What’s Happening in Austin’s September Vegetable Garden

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Purple eggplant harvested in the September vegetable garden

Enjoying the remnants of the summer garden

September Vegetable Garden Checklist Tips from Paula Wolfel

Vegetable gardeners and most everyone else welcome the arrival of September because it means cooler temperatures are on the way. Though the daytime temperatures are still hot, at some point in September, the nighttime temperatures begin to fall. That little drop will take heat stress off of plants and help make our gardens beautiful again. Gardeners are enjoying harvests from the plants that survived their summer gardens such as eggplant, cucumbers, melons, and tomatoes as well starting new with fall plantings.

The September Vegetable Garden Checklist

WATER

  • Daily watering is important for new transplants during the first two or so weeks as they put down roots. Water the soil before putting the plant in the soil.
  • Keep an eye on the sky – plants prefer rain water so if it is going to rain or rained the night before, skip your regularly scheduled irrigation until you can determine how much rain was received. Dry conditions in a vegetable garden can lead to delayed maturity, low yields, and poor quality so understanding soil moisture is crucial.
  • When planting seeds also water the soil before planting, then keep the soil most until the seeds have germinated.
  • Avoid watering in the middle of the day because water can be lost to evaporation. That’s mostly because the plant has closed it’s stomata to prevent water loss and doesn’t absorb water at the same rate that it does during cooler morning temperatures. The water that is applied to the soil during the hottest parts of the day is then just evaporated away.
  • Most vegetables have a growth stage when water is most critical: during head development for broccoli and cauliflower; during flowering and pod enlargement for beans and peas, and during root enlargement for radishes, beets, and carrots. Lettuce and other leafy vegetables do best with a fairly consistent supply of moisture from planting to harvest.

FERTILIZE

  • Sidedress vegetable transplants 3-4 weeks after planting. To sidedress, pull back mulch, sprinkle 2 tablespoons of fertilizer around the perimeter of the plant, scratch it lightly into the soil, water well, and replace mulch.  Repeat this application of fertilizer again 3 weeks later to maintain healthy and vigorous growth. Keep soil moisture even so that the fertilizer doesn’t “burn” the plant.

SOIL

Newspapers laid on ground and covered with leaves for mulch

Use newspapers and mulch to protect soil and suppress weeds.

  • Clean up any dead plants.
  • Keep soil covered to conserve moisture, moderate temperature, and deter weeds.
  • One low-cost way to protect soil that is lying fallow is to spread a few layers of newspaper over the soil, wet it down, and top it with dried leaves, grass clippings, or mulch. Place drip or soaker hose underneath the leaves, grass, or mulch. This method works well for weed suppression around the perimeter of the vegetable garden too – just leave out the irrigation.
  • Put down a layer of mulch. It is an important component for the vegetable garden. It moderates soil temperatures, deters weeds, helps conserve moisture, and gradually breaks down and enriches soil. Dried grass clippings, leaves, pine straw, partially decomposed compost, and shredded bark are suitable options. When you’re ready to plant, just scoop up the mulch and put it in your compost bin.

WHAT TO PLANT IN THE SEPTEMBER VEGETABLE GARDEN

  • If transplants have been grown indoors or in a greenhouse, it’s a good idea to acclimate them to outdoor conditions before planting in the garden. Start by setting them in a shady spot for a few hours, gradually exposing them to more sun each day over the course of a week.
  • The best time for setting out transplants is in the evening or on a cloudy day, and if rain is in the forecast, it is very good for the plant to get rainwater right after being planted.
  • Broccoli, brussel sprouts, cabbage, and cauliflower are planted as transplants in order to get a harvest before the first freeze. And root vegetables such as beets, carrots, turnips, and radishes are planted as seeds because they do not like their roots disturbed. Many of the other fall plants grow well from seeds or transplants. Seeds are less expensive and give you more control over the complete life of your plant. But transplants provide a quicker harvest.
cabbage growing in the September vegetable gardenSEEDS
  • Beets (all month)
  • Carrots (all month)
  • Leeks (seed all month for spring harvest)
  • Radish (all month)
  • Turnips (all month)
TRANSPLANTS
  • Broccoli (all month)
  • Brussel sprouts (all month)
  • Cabbage (all month)
  • Cauliflower (all month)
TRANSPLANTS OR SEEDS

green leaves yellow stems of swiss chard

  • Asian greens (all month)
  • Beans, snap and lima (early to mid month)
  • Chard, Swiss (all month)
  • Collards (all month)
  • Cucumber (early month)
  • Garlic (late month)
  • Greens, cold season (late month)
  • Kale (all month)
  • Kohrabi (late month)
  • Lettuce (mid-late month)
  • Mustard (all month)
  • Onion, bunching/multiplying (all month)
  • Peas, English, snap, and snow (all month)
  • Potato, Irish (early month)
  • Shallots (late month)
  • Spinach (late month)
  • Squash, summer (early month)

DISEASES/PESTS TO LOOK FOR IN THE SEPTEMBER VEGETABLE GARDEN

striped worm on a finger

Cross-striped cabbage worm.

Fall armyworms, cabbage worms, cabbage loopers and cross-striped cabbage worms can be an issue this time of year, especially on cole crops like broccoli, kale and cauliflower. Cover new plantings with row cover to exclude the moth that lays the eggs or treat plants with a product containing Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), which comes in either dust or spray form. Bt is deadly when consumed by caterpillars but does not harm other insects. Read the label and follow directions carefully. You can also pick them off with your fingers and either drop them in a cup of soapy water or squash them.

MAINTENANCE

  • Always keep up with the weeds: they compete with young plants for water and nutrients.
  • Continue to pull up any summer plants that are infested with pest damage or disease.

Additional Resources

Watch the Vegetable Gardening in Central Texas Webinar

Vegetable Planting Calendar (Español繁体中文)

Recommended Vegetable Varieties for Travis County

Vegetable Seed Sources

Vegetable Gardening in Austin

Plant Rotations, Successions and Intercropping

Sustainable Food Center Farmers Markets

Texas Farmers Markets

Monthly Gardening Calendar for Austin and Central Texas

Tool Maintenance

About Paula Wolfel

Paula Wolfel joined the Travis County Master Gardener program in 2022, but has been gardening in Austin, Texas since 2017. She grew up in the suburbs of Chicago learning how to garden from both her father—a Sicilian vegetable and fruit tree gardener—and both her grandmothers, and then spent years in Virginia gardening. Paula loves gardening because she finds it to be a grounding force- it gets her out of her head and into the present. She loves the pride that comes with cooking a meal for her family with every ingredient coming from her garden… and then the humility she feels when she loses an entire crop because of Mother Nature. She finds gardening to be wisdom, lessons, best practices passed down generation to generation, season to season and hopes to share that with you.

Opportunities to Grow as a Gardener in Weather Extremes

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tree limbs on the ground from freeze damage

Tree damage from the 2021 storm

Meet “Frovid”

Before and after photos of damaged plantsOn February 12-18, 2021, we thought we had met our garden demise with what we refer to around here as Frovid. After that freeze we felt like our gardens and landscape across our three acre property would forever be changed. We lost so many perennials, succulents, fruit trees, and branches and we thought things would never recover. March rolled around and the massive undertaking of the cleanup was behind us, and thankfully we did not meet our garden demise. Just like the many spring seasons before, plants once again emerged and by May we were in full swing again with beautiful color and healthy plants. One would have never known it ever happened.

And Then Came the Ice

fallen limbs and trees and then same area cleaned up

A lot of downed limbs that had to be sawed up and hauled away.

Fast forward to February 1-2, 2023. The ice apocalypse strikes hard in south Austin. By February 2nd, a third of our trees or branches from trees were so laden with ice that they were splitting, cracking off and uprooting left and right throughout the property. For lack of a better description, our property looked like a war zone. Giant multi trunk cedar trees were splayed completely across gardens, driveways, paths, donkey and chicken runs and on three acres of fence line. We also lost many prized heritage oak branches. We had never felt so overwhelmed in our lives as things deteriorated around us. When it was all said and done, we had major work to do on half of the four hundred plus trees on the property.

More Clean Up

The City of Austin and surrounding counties set up brush drop off sites and once again we had the intense job of cleaning it up. We hired a crew for 2 days that cost us about 2k to get the large branches, uprooted trees, and anything dangling and unsafe. Over the next 30 days I worked everyday chain sawing, stacking, and loading branches. In total, I transported fourteen brush loads in my 10’x 8’ foot trailer across town to the Hornsby Bend city brush drop off site (https://www.austintexas.gov/brushdropoff), a wonderful free service the City of Austin provides.

And Yet…

Same garden with more sunlight and happy plants

More sun has made for healthier plants.

We left town for the month of March for a much-needed break and decided we would regroup in April and see what in the world we were going to do with all of the gardens that were now full blazing sun. Again, just like in 2021 we thought the property as we knew it was never going to recover. Well, here we are in July just 5 months later and things are thriving.

Many plants in our shade gardens were moved or taken out to introduce more sun-loving plants. Overall, things are much happier. It turns out the perennials we had planted in numerous partial shade areas were not getting enough sun and they are now thriving. The loss of these trees allowed us to reinvent some areas that quite honestly were getting a little tired and needed a facelift.

An Opportunity to Grow

These extreme temperatures are hard, and they always create a challenge. Too hot, too cold, but always an opportunity to grow and learn as a gardener and reinvent a spot. One of our most favorite gardens now was our least favorite post freeze. It just never worked with the giant tree towering over it. Now that the tree is gone, we completely recreated it with paths and rocks that provide additional visual interest. The perennials have filled in and are healthy and blooming.

I vow to never think a too hot or too cold season will be the end of what we create. It’s an opportunity to learn and to get in the best shape of our lives pulling it all back together! As the saying goes, “What doesn’t kill us makes us stronger” and that certainly holds true for our little patch in south Austin. Of course, as our temperatures climb past 100 we have a new set of challenges in front of us. This too shall pass.

The Tally – Winners

Plants that made a complete rebound without any losses during both 2021 and 2023 freezes:

Shrubs

  • Pride of Barbados
  • Rock Rose
  • Yellow bells
  • Flame Acanthus
  • American Beauty Berry
  • Knockout Roses
  • Mexican Honeysuckle
  • Sotol
  • Firebush

Grasses/Perennials

  • Gulf Coast Muhly
  • Salvias
  • Majestic Sage
  • Bee Balm
  • Fall Aster
  • Silver Pony Foot
  • Obedient Plant
  • Cannas
  • Plumbago
  • Mexican Sage
  • Turks Cap
  • Shasta Daisies
  • Wormwood
  • Rock Penstemon
  • Fall Aster
  • Lantana
  • Greg’s Mist Flower
  • Clumping Bamboo
  • Mystic Spires
  • Gopher Plant

Vines

  • English Ivy
  • Crossvine

The Tally – Losers

These plants were damaged or a complete loss:

  • Arbequina Olive
  • Peach Trees
  • Cotoneaster
  • Germander Shrub
  • Prickly Pear Cactus
  • Mexican Mint Marigold
  • Jerusalem Sage
  • All Lavender Varieties
  • Ice Plant
  • Bi Color Iris

Additional Plant Resources

Ornamental Plants for Austin

The Grow Green Native and Adapted Landscape Plants guide

About Kay Angermann

East Austin Garden Fair Activities. Fun at the photo booth. Kay is a retired AISD teacher and has been a Travis County Master Gardener since 2018. She and Julie (also a Travis County Master Gardener) have had their “Katy Bird Farm” garden featured on Central Texas Gardener.  They have two miniature donkeys, chickens, dogs, cats, and 15 different gardens on three acres. When she’s not busy on the farm, she’s out gathering vintage signs and décor for her Hipbilly Vintage business.

What’s Happening in Austin’s August Vegetable Garden

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Leafy plants with open spaces in the August vegetable garden

An example of an August garden with cucumbers, poblano peppers, tomatoes, and basil holding on but empty spaces where spaghetti squash and nasturtium succumbed to heat and insects.

green tomatoes on the vine

Black Krim tomatoes going strong despite heat, waiting for cooler weather.

Stay Hydrated and Keep the August Vegetable Garden Going –  Tips from Paula Wolfel

August is an interesting time for gardeners in Austin. Vegetable gardens consist of plants that have survived or are surviving the heat but have dormant and empty spots from plants that succumbed to high temperatures or pests and diseases.

For those who have tomato, pepper, eggplant, squash, melons, and cucumbers that are still going strong, continue to water daily and to provide a water-soluble fertilizer once a week.

If you’ve got empty spots or those who are ready to start new, clean up the remnants from summer and plan and prep for the milder days that will come. The first frost in Central Texas usually arrives in late November or early December which means you have over 3 months of frost-free weather ahead. Gardeners can concentrate on the array of cool season vegetables that thrives in fall’s cooler temperatures or there is still time for a round two of green beans, cucumbers, squash, and tomatoes, which start producing about two months after sowing seeds.

Things to Do in the August Vegetable Garden

Water and Irrigation

  • Water continues to be the most important factor in the garden as the temperatures remain consistently above 90 degrees without rain. Continue to water your plants at the soil line every day if needed and give them a long, deep water once a week.
  • Irrigate in the morning. Wilted plants in the afternoon is a natural response. Watering at night in times of high humidity can promote fungal disease.
  • Water new seedlings regularly and transplants daily; direct sun combined with high temperatures can be a death sentence for a tender seedling without an established root system.

Fertilizer

  • As tomatoes, eggplants, peppers, and squash begin to flower again and form fruit, give them a boost with an application of water-soluble fertilizer according to label directions.

Soil

  • Clean up any dead plants.
  • In preparation for planting, spread a 2-inch layer of compost over the garden beds and mix it in lightly. Water the area well before planting seeds or transplants.
  • Put down a layer of mulch. It is an important component for the vegetable garden. It moderates soil temperatures, deters weeds, helps conserve moisture, and gradually breaks down and enriches soil.  Dried grass clippings, leaves, pine straw, partially decomposed compost, and shredded bark are suitable options.

What to Plant in the August Vegetable Garden

  • Shade young seedlings and transplants from direct afternoon sun. Use what you have on hand – an old window screen, shade cloth, sheets, cardboards, or umbrellas. It is not permanent and does not have to look pretty but it will give your plants a fighting chance.
  • If you have decided to grow cucumbers, squash, or green beans, plant seeds in late August or early September. For best results, choose varieties that mature in less than 60-days and be prepared to water daily until they are established.
  • Take into account the milder temperatures and shorter days that will slow the growth of fall plantings.
  • Seeds:
    • Beets (late month)
    • Carrots (late month)
    • Corn (early-mid month)
    • Greens, warm season (early-mid month)
    • Turnips, (late month)
  • Transplants:
    • Broccoli (late month)
    • Brussel sprouts (late month)
    • Cabbage (late month)
    • Cauliflower (late month)
    • Eggplant (early-mid month)
    • Okra (early-mid month)
    • Peppers (early-mid month)
    • Tomatoes (early-mid month)
  • Transplants or Seeds:
    • Beans, snap and lima (mid to late month)
    • Chard, Swiss (late month)
    • Collards (late months)
    • Cucumber (all month)
    • Kohrabi (late month)
    • Mustard (late month)
    • Peas, southern (early-late month)
    • Potato, Irish (mid-late month)
    • Squash, summer (all month)
    • Squash, winter (early-mid month)

Diseases and/or Pests to Look For in the August Vegetable Garden

  • Aphids: a strong spray of water can easily dispatch them from the leaves or remove the leaves and put into a cup of soapy water. The soap breaks down their protective exterior and the aphids become dehydrated and die.

Maintenance

  • Pull weeds from the garden. They compete with young plants for water and nutrients.
  • Continue to pull up any summer plants that are infested with pest damage or disease. Remember, whatever malady they are suffering from will get worse, not better, during the stress of summer heat.

Harvest

You can harvest any tomato once the green turns to a yellowish-orange and it will ripen on your counter, especially if placed next to bananas or in a brown paper bag. You can harvest green tomatoes and they will ripen-just take a bit longer-or you can use in roasted tomato salsa, fried green tomatoes, or chop and add to a vegetable sauté. Store on counter or in bowl with stem side down to encourage ripening.

green, orange, and mottled orange tomatoes

Example of range of color that you can pick your tomatoes.

green to yellow to red tomatoes on a kitchen counter

All tomatoes in this photo were picked upon the first sign of yellow/orange and ripened on the counter.

Preparing Your Fall Garden

In preparation for fall, check your seed inventory and peruse seed catalogs for varieties that grow well in Austin and fit Austin’s required “days to harvest.” Popular vegetables for the fall garden include broccoli, Brussel sprouts, cauliflower, cabbage, collards, kale and spinach, beets, radishes, and Swiss chard, as well as bush beans, cucumbers, and summer squash.  In choosing frost-tender varieties look for those that will mature in less than 65-days.

You can save money by growing your own transplants of fall crops indoors under grow lights. Start planting seeds of broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage and other falls crops early in the month so they can be transplanted in September.

One habit to start, is to sketch out a garden planning grid and include a rotation plan for growing vegetables. Crops within the same family are often susceptible to the same pests or diseases. If possible, move or rotate plants to different locations to help break the pest/disease cycle.

Keep Up With Tool Maintenance

Find a shady tree or a patio and get caught up on tool maintenance.

Additional Resources

Watch the Vegetable Gardening in Central Texas Webinar

Vegetable Planting Calendar (English) (Español) (繁体中文)

Recommended Vegetable Varieties for Travis County

Vegetable Seed Sources

Vegetable Gardening in Austin

Plant Rotations, Successions and Intercropping

Rootknot Nematode Management

Monthly Gardening Calendar for Austin and Central Texas

About Paula Wolfel

Paula Wolfel joined the Travis County Master Gardener program in 2022, but has been gardening in Austin, Texas since 2017. She grew up in the suburbs of Chicago learning how to garden from both her father—a Sicilian vegetable and fruit tree gardener—and both her grandmothers, and then spent years in Virginia gardening. Paula loves gardening because she finds it to be a grounding force- it gets her out of her head and into the present. She loves the pride that comes with cooking a meal for her family with every ingredient coming from her garden… and then the humility she feels when she loses an entire crop because of Mother Nature. She finds gardening to be wisdom, lessons, best practices passed down generation to generation, season to season and hopes to share that with you.

What’s Happening in Austin’s July Vegetable Garden

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vegetables from the july vegetable gardening checklist

Early July harvest- you can pick tomatoes as soon as the color changes from green to yellowish orange and have them ripen on your counter.

July Vegetable Garden Checklist Tips from Paula Wolfel

The July heat slows things down in the Austin vegetable garden. For most gardeners, July gardening consists of either trying to keep plants alive with daily watering until the temperatures drop again in late summer, or planning for their fall gardens. Heat and lack of rain can adversely affect growth and pollination so if your plants are not producing new fruits but remain green, try to hold tight until the temperatures drop. And in the meantime, start planning your fall garden. For those plants that have given up and have turned brown, or have succumbed due to pests and disease, pull them from your garden to make room for fall crops.

Your July Vegetable Garden Checklist:

WATER

  • Water remains the most important factor in the garden as the temperatures remain consistently above 90 degrees.
  • Continue to water your plants at the soil line every day if needed and give them a long, deep water once a week.

FERTILIZE

  • Over- fertilizing in summer is a common plant killer. Excess fertilizer (especially nitrogen) can burn plants in dry weather.  This happens because the salts in fertilizer draw moisture out of plants that they are not able to replenish from soil moisture or retain due to evaporation on hot days.  Lack of moisture results in scorched leaves resembling fire damage, or “burn”.
  • Use liquid fertilizers and be sure to water deeply.

SOIL

  • Mulch all bare soil.
  • Clean up any dead plants.

PLANTING

Seeds:

  • Corn (late month)
  • Greens- warm season (all month)

Transplants:

  • Eggplant (late month)
  • Peppers (mid-late month)
  • Tomatoes (all month for harvest before first freeze). Cherry tomatoes have an easier time setting fruit when it’s hot.

Transplants or Seeds:

  • Okra (late month)
  • Peas, southern (late month)
  • Squash, winter (late month)

DISEASES OR PESTS TO WATCH FOR

yellowed bean leaves

Spider Mite damage on green beans.

aphids massed on plant

Aphids (yellow) and a lady bug pupa.

  • Spider mites thrive in dry, hot conditions and the warmer days will make aphids prevalent on stressed plants. Remove both with blasts of water to the underside of leaves. Remove any heavily infested plants from the garden.
  • Powdery Mildew: a fungal disease that affects many plants in the garden and is especially prevalent during times of high humidity.

MAINTENANCE

  • Pull up any tomato plants that are infested with pest damage or disease. Whatever malady they are suffering from will get worse, not better, during the stress of summer heat. Use green tomatoes for roasted tomato salsa, chow-chow relish, fried green tomatoes, or chop and add to a vegetable sauté. Or place on your counter upside down near a banana or in a brown paper bag and let them ripen.
  • Melons, peppers, and eggplant handle Texas heat better than tomatoes. Keep them watered and mulched. Even if they pause production during summer’s peak, they will power through and produce a bumper crop this fall.
  • Your July vegetable garden checklist should also include tool maintenance. Get things in tip-top shape while things are slowing down.

Start Planning Your Fall Garden

Vegetables for the fall garden include broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, collards, kale, beets, Swiss chard, carrots and sugar-snap peas, as well as bush beans, cucumbers and summer squash. In choosing frost-tender varieties look for those that have a short ‘days to harvest’, generally less than 65 days, so that plants have enough time to mature and produce before the first anticipated frost in Central Texas, which typically comes the end of November or first week of December.

Check your seed inventory and peruse seed catalogs for varieties you want to plant.   You can save money by growing your own transplants of fall crops indoors under grow lights. Start planting seeds of broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage and other falls crops later this month so they will be ready for setting in the garden by mid-September.

Sketch out a rotation plan for growing vegetables. Crops within the same family are often susceptible to the same pests or diseases. Moving or rotating them to a different location helps break the pest and disease cycle.

Additional Resources

Watch the Vegetable Gardening in Central Texas Webinar

Vegetable Planting Calendar (Español繁体中文)

Recommended Vegetable Varieties for Travis County

Vegetable Seed Sources

Vegetable Gardening in Austin

Plant Rotations, Successions and Intercropping

Sustainable Food Center Farmers Markets

Texas Farmers Markets

Monthly Gardening Calendar for Austin and Central Texas

Tool Maintenance

About Paula Wolfel

Paula Wolfel joined the Travis County Master Gardener program in 2022, but has been gardening in Austin, Texas since 2017. She grew up in the suburbs of Chicago learning how to garden from both her father—a Sicilian vegetable and fruit tree gardener—and both her grandmothers, and then spent years in Virginia gardening. Paula loves gardening because she finds it to be a grounding force- it gets her out of her head and into the present. She loves the pride that comes with cooking a meal for her family with every ingredient coming from her garden… and then the humility she feels when she loses an entire crop because of Mother Nature. She finds gardening to be wisdom, lessons, best practices passed down generation to generation, season to season and hopes to share that with you.

Texas Superstar® – Trailing Lantana

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butterfly visiting the white flower of trailing lantana

Butterflies visit spring through fall.

Trailing Lantana is a ‘Go-To’ Plant

In Central Texas, Lantana is a ‘go to’ garden specimen for continuous color from spring through fall. It survives our inconsistent freezes, drought, and periods of rain deluge and just keeps coming back.

The purple variety of Trailing Lantana is slightly more hardy than the white, but both are plants you’ll want to have in your garden. The white variety can take more shade than the purple, but still flowers best with direct sun and heat.

Trailing lantana purple flower close up

Clusters of small flower clusters amidst a light green background of foliage.

As with all lantanas, the foliage has a distinct herbal smell which deters most wildlife. The only time a deer has ‘tasted’ a lantana in my yard was as a new planting of a small specimen. The foliage can be a skin irritant, but I experience less of an issue with the smaller Trailing Lantana than I do with the larger bush varieties.

Whichever color you prefer, the butterflies will thank you for the lovely blooms and pollen from early spring until the first frost. It’s not unusual to see various varieties of butterflies visit the plants all summer long.

Propagation Can Happen Naturally

Trailing Lantana can be propagated in two ways: rooted stems and stem cuttings.

Rooted Stems

Trailing Lantana self propagates by developing roots along the long trailing arms. Once rooted, you can easily lift the plant and roots and relocate to a new spot, or put into a container for a flush of blooms. Spring is the best time to transplant these ‘volunteers’ to provide the new plants the lower temperatures to establish deeper roots before the heat of summer arrives.

white flower of trailing lantana

White flower clusters can enhance any garden type.

There is no trick needed to gain multiple plants from the ‘mother plant’, but patience may be needed to allow the small roots to develop. Don’t want additional plants? Just gently pull-up the roots and the thin arm will continue to develop foliage and blooms while the hair-like roots wither.

Stem Cuttings

To propagate by stem cuttings, it’s best to take a cutting in the spring or early summer while the plant is actively growing.

Ideally, take a 6-8 inch cutting which provides several nodes. (A node is the area where leaves have emerged from the stem.) Remove all leaves but the top two-to-three to allow the plant to focus on root development instead of leaf and flower development. Place the cutting in well-drained medium, keep moist (not soggy), and store in indirect sun. Within a couple of weeks, you should see new leaves developing, which is a sign roots have developed. At this stage, take a week to ‘harden off’ the plant by exposing it to increasing levels of direct sun. After a week of full exposure, the plant is ready for it’s new home.

Nearly Maintenance Free and Forgiving

Trailing Lantana will die back after the first frost, and it’s a great wildlife offering to allow the thin wooden limbs to remain throughout the winter months. Since low to the ground, the myriad of brown limbs provide shelter to insects.

Purple flowers on lantana trailing over a stone wall

Lantanas are drought tolerant after the first year.

After the threat of a freeze has passed in the spring, I inspect the limbs, as if it’s one of those winters with no hard freeze, green growth may emerge from the existing limbs while new limbs are also growing. If we’ve had a hard freeze, I cut back the limbs to about 8 inches from the main stem.

Spring is also a good time to check to see if the stem has expanded or duplicated. If so, it’s very easy to dig up, split and replant where you desire. I find there’s always another spot for a plant that blooms all summer, especially in areas where more fragile plants have failed.

And since drought tolerant after the first year, if you forget to water your lantana and it’s drooping and looking a little thirsty – do not fret! Just give the plant a good soaking and it will come back within hours and look as though it never missed a drink. Now that’s the level of maintenance I like during weeks with 100F+ temperatures.

What is a Texas Superstar plant?

The Texas Superstar® program was created by horticulturists to identify and select plants that can be grown across the state of Texas with high confidence in the quality and reliability of the plant. Selections for the program are based upon observations made at replicated plots and demonstration trials across the state and final selection is made by the Texas Superstar® Executive Board.

Additional Resources

Texas Superstar Plants ®

Earth-Kind Landscaping ®

Notes on the Modern Lantana

Best Bee-Friendly Plants for Austin

Butterfly Gardening

Butterfly Plants for Austin

About Yvonne Schneider
Yvonne Schneider, guest blogger

Yvonne was a 35+year veteran in the computer and information technology industry when she retired and moved from Houston to the Austin area. In 2018, Yvonne certified as a Travis County Texas Master Gardener to follow her passion for gardening and volunteering within the community. She has spent 20+ years enjoying gardening and working with bulbs and perennials. She now tackles the challenges presented by the Austin area wildlife, drought, and limestone soil.

The Least I Can Say About Texas’ Native Bees

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native bee on flower

Megachile Bee photo courtesy of Carol Leonardi Clark

June 19th-25th, 2023 is National Pollinator Week. Travis County Master Gardener Vicki Blachman gives us a deep dive into native bees with this guest post.

A Short Intro to Native Bees   by Vicki Blachman

There are over 20,000 bee species in the world.  Of those, close to 4,500 are considered native to the U.S., and up to 1000, native to Texas.  They have seven family classifications, of which six are right here in Texas1.  Our native bees range in size from nearly an inch long down to smaller than a peppercorn2.  I’ve tried to limit the scope of this article to the least I find I can say given that “the native bees of Texas” is a broad topic well suited to the size of our state.

The Importance of Native Bees

The iconic golden yellow and black striped honey maker, the honey bee (Apis mellifera spp.}  is non-native but well established.   As described by Michael Engle in 2009, it also appears to have at least one extinct ancestor (A. nearctica) that lived in North America 14 million years ago3.  Our challenge is that those hairy-eyed honey bees in the Apis family get all the love and recognition while only recently have native bees been recognized for their intrinsic value to local biomes and as the workhorses they are.  They need our help in getting the word out.

How many people even know native bees exist?  The North American colonists imported European honey bees in the 1600’s. Prior to that, only native bees were pollinating every single flowering plant on this continent. Research shows that they are at least 3 times more effective as honey bees for pollination.  Some pollinate plants honey bees can’t, or pollinate certain crops up to 20 times more effectively.  Some like the bumble bee are capable of buzz pollination, or sonication, that honey bees lack.  The takeaway?  Our native bees have co-evolved over time with native plants to be mutually beneficial and mutually dependent – lose one and the other will be lost as well.

Native Bumble Bees Are Social

The terms “native” and “solitary” are often used interchangeably, but not all native bees are solitary, nor are all solitary bees native.  A solitary bee queen will mate, deposit and provision her eggs, then continue laying eggs until her death 4 to 8 weeks after her own emergence.  The eggs grow and pupate alone before emerging the following spring or early summer to repeat the cycle all over again4.

carpenter bee on flower

Carpenter Bee photo courtesy of Carol Leonardi Clark

By contrast, our native bumble bees are social or semi-social. Their nests have two generations at the same time.  Honeybees are eusocial, or” true” social. They have multiple generations of individuals in the hive with each individual assigned a specific role to play in the collective.

Some solitary bees are non-native.  The 1922 Honey Bee Importation law ended the imports of bees and bee products into the United States. This legislation applies only to honey bees. Importing non honey-producing solitary bees for research and subsequent commercial use2 continues. For example, hornfaced bees (Osmia cornifrons) were first imported from Japan to Utah in 1965, but did not survive. In 1976 a second importation into Maryland proved more successful. Thankfully they still thrive there since it’s a climate more like their home in central Japan.   In recent years, the delightfully named shaggy fuzzyfoot bee (Anthophora pilipes villosula) from Japan is successfully pollinating for the commercial blueberry and other fruit industries.

Some solitary bees will form aggregations where nesting conditions are favorable.   Even though a large number of individuals can occupy a site, they live there as individuals. Only a very few species are actually communal, meaning they actively help each other.  Dependent on their environment, some members of the family Halictidae even have the unusual ability to switch between being social or solitary!7

Bee Nesting and Housing

The vast majority, up to 70%4, of North American native bees nest in the ground. Some make cells of mud, bits of leaves or petals, resin, hairy plant fibers, or wood dust. The cells are in underground tunnels that are generally more than a foot deep. Abandoned rodent burrows are a favorite spot.  Ground nesting bees need unmulched, undisturbed soil for their nesting sites.   The remaining 30% are cavity nesters, using hollow reeds, bamboo, logs, pithy stems, softwood structures, and even holes in bricks or other man-made items such as hand tools and equipment5.

bamboo pieces with green leaf plug from nesting bees

Solitary bee nests plugged with bits of leaf.

Man-made bee houses may create teaching moments in the garden.  Scatter the houses instead of clustering them together to avoid predation and reduce susceptibility to disease.  Bee houses should have a guard of chicken wire, or other material with bee-sized holes, slightly out from and across the opening to prevent predation by birds.  Nesting cavities should be at least 5” deep and closed at the back.  Face the openings toward the morning sun, protect from rain, and insulate from extreme cold not placing inside to overwinter.6   Under the Texas Death Star, it can also be beneficial to have plants growing nearby that provide afternoon shade. Habitats should also include a source of moisture and shelter from wind.   In the fall, leave stems for cavity nesters and grasses for shelter.

The native bees of Texas have co-evolved over time with Texas native flora to be mutually beneficial and mutually dependent.   Once you realize their importance, you’ll never think of “bees” in quite the same way.  Now I only need to tell you how important beetles are in pollination!

Additional Resources

Best Bee Friendly Plants for Austin

1http://w3.biosci.utexas.edu/jha/landowner-naturalist/texas-pollinator-guides

2https://www.usgs.gov/faqs/how-many-species-native-bees-are-united-states

3https://ucanr.edu/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.clm?postnum=1544&sharing=yes

4https://www.xerces.org/endangered-species/wild-bees

5https://www.xerces.org/blog/5-ways-to-increase-nesting-habitat-for-bees

6https://news.vt.edu/articles/2020/03/ext-entomologists-tips-for-installing-and-maintaining-native-bee-houses.html

7https://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/misc/bees/halictid_bees.htm

https://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/pollinators/animals/bees.shtml

https://tpwd.texas.gov/huntwild/wild/wildlife_diversity/nongame/native-pollinators/bumblebee-id.phtml

https://tpwd.texas.gov/huntwild/wild/wildlife_diversity/nongame/native-pollinators/solitary-social.phtml

https://www.pollinator.org/pollinator-week

About Vicki Blachman

Vicki has been a Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service – Travis County Master Gardener volunteer since 2004. She holds the Texas Master Gardener Certified Specialist – Entomology title. She’s also recognized as a Habitat Steward and a Monarch Steward through the National Wildlife Federation. She is a co-chair of PollinATX, the working group behind the city of Austin being certified as a Bee City USA. Her home garden has been certified as a Monarch Waystation, a Certified Wildlife Habitat, a City of Austin Certified Butterfly Habitat, and a Best of Texas Wildlife Habitat.

Texas Superstar® – Gold Star Esperanza

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Give Yourself a ‘Gold Star’

yellow flowers against green leaves of the esperanza shrub

The showy blooms of Gold Star Esperanza grab the attention of pollinators and humans alike!

Gold Star Esperanza (Tecoma stans ‘Gold Star’) is a subtropical Texas native. It’s a reliable perennial in USDA Hardiness Zone 9. You might also know this showy plant as ‘yellow bells’ or ‘hardy yellow trumpet. The ‘Gold Star’ variety is the most prolific flowering variety that is “a must” for a Central Texas gardener. It is a fast-growing shrub that can reach 4-5 feet tall with similar width. The actual size is responsive to the growing conditions and is a wonderful accent plant in a container. Esperanza blooms in large clusters of golden yellow bell-shaped flowers persisting from early summer until the first frost. The glossy green foliage provides an excellent background for the summer-long color. This perennial is Austin-area tough – heat and drought-tolerant, requires full sun, needs well-drained soil, and is highly pest resistant. In fact, it thrives in our alkaline soils and is an Earth-Kind selection.

Gold Star Esperanza Plant Specifications at a Glance

  • Exposure: Full sun (will tolerate afternoon shade)
  • Size: Height – 4-6 feet.
  • Plant Type: Summer perennial, or woody shrub depending upon the severity of winter temperatures.
  • Planting time: Spring, after the threat of a freeze has passed.
  • Soil type: Extremely easy to grow in alkaline to acidic, well-drained soils.
  • Suggested uses: Use Esperanza as a specimen or plant in groupings for a swath of color.
  • Special notes: Plants tolerate very high temperatures and drought, but do not tolerate poorly drained soils; Water once a week during the hottest periods to promote blooms. Trimming the seed pods will enable continuous blooms.

Texas Tough – Esperanza Persists

yellow trumpet shaped flowers

Clusters of bell-shaped flowers provide nectar for bees, hummingbirds, and butterflies.

The Esperanza is Texas Tough. Mine survived the 2019 fall rains, the 2021 “Snowmageden”, the 2022 drought and the 2023 winter freeze. This low maintenance shrub requires little care. Keep it tidy with an annual trimming of dead wood back to 6-8” from the ground. Shaping is not necessary, just trim it back when needed. This fast-growing shrub will emerge from a few sticks in February to a blooming shrub by late May.

Esperanza is a popular selection for a hedge, specimen, or in conjunction with other pollinator-friendly plants to attract wildlife all summer long. While smaller mammals ignore the Esperanza, during times of extreme drought, you might have a deer sample on the newly sprouted stems in early spring. But once the growth begins in earnest, the deer leave the plant alone to exhibit its summer show. You know it’s an easy-to-care-for plant when you see it used in parking lot landscapes.

Propagation Is Easy

Esperanza is easy to propagate by seeds or cuttings. During the blooming season, slender seed pods develop, which look like slender green beans. While a few seeds are desired, removing the pods will refocus the plant’s energy to provide the long bloom season. For the seeds you want to keep, allow the pods to turn brown and watch for the pod to split open and release the seeds. Seeds can be dried and stored in a cool, dry place to be used the next spring for propagation.

Green seed pods and yellow flowers on plant

Seed pods look like slender green beans.

If you allow some of the seed pods to remain on the plant, you won’t be surprised to see a few ‘volunteers’ sprouting up the following spring. I prefer to allow some seeds to drop and pick out the sprouted new plants to pot and give away as gifts, or to plant in another worthy spot for new color. If starting from seed, place two seeds in each pot about an 1/8-inch deep and mist slightly to keep the soil moist, but not soggy. Germination should occur in two to three weeks.

Take Cuttings Mid-Spring to Early Summer

To start a plant from a cutting, take the cutting from the top of a stem so it’s pliable and green (soft-wood cutting). Propagating in mid-spring to early summer is best to obtain the soft-wood cutting before the new growth turns to hard-wood. Consistent with cutting propagation, cut at least two nodes in length and remove all leaves but the top two to three. A node is the area where leaves have emerged from the stem. Place the cutting in a well-draining medium, keep moist (not soggy), and store in indirect sun. Within two weeks, you should see a new leaf budding out, which is the sign that roots have established. Once new leaves are developing, begin to expose the plant to greater levels of sun (harden-off) before moving to it’s new home.

What is a Texas Superstar plant?

The Texas Superstar® program was created by horticulturists to identify and select plants that can be grown across the state of Texas with high confidence in the quality and reliability of the plant. Selections for the program are based upon observations made at replicated plots and demonstration trials across the state and final selection is made by the Texas Superstar® Executive Board.

Additional Resources

Texas Superstar Plants ®

Earth-Kind Landscaping ®

About Yvonne Schneider
Yvonne Schneider, guest blogger

Yvonne was a 35+year veteran in the computer and information technology industry when she retired and moved from Houston to the Austin area. In 2018, Yvonne certified as a Travis County Texas Master Gardener to follow her passion for gardening and volunteering within the community. She has spent 20+ years enjoying gardening and working with bulbs and perennials. She now tackles the challenges presented by the Austin area wildlife, drought, and limestone soil.

What’s Happening in Austin’s June Vegetable Garden

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June Vegetable Garden Checklist Tips from Paula Wolfel

It is June and it is getting hot! Although we were spoiled with some good rain last month, we also had a few over 90 degree days. With this heat, watering will be the most important part of your gardening regiment. But in my opinion, June is the best month to enjoy all the work you have put into your garden to date.

Your June Vegetable Garden Checklist:

WATER

  • Water is the most important factor in the garden as the temperatures start to rise. Your vegetable garden prefers rain, but if there is none in the forecast, then make sure you are deeply watering plants every morning while those roots are taking form.
  • Avoid getting water on leaves by applying water to where the plant meets the soil. When temperatures are above 90 degrees, water your plants at the soil line every morning and give them a long, deep water once a week. Stick to daylight irrigation times. Watering at night can create ideal conditions for fungal growth.
  • Keep the plants evenly moist to encourage optimal growth.

FERTILIZE

  • Feed vegetable plants with water-soluble fertilizers every week.
  • Be careful to not apply liquid fertilizers to top side of leaves, otherwise you can cause a salt build-up.

SOIL

  • Make sure your soil is covered with mulch to protect the soil from drying out and to limit weeds.

PLANTING

  • Seeds to plant:
    • Cantaloupe (first part of month)
    • Greens – warm season (all month)
    • Okra (all month)
    • Pumpkins (all month)
    • Southern Peas (all month)
    • Winter squash (first part of month)
  • Plant Slips
    • Sweet Potatoes (all month)

DISEASES/PESTS

  • Pests to watch out for:
    • Conchuela stink bugs (Chlorochroa ligata) and squash bugs (Anasa tristis): pick by hand and squish or drown in soapy water, or use a handheld vacuum and suck them up.
    • Striped cucumber beetles (Acalymma vittatum) and spotted cucumber beetles—they look like yellow lady bugs (Diabrotica undecimpunctata)- remove them by hand and squish or drown in soapy water.
    • Aphids: the best defense is lady bugs and they should arrive naturally. You can also spray with a hose, spray soapy water on the plant, or remove with tape.
    • Snails and slugs, pill bugs, cabbage loopers, and caterpillars: remove by hand or place half-full, shallow containers of beer into the ground in shady areas as traps.

      leaf with many pests

      Be sure to check under leaves for pests.

    • And coming soon will be my least favorite: the squash vine borer. There really isn’t any treatment or prevention for these pests. You can place insect screens or plant netting on top of the plant from its earliest stages and hand pollinate. Otherwise, the only thing that can be done is simply buying time to get some harvest. Every morning and evening, bring tape to the garden and search the leaves (both sides) and the stalk and have the tape pull the eggs off of the plants.
  • What to do:
    • Encourage beneficial insects such as spiders, lady bugs, praying mantis, lacewings, wasps to come to your garden. Birds, lizards, and snakes also help.
  • Powdery Mildew is the main disease to watch for this month. It’s a fungal disease that affects many plants in the garden and is prevalent during times of high humidity.

MAINTENANCE

eggplant sitting on ground ready to pick

Keep up with the harvest to limit damage from critters

  • Always keep up with the weeds so they don’t have the opportunity to set seed.
  • Keep up with your harvest to limit damage from critters and insects.

Additional Resources

Watch the Vegetable Gardening in Central Texas Webinar

Vegetable Planting Calendar (Español繁体中文)

Recommended Vegetable Varieties for Travis County

Vegetable Seed Sources

Vegetable Gardening in Austin

Plant Rotations, Successions and Intercropping

Sustainable Food Center Farmers Markets

Texas Farmers Markets

Monthly Gardening Calendar for Austin and Central Texas

About Paula Wolfel

Paula Wolfel joined the Travis County Master Gardener program in 2022, but has been gardening in Austin, Texas since 2017. She grew up in the suburbs of Chicago learning how to garden from both her father—a Sicilian vegetable and fruit tree gardener—and both her grandmothers, and then spent years in Virginia gardening. Paula loves gardening because she finds it to be a grounding force- it gets her out of her head and into the present. She loves the pride that comes with cooking a meal for her family with every ingredient coming from her garden… and then the humility she feels when she loses an entire crop because of Mother Nature. She finds gardening to be wisdom, lessons, best practices passed down generation to generation, season to season and hopes to share that with you.

Don’t Give Up on Pride of Barbados Plants

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Pride of Barbados orange flowers and compound leaves

The showy blooms of Pride of Barbados attract all types of pollinators.

Texas Superstar® – Pride of Barbados

Pride of Barbados (Caesalpinia pulcherrima – means “very pretty”) is a tropical plant that is native to South America and the Caribbean and is a reliable perennial in Travis County. The alternate common names, such as flame tree, peacock flower, and flowering fence hint at its magnificent display. It is a fast-growing shrub or small tree that can reach heights of up to 10 feet and can be pruned to maintain its shape and size. Pride of Barbados is known for its showy, brightly colored flowers that bloom all summer. The typical flower color in our area is orange and red, but yellow is also available. This perennial is Austin-area tough – drought-tolerant, requires full sun, and needs well-drained soil. In fact, it thrives in our alkaline soils and is an Earth-Kind selection.

Plant Specifications at a Glance

  • Exposure: Full sun (will grow in light shade, with fewer blooms)
  • Size: Height – 8 to 12 feet
  • Plant Type: Summer annual, perennial, or woody shrub depending upon the severity of winter temperatures.
  • Planting time: Spring to early summer
  • Soil type: Extremely easy to grow in alkaline to acidic, well-drained soils.
  • Suggested uses: Use Pride of Barbados as a specimen or in a mixed shrub border.
  • Special notes: Plants tolerate very high temperatures and drought, but do not tolerate poorly drained soils; Pride–of–Barbados is best grown in raised beds in humid climates.

Don’t Give Up – Your Pride of Barbados is Alive

Pride of Barbados is one of the last plants to come out of winter dormancy, and yet one of the last to succumb to cooler temperatures. Because it prefers and thrives in our heat, locations with southern exposure tend to recover and grow quicker than those with northern exposure.

Pride of Barbados plant with orange blooms in full foliage

Figure 2: Pride of Barbados taken 5-19-23 in southern exposure area

Pride of Barbados plant barely starting to emerge from dormancy

Figure 3: Pride of Barbados taken 5-19-23 in northern exposure area

Micro-climates make all the difference. (See figure 2 and 3) This is why nurseries don’t start selling the plants until late May or June, as even the growers must wait for the plants to emerge from dormancy. Within 60 days of emerging from dormancy, the Pride of Barbados is peaking with color and tremendous growth. (Figure 4.)

Fully flowering Pride of Barbados shrub

Figure 4. Same northern exposure Pride of Barbados 60 days post dormancy break (2022)

Pride of Barbados is a beautiful and versatile plant. It’s great as a specimen plant, a hedge, or in a container. The flowers are spectacular in arrangements. Pride of Barbados is also an excellent choice for attracting birds and butterflies to your garden, but the deer will leave them alone as the leaves, flowers, and seeds of Pride of Barbados are poisonous.

Just be sure to give these beauties room to grow for the magnificent display every summer.

Propagation Takes Patience

Pride of Barbados can be propagated by seed or by cuttings, but I find that volunteers sprouting from last year’s seeds are the easiest and most successful. Sow seeds in the spring using a well-drained potting mix. Take cuttings from new growth in the spring or summer and root them in a well-drained potting mix.

Small plant emerging from potting soil

New seedling in potting mix.

If working with the volunteers that have sprouted, carefully lift and replant when small, as a deep tap root develops quickly. I prefer to group 2-3 starters in a pot to obtain optimum growth and to prevent from over-watering when so young. But any way you decide to propagate, just do it! Small starters will develop and bloom within 1-2 years of planting. You can always find another spot worthy of the spectacular blooms or give the starters as a gift. This is one plant that is a showstopper as exemplified by the number of strangers that ask me about the plant growing in my front yard.

Orange and red flowers of Pride of Barbados plantWhat is a Texas Superstar plant?

The Texas Superstar® program was created by horticulturists to identify and select plants that can be grown across the state of Texas with high confidence in the quality and reliability of the plant. Selections for the program are based upon observations made at replicated plots and demonstration trials across the state and final selection is made by the Texas Superstar® Executive Board.

Additional Resources

Texas Superstar Plants

Earth-Kind® Landscaping

Native and Adapted Landscape Plants for Central Texas

 About Yvonne Schneider
Yvonne Schneider, guest blogger

Yvonne was a 35+year veteran in the computer and information technology industry when she retired and moved from Houston to the Austin area. In 2018, Yvonne certified as a Travis County Texas Master Gardener to follow her passion for gardening and volunteering within the community. She has spent 20+ years enjoying gardening and working with bulbs and perennials. She now tackles the challenges presented by the Austin area wildlife, drought, and limestone soil.

What’s Happening in Austin’s May Vegetable Garden

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Austin’s May Vegetable Garden Checklist Tips from Paula Wolfel

leaves turning white due to insect damage

Stippling on the surface of leaves is an indication that spider mites are present. Take action to save the plant.

May is upon us and are veggies are growing! I am already picking tomatoes, radishes, asparagus, snap peas, and lots of lettuces and greens. You still have time to get new plants in before the summer heat arrives. Make sure you are staying on top of your watering as it is the most important task for May. Your vegetable garden prefers rain but if those drops are not falling from the sky, then make sure you are watering plants deeply to train roots away from the dry soil surface. Hot days and warm nights are also favorable for pests of all kinds. Check regularly for insects on stems and the underside of the leaves. Look for eggs and infant stages of pests (hint: they are usually in large groups) and treat as needed to avoid serious damage to your vegetables. Spraying a pesticide is not always the answer. Some larger pests, such as hornworms and stinkbugs, can be picked off by hand, and smaller pests, such as spider mites and aphids, are easily dislodged with a strong spray of water. The key is to stay ahead.

The May Vegetable Garden Checklist

Here is what you can do in the garden this month:

FERTILIZE

  • May is our rainiest month and will wash out liquid fertilizers. Switch to granules unless the weather is dry.
  • Fertilize fruiting vegetables (tomatoes, squash, cucumbers, peppers, eggplant) with when the first fruit appear, and again 3-4 weeks later.
  • Fertilize non fruiting vegetables every two weeks.

WATER

  • Be mindful of prolonged hot temperatures and plants needing more consistent watering. Depending on your soil type, this could be daily.
  • When you do irrigate, water deeply. Dig down into the soil 6” to see if the soil is moist. If not, adjust your irrigation schedule to water longer or more frequently (or both if using the Cycle and Soak method.)

PLANTING

  • Lettuce is out and summer greens are in. A few options include Malabar spinach, sweet potato leaves, golden purslane, molokhia, and vegetable amaranth. Don’t let amaranth spread – it is super easy to grow but can easily become a weed. If you plant summer greens and then decide that you are not a fan, don’t let them go to waste. Add them to your compost.
  • Seeds or Transplants:
    • Sweet potatoes (right away!)
    • Beans, snap, lima, and yard-long (early month)
    • Cantaloupe (all month)
    • Greens- warm season (all month)
    • Okra (all month)
    • Peas, Southern such as black-eye, purple hull or crowder peas (all month)
    • Potatoes, sweet- slips (all month)
    • Pumpkin (mid-month)

      small green leaves of newly sprouted squash palnt

      It’s not too late to plant squash.

    • Squash, winter (all month)
    • Watermelon (all month)
  • Transplant only
    • Peppers (early-mid month)

SOIL

  • If you are just starting your garden, add new, fresh soil where it is needed as gravity settles your planting beds. Add a thin layer of compost over the new soil and mix it in with the soil about an inch down.
  • Mulching should be on your May vegetable garden checklist. Use mulch to protect the soil from drying out from the sun and to limit weeds.

DISEASES/PESTS TO LOOK FOR

  • Your May vegetable garden checklist should have several items related to pests.
  • Yellow specks or stippling on the surface of leaves is an indication that spider mites are present on the underside sucking chlorophyll right out of the leaf. An infestation will cause severe damage to plants, so it’s important to take action immediately. Blast them off with a strong spray of water directed at the underside of the leaves, or spray with insecticidal soap. You won’t get them all the first time, and eggs hatch every 3-5 days, so you’ll need to do this every 4-5 days.
  • Aphids and white flies will be in abundance too. Blast them off with water aimed at the underside of leaves.
  • Caterpillars of all kinds will continue to be a problem. Pick them off by hand or use an organic pesticide that contains Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis.)

MAINTENANCE

  • As tomatoes grow, guide stems so they stay inside their cages. Once they escape it’s very difficult to pull them back inside the cage without snapping the stems.green tomato plant with ripening fruit
  • This is the perfect time to fill a compost bin with leaves, weeds, oak tassels, grass clippings and kitchen scraps. Keep the pile moist and turn occasionally.

HARVEST

  • Onion bulbs expand as the days get longer, and when the tops fall over they are ready to harvest, usually by late May or early June. Harvest any onions that send up a flower stalk now. They are perfectly edible and will not get any bigger. They also don’t store well once the flower stalk appears, so enjoy them right away.
  • Late in the month is a good time to dig around the base of your potato plants and harvest a few small new potatoes. Once the leaves turn yellow and start to die back you can pull up the entire plant and harvest all the potatoes.
  • If Swiss chard starts to look ragged, cut it back a few inches above the ground and it will resprout.

Additional Resources

Watch the Vegetable Gardening in Central Texas Webinar

Recommended Vegetable Varieties for Travis County

Vegetable Seed Sources

Vegetable Gardening in Austin

Plant Rotations, Successions and Intercropping

Sustainable Food Center Farmers Markets

Texas Farmers Markets

Monthly Gardening Calendar for Austin and Central Texas

About Paula Wolfel

Paula Wolfel joined the Travis County Master Gardener program in 2022, but has been gardening in Austin, Texas since 2017. She grew up in the suburbs of Chicago learning how to garden from both her father—a Sicilian vegetable and fruit tree gardener—and both her grandmothers, and then spent years in Virginia gardening. Paula loves gardening because she finds it to be a grounding force- it gets her out of her head and into the present. She loves the pride that comes with cooking a meal for her family with every ingredient coming from her garden… and then the humility she feels when she loses an entire crop because of Mother Nature. She finds gardening to be wisdom, lessons, best practices passed down generation to generation, season to season and hopes to share that with you.