Category: Plants

  • What To Do When Okra Fall Down

      Trim Okra When They Fall Over Spring, TX When Okra grow too tall and topple over, cut them to a height that will allow them to stand tall. Okra can grow and grow in the summer heat down here in the Houston area.  And usually toward the end of summer they will start to…

  • Prepare For Okra

    Okra Plants Starting To Produce Spring, TX My ego knows no bounds and so I say with a full voice, “Prepare for Okra!”  We might be verging on pod a day harvests.  Or more!  Ah, don’t get too excited.  While we ate the first Okra of the season in a wonderful Okra Garden Supply Lunch,…

  • Okra Fruited

    My saved seed has germinated, transplanted, flowered, and fruited. Spring, TX Hooray.  Okra for Okra Garden Supply.  I have to celebrate this First Okra of 2017 because this plant is the namesake of the shop.  The feeling of completing the cycle of growth in our own yard is calm and pleasant.  I grew a plant,…

  • Collard Greens: Garden to Freezer

    What to do with collard greens from the garden or grocery Location: SPRING, TX I am grateful for collards. Thank you, collards. If you are lucky enough to have collards to eat, enjoy them.  This post is my method for taking the leaves from garden to the freezer to your mouth every morning for an…

  • How far apart should I plant vegetable starts?

    Plants need room to grow Location: Houston, TX Have a little daydream when you plant your vegetable start.  This is the best way to ensure that the tender shoot will have the proper amount of space to grow.  Imagine the plant in its full blown glory.  Leaves and blossoms and fruit all at once.  The…

  • Just Keep Planting

    There is No Such Thing As Disappointment In The Garden Thursday was supposed to be my planting day.  That was my big Okra Garden Supply Plan.  Plant on Thursday.  I have lost momentum on that, I don’t think I have planted in three weeks.  But I have made progress on the e commerce front.  Did you notice these…

  • The Curious Case of Bidens Alba

    An introduction to Bidens alba Bidens, as in two teeth. Alba, as in white. I call attention to this plant because it is a favorite of beneficial insects.  It grew wild in my life before I knew what it was.  I called it the assassin host daisy because it always seemed to have the beneficial…

  • When To Harvest Collard Greens

      As I mentioned before.  I have more collards than I can eat.  That may not be accurate. It would be more accurate to say I am growing more collards than I am eating. So, when to harvest collard greens?  I wait for the plant to be established, and this timing is completely variable.  The seeds that I…

  • Dream Garden

    There are so many wonderful plants that I want to grow.  Gardening in Houston, Texas is full of opportunity because theoretically we can grow just about anything from warm loving tropical plants like plumeria and hibiscus to sweet temperate plants like lettuce and radishes.  There are the commodity cash crop plants that are so interesting…

  • When To Transplant Veggie Starts

    Transplant veggie starts when they have four true leaves. The first two leaves that emerge from a seed after it germinates are called cotyledons. They are special and wonderfully encouraging to see but don’t count them. The true leaves will have a similar leaf edge and leaf shape to the mature plant. If you are…