Category Archives: Garden

Gardening in Texas hardiness Zone 8a

March Garden Update – Trying Something Different!

by Texas Homesteader~

My dad informed me that the Farmer’s Almanac notes the last average our area of NE Texas was March 16th. But I’ve always heard that around here you don’t dare plant until after Easter since those rogue freezes can easily slip in before then.

I always battle myself this time of year – do I plant? Do I wait? Well this year Ole Man Winter has had a death grip on us with ice and snow, and lately the sky has been drizzly/foggy/cloudy for over three weeks straight keeping things in a cold muddy mess. So I guess that decision has kinda been made for me so far! But while in our garage I saw something that got me fired up to at least prepare for planting.

Sudden warmth has gotten me ready to start preparing my veggie garden for planting. This year I'm doing something different - check it out! #TexasHomesteader

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Veggie Garden Update: June

by Tammy Taylor

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WHEW, the temps & humidity have really spiked here in NE Texas.  My veggie garden is still trucking along just fine but for some reason it’s been hampered in providing me with very many edible veggies.  Oh yeah sure I’ve picked a few jalapenos and a shriveled banana pepper for our pizza one night, but it’s June & I should be up to my eyebrows in fresh produce.  Still I’m pretty excited about some of the happenings in the garden, c’mon through the garden gate and check it out!

I'm pretty excited about some of the happenings in the veggie garden, c'mon through the garden gate and check it out! #TexasHomesteader

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Garden Update For March

by Texas Homesteader

Spring is one of the busiest times of the year here at the homestead. Our world is just waking up from a long winter’s nap and much must be done to prepare for the rest of the year.  After the disastrous ice storms we’ve endured this year we’ve been very busy clearing downed limbs and repairing fences. But as spring arrives my thoughts turn to my veggie garden. This year we tore down my old raised beds and built new raised beds with a more efficient design for irrigation and less wasted walk space.

Any time you’re tearing out and building new it certainly adds to the chore list time for these tasks but there is still much to be done before the garden is actually planted, there’s no time to sit back on my heels!

March Vegetable Garden Update. Come see what I'm doing to prepare my veggie garden for spring planting in zone 8A. #TexasHomesteader

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Constructing A Raised-Bed Keyhole Veggie Garden

by Texas Homesteader 

Several years ago RancherMan & I constructed three raised beds to hold my beloved veggie garden. The beds worked well and produced heavily for several years but after a while the wood began to rot and I had some problems with the design. It was hard to irrigate the three beds without ‘jumpers’ from one bed to the other creating a difficulty maintaining the walkways. And the walkways were a bit too wide anyway.

I wanted to connect all the beds to help make a continuous run for irrigation to correct that problem. Then Rancherman decided to enlarge the width of the beds just a bit, also shrinking the walkways.  YEA!

Building Raised Beds. My old raised beds were in need of replacement and I wanted a more efficient design. See how we constructed our raised beds. #TexasHomesteader

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Building a Garden Composting Area

by Texas Homesteader

I have a raised-bed veggie garden and I love it. Gardening is in my blood and it’s something I simply MUST do every year – it’s not ever an option to forgo my veggie garden. There’s just something about digging my hands into that moist dirt and coaxing plants from those tiny seeds, and then nurturing those plants until they produce healthy food for my family. I try to keep everything in my garden as natural as possible & I use a *compost tumbler to make my own compost – I can’t recommend a tumbler highly enough.

It’s especially beneficial for us living out here in the country since we planted our home right smack dab in the middle of a cow pasture. It’s pretty native out here and there are lots of critters around outside – mice, rats, raccoons, coyotes, opossums and many more. My tumbler keeps my compost enclosed to keep the critters out of it. And it also speeds up the composting process. The task of turning the compost was something I had never been diligent about in the past, now I simply turn the barrel each time I empty something into it. Easy!

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Digging Up & Replanting Onions That Have Doubled For Twice The Harvest

by Texas Homesteader ~ 

I’d overlooked harvesting many onions, but then saw many green sprouts. Many of the onions that sprouted that I overlooked from last-year’s garden are sprouting into two (or more) onions in one. So I dug the doubled-up onions, separated them & replanted the onions. Now there are twice as many as I had before!

Where I thought were only dead onions are now green sprouts. I've dug the doubled-up onions, separated them & replanted. #TexasHomesteader
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Using Manure As Natural Fertilizer In Your Compost

by Texas Homesteader ~ 
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By now you know the amazing benefits of compost – both environmentally as well as botanically. Living on a Texas Homestead I’m blessed to have constant access to one of the most important components of my compost:  Manure

We have constant access to one of the most important components of my compost - Manure! Come read how we use this precious resource #TexasHomesteader

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