at, and exactly the type of thing you want to be able topick fresh for each salad. The one drawback to growing lettuce isthat it doesnt like hot weather, and we get quite a bit of that

here. Although you might have to move it out of the sun on thehotter days, you can leave it out in the winter and it will do justfine.

There are over 800 varieties of lettuce recognized in the UnitedStates alone and yet very few varieties are sold in grocery stores.By growing your own, you can experience a wide range of lettuceand salad greens that you might not even have known aboutotherwise.

Generally speaking, lettuce is grouped into four categories basedon shape.

Romaine lettuce makes tight heads of long, narrow,crisp leaves.

Butterheads form rosettes of very tender leaves with a small, loose head at the center;one early variety was named Bib, in honor of its developer, and today that has become ageneric name for the whole category.

Crisphead lettuces have a large, tight ball of a head inside looser outer leaves; Iceberg isan example of a Crisphead.

Looseleafs are the best choice for container gardens because they take up less space and have moreshallow root systems. Also, unlike the other three types, which are harvested one entire head at atime looseleaf lettuces can be harvested one leaf at a time meaning you can pick just enough fortonights salad an d leave the plant to keep producing more.


44/51

Planting

Lettuce is a cool-season plant and that canbe difficult in Texas. It is made a little easier

by the fact that breeders have createdvarieties that handle warm weather betterthan others but lettuce is still an early springand late fall crop. For the highest success,plant in mid-October and enjoy all winterand until late spring arrives.

Seeds can be started indoors as early asAugust to get a jump start on the growingseason. If you choose to do this, try to movethem outside on a cloudy day, and providethe seedlings with some shade for the firstfew days.

For a steady supply of lettuce, make several sowings two or three weeks apart. As the seedlingsgrow, gradually thin them until you have about 6 inch spacing. Also, dont forget that the largerseedlings that you pull up can be eaten as baby lettuce.

Harvesting

The greatest thing about loose-leaf lettuces is that you can take just a few leaves without pulling upthe entire plant. Work from the outside in; grasp the bottom of a leaf and pull it off with a sidewaysmotion.


45/51

Difficulty: Easy

Lifecycle: Annual

Plant Size: 6 to 12 Inches, both

above and below ground

Start With: Seeds

Frost Hardiness: Semi-Hardy


Days to Harvest: 80

Sun Requirements: Full Sun

Watering Requirements: Average Type of Soil: Loose

Recommended Plant Spacing: 2

inches

Sowing Depth: 2 inches


Carrots

Carrot Basics:

Choosing a variety of carrot to grow can be somewhat of achallenge because of the way they are named. For example, manyseed catalogs describ e individual varieties as being A Chantenaytype or early Nantes. Chatantenay and Nantes are names of older carrot varieties that have now become generic terms fordifferent types of carrots; the distinguishing trait is their shape. Tosimpl ify, lets match the various shapes of carrots with the namesyou will most likely see when purchasing seeds.

The Imperator is the long and thin carrot mostfrequently found at the grocery store.

Chantenays are a tapered variety with a broad topand pointed tip. These carrots can grow to be verylarge.

Danvers are also a tapered variety but are smallerthan Chatenays.

Nantes types have straight, tapered sides and bluntends.

Round s are well round and about the size of golf balls.

Fingers are shaped like little fingers and look like thebaby carrots that have become popular in the last few decades.

Of these varieties, Nantes, rounds and fingers are the best for containers because of their smaller sizeand shallow root systems.

Planting

Carrots germinate best when the soil is between 70 to 80F but that can be started outdoors as longas temperatures dont sink below 45F at night. The tricky thing is that the date when that willhappen is fairly inconsistent in Texas. In Denton, TX, where I live, the timeframe where it was over

45F has ranged from the second week in April to the second week in May. Luckily, containergardeners can pick up their gardens and move them inside if the weather changes drastically. If youwish to plant the seeds before it is warm enough you can always do so inside, just keep in mind thatcarrots do not like to be transplanted and will need to be sown in place. Regardless of whetherplanted indoors or out, make sure that the soil is kept moist during germination.


46/51

Here are some tips:

1. Mix some radish seeds in with your carrot seeds and plant the mixture together.Radishes germinate quickly and therefore will keep the soil loose for the small carrotseedlings. If radishes arent for you, you can try mixing one part carrot seeds with threeparts bok choy seeds; in 30-40 days you will be harvesting the bok choy and the carrotswill just be beginning to develop.

2. Make sure to check the soil every day; add water if needed. Use a gentle mist of waterto ensure that you dont disrupt the seeds. To keep them damp you can also cover theseeds with wet burlap, a thin layer of peat moss or even damp paper towels. Keep thecovering layer damp and remove at the first sight of the tiny green sprouts.

3. When the plants are about 2 inches high, you will need to thin them to about inchapart for the long, slender varieties and about 1 inch for the round varieties.

Success with Carrots

If you can get your carrots through the germination phase they are an extremely easy plant togrow. Keep them watered and fertilized and they will do the rest.

For an extended harvest season, continue to sow carrot seeds in batches. It doesnt have to

be a precise system: when youve pulled up about half of your carrots, pl ant some more.

Harvesting

You can begin to harvest your crop anytime after the carrots reach the size you want. There isno particular trick to pulling them out of the ground, just make sure you have a firm grip onthe stems, near the shoulder of the carrot root.


47/51

Chapter 7: Common Fungi and Viruses

These are some problems that I faced while gardening

Gray Mold

Gray mold is a fungus that can affect any part of the plant and is one of the most common diseasesfound among bedding plants. This disease will easily infect plants that are already damaged orbeginning to die. Moisture is one of the main causes of gray mold. The wetter your plants are, themore susceptible they are to becoming infected.

How to Identify Gray Mold

The symptoms of gray mold depend on the type of plant and environmental conditions, but generallyspots that appear water-soaked will form on the leaves.

These spots will then change color from gray to brown, eventually covering most of the leaf and causing it to wilt.

Under really humid conditions, grayish webbing may appear on the leaves. In this webbing arestructures that contain spores.

Petals, stems, and buds can also be infected. Eventually, all of the infected parts of the plant will be covered by a fuzzy gray growth.

How to Control Gray Mold Remove the infected plants and destroy them. Clean thoroughly between your plants so that the disease cannot infect your other plants. You can try using foliar sprays with cultural controls on your plants to prevent further

infections.

Prevention Handle your plants carefully when transplanting and pruning. Gray mold usually attacks

wounded plants, so avoid harming your plants. Keep your plants dry. Avoid overhead watering and watering late in the day. Give your plants

time to dry off after watering them during the day. Space your plants properly to encourage good air circulation. Remember to clean between your plants. Remove any debris, including cuttings and dead

leaves.


48/51

Mosaic Viruses

This virus infects more than 150 types of plants, including many fruits, vegetables, and flowers. It ischaracterized by leaves mottled with yellow, white, and light and dark green spots or streaks. Some

of the most commonly infected plants include tomatoes, potatoes, squash, and cucumbers.

How to Identify Mosaic Viruses

Viral diseases are difficult to identify because symptoms vary from plant to plant and may also varydepending on the age of the plant and its growing conditions. However, the most common ways of identifying mosaic viruses are listed below.

The leaves are mottled with yellow, white, and light and dark green spots, which appear to beelevated. This gives the leaves a blister-like appearance.

Plants are often stunted, or they grow poorly. Plants may have other deformities and their leaves may be crinkled or wavy.

How to Control Mosaic Viruses

Once plants are infected, there are no controls. Remove all the infected plants and destroy them.

Prevention Plant resistant plants when available in your garden. Mosaic viruses are mostly spread by insects, especially aphids and leafhoppers. You can try

covering your plants with a floating row cover or aluminum foil mulches to prevent theseinsects from infecting your plants.

Control your weeds. Some types may serve as hosts for the disease.

Powdery Mildew

Powdery mildew is a fungus disease affects a wide variety of plants, including lilacs, phlox, roses,squash, beans, and peas. It takes away a plant's nutrients, which causes the plant to bloom less and

become weaker. In some cases, if the infection is severe enough, powdery mildew can kill yourplants.

How to Identify Powdery Mildew

Plants infected with powdery mildew look as if they have been dusted with flour. It usually starts off as circular, powdery white spots. It usually covers the upper part of the leaves and affects the older


49/51

leaves first; the leaves turn yellow and dry out. The leaves, buds, and growing tips will becomedistorted as well. These symptoms usually appear late in the growing season.

How to Control Powdery Mildew Rubbing the infected leaves together can help partially remove the disease from your plants. Remove all the infected plant parts and destroy them. Remember, do not compost any

infected plant, as the disease can still be spread by the wind. Spray infected plants with fungicides. Effective fungicides include sulfur, lime-sulfur, neem oil,

and potassium bicarbonate.

Prevention Plant plants that are resistant or tolerant to powdery mildew. Powdery mildew thrives in hot and humid weather, so avoid overhead watering to reduce

humidity. Also selectively prune overcrowded areas to increase air circulation; this also helpsreduce humidity for your plants.

Spray your plants with fungicides according to their directions. If you don't want to usefungicides, try spraying your plants with a solution of 1 teaspoon baking soda in 1 quart of water. Remember to spray your plants thoroughly.

Rust

Rust is a fungus affects a wide range of woody and herbaceous plants. Even though it rarely kills

plants, it reduces a plant's health, vigor, and flower production.

How to Identify Rust Look for yellow or white spots forming on

the upper leaves of a plant. Orange or yellow spots or streaks appear on

the undersides of the leaves. Within these spots that form are spores. Usually leaf distortion and defoliation occur.

How to Control Rust Remove all infected parts and destroy them. For bramble fruits, remove and destroy all the

infected plants and replant the area with resistant varieties. Clean away all debris in between plants to prevent rust from spreading.


50/51

Avoid splashing water onto the leaves, as this can help spread rust.

Prevention Dust your plants with sulfur early in the season to prevent infection or to keep mild infections

from spreading. Space your plants properly to encourage good air circulation. Avoid wetting the leaves when watering plants. There are many effective rust fungicides you can try. Ask your local nursery for which products

you should use.


51/51

Conclusion

I know that the information contained within this guide may seem a little overwhelming. The bestway to learn to garden is thorough experience so dont worry if you mess up the first couple of times!

In my first year I have killed my pepper plants several times, battled bugs, forgotten to water myplants, over-watered my plants. I m sure you get the point.

Relax, have fun, and garden!

how to grow a container garden in texas

Documents