Ellis County Master Gardener AssociationTexas A&M AgriLife Extension Service

Master Gardeners- Around Town

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See what our Master Gardeners have been up to. 

Ridgeview Garden Workday

From left to right- intern Malcolm A., Scotty R. and his son, Maureen N & intern Edith S.

Maureen N. giving the rose bushes their Valentine’s Day trim and intern Edith S. trimming up the lantana.

Workday at the Butterfly Garden.

From left to right in back – Allan Ramos, Larry Kollie, Ginger Cole, Sara Gouge, Mary Ann Mezzapelle, Sharon McIver. Center front – Butterfly Garden Chair – Cheryl Sandoval

Congratulations to Agnes Douglas, chair of our Children’s Education. Here she is in College Station going through the Junior Master Gardener training.

Creative raised beds.

Send in your pictures of creative or successful raised beds you have seen in use. There are many more options we can show. ellismga@tamu.edu

Raised bed in a boat. Courtesy of Dottie Love.

Raised beds in garden bags and cattle protein buckets. Courtesy of Jessi Harbor

 
 
 

Vegetables to Plant in March for Ellis County

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Beans, Bush:

Blue Lake, Derby, Dwarf French Tendergreen, Early Contender, Festina, Florence, Goldcrop Wax, Improved Golden Wax, Jade, Long Tendergreen, Maxibel, Nash, Tendercrop, Topcrop

Beans, Pole:

Kentucky Wonder, Northeaster, Purple King, Rattlesnake, Smeraldo

Beans, Lima:

Florida Butter Pole, Florida Speckled Pole, Fordhook, Henderson Bush, Jackson Wonder Bush, King of the Garden Pole, Sieva or Carolina

Cantaloupe:

Ambrosia, Caravelle, French Orange, Magnum 45, Mainstream, Mission, Perlita, Sugar Queen, TAM Uvalde

Corn, Sugary Enhanced:

Ambrosia (Bicolor), Kandy Korn (Yellow), Legend (Yellow), Sugar Buns (Yellow), Tendertreat (Yellow)

Corn, Shrunken, Supersweet, Extra Sweet:

Crisp-N-Sweet (Yellow), Florida Staysweet (Yellow), Honey n Pearl (Bicolor), How Sweet It Is (White), Mirai, Summer Sweet

Corn, Normal Sugary:

Bonanza (Yellow), Merit (Yellow), Silver Queen (White), Sweet G-90 (Bicolor)

Corn, Triple Sweet:

Honey Select, Serendipity

Cucumber, Pickling:

Calypso, Carolina, H-19 Little Leaf, Sumter

Cucumber, Slicing:

Diva, Spacemaster, Sugar Crunch, Suyo, Sweet Slice, Sweet Success, Sweeter Yet

Eggplant:

Fairy Tale, Neon, Purple Rain, Ichiban (Oriental), Pingtung long (Oriental)

Okra:

Cajun Delight, Clemson Spineless, Emerald, Louisiana Green Velvet, Silver Queen
Peas, Southern (April): Blackeye #5, Colossus, Mississippi Silver, Pink Eye Purple Hull, Texas Pinkeye, Zipper Cream

Peppers, Hot:

Anaheim (Chile), Cherry Bomb, Hidalgo Serrano, Kung Pao, Long Red Cayenne, Mexibell, Mucho Nacho Jalapeno, Super Cayenne, TAM Jalapeno, Tequila, Vera Cruz Jalapeno

Peppers, Sweet:

Banana Supreme, Big Bertha (Bell, Green), Blushing Beauty (Bell, YOR), Cubanelle (Green/Red), Early Sunsation (Bell), Fat ’N Sassy (Bell), Golden Giant II (Bell), Golden Summer (Bell), Gypsy (Bell, YOR), Jackpot (Bell), Jupiter (Bell, Red) Karma (Bell, Red), Lilac (Bell, Lavender), Orange Sun (Bell), Senorita (Mild Jalapeno), Summer Sweet (Bell, Yellow), Sweet Pickle (OYR), Sweet Spot (Banana, Yellow), TAM Mild Jalapeno

Potato, Sweet:

Beauregard, Centennial, Jewel, Vardaman

Pumpkin:

Large: Connecticut Field, Medium: Howden, Jack O’ Lantern, Small: Baby Boo, Jack Be Little, Small Sugar, Triple Treat

Squash, Summer:

Ambassador (Zucchini), Burpee’s Butterstick (Yellow, Straightneck), Conqueror III (Yellow, Straightneck), Dixie (Yellow, Crookneck), Early Yellow (Crookneck) Eight Ball Tigress (Zucchini), Gold Rush (Zucchini), Goldbar (Yellow, Straightneck), Goldrush (Yellow, Straightneck), Horn of Plenty (Yellow, Crookneck), Lioness, Magda (Zucchini), Multipik (Yellow Straightneck), Patty Pan (White, Scallop), Peter Pan (Green, Scallop), Prelude II (Butternut), President (Zucchini), Senator (Zucchini), Sunburst (Scallop), Sundance (Yellow), Sundrop (Yellow), Sunray (Yellow Straightneck, Sweet Gourmet (Zucchini)

Squash, Winter:

Cream of the Crop, Early Butternot, Sweet Mama Kabocha, Table King (Acorn), Table Ace (Acorn)

Tomato, Large:

Better Boy, Big Beef, Big Boy, Bush Beefsteak, Bush Goliath, Capello, Carmello (Heirloom), Sunny Goliath, Super Fantastic, West Virginia Sweet Meat (Heirloom)

Tomato, Medium:

Bush Early Girl, Carbon, Carnival, Carolina Gold, Celebrity, Champion, Dona, Early Girl, First Lady, Golden Girl (Heirloom), Golden Jubilee, Golden Sunray (Heirloom) Heatwave, Husky Gold, Lemon Boy (Yellow), Miracle Sweet, Paul Robeson (Heirloom) Porter Improved, Solar Fire, Solar Set, Sunmaster, Sweet Tangerine, Taxi (Heirloom)

Tomato, Paste:

Classica, Golden Rave, Roma, San Marzano (Heirloom), Viva Italia

Tomato, Small:

Black Cherry, Blitz, Cherry Grande, Dasher, Dona, Gold Nugget (Cherry), Golden Gem (Cherry), Husky Cherry Red, Jolly, Juliet (Grape), Large Red Cherry, Small Fry, Sugar Snack (Cherry), Sun Gold (Cherry), Suncherry (Cherry), Sunsugar (Cherry), Sweet 100 (Cherry), Sweet Baby Girl (Cherry), Sweet Chelsea (Cherry), Vita-Gold, Yellow Cherry

Watermelon:

Black Diamond, Bush Sugar Baby, Crimson Sweet, Crimson Tide, Desert King (Yellow) Golden Crown, Jubilee, Legacy 800, Mickylee, Minilee, OrangeGlo, Starbrite, Tendersweet (Orange), Yellow Doll, Tiffany (Seedless)

Texas Bullnettle, Mala Mujer

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Spurge Family (Euphorbiaceae)Texas Bullnettle
Cnidoscolus texanue (Muell. Arg.) Small

Region: 1-8, 10 (Ellis County is Region 4)

Size: 1-3 1/2 feet

Blooms: March through September, Perennial

Be very careful if you want to smell these flowers! Bullnettle is well defended, with stinging hairs covering all parts except the flowers. Once stung, you ’ll know this plant forever. Upright and branched, it is common across Texas and frequently forms large colonies in disturbed areas. Fragrant, white, tubular flowers consist of five to seven flaring sepals that form loose terminal clusters. Seeds are held tightly in compartments of a tough, almost round seedpod and the large, edible seeds are considered very tasty when ripe. A deep, tuberous taproot, branching underground, lets bullnettle thrive during hot summers and drought. Mala mujer (bad woman), another common name, was given because, like a “bad woman,” bullnettle is hurtful to touch.

Article by: Melinda Kocian

 

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March In The Garden

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“It’s March” … What needs to be done

PLANTING

  • Plant these annuals early in the month for spring color: petunias, larkspurs, foxgloves and stocks. Other annuals such as marigolds, celosia and wax begonias may be planted late in the month.
  • Plant tomatoes, peppers and eggplants from 4-inch pots after March 15th. Plants should be hardened off (gradually exposed to outside conditions) before putting in the ground.
  • Plant warm-season vegetables — beans, corn, squash, melons and cucumbers starting mid-month.
  • Plant herbs in raised beds with soil amended with organic matter. Harden off plants before planting.
  • Plant perennial flowers in amended well-drained soil. Know each plant’s prime blooming season, height, width and color to ensure season-long color. Mulch new plantings.

FERTILIZING AND PRUNING

  • Trees, shrubs, vines and ground covers can be fed with high-nitrogen fertilizer or compost. For patio pots and container gardens, apply a diluted, water-soluble, high-nitrogen fertilizer once a week.
  • Remove old growth from Bermuda grass lawns by lowering mower one or two notches, allowing the grass to spread faster and choke out weeds. Bag the clippings for composting or as mulch.
  • Prune spring-flowering shrubs and vines such as flowering quince, azaleas, forsythia, bridal wreath (Spiraea), Lady Banksia rose and Carolina jessamine immediately after they finish blooming.

GARDEN WATCH

  • If frost or freeze is predicted, cover tender vegetables and annuals with frost cloth. It can make a 6 to 8 degree difference.
  • Beware of close-out sales on bare-root trees as survival rate is low when planted this late in the season. Spend a little more on container-grown plants.
  • Control black spot, powdery mildew and thrips on roses with an appropriate fungicide or systemic insecticide. Use a stream of water or insecticidal soap on aphids.
  • Apply pre-emergent herbicide on lawns to control broadleaf and grassy weeds if needed. A “weed and feed” fertilizer is not recommended because it is too early to fertilize lawns.

Original post by: Monty Grearner

Want to know what to plant this month?  Check out this article.