Gardening

Fall vegetable gardening workshop set for Saturday, July 29

By Dr. William M. Johnson, Galveston County Extension Agent - Horticulture

July 20, 2006

Despite our hot summer temperatures, August is the recommended time to plant many types of vegetables for a fall garden.

Photo credit: William M. Johnson

So you want to grow garden fresh vegetables this fall. When do you start? Where do you start?

Start out on the right track by attending our educational program entitled "Fall Vegetable Gardening Workshop" on Saturday, July 29, from 9:00-11:30 a.m. at the Galveston County Extension Office located at 5115 Highway 3 in Dickinson.

Luke Stripling will serve as our program speaker and is a Certified Texas Master Gardener. Luke has accumulated a wealth of knowledge and hands-on experience on home vegetable gardening. He will provide information on a variety of topics including soil preparation, types of vegetables that do well during the fall and winter season, variety selection, fertilization, and pest control.

Pre-registration is required due to limited seating. Visit or contact the County Extension Office (281-534-3413, ext. 6) or e-mail your request (GALV3@wt.net) to make your reservation.

Successful fall gardening begins much earlier than the official start of the fall season. Proper timing is probably the most important factor in successful fall gardening. Regardless of variety selected or cultural practices used, if a gardener does not do the right thing at the right time, his or her success rate will decrease.

Many vegetables are well adapted to planting in the summer for fall harvest. Planting a fall garden will extend the gardening season so you can continue to harvest fresh produce during the fall season and even into winter.

Despite our hot summer temperatures, August is the recommended time to plant many types of vegetables for a fall garden. Many gardeners miss this opportunity to have a successful fall garden because they wait until temperatures have moderated to plant.

Some vegetables will need to be seeded or transplanted in August in order to provide adequate time to reach maturity before the onset of cold weather. Some of the best quality garden vegetables in the Upper Gulf Coast are produced and harvested during the fall season when warm, sunny days are followed by cool, humid nights.

Question: The leaves on my crapemyrtles have a gray mold on them. Is this something I should be alarmed about?

Answer: This is one of the powdery mildew diseases and the most important disease of crapemyrtles. It is the more serious in the spring and early summer. The growth of this fungus will coat the leaves causing them to be distorted and stunted. The flower buds will not open properly.

Crapemyrtles will vary in their resistance to this disease. You can reduce the severity of this disease by using a fungicide that is effective on powdery mildew. Effective fungicides are Immunox and Bayleton. To control this disease, make 2 to 3 applications 10-14 days apart.

Question: We had three stumps ground up in our yard. What should I do with these stump holes?

Answer: Remove most of the wood chips or grindings and use it as mulch in natural areas or around trees and shrubs in the lawn. Do not put it around foundation plants. Spreading this material at a depth of 2 inches will not damage or kill your ornamental plants.

After removal of wood chips or grindings from the stump hole, fill it with topsoil. Stump holes will settle over time as the remaining stump rots away. Put extra topsoil in the hole to form a crown to compensate for the settling. I would not plant another tree in this same hole but it would be satisfactory to plant your tree in an undisturbed site nearby.

Question: I have webworms on my mulberry tree. Where do they come from? Are there any effective chemical controls available?

Answer: Webworms are aptly named as they form protective spider-like webs that cover the tips of branches where they feed. Webworms are covered with an abundance of long hairs and their bodies are yellow or greenish-yellow in color. Mulberry trees are their favorite host plant with pecan trees ranking a close second. However, except for pines and other conifers, webworms will settle for having just about any landscape tree or shrub for dinner.

Sprays are probably the most-utilized strategy for webworm control, with conventional and biological ingredients available for homeowner use. Several contact insecticides also are effective for webworms. Sevin (carbaryl) has long been available. More recently, various pyrethroids such as permethrin, cyfluthrin and esfenvalerate are available for homeowner application and are highly effective.

Effective control is also achieved with the use of Dipel and Bio-Worm Killer, both of which are biological or organic-type alternatives. Because the webs produced by the webworms are resistant to water penetration, the addition of a wetting agent (available at garden centers) to the spray mixture is highly recommended.

Since the adult stage is a moth, be on guard for succeeding generations of webworms. Just because you take care of the problem now, you may still have another generation to deal with later. In fact, you should be on the lookout for webworms from now through the fall season.

Dr. Johnson is a horticulturist with the Galveston County
Extension Office of Texas Cooperative Extension, Texas A&M University. Visit his web site at http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/galveston/index.htm

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