New to SFG - Houston TX

We plan to plant a fall garden (our very first garden) and looking forward to learning from the seasoned pros. Houston has been in a drought this year and we got our first real rain yesterday since January.

Congratulations on the rain! And welcome to the forum. Have you read the All New Square Foot Gardening book? If not, I would recommend you do so before going any further! I love how much easier it is than traditional row gardening, as well as the original SFG. I'm sold! Once you do get started, I'm sure you'll still have lots of questions. This is a great place to get the answers!

Denese wrote:Congratulations on the rain! And welcome to the forum. Have you read the All New Square Foot Gardening book? If not, I would recommend you do so before going any further! I love how much easier it is than traditional row gardening, as well as the original SFG. I'm sold! Once you do get started, I'm sure you'll still have lots of questions. This is a great place to get the answers!

Also learning how to REPLY on the forum so forgive me while I get up to speed. Thank you for the warm welcome. As a matter of fact, I ordered the book today on the recommendation of a friend. I am looking forward to reading it BEFORE we make the first step into building our garden.

Welcome I can see from the above post you are one smart puppy. Let us know if you need any help. What are you thinking of planting?

I'm not even sure what can be planted for the Fall, however, my favorite veggies are squash, spinach, green beans, baby butter beans, tomatoes, maybe onions and garlic.

If you are in zone 9 or hotter you can plant tomato seedlings now for fall harvest. Fall gardens down here in our neck of the woods we plant what the folks up north plant in the spring such as spinach, peas, lettuce, and also crops such as garlic, onions, collards, cabbage and the like. Check with the county ag. extension office they will have a list of what grows best when to plant it in your county. You can find them on line.

Thank you Shannon for that tip. I will look them up!

Glad I could help.

Thank you shannon1 for directing me to our local county agricultural extension website. They had some great information about our region and when to plant certain vegetables. Thank you!!

plathrop

Nice to have you join us. Glad you have the book on order, you will find so many answers there on how to prepare your new SFG.

Shannon is a font of information and suggestions. It is always a good idea to check with your local extension service to get information on what to plant when as well as what varieties do best in your area.

Now that you have learned how to "reply" Be sure to check your regional forum to see what is going on there.

Again, Welcome! Be sure to keep us updated on your progress and share pictures too.

Check out this book. I have perused through it and I will be buying it this fall for my fall planting. He has many ideas on the different things you can plant for all Houston seasons. It is extremely informative and the fact that your SFG will have Mel's Mix will give you a huge leg up over all the other houston garden.



Good luck.



A Fellow Houstonite.



PS. Urban Harvest is a nice website to check out too.



Year Round Vegetables, Fruits and Flowers for Metro Houston
by Bob Randall, Ph.D.

This book is the definitive guide to growing vegetables and fruit in the greater Houston area. It includes how to build raised beds and detailed information on the best plant varieties for our area. It also includes recommendations of local shops online sources to get soils, tools, seeds, transplants, and more.



Shops Where You Can Buy This Book

The Urban Harvest office offers the book during our business hours. It is also in the classroom for sale before and after classes. $45 (only $30 for Urban Harvest members)

Please call the stores below for pricing and availability of the book:

• River Oaks: Buffalo Hardware Co., 2614 Westheimer Rd. 713-524-1011
  
• Upper Kirby: Lucia's Garden, 2216 Portsmouth. 713-523-6494
  
• Upper Kirby: Urban Harvest Farmers Market
  
• West U: Brazos Bookstore, 2421 Bissonnet St. 713-523-0701
  
• Bellaire: Teas Nursery, 4400 Bellaire Blvd. 713-664-4400
  
• Heights: Buchanan's Native Plants, 611 E. 11th. 713-861-5702
  
• West End: Wabash Antiques & Feed Store, 5701 Washington Ave. 713-863-8322
  
• Tomball: The Arbor Gate, 15635 FM 2920. 281-351-8851
  
• Conroe/Woodlands: Nature's Way Resources, 101 Sherbrook Circle. 936-321-6990
  
• Pearland: Sweet Organic Solutions 2802 S Main Pearland, Tx. 77381 281-485-3734
  
• Richmond/Rosenburg: Enchanted Gardens, 6420 FM 359. Richmond, Tx. 77469 281-341-1206.
  
• Richmond/Rosenburg:: Enchanted Forest, 10611 FM 2759 Richmond, Tx. 77469 281-937-9449
  

BTW wabash had the book for 35 bucks

@Plathrop, glad I could help.
@Furbalsmom gee thanks

cienfuegos wrote:BTW wabash had the book for 35 bucks

Thank you so much!

First "real" rain since January? Wow. And, they say west Texas is worse?

Welcome aboard. You have a great group of people at your disposal. Hope to see more of you around in the days to come.

I'm even newer to SFG, and know very little about gardening in Houston. But my son and daughter in law live there and are making a stab at it. My daughter in law has a college degree in the field, so should have some insights for you even though the care of my grandchildren keeps her busy full time.

Last year for Christmas, my daughter in law got me an odorless, kitchen
countertop compost pail -- my most useful gift in years. So she is
resourceful along with all of her other qualities.

The reason why I feel like reaching out to you in this way is that -- assuming that your username implies a Lathrop surname -- we're likely cousins, descendants of Rev. John Lathrop of London and Scituate, Mass.