Fall Gardens
It was so hot and dry, many of us forgot about planting fall gardens. It is a little too late for things like tomatoes, peppers and beans, but there are still lots of options. Some excellent fall vegetables that you still have time to plant include: all the leafy greens like lettuce and mustard greens, carrots, beets, onions and radish are a few more.
Timing is important when planting your fall garden. Heat tolerant/cold sensitive plants need to be planted in time to mature before cold weather slows growth, and cool season/heat sensitive crops must be planted late enough to avoid the worst of the heat, but early enough to take the first frost of the winter.
Many vegetables can be transplanted into fall gardens but finding transplants in the middle of the summer is very difficult, starting your own transplants from seed may be your best option.
Some common fall vegetables that are easily transplanted include: beets, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, chard, lettuce, onions and tomatoes. Others that do not transplant well and are better seeded include beans, peas, turnips, carrots and spinach.
Whatever you decide to plant you will need to be sure and provide adequate water and possibly a little shade, to help the young plants get through any early fall 90 degree days.
Young vegetable plants will survive the summer heat and full sun if they have adequate moisture. Consider a drip line, drip tape or even a soaker hose to avoid losses to evaporation.
For sure insects will be more difficult to control in a fall garden. You will have to actively scout for insects and damage and be ready to treat if damage starts getting out of hand.
This nice fall weather is an excellent time to get out and garden.
The rewards of fresh produce this fall can be a great pay off for planting a fall garden. For a copy of the Texas Home Vegetable Gardening Guide, call or come by the office or go to our website at https://comanche.agrilife.org/, you will find the fall gardening guide listed under agriculture publications.
Tri-County Cattle Gathering
Unfortunately, as much as I hate it this year’s clinic will not be an in-person gathering, but instead a virtual gathering. We do have some excellent topics and speakers planned that include Dr. Jason Smith, Texas A&M Beef Cattle Specialist, talking about cattle nutrition. Dr. Jason Johnson, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Economist, will be discussing the cattle market outlook for the rest of this year and 2021. Dr. John Nielsen-Gammon, Texas State Climatologist, will be discussing the weather forecast and the potential effects of La Nina.
The clinic is set for Tuesday, Oct. 20 from 12:30 p.m. until 3:30 p.m. and does require a preregistration. You can go to our facebook page “Comanche County Agriculture” or type in https://comanche.agrilife.org/publications/ to find the Tri-County Cattle Gathering flier with the link. If you have any issues call Cindy at the office at 325-356-2539. This program has some excellent speakers covering topics that concern all our local livestock producers, I encourage you to preregister and mark this one on your calendar.