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Suggestions for Vegetable Garden...

LonghornNAggieLonghornNAggie
in Austin Babies

So DH is on a mission. That mission, despite only being home on the weekends, is to build and plant a raised bed vegetable garden and begin to compost. I feel like he is jumping in without doing all the research because he wants things to get planted before it is too late for the season. I'm supportive of a garden because I use tons of leafy greens in smoothies and I myself love the idea of gardening. Though taytee's bonding moment with the girls has me thinking this is a nap time activity :)

Anyway, that said.... I'm wondering if those of you who have been doing this for a while can throw any advice my way before we jump in. What veggies/greens work well in Austin? Which are epic failures... any basically anything from the ground up on advice before it is too late!

TIA!

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Re: Suggestions for Vegetable Garden...

  • TayteeTaytee

    I told the garden people that I was gardening stupid and they planted

    Little presprouted plants: Kale*, Lettuce, Chard*, Broccoli

    Seeds: carrots and radishes

    He said, and I quote "You really can't mess these up as long as you water them and check for bugs" Per MC, I didn't do strawberries because they can take long to bear fruit and I want my kids to see sort of instant results of their "work".

    *Based on the amount of these I've gotten in any farmshare/coop veggie basket even in the middle of the drought, I'm guessing these grow like gangbusters!!!

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  • angelaggieangelaggie member
    My dad always does okra. Can't kill that stuff of you try. I think you plant that late spring though? I have no idea when to plant stuff. I just know that okra can't die. Ha. 
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  • joycojoyco

    imageangelaggie:
    My dad always does okra. Can't kill that stuff of you try. I think you plant that late spring though? I have no idea when to plant stuff. I just know that okra can't die. Ha. 

    Ah, you've never met me and my black thumbs.  I planted 4 okra plants and only one fruited.  The other three grew a little and then wilted away.  And not from lack of water, either.  I watered the crap out of those suckers.  

    I have had very good luck w/ peppers and basil.

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  • txgradtxgrad
    My pepper plants and my eggplants (chinese and japanese) both lived through the extreme heat and cold. I highly recommend the eggplant because it has really pretty purple flowers. 
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  • angelaggieangelaggie member
    imagejoyco:

    imageangelaggie:
    My dad always does okra. Can't kill that stuff of you try. I think you plant that late spring though? I have no idea when to plant stuff. I just know that okra can't die. Ha. 

    Ah, you've never met me and my black thumbs.  I planted 4 okra plants and only one fruited.  The other three grew a little and then wilted away.  And not from lack of water, either.  I watered the crap out of those suckers.  

    I have had very good luck w/ peppers and basil.

    Im impressed. We cut ours down, didn't water it for 2 weeks, and then it rained. Damn things came back.  

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  • A&JmomA&Jmom

    I always pretty good luck with small/cherry tomatoes.  Our favorite are always the sun sugar!  (orange ones).  We had good luck with cukes 2 years ago, but got nothing last year. My bush beans also did really well- I wish I had 2 plants though because not enough was ever ready at the same time.

     I unsucessfully tried squash, zucchini, and strawberries last year, and got nothing from them.  :( 

     I'm going to try cantaloupe this year because I think it is suppose to do well.

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  • mcgeemcgee member

    Don't plant anything outside until March - note the ice falling from the sky today. We learned our lesson the hard way the last couple years.

    We've had great luck with tomatoes, cantaloupe, watermelon, tabasco peppers, bell peppers, arugula, mint, basil, rosemary, oregano, grapes and satsuma mandarin orange trees. We've had mixed results with strawberries, bigger tomatoes, chives, onions, potatoes (only buy from a trusted vendor - potato blight will wipe out your whole crop and whatever else is growing nearby), squash and pumpkins (we got squash bores that took out our crop, but we did harvest a half dozen summer squash first), and cilantro.

    We have had close to zero luck with blueberry bushes and lime trees. 

    Grapes and fruit trees usually take a year or more to begin producing fruit. After the drought and heat last year, we'll plant our basil where it gets more shade later in the day. Rosemary is darn near impossible to kill. 

    Mike and McGee: Parenting, Decorating, Renovating and Living a Greener Life in Austin, Texas

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