CROSS TIMBERS HORTICULTURE
Nancy Roe, Extension Horticulture Specialist

WHAT TO PLANT IN JULY (modify for your location if necessary)

container shrubs, trees, and perennial herbs and flowers

Bermuda, Buffalo, or St. Augustine seed or sod

okra, southern peas, squash

first half of month: most pumpkins and gourds, and tomato, eggplant, or pepper transplants

sun annuals: lantana, periwinkle, moonflowers, candle trees, gazanias, purslane, and portulaca

shade annuals: begonias, caladiums, coleus, nicotiana

WHAT TO PLANT IN AUGUST (modify for your location if necessary)

container shrubs, trees, and perennial herbs and flowers

first half of month: sweet corn, cucumbers, okra, seed potatoes

last half of month: lettuces

seed: snap beans, Swiss chard, collards, kohlrabi, mustard, parsley, summer squash, rutabaga, spinach

broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, Chinese cabbage-direct seed first half of month or set transplants second half

As you have probably noticed, I have combined the July and August newsletters-I find that works well in this area because the weather tends to be the same! However, do note that planting varies a lot. In August it is time for most of us to put in the fall "cool season" vegetables. It is sometimes hard to convince people to do this, but they will usually get their best crops of many vegetables during the fall. The soil cools off more slowly than does the air, and this combination of warm roots and cool tops tends to produce high yields of well-flavored vegetables. Insect and disease problems usually slow down as the weather cools off, too.

VEGETABLES
Lots of questions on tomatoes this year-many have not set fruit. Three factors contributed to this: First, tomato pollen becomes sterile above a certain temperature (the exact temperature varies by variety but is usually 85-95 degrees). Second, when the day temperatures are hot, photosynthesis slows. Combine this with warm nights and resulting rapid rates of respiration, which use up the carbohydrates quickly, and the plant doesn't have much left to make fruit. Finally, we had some bad infestations of thrips (which like hot, dry weather) this spring and summer. They can interfere with pollination and fruit development.

Blossom end rot results when the calcium doesn't get to the end of the fruit, usually because of a temporary water shortage. It can happen to any of the fruiting vegetables, and is definitely variety dependent. In order to prevent fluctuations in moisture levels, homeowners and commercial growers should use drip irrigation and mulches.

Should we direct seed or transplant vegetables? Obviously, there are a lot of variables-seed costs, water availability, soil type, time of year, etc. I usually tend to be in favor of transplants, because seeds are susceptible to such a variety of problems. However, the fall plantings of cole crops (cabbage, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower) are an example of a time where direct seeding may be the better choice. The soil is warm and seed will germinate quickly. Of course, a dependable water source must be available-the seeds may need water several times daily for a few days. Put organic mulches around them as soon as they germinate to moderate soil temperatures. Soil properties should also be considered. If the soil crusts badly, the grower may want to consider an "artificial" covering; a screened compost or good quality potting soil mix used over the seed row will not only prevent crusting but also help to hold in the water. Consider the seed cost: if the seed is an expensive hybrid, it may be that you can't afford to lose many to the various perils they meet in the garden or field. Growers should compare the seed cost with the cost of growing transplants. It is sometimes difficult to grow transplants at this time of year because greenhouses cannot be cooled efficiently.

PECANS
Young pecan trees should not be fertilized any more this year. Later fertilizations makes them subject to cold damage.

July is the time for pecan growers to take leaf samples for tissue testing. This is an excellent way to check fertilization programs-it shows what the trees are actually taking up. About 100 leaflets from a cross section of similar trees should be collected. Detailed instructions are available in the Pecan Handbook-let me know if you need them.

By the way, the Pecan Handbook is presently out of print and is being revised. The new edition should be available in January.

FRUIT
Peach tissue samples are also generally taken in July. However, they may not be as relevant this year because of the lack of a crop, as most well-cared for orchards have more than enough nutrients in a non-bearing year.

Growers should not neglect weed control even in a non-productive year.

HOME LAWN AND GARDEN TIPS
Grubworms in lawns must be treated while they are small and feeding close to the surface-that usually means mid-July to mid-August, 6 weeks after the peak flight of June beetles. Extension Entomologist Mike Merchant emphasized to me that it is not necessary for everyone to treat for grubworms. If there is a history of grubworm damage in a lawn, or 4-5 grubworms per square foot are found, then treatment is probably indicated. It is even possible to spot treat areas in a lawn that may have had previous infestations. Diazinon, Dursban, or Oftanol are the recommended products. Dursban may not work as well in heavy clay soils or lawns with heavy thatch. Granular forms of these insecticides are usually easiest for homeowners to use.

Those of you in the northern areas should recommend putting out preemergent weed controls in late August. To the south, wait until September. Remind people of all the yellow and purple flowers that they had in their lawn last spring. Putting out a pre-emergent before they germinate in the fall is an easier and environmentally safer way to prevent those than using broadleaf herbicides in the spring.

ORGANICS
W.R. Grace, makers of Neemix, a botanical insecticide, have now introduced a botanical insecticide, miticide, and fungicide, Triology. It is labeled for use on spinach, grapes, lettuce, cabbage, strawberries, and peppers. The list of fungal diseases controlled includes anthracnose, powdery mildew, rust, alternaria, and downy mildew. I will be trying it here if we have any of those disease problems on labeled crops. As far as I know, it is available only in commercial grower packaging. It has a re-entry interval of 4 hours and a preharvest interval of 0 days. As a botanical pesticide, it will probably be on the "allowed with restrictions" list of the Texas Organic Certified Grower rules.

It is important for all growers to recognize the effects of plant competition in most of our crops. An article in the August, 1995, issue of HortScience reported on effects of growing other plants in a 10' X 10' area around newly planted, drip-irrigated pecan trees. Plants used included vetches, clovers, yellow nutsedge, buckwheat, and centipede, bermuda and bahiagrass. The control plots were maintained weed-free by use of herbicides. After three years, trunk cross section areas, which started about 0.31 in2 increased to an average of 4.1 in2 for trees grown with crops around them compared to 7.7 in2 for trees with the weed free area. There were no differences in tree growth among the various crops used around the trees. (Translation: the trees didn't "care" if legumes, grass, or nutsedge was competing with them; all competition was detrimental to their growth.)

Weed control is one of the biggest challenges for organic growers. For most crops, mulches in conjunction with hand and/or mechanical cultivation will be the answer. There are several organically accepted herbicides, but they are non-selective and usually prohibitively expensive for commercial growers. We need to start working on crop rotations that can be used to reduce weed populations. In the case of perennial crops, it is usually best to reduce initial weed and weed seed populations by maintaining mowed cover crops, and/or tilling at selected times to kill weeds in an area for a year or more before planting. Some have even used a glyphosate to kill tenacious weeds like Bermuda grass before they begin the organic certification process.

STEPHENVILLE REC HORTICULTURE NEWS
The garden of CEMAP demonstration plants out front is at its peak right now. Be sure to visit it if you can. It will give you an idea of why we recommend certain plants for hot weather!

Most of the 6 blackberry varieties have grown enough so that we can begin to apply mulches. We will be comparing the long term effects of using a mulch vs. a pre-emergent herbicide.

NEWS FOR YOU AND YOUR COMMERCIAL GROWERS
Comanche County Watermelon Field Day-July 2

Texas Pecan Growers Association annual state meeting is in Seguin on July 14-17.

The Texas Produce Convention and Trade Show will be September 18-21 in South Padre. This is a combined meeting of the Texas Produce Association, Texas Vegetable Association, and Texas Citrus Mutual. It is sometimes difficult for growers in our area to get information about equipment and methods for growing fruit and vegetables. This is a good place to find that type of information and meet suppliers and other growers.