You can't go wrong with peppers.

Since you can grow bok choy, etc try radish and any leaf lettuce. They grow under the same conditions.

Wait for warmer weather and beans and zucchini will do well. Even warmer weather and okra is easy to grow.

Are you setting tomatoes out in March? I sometimes have to replant when we get a late freeze but they need to get going early to set before it gets hot.

I use these as well as word of mouth from other gardeners.

From the Tarrant Co AgriLife Extension site:

http://tarrant.tamu.edu/page.asp?o=tamu&s=h&p=317761

http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/plantanswers/publications/ncveglist.html

Stephanie

Here is a link that might be useful: Planting Dates in N. Texas

Hi spishak - yes will do - peppers are a marvelous idea
I went ahead and got some banana/red bell and anneheim seeds

annorthtexas - oh the tomato saga - well ultimately I started too late - I guess - and the heat just smashed them - I was a gung ho idiot with like 500 brilliant seedlings in dixie cups and by the time it was all over - we got 9 small tomatoes (which were super tasty tho) It was a very rewarding and time consuming way to waste a pile of money in a learning spurt :)

Every one said, "TOMATOES NEED SUN!" so I put them all in the sunniest spot and they got scorched - I tripled my water bill trying to revive them

This year I am limiting myself to those 'bush' cherry tomato plants - I have some seedlings started already so we'll see how it turns out

thanks for all the ideas :)

stephanie - that is a handy guide -
question - so brussel sprouts go in the fall? Is that how it reads? I started some seeds last weekend - all the best

alissa

I've got a brown thumb and have been successful with cucumbers.

All I could grow last year (my first year to try) was bell peppers and carrots.

thanks for the cucumber + bell pepper + carrot ideas

:)

I haven't planted in a few years, but when I did, I had unbelievable success with mixed lettuces, squash, zucchini, and later, okra. My husband go so sick of zucchini! We had it on pizza, in casseroles, and even in muffins. One day, when I retire and have time to run my toes through the supple soil again, he'll have to deal with those Texas zucchinis! Here's a newbie gardening post about the DFW area, if you're interested... http://ilivecommunity.com/2010/02/01/winter-gardening-in-northeast-tarrant-county/

Here is a link that might be useful: iLIVEcommunity.com

It's best to have raised beds first off, especially if you are planning a small garden.

Snap green beans, both pole and bush, did really well for me this Fall. I got beans from the first or second week of Oct. until Thanksgiving. Cucumbers have been the easiest thing form me to grow here and a mild variety of mustard greens called Florida Broadleaf.

Tomatoes can be grown with success, you just have to start early and be prepared to protect them from cold snaps.
Raised beds help with tomatoes because the soil warms faster in the Spring. Peppers produce ok in Spring for me, but take off when it cools off in September.

I tried herbs last year and was really successful. I grew basil, thyme, sage, parsley, and rosemary. This year I won't grow nearly as many herbs.

Finally, I've had pretty good results with corn, melons carrots, squash and lettuce here.

The key is to have well-amended soil and to study the needs of each particular vegetable and fertilize accordingly. I started off small, with just one 12X4 foot raised bed three years ago and have added beds each year.

Here in Texas we basically have two short seasons for vegetable gardening, but they can be productive.

Good luck

One more thing about tomatoes. If you can, make sure they have full sun during the morning and early afternoon hours, but get shade after 3:00 pm. Also, mulch them heavily in May to conserve water and keep the soil consistenly moist. I use strips of black plastic in March to warm the soil and replace it in May with natural mulch, like grass clippings, compost, leaves, etc.

Hi there! I am south of you, about an hour south of Waco, but I understand the part about the scorching heat. however, I left the largest tomato plant undisturbed thru July, August and into September, and sometime around then when the weather cooled off a tiny bit, that tomato plant came back to life and set a kajillion tomatoes!! I was amazed.

If I'd listened to everyone last year (and what I'm doing this year) is some sort of irrigation (I am using soaker hoses) covered with mulch, mulch and more mulch.

I did everything wrong last year and ended up with cantoloupe, cucumbers, tomatoes, green beans (bush), parsley, radish, lettuce and beet greens (then they froze before I had a chance to get beets) and zucchini and crookneck yellow squash. I also got one tiny butternut before a squash borer got it :(

I guess timing is pretty much everything....including when to start seedlings for a fall garden. I also plan on trying a hoophouse salad garden for next "winter".

Good luck!

I have been growing vegetables for the 4 years and seem to do very well with tomatoes and peppers. I have raised beds in my yard and the ones that do well with the tomatoes get alot of sun all day but shade starting about 4 oclock I picked that spot on purpose after watching my yard the year before to choose the spot that would get the days sun but not the hot hot part of the day
This past year I tried something new that worked very well and I had several bushels of roma tomatoes. Along with many very large beefsteak tomatoes
I stapled plastic around each raised bed (approx. 10 inches tall) with the top open Because winds can be very tough on a young tomato plant and stress it out So the plastic served as a wind barrier I did not take down the plastic until the tomatoes were taller than the barrier When we had a cold night I put a light sheet over the top to protect the plants Again it was like a mini green house. This method allowed me to get my plants in earlier. I use bunny poo for my fertilizer and I also flick the blooms on the tomato plants. Because the plants have to set fruit before the heat sets in You can do this with an electric toothbrush or just flick with your fingers Tomatoes are self pollinating so I like to help them along After I have tomatoes on the bush and its hot outside I had a layer of hay that is 6 inches deep I had so many tomatoes it was crazy I hope this advice helps and good luck OH and one more thing I take the bunny poo and put it in a bucket and add water Then I use the liquid fertilizer Especially after a good rain it soaks in better I know it sounds disgusting but if you saw all the tomatoes I got it was worth making the bunny poo stew as I call it

Ditto on the bunny poo! Works great, no smell. At least used dry, can't speak to the poo stew! :)
Susan