Okay, I think it's finally time. Aren't you so excited to get out in the garden again? I know I am! First things first, though. We have a bit of work to do. If you haven't applied your pre-emergent lawn herbicide, hurry up and do it! By the time the redbuds are blooming, the soil has warmed enough so that the weeds are already growing. I saw them blooming in the center of Houston proper, but out here they have not quite begun, so you have a bit of time.
 | | I still like this food! |
You don't have to fertilize your lawn just yet if it's not actively growing. Mine isn't. You know the lawn needs feeding when it's grown enough to be cut for the first time. Not just the neatening up and mulching the leaves sort of mow, but a regular grass-cutting one. I'm not quite there yet. Are you? It's the perfect time to prune dormant, summer-blooming trees. They are just about to really put on a burst of growth and pruning early will help direct and train it. About crape myrtles, perhaps the less said the better. It's your tree and you can chop its head off if you want to. But the tree doesn't need it. (And for the other side: pruning doesn't really harm the tree either.)  | | Feed me! |
When you add your spring flowers to the garden, don't forget to add a bit of compost to the soil as you go and follow up with regular applications of fertilizer. I've observed that we tend to feed our lawns way too much and neglect our flowers and veggies where fertilizer is concerned. They're hungry too! Thanks and garden on! |
|
 |
|
Peppers!
It's just about time to plant peppers, both hot and sweet! Peppers don't like these cool nights and the forecast still has a few of those left. I personally wait until March to plant peppers, but if you can protect against possible frost, you can go ahead and set out plants now. Just be aware that these cute babies are all grown in a heated greenhouse and the shock of a cold night may upset them a bit! If you're in a rush, plant the sweet ones first. Early flowering means lots of fruit in the spring. Hot peppers tend to keep fruiting long into the hot summer.
 | | 'Lemon Drop' Hot Pepper |
Peppers like full sun, which encourages lots of flowers and fruit, but the fruit itself sometimes scalds. Big bell peppers especially might benefit from a bit of afternoon shade. Feeding peppers on a regular basis ensures lush green foliage too, which protects the fruit from sunscald. I fertilize every two months with organic plant food.
Big sturdy plants often need cages. They don't have to be as big as tomato cages, but a 2-foot cage is easier to deal with than stakes.
Peppers are easy to grow here and are very healthy, high in vitamin A (especially when ripe) and vitamin C. It's not true that planting sweet peppers and hot peppers close together will cause the fruit to "mix." If peppers pollinate each other, the seeds may display traits of both parents, but not the fruit. The fruit will be true to the parent. Even that sort of mixing isn't common, though. Peppers are self-pollinated and don't need to rely on other varieties to reproduce.
The taste of peppers will vary with the growing conditions, though. Hot peppers particularly respond to water or heat stress by producing more of the capsaicin that makes them hot. For milder peppers, provide afternoon shade and plentiful water.
 | | Some like it hot! |
Almost all peppers will grow just fine here, but they are so popular that there are many varieties available. Here's a list of some of the peppers our local growers are offering to independent garden centers for sale this spring: read on!
|
|
Perennials
Where are the perennials? Is this a perennial? Are perennials the ones that never die?  | | Louisiana iris: a perennial! |
We get all sorts of questions from gardeners about perennials. The terminology used by the green industry can be confusing and gardeners are concerned about getting their money's worth in the garden. Perhaps you've heard that you should replace all the flowers in your garden with perennials. What does that mean? I've begun a series of articles that addresses these questions. First up, What's A Perennial? This article describes the term and a few others you might hear around the garden center. Understanding what perennial means may help you decide if you need one or not. Then, Perennials: Why and Why Not? discusses the pros and cons of planting perennials. I have lots of perennials in my own garden but I also make room for annuals. This article may help explain why. Stay tuned. The next two articles will cover my top 5 perennials for sun and the top 5 perennials for shade. Finally, I'll wrap up the series with an article on perennial maintenance. Hope that helps! |
|
|
|
|
Thanks for reading,
Elizabeth Barrow
|
|
New Articles on the Website What's a Perennial? What's perennial and what's not, and why it might be important in the garden. Peppers for Spring 2014 - Local growers offer these varieties to independent garden centers in town. Includes a downloadable, printable PDF file listing varieties and characteristics.
|
|
|
