Now that we've had our first light frost, we are on our way to tulip planting time in North Texas. Soil temperatures need to be consistently below 50F and that usually happens the 2nd or 3rd week of December. You can still find a wonderful selection of pre-chilled tulips at your local garden center right now so don't wait or you'll miss out on your favorite varieties.You can go HERE to a previous post for more info on the ins and outs of successful tulps!

Are you stocked up on Frost Cloth? If not you'd better run out and get some. Nov. 17th is our average first frost date and it's probably right around the corner. You'll want to protect newly planted annuals and vegetable transplants, seedlings, Camellia blooms and the like. Be sure to water in your garden before a frost to help keep plants turgid and less susceptible to frost damage. Never use plastic to cover your plants! You want to create a layer of insulation with warm air around the plant to protect it, without trapping too much moisture. Frost cloth or reemay will do that, plastic will not.

Ok...WHEEWWWWWW! You may remember me posting photos a couple of months ago about the removal of our veggie garden in preparation for selling our home. Well, we got an offer in 3 weeks and had only 3 weeks after that to tie down a new house and move. Somehow...I think I've managed to come out the other side of that ordeal alive and have just finished moving in to the new place. It was really tough leaving my garden and sweet little house behind, but I'm ready to get started on my next gardening adventure. As with the last house, the new landscape we've inherited is a blank slate. It needs a lot of work, but also has a lot of potential.The first task on the list was getting the fence up and the chickens and chicken coop moved over this past weekend.Here are the girls making their first foray into their new digs...

Soon I'll post "before" photos of the new yard space...

You might wonder why I bring up fruit trees and berries, just as we’re getting chilly here in the DFW area. Did you know that one of the best times to plant fruit trees is when they are dormant? While you can plant healthy containerized fruit trees any time of the year, now through February is really best. Also, your selection of fruit trees at the garden center will be most extensive this time of year.

Cultivar selection is one of the most important steps you can take when planting fruit trees. The success of many varieties depends on the amount of chilling hours they receive. Stone and pome fruit trees, such as peaches and apples rely on enough chilling for flowers and leaf buds to develop properly. Without sufficient chilling hours in winter to break dormancy once warm temperatures return, trees may experience many different problems that can damage fruit production. A few of my favorite varieties for Texas are ‘Moonglow’ pears, ‘Ranger’ peaches and ‘Methley’ plums, but there are many to choose from.

When planting fruit trees make sure to provide them a spot with full sun exposure for best success. By full sun I mean sun for most of the day, if not all day long. Good drainage is also important. Choose a spot in your landscape where you’re sure you don’t collect excess moisture due to drainage or settling issues. Fruit trees will require regular fertilization and treatment programs to maximize production.  You’ll need to provide adequate water to your new trees until they become established and supplemental water thereafter as needed.

It’s also a great time to plant berries and grape vines. A few to look for include ‘Brazos’ Thornless and ‘Womack’ blackberries. Blackberries are one of the easiest fruits to produce in our Texas soil and climate. You’ll be rewarded with an abundance of fruit with little effort.

For more information about fruit tree varieties that will perform best in your area, visit your local garden center. Folks in the North Texas area can visit North Haven Gardens’ website for an informative list: http://nhg.com/pdf/FruitList.pdf

A lovely new variety of salvia is blooming its head off right now in Texas. Salvia 'Wendy's Wish' has huge striking rose-colored blooms. Plants grow to 3'-4' tall and 2'-3' wide in full sun.

They are cold hard to about 25 F so should make it through winter in much of the state. We'll occasionally lose them here in winter in the DFW area, but we'll call it a tender perennial. This is definitely going to be a must for the hummingbird garden next year! Now is a great time to plant perennial salvias, along with many other perennials such as heuchera, hellebore, stachys, Mexican bush sage, scabiosa, etc.

Check this out! LOL

Custom Chicken Portraits

 
Really, it's just about one of the easiest veggies to grow! In the DFW area, you can grow salad greens from September through May of the following year! And growing your own beats paying $7.99 a pound for organic greens at the store.

You'll want to direct seed lettuce into the garden now. Lettuce seeds need light to germinate so just sprinkle them onto moist soil surface and press down gently. Do not cover with soil! Because seeds are exposed, you'll need to be diligent about keeping the soil surface moist until germination (consistency of a wrung out sponge). As seedlings sprout and put on their first set of true leaves, you'll then want to thin out seedlings so that remaining seedlings have room to grow.

While you may want to harvest entire heads of lettuces such as Romain or Butterhead, it's not necessary. You can do what is called loose-leaf haresting on these plants from fall through spring. New leaves emgerge from the center of the plant and then splay outwards. Simply snip off leaves as they reach about 4-inches and continue harvesting around the plant as it grows.If you do want to harvest the entire head, then do what is called "succession planting". Sow new seeds in the garden every 2-3 weeks.

Lettuces are biennials, meaning they will grow foliage the first season, and then bolt, or flower, the next. So after warm temperatures hit in late spring/early summer, your greens will bolt and you'll need to stop harvesting. Pitch leftover plants into the compost bin! Feed your greens with an organic veggie food every couple of weeks (liquid) or monthly (granular).

If you live in the Dallas/Fort Worth area and are interested in keeping backyard chickens, there is a free program, "Backyard Chickens 101" scheduled at North Haven Gardens in Dallas on November 20th, 10am-11am. A sale of young hens will start at 11am and go until 2pm or until sold out. It's always great fun!