CROSS TIMBERS HORTICULTURE

A newsletter for Texas Agricultural Extension District 8 and parts of 3, 4 and 7!
Nancy Roe, Extension Horticulture Specialist

Meetings:

Texas Biological Control Workshop; San Antonio; Nov. 4-6.
Plant Protection Conference Dec 10-11.
Turf and Ornamental Field Day-Williamson Co. Oct 8.
County Agent Horticulture Update: Dallas, Nov 13; Stephenville, Nov 14. (Same training will be repeated; attend whichever is most convenient for you. It will include ornamentals
and landscaping, fruit and vegetables, and turfgrass.)
Central Region Pecan Show, Stephenville: Dec 16, 17

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

container shrubs, trees, and hardy perennial flowers and herbs
pansies and violas
garlic, onions, leeks (onions are a gamble-they may not survive the winter)
Swiss chard, collards, kohlrabi, mustard, rutabaga, spinach, turnips-all are marginal in the northern parts, but still worth trying for home gardeners
cilantro, dill-these grow quickly and can be used until they freeze
bulbs-some daffodils, grape hyacinths, crocuses (depending on your location, some bulbs may need refrigeration and then may only be annuals, since we do not always get the chilling hours that they need)
ryegrass seed (for overseeding lawns)
cover crops-Austrian winter peas, ryegrass or Elbon rye, winter clovers or vetches

VEGETABLES
Growers or homeowners trying to extend the season should look at the possibility of using rowcover materials. If you haven't heard of these, they are white polypropolene or polyester fabrics which can give 3-5 degrees of protection. Most can be reused. They are still hard to find in most places. Your local nurseries should ask their suppliers for them. Park Seed wholesale catalog also carries one brand. These are not just for small growers. I have seen hundreds of acres covered with them in south Florida!

PECANS
One thing which will help improve next year's pecan crop is keeping the leaves on the trees this fall. If the crop is heavy (and we do have some pretty good ones in a few areas this year), it is especially important to not let the trees become stressed-that means watering if needed.

FRUIT
Most of our stone fruit trees will not be losing leaves yet, but when they do, that is the time to spray for spring diseases like leaf curl, Coryneum blight, and bacterial canker. Time the sprays. Use copper sprays (Kocide, Champion, etc.). Not all are labeled for all stone fruit crops, so check label before purchasing.
At this time of year, we always get calls about persimmon fruit falling off the trees. Most persimmon varieties have the ability to set parthenocarpic fruit. (That means without pollination.) However, these fruit have a tendency to fall off with a little bit of stress. The April, 1996 issue of HortScience contains an article from some work done in north Florida. The researchers studied two varieties: 'Fuyu' and 'Tanenashi', both of which are on our recommended list. Flowers were pollinated by one of three varieties (Gailey, Nishimura Wase, or Turkeytown), open-pollinated, or not pollinated. Fruit set was higher with any of the pollination treatments than without pollination. Pollinated fruit developed faster and were usually larger. In 2 different years, only 2.8 and 26% of the non-pollinated fruit on Fuyu reached maturity. Older trees tend to set more parthenocarpic fruit than younger ones. For commercial growers who want to set a crop every year, the authors recommend pollination for Fuyu, which has a tendency towards alternate bearing, and for Tanenashi.

HOME LAWN AND GARDEN TIPS
Time for my favorite soap box-PLEASE put out some publicity in your county telling people not to waste their leaves by putting them in the landfill. They make excellent winter mulches. Mulch perennial beds with 6-10" of leaves. They can also be used to cover a fallow garden, although I prefer to move them aside and use as a mulch in the spring, rather than till them in (see "Organics"). We do have a little folder on leaf management-if you need a copy, let me know. For those who are not moved by the environmental significance of keeping leaves out of landfills, or the fact that they can use them in their yard, try the economic approach-it costs money to pick up all those bags and put them in a landfill!

ORGANICS
Is it better to compost leaves or put them directly on my garden? Lots of people ask that question. In research in Connecticut, reported in the Spring, 1996 issue of Compost Science and Utilization, about 6" of undecomposed leaves were spread on plots, and tilled into the soil. In other plots, 1" of leaf compost was tilled in during the spring. All plots were fertilized with NPK at 130 130-130. In the first year, pepper yields from the plots amended with leaf compost or no organic matter were higher than from the plots with undecomposed leaves added in fall or spring. In the next two years, yields from the compost plots were highest. Available nitrogen levels in the plots with leaf compost were as high as in other plots, so it did not seem that lack of nitrogen was the problem. Other research has indicated that certain phenolic compounds produced during the decompostition of leaves can be toxic to plants.
Composting allows these compounds to be broken down before the leaves are used. In our shorter, warmer winters, we would expect these chemical processes to proceed faster than in New England. However, it is probably better to compost leaves before tilling them into soil. This may be a good demonstration for someone to do-perhaps a Master Gardener group.