IT’S PLANTING TIME! This is the time of year we’ve been waiting for. Garden catalogs (or the online version) are now collecting dust as our selections of what to grow this year were made long ago, the irrigation system has been tweaked, 10 garden beds replaced, and so much more. Wherever you look, the garden appears to be coming back to life and is taking on color. There are the pinks, purples, yellows and oranges in the monarch butterfly beds which transitions to various shades and textures of green in the garden beds. The dill and cilantro with their frilly foliage and the okra with its big bold leaves are a welcome sight after the winter months.

April started off with planting several varieties of squash and cucumbers, from lemon squash to Tatume, and Indian snake cucumbers to a favorite from last year- Armenian cucumbers, as well as several other varieties. We hoped to plant earlier this year to get a jump on the season. Growing squash is always a challenge for us, and to be honest, we sometimes get a bit jealous when we hear gardeners complain about an over abundance of squash. The squash bugs, vine borers, and cucumber beetles keep us on our toes. Each year we try some new growing techniques as we hopefully inch OUR way toward an over abundance of squash one of these years. This year the cucumber beetles caught us a bit off guard right off the bat. Just a few weeks earlier we had completed a soil treatment that was supposed to help with the pests, so we were not expecting quite the greeting our squash seedlings would get. As they sprouted and made their way above ground, those cucumber beetles were right there in full force to do their damage. Many of our plants did not survive and had to be replanted. (So much for our hopes of an early harvest.) Row covers were not an easy option as we are growing our plants vertically this year. We also had sticky traps set up, cucumber beetle traps with lures, plus various companion plants to help deter those critters. Last year we became familiar with kaolin clay, another organic option in the war against garden pests and decided to give it a try this year. Something had to be done! Kaolin clay puts a bit of a barrier between the plant and the cucumber beetles. It’s kind of like a suit of armor for the little seedlings, so they are better able to defend themselves against the enemy. It doesn’t actually kill the cucumber beetles, but so far it seems to be working. The cucumber plants are getting the same spray since, as the name suggests, they can be attacked by the same enemy.

We are so fortunate to have a professor at HPU, Dr. Gibson, so graciously agree to grow our tomatoes and peppers for us- well over 100 of them. This is the third year for this arrangement, and it’s wonderful to be able to scour those seed catalogs and choose ANY tomato or pepper we want to try. By the middle of April, those plants were ready to go. Most are now in the ground, but a few are still on the sidelines waiting for the onions to get out of their way.

As we made our way toward the end of the month, the strawberries started slowing down. It wasn’t a huge crop this year, but they’ve sure been juicy and so fresh tasting. We’ve been pulling lots of radishes as well, one of our companion plants for the vining plants, but a few will remain in the ground to help deter pests and attract the beneficials. The onion bulbs also began proudly pushing their way above ground, showing off just how much they’d grown. We began planting them way back in January when we came close to some single digit nights. Now, as we’ve seen some 90°days, those same onions are just about ready to come out.it’s been a long haul. As the temperatures rise, the strawberries and onions will soon be finished for another year, making way for more pepper and tomato plants plus crops that are more suitable to our Texas summers, like okra .

Stepping into the orchard might cause you to start dreaming of cobbler, pie, or maybe jam as you notice how loaded the blackberry vines and peach trees are. The fig trees are just starting to put on their fruit, and it looks like our plum trees will have been spared from a late season cold snap this year, unlike the last two years.

At this point, as most people look out over Brownwood Community Garden, they see small pepper and tomato plants just starting to put on blossoms, a few yellow squash hanging from our vertically planted vines, onions about ready to harvest, and more. We see POTENTIAL. We see a garden and orchard with plants that are loaded with juicy tomatoes, crunchy cucumbers, and other fruits and vegetables that will provide fresh produce for those in this area needing help to stretch their grocery dollar. Brownwood Community Garden wants to be a part of helping to fulfill that need.