Easy to grow and drought tolerant plants for Austin TX

One would think that most plants would be easy to grow here. We rarely get freezing weather, we have decent soil, we used to get an adequate amount of rain especially in the winter. Now and for the for forseeable future it looks like we are going to be in a drought. 

What makes plants easy to grow? Is it that the seeds come up easily? Is it that the plants thrive once they are up and produce? Is it that they do not require a lot of tending? A lot depends on the gardener in this case. 

One of the things that makes plants easier to grow takes a little work up front. Especially during times of drought and heat it is essential that the garden have adequate mulch around the plants. This serves to keep their roots cooler and to retain moisture in the soil. It is also beneficial to establish a soaking program for the plants so that they develop deeper roots and are less

dependent on frequent watering. Some plants however do not have deep roots systems, it is not their culture. This includes peas and beans and many of the cole crops like broccoli and cauliflower.  Many leafy plants can be grown in the heat of the summer like lettuces if they are grown in a much shadier location where they only get 2 to 3 hours of sunshine per day. Plants that have smaller leaves also tolerate drought better as do plants that have fleshier leaves or hard stems. You may want to choose plants with shorter days to harvest in the spring to assure a better chance of picking before it gets hot>> VegetableVarietiesTravisCounty   It is a good plan to place the plants with the same water requirements in the same areas of the garden. If you put your plants in pots, you may want to avoid clay pots that are not glazed in favor of the glazed and plastic pots. Darker colored plastic pots may overheat service of your plants in the summer causing them to die. Best to use lighter colored or to cover the outside of the pot with a wrap to not cook the roots.

When you consider what plants to grow in a vegetable garden for spring and summer most years we need to plant plants that we can harvest the fruits before July. The easiest plants that can be planted very early in the spring February through April are of course the lettuces, some greens like kale, peas, root crops like beets, radishes, spring onions, and carrots, and several types of beans. We are still able to transplant broccoli through mid-March but it frequently will draw diseases to the garden.

 There are several seed suppliers that specialize in plants that seem to do better in Texas and the Southwest where it is drier and hotter. A number of vegetable plants do well until it gets into the 100s in July and August like tomatoes, Peppers, and eggplant. These can be grown from seed on a windowsill and then transplanted into your garden when the soil is warm enough in late March through early May. Black-eyed peas or cow peas thrive in  the heat as does okra and malabar spinach. And sweet potatoes are very easy to grow the summer both for greens and tubers if you can keep them irrigated over the summer. Swiss chard will grow for several years at a time and does not mind a bit of shade.

Landscape plants for the garden should be selected from the list of Texas natives when at all possible. Most of these are perennials and unfortunately during their first year Will require much more water and in subsequent years. Gardeners get the idea that they want A blooming English garden but our climate just doesn't support those kinds of plants very well. It is possible even in a drought tolerant Garden to have blooms from spring through late fall if you pick the right plants and put plenty of mulch around them. They are finding that plants from the nursery that are grown and squarish containers transplant better because their roots don't get all wound around and will spread out better in the garden. 

links:

https://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/publications/veg_variety/select.php   Recommended Vegetable Varieties for Travis County

http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/fruit-nut/  Fruit and Nut Fact Sheets

http://horttest.tamu.edu/travis/files/2012/11/VegetableVarietiesTravisCounty2013.pdf  Vegetable Varieties for Central Texas—Great list

http://www.attainable-sustainable.net/growing-food-drought/  

http://www.richsoil.com/hugelkultur/

http://www.rareseeds.com/search/?F_Keyword=drought  Seed source

http://www.southernexposure.com/blog/2012/02/what-to-grow-through-very-hot-summers/   seed source

http://www.tomatodirt.com/tomatoes-for-hot-dry-climates.html  seed source

http://www.swallowtailgardenseeds.com/vegetablesaz.html#gsc.tab=0  has lots of hot weather seeds—got my summer lettuce here

https://www.austintexas.gov/sites/default/files/files/Watershed/growgreen/plantguide.pdf

http://austinnativelandscaping.com/xeriscape-texas-native-plants-for-drought-toleran-landscaping-in-austin-texas/  nice list of plants with interactive features

http://www.wildflower.org/collections/collection.php?collection=centex_drought

http://valleycresttakeson.com/watermanagement/resources/top-5-drought-tolerant-plant-resources/

http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/organic/files/2011/03/E-512_mulching.pdf  great discussion on types

http://alternative-energy-gardning.blogspot.com/2013/05/shade-tolerant-vegetables.html  shade tolerant veggies


http://www.ivillage.com/best-plants-attract-butterflies-your-garden/7-a-535056?ivNPA=1&sky=stu%7Civl%7Chh%7Cbutterflies%7C%2F  plants to attract butterflies

Tomato experiment this year

I am working on a new watering scheme for the tomatoes this year. First I got seeds from the Sustainable food center that are recommended for our area (I did check the A&M list too) and started Early Girl, Brandywine, San Marzano, and Supersweet 100s for this year. I also started a Thai pink egg that did well last year and a black cherry that did well for others. I also got 2 Jaune Flammee from the SJC.

Transplanting was tricky with the weather but they got up potted several times and went into the ground in mid-March. I set gallon milk jugs near each one inverted so I can give them a gallon of water without directing it to the surrounding soil. Calculations are that the plants need 2-4 gallons/week depending on the heat. This also is allowing for direct application of fertilizer without hitting the leaves.

On the advise of many tomato growers, I am nipping all the suckers this year. God they sprout fast and often. I have rooted several and thrown a lot of them away. Pinching them off below bloom level sounds like a great idea in theory--in practice it takes a lot of vigilance but the plants are full of blooms and fruit at this point about 7 weeks after transplant. I did cage all of them so they may not get as much air as they might if I only staked them. We will see. Although we have had a very cool spring it looks like things will heat up soon so now every plant will need some mulch around the jugs.

Spring is slow to settle in--plants are loving it

I keep going out to look at the plants because my tomatoes have NEVER looked so good. I have taken lots of advise about how to grow good tomatoes and what varieties to grow and am having a great year so far. every plant on the lot (20+) was grow by me from seed except for 2 that I got as transplants. I am pleased that the Early Girls are living up to their names--each has cascades of blooms and are setting most of them. So far most plants look to have 5-6 or more tomatoes on them. The San Marzano's are just behind them and since they went in 2 weeks later--doing great. They also have lots of blooms and have set 3-4 tomatoes per plant already. The Supersweet 100s and black cherry are also ramping up as is the Thai Pink Egg (top corner above) We are excited that the new Jaune Flammee(center), an orange tomato is setting clusters of 5-6 tomatoes and is blooming like crazy. They are getting measured water and fertilizer each week and had protection from the cold winds a few weeks ago with row cover. I was really worried as I waited and still they got a bit more cold than I thought they would do.


The herb area and the front part of the garden are getting a real facelift this year. It is fun to make it so colorful and unique. The cucumbers seem to love their rales and the scarlet runner beans are already blooming on the bamboo trellis. I am still not pulling out the peas as it is cool and they are still producing enough to keep us eating a time or so every 10 days. 












The onions I planted last fall are really getting big. I have been scraping back the soil from around the bulbs and think the harvest will keep us in onions for months. I have harvested about half of the green cabbage but none of the purple yet. The heads are doing well and getting big. I was able to trade a couple of heads of the green for eggs and make 3 - 1/2 gallon batches of kraut plus slaw. We intend to eat some cooked too. Brocoli is going well but will bolt if the heat comes on too fast. good thing it is getting within days of picking. I am already planting beans where I had beets this winter. There are only a few beets left out front but I am replanting in the back were there is more afternoon shade. Lettuce too in shadier spots so we have it until bad heat.

Hot, Hot, Hot and still growing

Although the drought is not as severe as last year, the lack of regular rain and excessive heat do take a toll on the plants. I have been trying to soak them every 2-3 days and give them a drink with the watering can if they are too droopy between times but it just has not been enough to keep the okra and eggplant producing. So this week a bit more water and they have really responded even at 100 degrees. I think that the neighbor's tree sucks up so much of the water--there are surface roots that might have to be severed.

I took a chance and planted some black eyed pea seeds that a neighbor gave me and now am almost ready to pick some. The Malabar spinach is thriving and the herbs are doing really well under the oak tree. Chard it still going but is now ornamental as it is just too bitter to use. The purple beans are blooming and setting tiny beans and doing nothing more. I was hoping to have beans longer than 1" for eating, oh well. 

The peppers in the greenhouse have been giving us a steady handful of peppers. Nothing to shout about but then beats none at all. The ones in the back garden have lots of buds but no fruit yet--tree roots again pulling  the water.

I am investigating ways to construct beds that will keep the roots out but let the plants have the depth they need. I also started seeding for fall and have broccoli and cauliflower in grow trays as well as chard and beets. Looking forward to more of the fall stuff soon. 

WB Garden Tour 5/19/2012

The Wells Branch Garden Guild invites the community (and your friends) to join in a tour of gardens in the area. The garden tour will begin at the Wells Branch Community Gardens around 9 am. We will spend 20-30 minutes at each garden on the tour and finish up at the WB Homestead in the park to see the results of our plantings in April and maybe sit in the shade a bit and discuss the gardens. The gardens include vegetable and flower, shade and sun, drought treatments, community and demonstration gardens.

• A.       9 am WB Community Gardens at Town Hill and Single Trace
• B.       9:35 Don Harrell - 14533 Donald Drive
• C.       9:50 Eleanor Brooks - 14535 Donald Drive
• D.      10:10 Heather Johnson--15209 Mallard Green Lane
• E.       10:35  Laurie Childers--2436 Rick Whinery
• F.        11 am Dianne Koehler--14909 Alpha Collier Dr
• G.      11:25 Rachel Lebansky--14904 Yellowleaf Trail
• H.      11:50  Steve  Weikal- Karen Nunely--2333 Klattenhoff Drive
• I.         12:15  Wells Branch Homestead 2106 Klattenhoff Drive

Garden tour map

Wells Branch Gardening group has its first meeting at WBCL

We met Saturday and brainstormed on the kinds of things we'd like to discuss or find out and times to meet in the future. We settled on the 1st Saturday of the month at noon at the Wells Branch Community Library. We are working with Natosha Gibbs to be a regularly sponsored group. Our next meeting is November 6th and we decided to have someone in to talk about soil sampling and have a plant and seed exchange. We are hoping Shelley today from Central Texas Native will be able to do this as she is a resident.  My friend Liz, who is a master gardener in Williamson county directed me to the agriLife Extension for information about sampling. I found the form for urban soil and downloaded it from this link. It appears that the Travis county office suffered considerable rain damage and is not currently open.


As a group we really wanted to focus on more organic gardening and water conservation. Tara pointed out that residents were eligible for the rebate on water barrels with a receipt. Austin's program includes all areas that are served by them like our MUD. More information on this is at AustinWater page with tons of information on water conservation and the rain barrels, including ones purchased on craigslist. She also recommended myfolia.com for tracking your plantings and more. The link is on the left.


We also discussed the location of local Farmer's Markets in Austin and the surrounding areas. If anyone knows of locations and times, it would be helpful. I added Johnson's link to the list at left and it last a resouses tab that lists several. George Holcombe pointed out that the Eastside Cafe has its own garden and irrigation system. It might be worth a field trip to see the gardens there.  George is using a well laid out drip irrigation in his garden.He is just off the trail and the garden is well worth a look.